Rich, fudgy and ultra moist vegan gluten free brownies. These super easy brownies are so good no one will guess they’re vegan or gluten-free!
So we made simple vegan brownies, then we made triple chocolate vegan chocolate brownies and vegan zucchini brownies and now here we go with some super fudgy deliciously chocolatey vegan gluten free brownies.
I had to do a gluten-free version because many of our readers are gluten-free and a couple of my family members are too, and any excuse for another batch of brownies also just works great with me.
Sometimes adapting recipes for gluten-free can be tricky, but in this case, not at all!
These brownies adapted so easily and perfectly for gluten-free it’s not even funny. Or it is. Whichever makes more sense to say there.
When I say no one will ever know they’re either vegan or gluten-free I am not trying to insult vegan or gluten-free food. I mean please. Have you met me? I’m a super fan of the vegan food.
What I mean, is that these are so good, they don’t need any qualifiers. Like you won’t hear ‘this is pretty good for a vegan brownie’ or ‘this is pretty good for a gluten free brownie’.
In fact you won’t hear anything cos everyone will have their mouths full, and then they will be helping themselves to another one.
How To Make Vegan Gluten Free Brownies
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift gluten-free all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and instant espresso powder and mix together.
- Prepare vegan buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup line.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract and mix into a thick batter (very thick!).
- Add a mix of vegan chocolate chunks and chocolate chips and mix them in.
- Prepare a square 9×9 inch baking dish by spraying with non stick spray and then lining it with parchment paper so that there is overhang on either side so that you can easily lift out the whole tray of brownies once baked.
- Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared baking dish and smooth it down.
- Bake for 40 minutes at 350°F.
- Let them cool for about 15 minutes in the pan and then lift them out with the parchment paper overhang.
How To Cut Your Brownies
The easy way to cut perfect neat slices is to heat up your knife. Dip the knife in super hot water and then dry it off with a paper towel and then cut. Repeat this process every time you cut and you’ll have perfect neat squares.
The hot knife also melts the chocolate as you cut, so it’s even more perfect!
How To Tell When Your Brownies Are Done
The toothpick test can be a little tricky because you have chocolate chips and chunks inside these brownies creating little pockets of melted chocolate everywhere.
But the top of the brownies should be entirely dry, and look a little cracked (like our pics) and if you put the toothpick in you should come out with only melted chocolate, not wet batter. It also should feel soft but firm. It should not be wet or super jiggly.
Ingredient Notes
A gluten-free all purpose flour blend is crucial. You need to use a blend that is meant to replace regular all purpose flour in baking.
This recipe has not been tested with any single type of gluten-free flour like almond flour or coconut flour or rice flour, but my previous baking experiments lead me to believe that it would not work here.
White granulated sugar. The first time I made these brownies I used light brown sugar but I found that it weighed the brownies down a little. So I prefer white sugar, or a mix of white and light brown sugar, so that you get a texture that isn’t too heavy.
Instant espresso powder – brings out the chocolate flavors. It doesn’t make the brownies taste like coffee, so don’t worry about that. You can also use regular instant coffee powder. Or you can omit it altogether, this is an optional ingredient (but recommended).
Melted coconut oil – is great for this, because it creates a really thick batter, which is perfect for brownies. However, if you have a coconut allergy, you can use a different oil and it won’t be an issue.
Vegan buttermilk – should ideally be made with soy milk. You can use almond milk if you prefer, but soy milk is more ideal as it creates a really great texture.
A mix of chocolate chips and chocolate chunks is awesome here as you have two different kinds of chocolate and you really notice it in the best possible way.
Storing and Freezing
Keep them covered at room temperature where they will keep for 3-4 days. You can also keep them in the fridge if you want them to last a little longer.
They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months!
More Vegan Gluten Free Desserts
- Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake
- Vegan Gluten Free Banana Bread
- Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
- The Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Sauce
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Gluten Free Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (272g)
- 1 cup Cocoa Powder (84g) Unsweetened
- 2 cups White Granulated Sugar (400g)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Instant Espresso Powder Optional
- 1 cup Vegan Buttermilk (240ml) 1 Tablespoon lemon juice + soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line
- 1 cup Coconut Oil (240ml) Melted
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Vegan Chocolate Chips (88g)
- ½ cup Vegan Chocolate Chunks (88g) chopped up vegan chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare a 9×9 inch square baking dish by spraying with non stick spray and lining with parchment paper so that there is overhang on either side.
