Vegan Gluten Free Brownies

November 2, 2010

These double chocolate vegan gluten-free brownies are also allergy-free. These brownies are rich, chewy, decadent, and seriously delicious. Just try and stop at one!

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Vegan Gluten-Free Brownies

I’m posting these vegan gluten-free brownies that are also allergy-free in honor of Ashley from Springfield, MO. We connected online when I was living there, but alas, we never met. We were both patients of Dr. Elaine Carter, and we boned over our love of whole foods.

Ashley sent me a pumpkin brownie recipe last week and asked if I could modify it to make it gluten-free. The original brownie recipe contained mashed pumpkin and honey. I wasn’t really a fan of this combination after my first-round trial. My friends Kris and Emily were with me in the kitchen, and we all agreed that they had a bitter aftertaste and not enough sweetness for a killer brownie.

I decided to wipe the slate clean and go down a different road. I created a whole other blend, and hit the vegan gluten-free brownie jackpot.

These vegan brownies are sweet and chocolatey, with a moist texture that is divine. Best of all, they’re super easy. Just throw everything in your stand mixer and bake. In under half an hour you will be in double chocolate brownie heaven.

More chocolate next week.

Other Chocolate Desserts

Chocolate Espresso Cake
Raw Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake
Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream
Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Balls

Let me know what you think of these vegan gluten-free brownies in the comments!

Your feedback is important, and it helps me decide which recipes to post next for you.

LESS
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Vegan Gluten Free Brownies

These double chocolate vegan gluten-free brownies are also allergy-free. These brownies are rich, chewy, decadent, and seriously delicious. Just try and stop at one! 

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8 to 10
Author Tess Masters

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). 
  2. Grease a square 8-by-8-inch baking pan with oil.
  3. Sift cacao powder, flours, baking powder, xanthan and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer.
  4. In a small saucepan over low heat, gently melt the chocolate chips. Remove from the heat and stir in the maple syrup and vanilla. 
  5. Add the melted chocolate mixture, mashed banana, applesauce, and red pepper flakes (if using) to the stand mixer, and process until well combined. 

  6. Fold in the chopped dates and walnuts (if using) into the batter. 

  7. Pour the batter into the greased pan, and spread evenly.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips onto the top, return the pan to the oven, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through, and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. 
  9. Remove the brownies from the oven, allow to cool, and then cut into pieces to serve. 

Recipe Notes

Photo by Trent Lanz; styling by Alicia Buszczak

Other Chocolate Desserts

Chocolate Espresso Cake

Raw Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream

Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Balls

Comments

Comments 79

  2. These are AMAZING! Thank you, Tess, for making this recipe for me! So soothing to my chocolate need! What was brownies last night was chocolate breakfast cake today! 😉

    Reply

  3. You are SO welcome Ashley. I am really pleased you think they as yummy as I do. Now…onto our next chocolate triumph! LOL

    Reply

  6. I made these for our gluten intolerant school police officer for his birthday treat, and I think he ate half the pan before the day was over. I’m not a brownie person myself, but everyone said they were delightful, and no one could believe they were so “free.” and that they were from scratch. I call that a winner in my book!

    Reply

  10. Made this recipe and my husband would not believe it wasn’t fattening..He scoffed the whole cake..lol

    Definitely a crowd pleaser..

    Reply

  11. Ok I made this for a birthday party tomorrow it smells great. I used regular sugar so I hope it works out. will let you know

    Reply

  13. OK these were much better. I do want to try it with the other sweetener. My soon just absolutely loved them. We used butterscotch chips instead of chocolate chips for the topping.

    Reply

  15. I must have done something wrong. They did not turn out as I expected although my son likes them. I cooked them 30minutes longer (in my horribly ancient oven) and the toothpick never came out clean. It also didn’t rise as much as the photo. Maybe it was my oven? I have never had any luck with allergy free baking and I am trying to make something edible for his 5th birthday party in August. Should I have blended the banana/applesauce mix? I would appreciate any tips!

    Reply

  16. Hey Lindsey. I am sorry you had some problems with this recipe. Let me see if I can make some suggestions because I have made these many times and never had any problems. Firstly, the photo may be deceptive. They don’t rise very much at all. They are also very moist. I am not familiar with the personality of your oven, so I can’t comment on the cooking time. Just make sure you measure the ingredients exactly (particularly the wet ones). I didn’t blend the bananas and apple sauce. Also, let the pan sit and cool completely and solidify a bit more before cutting. This will help too. Feel free to email me at theblendergirl@gmail.com if this doesn’t work. I have some vegan allergy-friendly frosting recipes and cupcakes that might also work for the party 🙂

    Reply

  18. I am so impressed. I’m not vegan myself but I might become soon if I keep making tess’s awesome recipes! These are so tasty.

