Vegan brownies for two (small batch) made with just almond butter, maple syrup, and cocoa powder. Crazy, right? Crazy good!
Why this Recipe Works
There is something about a good brownie. A brownie is supposed to be: dense, fudgy, and chewy, all at once. Nothing like cake. And for me, the corner pieces do it best, because the extra chew makes it linger in your mouth longer.
But what about vegan brownies? I've never loved those. That is until I made these with almond butter, maple syrup, and cocoa powder. It sounds ridiculous, and it sounds like it wouldn't work. But it does.
I based the recipe off of this one, and so I can tell you that while I used regular flour with gluten, you can absolutely sub your favorite gluten-free flour. Try oat flour or any brown rice flour that you might have leftover from my small-batch vegan chocolate chip cookies.
Vegan Brownies Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cup almond butter
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or GF brown rice flour)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 3-ounce vegan chocolate bar, chopped (or vegan chocolate chips)
How to Make Vegan Brownies
- Prep - Preheat the oven to 325, and line a 9x5" bread loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving extra on the ends so that you can easily lift out your brownies when they're done.
- Combine - In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, almond butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Stir well, and then microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir to blend well. Add the flour, baking soda and salt, and stir for about 50 strokes to blend very well. (If you're using gluten-free flour, you don't have to stir this much. Just stir until well-mixed). Pour the mixture into the pan, and top with the chopped chocolate bar.
- Bake - Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool completely, and then chill in the fridge for best results.
Tips
- Use a standard bread loaf pan (how I always make small-batch brownies), and you can get 2 large or 4 small brownies from this recipe.
- Chop up a vegan chocolate bar to sprinkle on top. This is the critical step that makes them transcend past tasting slightly too much like almond butter. Don't forget the chocolate on top!
- Chill the brownies in the fridge when they are done. They cut the most evenly if they're well-chilled. You could dig in right away, though they will be slightly messy.
How to Store
- Room Temperature - Once you are done, you can store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Refrigerator - Because we recommend you chill the brownies before you cut them up, it's not a bad idea to keep them in the refrigerator too.
- Freeze - If you want to freeze the brownies, do not cut them up. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap again with foil. You can freeze up to 4 months. When you are ready to eat, thaw at room temperature before cutting into squares.
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Vegan Brownies (small batch)
Vegan brownies, small batch. Easily gluten free, too!
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cup almond butter
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or GF brown rice flour)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 3-ounce vegan chocolate bar, chopped (or vegan chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325, and line a 9x5" bread loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving extra on the ends so that you can easily lift out your brownies when they're done.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, almond butter, maple syrup and coconut oil. Stir well, and then microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds.
- Remove from the microwave and stir to blend well.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt, and stir for about 50 strokes to blend very well. (If you're using gluten free flour, you don't have to stir this much. Just stir until well-mixed).
- Pour the mixture into the pan, and top with the chopped chocolate bar.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, let cool completely, and then chill in the fridge for best results. They cut the most evenly if they're well-chilled. You could dig in right away, though they will be slightly messy.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 311Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 109mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 4gSugar: 19gProtein: 7g
Monica says
I've yet to meet a brownie I didn't like and I'm sure this will be no exception. I'm thinking I'd love to try brownies with almond butter - sounds so delicious! And Back in the Day Bakery - oh my goodness, we stopped by Savannah recently while we were on vacation in the area and mainly, I wanted to visit them. It was so worth the pilgrimage.
Their Chocolate Heaven cupcake was incredible...and the people are as sweet as the baked goods!
Courtney says
Could I add baking powder instead of baking soda?
Christina Lane says
Nope.
Julia Mueller says
Ohhhhh momma, I know what my next obsession is! These look amazing! I never would have guessed they were made primarily with almond butter...glorious day!! I need to action these asap! :D
Aimee says
Yum! Love a good brownies recipe - I just did a vegan brownie recipe too. Chocolate chunks are top of brownies are a non-negotiable with me.
Janiere says
How delicious it seems to be that brownies, nor it looks vegan, I believe the taste is incredible.
allison says
There's a great veg/vegan restaurant in Toronto that serves the best vegan brownies I've ever had...and their peanut sauce is my favourite. They share their recipes in their cookbooks https://freshrestaurants.ca/collections/cookbooks
Nancy k says
Please tell me you are not going vegan on this site.
I love your recipes but am totally not into the whole vegan craze...In fact I find it off-putting in so many ways.
An occasional recipe would be fine but please go back to your healthy, regular recipes.
Christina Lane says
Nope, definitely not going vegan. But I have A LOT of requests for vegan recipes lately, so I'm trying to make some other people happy at the moment :) I'll be back with regular recipes soon. I miss butter :D
Jane says
Nancy k YOU are off putting and down right rude. Clearly no compassion for living beings on this earth. They are not here for us they are here WITH us!
Anne says
YUM! These look awesome and remind me of my all time favorite easy and healthy brownie from LLBalanced: http://llbalanced.com/recipes/holy-fudge-black-bean-brownies/
You should try it! They are da bomb!
Rebecca says
You threw me for a loop with the statement "Vegan brownies (small batch) made with just almond butter, maple syrup, and cocoa powder." I thought they literally JUST (as in only) contained those three ingredients! They sound delicious even if you're not vegan, because nut butters make everything better. My husband has a theory that there is literally no food that cannot be improved on with the right application of peanut butter. :)
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
ooooh these look amazing-I never would've guessed they're vegan!!! Totally pinning!
Julie says
Help! I don't own a microwave! Is there a way I can still make these?
Cristina says
Melt those ingredients in a pot on low, no problem!