- Sift gluten free all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, baking powder, salt and instant espresso powder and mix together.
- Prepare your vegan buttermilk by adding 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line. Let it curdle.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter.
- Then add the vegan chocolate chips and chunks and mix in.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared baking dish and smooth down.
- Bake for 40 minutes. I found 40 minutes to be perfect, they have plenty of fudginess in the texture but they’re not ultra gooey. See notes for how to know they are done.
- Let them cool for 15 minutes and then lift the whole tray of brownies out using the parchment paper overhang. Let the brownies cool completely before cutting. If they're still warm when you cut them, they're harder to cut and more breakable.
- To cut the brownies, heat up a knife by dipping it in some very hot water (from the kettle) and then drying it off with a towel and cutting. After each cut, dip the knife in the hot water and dry it off again, and repeat. This allows you to cut perfect squares and also melts the chocolate along the edges as you cut the squares.
Notes
- Gluten Free Flour. This must be a blend that is meant to replace regular flour in baking. For the most accurate results weigh it out on a food scale. I have tried this with different blends, so any gluten-free flour blend that is meant for baking should work great here.
- Instant espresso powder. This brings out the chocolate flavor. You can use any instant coffee powder or omit it if you prefer.
- Vegan buttermilk. You can also use almond milk to make vegan buttermilk, however I prefer soy milk for this as it creates a thicker buttermilk, but if you can’t use soy, almond milk will work fine.
- Vegan chocolate chunks is just regular vegan chocolate that is chopped into chunks. You can use all chocolate chips in this recipe or all chocolate chunks if you like, but using a mix of the two is most delicious in my view.
- You will know the brownies are done when the top is completely dry and looks a little cracked and if you put a toothpick in you should come out with only melted chocolate, no wet batter. It also should feel soft but firm. It should not be wet or super jiggly.
Maxx says
We tried this recipe today, weighed out everything to the exact gram and these still came out greasy and with no structural integrity 🙁 Even after an extra ten minutes in the oven!
Have you tried this recipe with a flour blend WITHOUT xanthan gum in it? The only all-purpose GF flour we could find had no xanthan gum in it, and that may be the difference between this recipe working and it not holding together at all.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Maxx, sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. I’m not sure what caused that to happen, but we have often used gluten-free flour blend without xantham gum and haven’t found a difference there.
Michelle says
Hi Alison
I made these today and they taste amazing but my batter wasn’t very thick and the brownies came out quite crumbly. What have I done wrong? What do I need to do next time? X
Alison Andrews says
Hi Michelle, I’m not sure what happened, but measure the ingredients very carefully and don’t make any substitutions.
Sophia L. says
Me and my sister (me being 12, and my sister 9) made this recipe, and it turned out delicious.
The hardest part was definitely transferring the batter to the baking dish.
Me and my sister had a ton of fun making this, and I would totally recommend this recipe.
We did have our moments, though. We almost decided to eat all of the batter without even placing it in the oven.
They did turn out a little dry and crumbly, and I think this happened because I didn’t add enough coconut oil.
For my taste, there was a little more cocoa powder than I would have liked, but I will adjust that next time I make this recipe.
Thanks a lot for this, Alison! We loved it! 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Sophia! So glad you had fun making it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Terese says
The flavour of this is just delicious but I had issues with the coconut oil. I found after 40 min of cooking that the brownie was swimming and simmering in the coconut oil and was still jiggling. I cooked it for another 15 min but still had lots of coconut oil. I drained some out and popped back in the oven for another 10, needed another draining of coconut oil and another 10 min and then it was fine with edges quite crunchy but ok in the middle. I used one cup of hard coconut oil that I melted and added to the brownie mixture. Have you had anyone with this issue also? What would have caused the coconut oil to do that? Many thanks.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Terese! I honestly don’t know why that would be. You can definitely try reducing the oil next time or use a different oil altogether. It might also help if you weigh out the oil (when it’s solid) if you’re measuring it while it’s solid. A cup of solid coconut oil would weigh 218g. Otherwise melt and then measure.
