Perhaps the most elusive of all the vegan recipes
Perfecting the Vegan Fudge Brownies Recipe was no easy task
Considering brownies rely on eggs so much to create that chewy, fudgy texture!
Let’s face it a brownie that is cake-y and not fudge-y is not a brownie in my book!
But fear not we have been working on this one for years
And have finally nailed it!
Chewy and fudge-y and really easy to mix too!
No mixers required and ready in about a half an hour!
This brownie recipe is perfect all by itself or you can take it one step further and ice it with my bakery recipe for fudge icing
This is the authentic fudge recipe I used in my bakery
With an easy switch from butter to vegan butter the recipe is 100% the same!
However if fudge icing is a bit too sweet for you, a smooth bittersweet ganache is another way to go!
CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT VEGAN GANACHE & HOW TO MAKE IT!

Ganache
Notes for Success:
I like to bake my brownies in sheet pans and this recipe will be perfect for a ¼ Sheet Pan to serve 12-15 people
The baking time and temperature is important to note, see recipe below
Over baking a brownie recipe can ruin it and make it dry and crunchy~ yuck!
Boiling the aquafaba before adding the rest of the ingredients will help achieve that classic brownie texture while unlocking the characteristics of the cocoa powder
I use a portion of applesauce in place of some of the oil, but if you do not have it or don’t want to use it
Simply add back 2 Tablespoons more oil instead of the 4 Tbs of applesauce listed
For more awesome brownie recipes click the links below!
- Peanut Butter Fudge Cups
- Snicker’s Brownie
- Black Forest Brownies
Vegan Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Fudge
- All Purpose Flour 1½ cup (188g) *be sure to weigh for accuracy or you may get a cake-like brownie!
- Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder 1 cup (78g)
- Baking Powder 1 teaspoon
- Salt ¼ teaspoon
- Vegetable oil 8 Tablespoons (118g)
- Aquafaba 12 Tablespoons (177ml)
- Flax meal 1 Tablespoon (8g)
- Instant Coffee granules 1 teaspoon
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons (10ml)
- Applesauce ½ cup (113g)
- Granulated Sugar 2¼ cup (450g)
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Boil the aquafaba then add it to the flax meal & coffee granules in a large mixing bowl
- In that same bowl, now add the sugar with the salt, oil, applesauce, cocoa powder and vanilla extract and whisk everything smooth to a glossy consistency.
- Sift the flour and baking powder and then add it to the chocolate mixture in the mixing bowl, whisk smooth
- Pour the batter into a greased and parchment lined¼ Sheet pan and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 minutes
- Then turn the oven down to 300°F for another 15minutes
- Then turn the oven off and leave the brownie inside for another 5 minutes
- Remove from the oven, cool in the pan then turn out onto a cooling rack or a cutting board, remove the parchment paper and ice with your choice of icing.
Freeze wrapped well for up to 1 month
3.5.3251
Hi.. how are you?
Thanks for the amazing recipe ??
What if i wanted to use eggs? How many should i use? And will the procedure remain the same?
Also, we don’t get applesauce where i live.. can i omit it?
Thanks once again ??
HI Thanks! The apple sauce is in place of some of the oil, so you can just replace it with oil.
Since this is a vegan blog I am not making any recipes with eggs anymore, but you can use any egg replacer instead since I know the Plant Based Egg replacer is difficult to find 🙂
Do you have a book of your recipes that are not vegan that is available for purchase?
No I’m sorry I no longer share non vegan recipes
Hello! Can I replace the pant based eggs with another vegan eggs? Flax eggs? Aquafaba? Thanks for all of your recipes! They are amazing!
This recipe was specifically suited for the Plant Based Egg, but yes you can use another proprietary blend like Bobs Red Mill for example. I have another recipe that used the flax CLICK HERE and MORE HERE
Just to make sure, Is it OK to use unsweetened?
unsweetened applesauce
Hey Gretchen,
I need the original recipe for your fudge brownies. I am not seeing it online anymore 😭😭😭
I can’t find it either & it’s my kids favourite 😢
In reply to Shara (from a few months ago, sorry I did not see this message) & Kelly
My non vegan blog is shut down
I couldn’t keep up the cost to host it on the internet and maintain it monthly anymore
The cost to host such a huge database was close to $400 a month with a tech guy monthly to keep it clean & safe and smooth.
