These healthy vegan brownies will satisfy your sweet tooth without the guilt. They are low calorie, refined sugar free and oil-free yet still chewy, thick, gooey, and fudgy!
***This recipe has been updated since it’s original publish date on November 19, 2019 to update photos, and add more information about variations, and substitutions.
The words healthy and brownie usually don’t go together. When I hear the word brownie I think of a thick decadent, chewy, and chocolatey bite of goodness.
While when I hear the word healthy I think of raw vegetables and salads. Now, I love a good salad, and raw veggies are my jam, but so are brownies! They are one of my favorite plant-based desserts.
If you couldn’t tell already, I’m sort of a chocoholic. I don’t just love chocolate I need chocolate. But when it comes to desserts and brownies in particular, I want to feel like I’m having a sweet indulgence yet still feel good about what I’m putting into my body.
I wasn’t sure it would be possible to have a healthy vegan brownie. Sure there are vegan brownies out there that are thick and fudgy, but they almost always contain oil or a vegan butter, and other refined vegan ingredients such as white and brown sugar, and white flour.
I was determined to make a brownie that was healthy enough to put into my rotation of plant-based treats. That meant it had to follow a few requirements. They had to be whole food plant-based with no oil, no refined sugar, no eggs, and no dairy.
The first time I made them, my family was totally wowed! They didn’t believe me when I told them they were healthy vegan brownies!
This version is subtly sweet, extra chocolatey, and dare I say, good for you!
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Why This Recipe Works
- Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB Brownies)
- Only 8 simple ingredients
- BEST Brownies Recipe
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Oil free
- Easy prep
- Less than 100 calories per serving!
- Chewy and Chocolatey
- Healthy and Decadent
- Fudgy Brownies
Ingredients
- Date Sugar or Coconut sugar: Both date and coconut sugar are unrefined sugars. You could also use maple syrup as a sweetener, or a combination of ½ cup of maple syrup, and half cup of date sugar.
- Cacao Powder: Cocoa and Cacao powder are slightly different. Cocoa powder is processed at a higher temperature than cacao. It also often times has added sugar or dairy. Cacao powder is made from fermented cacao beans that have not been roasted. It does not contain any added sugar or dairy, and has health benefits such as flavonoids which help reduce blood pressure, improve blood flow to the brain and heart, and help prevent blood clots.
- White Whole Wheat Flour: With added fiber, white whole wheat flour, is not processed like white all purpose flour.
- Baking Powder and Salt: Used to help leaven the brownies.
- Unsweetened Applesauce: Used in place of oil, it gives these brownies moisture and a fudgy texture!
- Ground Flax: Used in place of egg for both moisture and to help leaven.
- Vanilla Extract: Compliments the deep chocolate flavor.
Scroll to the bottom of the post to the recipe card for complete measurements and instructions for these healthy vegan brownies.
Tools and Equipment
Parchment paper is one of those tools I always have on hand. I use it whenever I’m baking because it allows me to bake cookies, cakes, brownies, and even roast vegetables without needing to use oil. The parchment paper doesn’t stick to food, so I was easily able to lift these brownies from the pan and cut them into even beautiful squares.
Instructions
Make Flax Egg: Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine ground flax and water in a small bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Combine Dry Ingredients: While waiting for the flax egg to set, combine dry ingredients (date sugar, cocoa powder, white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt) in a large mixing bowl.
Add Wet Ingredients: Make a well in the center of the bowl with the dry ingredients. Add the (applesauce or pumpkin puree, flax egg, and vanilla extract) stirring until combined. If batter seems too dry add ¼ cup of unsweetened soy milk or almond milk.
Add Batter to Baking Pan: Pour batter into an 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper. Spread evenly.
Bake: Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.
Expert Tips
- Use organic whole food ingredients whenever possible.
- Mix the ground flax with warm water and set aside for at least 15 minutes or until flax and water begin to thicken into an egg like consistency.
- Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls before combining.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper. This eliminates the need to grease the pan and will allow you to remove your brownies from the pan with ease.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting.
FAQS
Low-Fat-These brownies have no added oil or fat. One brownie has only 1.2 g of fat and .5 g of saturated fat.
Low Calorie-One brownie has only 79 calories. By eliminating oil the calorie count in addition to the fat count in these brownies is significantly less.
Fiber-By using flax and whole wheat flour you get 7% if your daily fiber intake from one brownie.
Lower Sugar-Using date sugar which is lower on the glycemic index than refined sugar decreases the total grams of sugar in these brownies.
To make this recipe gluten-free, you’ll need to substitute the white whole wheat flour with a gluten-free flour. I recommend using ½ a cup of almond flour, and ½ a cup of oat flour, or a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. You can make your own oat flour by using a food processor to process the oats into a flour.
Yes, you can make brownies without eggs or oil. This recipe is proof that it’s possible to make a healthy, low-calorie, low-fat chewy chocolatey brownie using flax eggs instead of chicken eggs, and unsweetened applesauce instead of oil.
Most vegan brownies use coconut oil, olive oil, or vegan butters, refined cane sugar, white flour, and chocolate chips. These ingredients make for moist and chewy brownies, but they’re far from healthy with all of the added processed ingredients.