Charlotte says
This came out a little *too* gooey, which I had previously thought impossible! I baked for an extra 7 minutes, followed ingredients to the letter (other than doing half and half olive oil and sunflower seed oil) right size pan . . . not sure what happened. I waited 15 min to pull it out of the pan by the parchment paper and it still fell apart, tragically! Still tasted good, can’t argue with that. The sides fell off and and deep cracks surfaced in the bake, even with a two-man team carefully extracting it from the pan. I waited another 20 mins to cut (cmon Alison, I’m not gonna ~not~ eat a warm brownie fresh out of the oven. esp. when it had already hit self-destruct!) Too gooey, needed more solidity, more cakey solidity to it.
That said, this was fun and easy to bake! Quick and calls only for readily available ingredients in your pantry. I do think there could be significantly less sugar and oil – though that’s perhaps an indictment of brownies themselves, not this recipe! Thanks for putting this out there, I had fun and enjoyed a tasty dessert.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks for sharing Charlotte! I have had this happen when my oven was a little on the cold side! When I got an oven thermometer and checked the temp and got it to the right heat, then it was perfect, not sure if that helps!
Caitlin says
I LOVE these! You wouldn’t know they were vegan or gluten free. They were gooey in the middle and crisp on top, perfection! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Caitlin!
Kiera says
Can oat flour be used in place of gf all purpose flour?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kiera, I’m really not sure! My concern would be that it won’t hold together.
Joanne says
I’m fairly new to vegan and gluten free baking and have tried several recipes with not much success. But! These turned out pretty good! I have a couple of questions… Is the batter supposed to really thick? I couldn’t mix it well at all so ended up adding a bit more almond milk. FYI – I weighed the flour, cocoa and sugar. What did I do wrong? Also, any suggestions on baking time/temp for an 8 x 8 pan? Despite the thick batter, the brownies turned out great. Thanks so much the recipe! We made a brownie sundae with vegan/gluten free vanilla ice cream, coconut whipped cream, and almonds!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Joanne! So glad they were good! Yes, the batter is supposed to be super thick!
Juliana Murace says
White sugar meaning refined caster sugar? What if I used Raw sugar, would that work? Thanks!!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Juliana, no it’s white granulated sugar. Raw sugar should work fine too! 🙂
Alexandra Warner says
Will Bob’s red mill gluten free all purpose work??
Alison Andrews says
Yes, that will work great! 🙂
Sam Penrose says
Thank you so much for this recipe! They truly are incredible, my class and family would agree!
One thing I have found to help the consistency has been halving the oil, as it meant they had a slightly more set, cakier form with a crispier top. Tasty with or without the extra half-cup!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks for sharing Sam! 🙂
Carrie says
These brownies are fantastic. Exactly what I was looking for. Fudgy and chocolatey. Yummy.
Also, I am so glad these are nut free, unlike lots of vegan baking options.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed them Carrie! 🙂
Adair says
Omg…I made these brownies this evening! Great recipe…I used coconut flour,and just the subtle flavor of coconut…WOW! Thanks for sharing your amazing recipe
Alison Andrews says
Oh awesome! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Karla says
I’m making these today. Can I use applesauce instead of oil?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Karla, it may work, but it’s not something I’ve tried. All the best! 🙂
Tom says
Did you end up trying it with apple sauce? interested to know how it worked out
Diana says
So moreish. I first had these at my friends 80th birthday party. Was given your website by her grand-daughter and have now made them myself and taken them to a couple of events. I’m Coeliac & lactose intollerant. So a perfect receipe. Would they work with coconut milk instead of soya milk?
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed them Diana! I think coconut milk would be just fine! Maybe full fat canned coconut milk may be a little rich considering the recipe is very rich already, so I’m thinking maybe light coconut milk, if it’s canned. If it’s in the carton, then that will be just fine. 🙂