$400 a month is a steep price to pay and I surely do not make that much in Ad revenue
Not to mention I do not feel comfortable anymore sharing recipes laden with animal ingredients promoting the very industry I loathe.
However, Thanks for your support and encouragement though the ages, I sure hope you will consider trying my amazing vegan recipes!
~Gretchen
Hello, I was wondering if your original recipe was still available,
Hi Melina, my non vegan blog is shut down
I couldn’t keep up the cost to host it on the internet and maintain it monthly anymore
The cost to host such a huge database was close to $400 a month with a tech guy monthly to keep it clean & safe and smooth.
$400 a month is a steep price to pay and I surely do not make that much in Ad revenue
Not to mention I do not feel comfortable anymore sharing recipes laden with animal ingredients promoting the very industry I loathe.
Thanks for your support and encouragement though the ages and I do hope you will be willing to try some of my amazing vegan recipes!
~Gretchen
Hello Gretchen! Is this the closest vegan recipe to your non vegan brownies? I would love to try a vegan version but was curious if these would turn out for friends to be just as delicious as the non vegan. Thank you!
Check out this recipe! It’s my latest and they are SOOOOO GOOD! CLICK HERE
Hi Gretchen, does 1 teaspoon of egg replacer equal 1 egg, the reason Im asking this is I can’t get egg replacer where I live, so for me to be able to use flax eggs, I just need to know how many eggs Im replacing, as 1 hens egg = 1 Tablespoon of flax seed.
I hope my question doesn’t offend anyone. I just need to get my ratio right!
I enjoy your work too by the way, great content!
Hey there, so…..I don’t really convert recipes like that.. meaning if a recipe had 1 egg I “always & forever use an egg replaCer equivalent to 1 Egg”
It’s just really hard for me to give an answer like that because all egg replacers are different, so it is impossible to say that there is a one size fits all way to go about it.
I will say though, that this recipe was formulated specifically for the Plant Based Egg by Freely Vegan, when I was working with Deborah in developing this product several years ago.
The problem with this (AND relying on all the other 3rd party proprietary & brand name blends for recipes) is that they become unavailable, they change their formula or more commonly not everyone can get it!
So, I have learned my lesson here!
Over the last year, I have been in all my NEW recipes: #1 not relying on proprietary blends for the egg replacer And #2 giving all the possible substitutions for egg replacers to accommodate everyone
I have been working daily as well to go back to ALL MY OLDER RECIPES Uggggh! to update them with the same information!
This recipe here that we are commenting on, was specifically formulated for the PBE I would like to point you to my newest recipe for Fudge Brownies which does not include any egg replacer at all! No flax, no 3rd parties, just straight up fudge brownie goodness with no hassle!!
CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST FUDGE BROWNIE UPDATED RECIPE
Hello Gretchen – I don’t drink coffee and don’t have it around or know anything about it, or its many forms, like instant, or granules. Can I leave out the instant coffee granules?
Yes sure! Just replace with water- no other changes
Hello!
Can i replace the aquafuba with more flaxseed? and if yes, what would be the quantity?
I live in the middle east and it is really hard to find vegan egg replacers or aquafaba.
Please help!
Yes I understand, Just replace the aquafaba with water for normal flax paste, not super egg ~ it will be fine
Hi Gretchen, just bought your book after making some successful choc chip cookies. Just wondering if you prefer this recipe over the one in your book or is it just different?
Hi! Thank you! So, these recipes are very similar (and annoying so if I might add…ah..the cookbook writing nightmare back in 2016 is a story in itself, but long story short I was not allowed to use any recipes from my blog~ which was totally ridiculous & why many of the recipes are very similar to the ones here on my website with minor tweaks)
That said, you will notice I used oil instead of vegan butter and enerGy egg repacer vs flax meal.
there is a greater amount of water in the book version and here on the website I use Aquafaba instead of water.
So I guess maybe start with “do you have all those things?”
And go with the version that you have more ingredients?
If you have everything required of both recipes? I think I would still go with the website version!