Extra chocolaty, rich, chewy, vegan brownies with swirls of SunButter and that much desired, crackly top.
Vegan Brownie Bliss
These are the most delicious, one-bowl, gluten-free vegan brownies that you’ll ever make! I’ve actually posted these a few times on social media, but wasn’t ready to share the recipe I knew it was perfected. Happily, I can say that after 6 batches in the last 2 weeks, today is the day I can say that these brownies are PERFECT. Chewy, fudgy, uber-chocolaty, decadent brownies with that coveted crackle top….YES!!!! These brownies will make you smile outloud when you take a bite….they are just that amazing!
If you’ve been around Allergylicious long enough, then you know my love for chocolate. Cake, cupcakes, pancakes, waffles, no-bake bites, frozen treats…I’ve done it all but brownies have always been my nemesis! It’s just been so darn tricky to get those perfect vegan brownies without the use of gluten, butter and eggs. But because I think vegan and gluten-free should taste as good as the real thing, I just had to keep at it. No one should be ok with a brownie that’s gooey, spongy, gel-like or dry, right? Thankfully, after a lot of testing and a few extra pounds (thank goodness for the gym) I finally perfected a batch of delicious vegan brownies that could be whipped up just as easily as conventional ones, without the use of weird ingredients.
Vegan Brownie Ingredient Swaps
- Typically I like to bake with coconut oil, but found in this vegan brownie recipe, a neutral-flavored vegetable oil was the best swap for butter.
- And since we aren’t using eggs, a small amount of baking powder was all we needed to give our brownies the perfect amount of lift and structure—without the need for any packaged egg replacers.
- As for the flour, well I played around with several brands and the one that yielded the best results was Bob’s 1-to-1 Gluten-free Flour. Keep in mind that this brand is not made in a nut-free facility, so choose what is safe for your family, but you may have to test out a few batches if you choose a different flour.
SunButter Swirls
Do you know what makes these vegan brownies stand apart from all others? It’s that delightfully creamy swirl of SunButter, baked into the crackly top. There’s something almost magical about that nutty, warm seed butter, delicately dancing with each sweet chocolate bite. And in the world of allergy-friendly desserts, chocolate and SunButter are simply made to go together!
I can’t even tell you how good these brownies are! You HAVE to make them! These are the kind of brownies you just can’t say no to. In fact, every time I walked by the pan, I HAD to have a taste! These are the kind of brownies that turn a boring day into a celebration. These are the kind of brownies you want to share with your friends.
Look How Easy They Are To Make
Do yourself a favor and whip up a batch of these vegan brownies ASAP. Scroll down to grab the full recipe and check out a few more Chocolate favs!
Chocolate Sunbutter Surprise Cupcakes
Chocolate Banana SunButter Bites
Vegan Gluten-free Brownie Recipe
Easy Vegan Gluten-free Brownies
These are the most delicious, one-bowl, vegan & gluten-free brownies that you'll ever make! Extra chocolatey, rich, chewy, with swirls of SunButter and that much desired, crackly top. Kid approved, nut-free too.
Ingredients
- 2 cups 1-for-1 gluten-free flour mix (or All Purpose flour)
- 2 cups vegan cane sugar
- 3/4 cup cacao powder (can also use cocoa)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup oil (vegetable or melted coconut oil)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup creamy SunButter (or nut butter of choice)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease 9x13 metal baking pan and coat with flour or cacao powder.
- In a mixer bowl, add flour, sugar, cacao, baking powder, and salt. Gently whisk together.
- Add in water, oil and vanilla and using whisk attachment, mix together until blended.
- Pour into prepared baking pan, and spread evenly. Drop teaspoon sized amounts of SunButter evenly spaced on the top of brownie batter, then using a knife, drag it through the SunButter, creating a swirl pattern.
- Bake 25-30 minutes. Top will be crackled and center will come out clean when inserted with a toothpick. Let cool 20 minutes then cut and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 237Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 142mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 2g
Nutritional information is only an estimate based off of using an online calculator. Numbers will change depending on brands used.
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OMG they look out-of-this-world delicious. And that swirly thing on top – wowzers.
You said it! Now I just have to show a little more restraint 🙂
Can you use maple syrup in place of sugar?
I haven’t tried using maple syrup but if you do, please let me know. Since you are adding more liquid to the recipe, you may have to adjust the other liquid by half a tablespoon or more.
Oh my gosh; I’m loving that sun butter swirls these look amazing!
Thanks Becky 🙂
These brownies look amazing! I really love the swirl of sun butter and the crackly top!
Oh ya….gotta have that crackly top.
Can i put ghee in place of sun. Butter for the brownie recipe
SunButter replaces peanut butter….I would probably just switch the type of nut butter you are using to swirl into it. Almond, cashew, tahini or peanut butter all would work if you don’t have a nut allergy.
I’ve just made these. The texture is good, and the top was a bit crinkly although not enough in my opinion. My main problem though is with the flavour – you can taste the oil and it’s not particularly pleasant. I’ve made many other brownie recipes that are better.
Sorry to hear these didnt turn out for you. These are a fav of ours and many other readers so I was wondering, what type of pan did you use? I found that when I made these in a glass pan, they didn’t turn out the same but using a metal pan was the key to perfect brownies.
Curious as to why a metal pan would make the flavor different than a glass pan? I only have glass 9×13 and I just printed this recipe to use for my kid’s recital tonight. Now I am 2nd guessing myself.
Oh don’t second guess yourself. You just may need to bake it a tad bit longer….just check at the ending point and make sure.
