Better Than Box Mix FUDGY Vegan Brownies- with Shiny Crinkle Tops!

These ridiculously fudgy vegan brownies are for FUDGE BOWNIE LOVES ONLY! Made with simple ingredients (sugar, flour, cocoa powder, chocolate, and melted vegan butter or oil), these vegan brownies are seriously dense and chocolatey WITHOUT being raw/underbaked with that perfect shiny crinkle top that will make even a cakey brownie lover obsessed. This is better than any store bought brownie mix you’ll find, all made with just a bowl and a whisk.

Forget the box mix brownies- you’re going to LOVE these easy vegan brownies from scratch!

You’ll never be tempted to make another box mix brownie again after giving these ultra fudgy vegan brownies a go.

Like it’s so good, I had to develop a small batch vegan brownie recipe just to avoid eating the entire pan in one go (oh, trust me, it’s too easy to just keep going bite after bite!).

These brownies are my go-to weekend baking recipe for my family, and for a good reason. It’s the base recipe for several of our other vegan brownie recipes (and my inspiration for several of the brownie recipes in my upcoming cookbook!).

And for the most important part: these brownies are fudgy, NOT underbaked and gooey (ick) with a perfect crinkle top that a traditional conventional brownie would bow down to. But how? There are two EASY reasons why these vegan brownies are different than others on the internet

• Sugar content: We’ve slightly increased the moisture in this vegan brownie recipes by using part brown sugar and part granulated sugar. The brown sugar will add a slightly more molasses flavor, while also adding more moisture and richness.
• Sugar dissolution into aquafaba or dairy free milk: This means that the sugar granules are dissolved in the liquid by vigorous mixing- either with a hand mixer or by hand. Dissolving the sugar helps to create a super crinkly and shiny top!

Now, why use aquafaba or soy milk?

These are two of my favorite vegan egg replacements for this recipe, along with ground flaxseed. Together, they work better than what applesauce could achieve (trust me, I’ve tried).

This is because aquafaba or soy milk are most similar to egg white in terms of texture and binding properties, helping to give the brownies structure and moisture. So if you don’t have access to chickpea brine, then you most certainly can use soy milk with near identical results!

Simplest Ingredients to make Vegan Brownies:

The remaining ingredients are just pantry staple finds, but I want to go over why I’m choosing some key ingredients here!

• Ground flaxseed:  I’ve tested this recipe with dairy free yogurt and applesauce as well, and I really love ground flaxseed here for the best.
• Dutch-cocoa powder: You can’t just use any cocoa powder here. I recommend using all Dutch-processed for the fudgier texture it will give. All-natural has a bit more acidity (which causes a bake to rise), and will lead to a cakier brownie. I’m purposefully going for FUDGY with this recipe, so I’m avoiding cakey all together!
• High quality dark vegan chocolate: my favorite brand to use for this recipe is Endangered Species or Valrhona!
• Dairy-free milk or aquafaba: This is another ingredient that you may not be fully familiar with, but it’s actually quite common! Aquafaba is just chickpea brine, or the liquid from your chickpea can, and it makes for the best replacements of egg whites. So combining flaxseed with aquafaba essentially creates the full “egg” in these brownies! However, upon further testing, dairy free milk, like soy milk, works WONDERFULLY in a pinch (with honestly identical results- I can’t tell the difference so it’s up to your personal preference here!).

The remaining ingredients are so standard: all-purpose flour, granulated sugar (make sure it’s organic for vegan!), sea salt, and vanilla extract! How simple and easy?!

Overview: How to make vegan brownies step-by-step

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe. 

Once you see how simple and easy these vegan brownies are to make, you might just be making them every week!

My go-to trick for knowing when brownies are done.

Use a toothpick to test: if the toothpick comes out with a little brownie batter on it, they’re good to go! If it’s more like a glob of batter on the toothpick, I would give them another 5 minutes and check again.

When you remove the brownies from the oven, the tops of the brownies will be soft– that means they’re definitely fudgy inside! As they cool, the brownies will become firmer, yet still remain fudgy when you take that first bite. That’s why you need to wait at least 30 minutes before slicing into them!

You are just going to LOVE these super easy vegan brownies! Truly, this will be your go-to brownie recipe, I’m sure of it!

Happy brownie baking!

Bake these brownies alongside me in this video:

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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