    Reply

  19. I tagged these brownies on Food.com. They are absolutely wonderful. They are moist, chewy and sinfully delicious. I did cut them quite a bit smaller because a little goes a long way. These will become a go to recipe for a chocolate craving.

    Reply

    1. Hey Paula!
      Thankyou for all of your lovely reviews of my recipes on Food.Com.
      I really appreciate your support.
      I really love these brownies…and yes! A little does go a long way. Oink Oink!

      Reply

  20. Could you tell me what the xanthan is for and if something else could be substituted?

    Also, have you tried making the brownies with all buckwheat or all rice flour or is that combination of the two going to work best? (I only have rice flour at the moment.)

    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hey Sheindal,
      The xanthan is for replicating the texture and elasticity of glutinous flours. You can use guar gum instead. You can also use all rice flours to make these brownies too and they taste delicious.

      Reply

      1. OK, thanks! Not going to be near any shops that sell either guar or xanthan in the very near future, but baking for someone not gluten intolerant so I’ll replace both flours and xanthan with normal plain flour instead and try the gluten free version another time. Or perhaps experiment with flax seed. Hmm… 🙂

        Reply

        1. Yes, you could try a flaxmeal paste which would act as a gel. But I have not tried it personally with this recipe. Please let me know how you go. I would be very interested.

          Reply

    1. Thanks for sharing your experience Paula.
      I really appreciate it.
      Can you elaborate more about how you used Chia seeds and in what?

      Reply

  22. Chia seeds form a glutinous gel when mixed with water. I have added the seeds in muffins and breads. Chia flour is ground from the seeds and can be used as a 1 for 1 exchange for gluten flour. I Did make muffins recently that were all chia flour. I really like the texture the seeds give the bread.

    Reply

    1. I love Chia seeds and I love hearing about how people use them. I would love to get your recipe for chia muffins! YUMMO!

      Reply

  23. I had a go with rice flour and flaxmeal – wanted to use up what I had left open but should probably have used a bit less than 3 teaspoons (+ x3 water) as it really was quite a stiff mixture once that was added (didn’t settle out level in the cake pan at all!) However it turned out ok, about the right depth and texture for something egg-free, though as I’m not used to GF baking I don’t know how it compares to other GF brownie recipes. I do think the dark choc is going to be too much for me and I’ll be awake all night but the lactose intolerant friend I made this for liked it. I don’t know how fine you chop your dates, but I didn’t fancy largeish lumps of date and at 10pm I was too tired to chop them by hand so used my stick blender mill. A tip if you do chop them like that, add a bit of rice flour with each (small amount) of dates as otherwise it just turns into a sticky mess that won’t chop. And if so perhaps reduce the rice flour in the mix itself as that extra might also have made it a bit thicker than it needed to be! I did read elsewhere that GF baking works ok without either xanthan or guar so I might continue experimenting with other alternatives such as flax which I have in the house anyway for egg-free baking.

    Thanks for the advice 🙂

    Reply

    1. Hey Sheindal,
      Thanks for sharing your experience.
      You made me laugh.
      As much as I love my blend and food processor, you really need to chop the dates by hand.
      If you try this recipe again chop the dates before hand when you have time and keep them in a sealed container until you want to use them. If you need to soften them, just soak them in a bit of filtered water.

      Reply

  24. My whole family – complicated dietary restrictions and all – devoured these and proclaimed them the best chocolate dessert they’d ever had! Love that they are so tasty with such healthy ingredients!

    Reply

    1. Thanks Juliet,
      I am thrilled that you enjoyed these so much.
      I think they are pretty delicious too.
      You would just never know they were gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free and soy free.
      I appreciate the lovely feedback. Oink Oink!

      Reply

  25. Made these for New Year’s Eve – YUM! There is room for improvement in my version, wish I’d read all the comments first DOH!! As I modified the ingredients a little to fit what was in the cupboard… But they were still great to eat while watching Sydney fireworks to see in 2012!!

    Reply

    1. Oh Tora,
      You make me laugh!
      Glad you were still able to enjoy your special blend on New Year’s Eve. Oink Oink 🙂

      Reply

  26. Being a new vegan (1 wk-1 day) & having horrible eating habits prior, especially sweets, I am really craving chocolate right now! Looks like a trip to grocery store is needed, these look so yummy & with all the rave reviews I have to try these. Hope I can find the xanthan & the vegan chocolate, any idea where I might be able to find them?