Made these last night and despite using too small of a pan, having to double the baking time and them being thicker because of it, they came out incredible. Used whole wheat flour and an all natural peanut butter instead of the gluten free flour and sun butter. Will definitely make these again with the right sized pan. Thank you for the recipe.
SO glad to hear Christopher! I tried to make sure you can interchange ingredients fairly easily….so glad it worked for you and that you! I also like to change it up and use a smaller pan for thicker brownies once in a while 🙂
Gluten free brownies always seem tricky, but these look perfect! I can’t wait to try them!
We bake this recipe ALL the time….which means, I also eat them all the time
I love how moist and chocolaty these brownies look. I wish I could grab one through my screen!
I have made these with and without the sunbutter! So very yummy!!!
Perfect! I don’t always do the SunButter drizzle either and I still love them.
Can I use granulated sugar instead of vegan cane sugar?
Yes, you sure can. The vegan cane I use is granulated, but just has a fancy sounding name 🙂
Made these, but no crackly top… what did I miss? Thanks!
The only thing I can think of is possibly overmixing the batter. Since there are no eggs, it only needs to be mixed until the dry mixture is incorporated.
Hello! Can’t wait to make these! Do you know of a nut safe cocoa powder brand by any chance?
There is a brand called Wild that is allergy-friendly. Click here for info.
Curious about sugar substitutes. Would coconut sugar work in this recipe or is cane sugar performing some role other than sweetening? Also, what about monk fruit or other natural sugar substitutes?
HI Hillary. I use cane sugar which is just the vegan granulated sugar, without being as processed. The only other sugar sub I’ve tried is Wholesome’s Zero Sugar which is made from erythritol. But you should be able to use coconut sugar (equal amounts) in place of the cane. It will have more of a brown-sugar flavor. If you make the sub, let me know how it turned out. Watch for baking times though, it may need to adjust slightly.
Hi I just mixed all of the ingredients and it did not make a batter? It is the consistency of wet sand please help!
Is there anything at all that you may have forgotten? Or any substitutions that were made?
Thank you. We did try it with coconut sugar and we love it. It doesn’t get the crinkles on top like in your picture but it is yummy and has all the other wonderful elements of brownie awesomeness. Planning on making it again tonight!
Great recipe going to make it for my birthday! I was wondering if I could ad half gluten free flour and half oat flour plus a little xanthum gum. Would that work out? If not I also want to use whole wheat flour so how can I incorporate that into your recipe to get similar results? Please respond when you can.
I look forward to hearing from you.
You def would want to add xanthan gum if you use a regular GF flour but if you use a blend that already includes it, then you could leave it out. What I’d recommend though is using less oat flour. SO if a recipe calls for 1 cup flour, then you’d start with 3/4 cup oat flour since it absorbs more liquid then others.
Just made these!!! They are great. Used unbleached flour. Only used 3/4c of oil. Added some vegan chocolate chips. I did use a glass pan. They were thick and chewy. Problem is I’m the only one in the house that eats brownies!!! Sooooo, I guess I’ll have brownies for the next week or so. PERFECT FOR ME!!!
Sounds like a fabulous problem to have! More for you
I believe I overblended. Poured into paper baking cups to serve contact-less. They started to rise nicely, but never solidified. Kept adding baking time, but then they fell and oil bubbled on the top. Any guidance for those wanting to bake in individual servings?
I haven’t tried making them individually in a cup. There is an older recipe (sorry for the bad pics) for Chocolate SunButter Cupcakes that taste almost brownie like. That may be a good option for similar flavors and individually made. Here is that recipe.
hi my gluten free vegan brownies fall apart any tips?
I think we’ve been chatting on instagram…please let me know how they turn out once you add in Xanthan Gum to your Gluten Free flour.
I think we’ve been chatting on instagram. Please let me know how they turn out once you add Xanthan gum since your flour didn’t contain any.
Made these today. Easy ingredients. I used coconut oil. When I started mixing everything together the batter got super hard. Not sure if the melted coconut oil started to solidify but really hard to spread in pan. Baked for 20 min and NOT done at all! Baked another 10, still not done, another 5 not done. and now 3 minutes. YIKES. The top is very dull. Not shiny and NOT crackly.
Hmmm, I’m not sure what happened or why they didn’t turn out for you. Were any of the ingredients cold that were added with the warm coconut milk? If so , that could have hardened the oil too quickly.
Nicole – these are super good! I used coconut sugar instead of cane sugar 1:1 and they turned out beautifully. My dollops on the top weren’t placed quite so beautifully as yours (next time). I used coconut oil and didn’t feel like it had an overwhelming taste of oil like another reviewer mentioned. Also, I used a glass 9×9 pan and I did need to cook them longer, maybe twice as long. A great recipe! I’ll be saving this for future cravings.
It’s amazing the difference between using a glass pan and a metal pan in baking time. But so glad you loved the recipe.
I followed the recipe using granulated sugar as the only change. I’ve checked my measurements and ingredients twice but find my batter is quite liquid, drips off of the beater, unlike yours in the video. Shall I proceed with baking or add half a cup of additional flour + + ?
The Minister and his wife are on their way for supper tonight! lol
Bruce, that shouldnt have changed the consistency of your batter that much. How did it turn out? Mine is always a thicker batter so I wonder if by chance something was missed by chance?
my turn into crumbles once i cut into pieces how do i fix?
There are several reasons for crumbly brownies – either you over baked the brownie, or underbaked and cut it way too soon and there is less fat and liquid ingredients in the brownie batter. The latter can happen if the SunButter isn’t stirred well before adding to the recipe, which causes the oil and fats to separate and the seed butter is less creamy.
thank you im going to try again soon