Use a flax egg to replace regular eggs in a recipe.
Try whole wheat flour to replace white flour.
Unsweetened applesauce replaces oil.
Use an unrefined sweetener such as coconut or date sugar, or maple syrup.
Allow the brownies to cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for up to 4 days, or store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Variations and Substitutions
Vegan Nut Butter Brownies: Before baking in the oven add a swirl of almond butter, peanut butter, or both. Add 4 tablespoons on the top of the batter, and gently use your spoon to swirl it through the batter.
Mini Chocolate Chips: Sprinkle some mini vegan chocolate chips on top!
Vegan Caramel Brownies: Make this easy vegan caramel sauce, and swirl 4 tablespoons through the brownie batter before baking.
How to Serve
I sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top for decoration. You can serve these brownies with a cold cup of dairy free milk, or an almond milk latte or a lavender tea latte for something special and a bit unusual. If you’d like the ultimate chocolate indulgence try serving these brownies with my Vegan Hot Chocolate.
More healthy vegan desserts!
- Vegan Pumpkin Brownies
- Gluten-Free Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- No Bake Vegan Snowball Cookies
- Vegan Cookie Dough Balls
- Sweet Potato Brownies by The Conscientious Eater
Recipe
Healthy Vegan Brownies
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon ground flax
- ⅔ cup warm water
- 1 cup date sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 cup cacao powder
- ½ cup white whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine ground flax and warm water in a small bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- While flax egg sets, combine dry ingredients (date sugar, cacao powder, white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt) in a medium mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients (flax egg, applesauce/or pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract) to the dry ingredients. Stirring until combined. If the batter seems too dry add ¼ cup of unsweetened almond milk.
- Pour batter into an 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper. Spread evenly.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.
Video
Notes
- Use organic whole food ingredients whenever possible.
- Mix the ground flax with warm water and set aside for at least 15 minutes or until flax and water begins to thicken into an egg like consistency.
- Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls before combining.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper. This eliminates the need to grease the pan and will allow you to remove your brownies from the pan with ease.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting.
Bill
I used whole chia seeds and water instead of flaxseed and the result was crunchy brownies but were very good. If I used Bobs egg replacer how much would I use?
Tabatha James
THESE ARE AMAZING!! I used coconut oil instead of applesauce and I’ve never had such a successful vegan brownie. delicious
Alison Corey
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recie! I’m totally brownie obsessed!
Veronica
Hi There,
I’m in the UK and we cannot easily get applesauce here. Is there an alternative that’s friendly for a UK audience?
Veronica
Alison Corey
You can use any fruit puree. I recommend using pumpkin puree, or banana puree. Just place your bananas in a food processor until they are smooth and creamy. You can use a 1:1 replacement for the applesauce.
Chef V
I made these brownies and they were INCREDIBLE! Moist like real brownies. I did make some modifications: I used leftover warm coffee instead of water with the flax, reduced the sugar by half and added UNsweeted Chocolate chips. ( I like Pascha brand).
The coffee brings out the wonderful deep cocoa flavor, making these brownies not so sweet and even a little more healthy. Top with a dollop of coconut whip. Pure joy!
Alison Corey
The addition of the coffee sounds incredible! I’m going to give that a try next time I make these! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Christina Robohm
How many dates/how much date paste would I use instead of buying date sugar? Thanks!
Alison Corey
I would recommend 5-6 dates. Soak in warm water for ten minutes. Drain, and puree in the food processor to create a paste.
Alzbeta
1/4 cup flour? Isn’t it too little? It’s that correct?
Alison Corey
That is the correct amount. These are fudgy brownies, so not as much flour is needed.
Jocelyn
I just baked these and they came out really delicious! I used coconut palm sugar instead of date sugar. However, I did find that there wasn’t enough batter to fit in my 8×8 pan. I suspect it’s a result of my measuring tools, though, because I have had this problem with other recipes too. Tasty brownies!
Alison Corey
I’m happy to hear they turned out delicious!
Linda Scherer
I just made these brownies and the batter was very, very thick. I had to press it down with my fingers. I double checked the recipe and my measurements matched the recipe.. Am I missing something?
Alison Corey
The batter should be kind of runny. It might be that the flax absorbed a lot of the water. In that case add 1/4 cup of water or dairy free milk to help moisten the batter.
LINDA J SCHERER
thanks, I’ll to that next time. they flavor was wonderful, though.
Alison Corey
I’m glad it tasted good!!
Tammy
I’ll never turn down a brownie! These look marvelous and I’ve never had a vegan one so I’m intrigued to give it a try 😀
Patty at Spoonabilities
Healthy brownies!? I’m in!!! I love love love this recipe! No guilt with all these health ingredients!!
Anita
Yay! A healthy brownies recipe, and a delicious one at that. Now I won’t feel guilty making AND eating brownies once a week. 😀
Jack Slobodian
These brownies look tasty!
Kate
Ohhh these look delicious! Thanks for sharing I can’t wait to make these brownies. ?