    Reply

    1. Hey!
      You can find vegan chocolate and xanthan at health food stores and some grocers.
      I can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂

      Reply

  27. Screw Valentine’s Day! I made these beauties TODAY! 🙂 I had to do some “mental” work for a few hours today and felt a bit stretched and said, “I know what will make me feel better – make some of Tess’ brownies” – a new recipe for me. Holy chocolate crap! The batter alone is FABULOUS! Started feeling better after a few licks on the spoon (or three, or four). I topped mine with raw cacao nibs instead of choc. chips. These little gems came out WONDERFUL! I haven’t made these type of brownies in awhile and this recipe is by far THE BEST. Thank you, dear Tess!

    Reply

    1. LOL! Oh Kibby….you make me laugh!
      THANKYOU for all of your lovely support.
      You really are my number one fan!
      I really appreciate you trying so many of the recipes and posting feedback all the time.
      You absolutely ROCK!
      Happy Valentine’s Day 🙂

      Reply

  28. Wow! These look fantastic. Do you use raw buckwheat flour? What brand of buckwheat flour do you use? Thanks so much!

    Reply

    1. Maddy,
      I love the Authentic Foods organic buckwheat flour. It is fantastic to bake with. For raw recipes I always use raw ground buckwheat groats. But you don’t have to for this baked recipe.

      Reply

  37. Thanks Alex. Yes, it is hard to believe these are completely allergy-friendly. The more you bake without eggs, the better you get at it 🙂

    Reply

  40. These sound and look amazing. Two questions: 1. Could this be a cake (three yo birthday); and 2. Do u think I could just throw all ingredients in the thermomix at the same time?

    Reply

    1. Vicki, this isn’t going to rise like a cake. It would be quite flat. You also don’t want to over process the dates or the banana or applesauce. I wouldn’t throw it all into the thermomix. But, if you do, please let me know! Thanks 🙂

      Reply

  41. Hi! I will try this amazing recipe tonight!!! Do you know how long will i have to bake them for if they are individually place in little container like muffins? Also, can i replace the agave syrup by maple syrup? And if not, can i use a smaller quantity of agave syrup? If yes, how much? Thank you soooo much;)

    Reply

    1. So sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you. I had some technical issues. If you put them in muffin holes the cooking time will be less. Cook for half the time and check them. It will probably be a bit more than that. You can absolutely use maple syrup instead of agave. Or coconut nectar, or a combination of both to avoid using agave. This was an earlier recipe on the site and I very rarely use agave now either. Enjoy 🙂

      Reply

  42. Amazing! It was hard for me to find some of the ingredients, but I made some for my pregnant sister, and I ate more than she did actually 😀 One by one now I cook and try out. Thank you 😀

    Reply

    1. I am so glad they were a hit. Can’t wait to hear what you think of some of the other recipes. Thanks for sharing your experience.

      Reply

    1. Michelle, you could substitute the apple with pear (if you can have it) or sweet potato. But, you will need to tweak/increase the liquid sweetener. But, with the dates, they are so integral to the texture and sweetness of this recipe, that is a bit more challenging. You could try prunes. But, I haven’t tried this.

      Reply

    1. Yes, you are quite right Candace. This is a very old post from five years ago when we were all using agave nectar. I don’t use it anymore. You can use coconut nectar or maple syrup.

      Reply

    1. Yes, Karen, gums can be detrimental to health, and I don’t use them anymore. This is an old post. You can read more about xanthan gum in this post:
      http://healthyblenderrecipes.com/recipes/blackbird_bakerys_gluten_free_chocolate_coconut_genoise_petits_fours
      In this recipe, you could use guar gum, or use Dr Jean Layton’s GF “pixie dust”. It is the best gum replacement I have found:
      http://glutenfreedoctor.com/pixie-dust-xanthan-gum-replacer/

      Reply

  46. Hi I have read your site with interest and your recipes look delicious, I have the task of looking up desserts and cakes for a soya, nut and dairy free guest at a wedding and wonder if you have any suggestions. With so many food allergies these days I know you have to be so careful

    Reply

    1. Please feel free to email me through the contact form on my site, and I will get back to you with some more suggestions. Have fun searching 🙂

      Reply

  47. Hi. My daughter is allergic to dairy, soy, eggs, nuts and sesame seeds. I was so excited to try this recipe but when I made it last night it looked nothing like yours. The only thing I did different is blending dates instead of chopping them. The consistency is more like heavy rum balls rather than brownie. It also didn’t rise at all please
    help?!

    Reply

    1. Hmmm. Sorry to hear that Elena. I didn’t use date paste. I like them chopped, and it does affect the texture.

      Reply

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