If you love your brownies to be fudgy, rich and a little cakey, these flavor-packed vegan peanut butter brownies are just for you. They take less than 30 minutes to make which is just what you want when you need a quick sweet treat.
This recipe is so easy and very tasty as these brownies are topped with delectable peanut butter swirls. Big fans of nut butters are going to instantly fall in love with them as they really enhance the outcome of these chocolatey snacks.
I always serve my brownies with one thing. Dairy-free vanilla ice cream. I couldn't imagine serving them with anything else, although they do taste great on their own too.
For more brownie utopia, you also need to see my vegan cookie dough brownie bars, edible vegan brownie batter and vegan mug brownie recipes too which I think you will enjoy.
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Why You Will Love These Brownies
- Peanut Butter Bliss - When I make these treats, I don't simply stir peanut butter into the brownie batter. Instead I make a thick peanut butter mixture from powdered sugar, peanut butter, vegan butter and vanilla extract. I swirl it into the batter before it goes into the oven. I used a very similar process when making my vegan pumpkin brownies recipe.
- Great Texture - These peanut butter brownies are so fudgy and chocolatey. This is how I love them to be but if you prefer them to be a little gooier like how I made the eggless fudgy brownies, you can reduce the baking time by a few minutes.
- Easy to Make - Making these brownies is really simple. All you need to do is make the chocolate batter and the peanut butter filling separately and then swirl the peanut butter into it. Bake inside the oven then serve.
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This vegan peanut butter brownies recipe is fully vegan and dairy free.
Ingredient Notes
- Baking powder - This is a leavening agent which helps these chocolatey treats to rise. This is what creates the fudgier, cakey consistency in comparison to other kinds of brownies.
- Granulated sugar - You can also use superfine sugar too if you wish. White sugars make brownies sweeter and a little less dense. White sugar also gives them crispier edges which is similar to the effect that it has on my vegan banana chocolate chip cookies and vegan oreo chocolate chip cookies.
- Light brown sugar - The molasses inside brown sugars gives brownies a great flavor. Brown sugar also gives the batter wetter consistency and therefore, the brownies turn out to be super fudgy.
- Vegan butter - The dairy-free butter will be used for both the brownie batter, as well as the peanut butter swirl. The type of vegan butter that you use doesn't matter too much as long as it melts nicely. Sometimes I use a margarine spread like Vitalite and sometimes a dairy-free butter block.
- Vegan chocolate chips - These are added to the batter just before it is spooned into the baking tray. They add a different dimension to the texture of the treats. Feel free to also use dairy-free white chocolate chips.
- Smooth peanut butter - This will be the main ingredient for the peanut butter swirl. I love to use a peanut butter which is smooth and creamy for this recipe.
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you opt to use crunchy peanut butter instead, you're in for a great surprise. Although I personally prefer smooth peanut butter, these brownies taste great with a crunch in the center, as it adds a tasty extra element. I made this an option for my vegan chocolate peanut butter almond bars too. Whichever type of peanut butter you decide to use, I know you're going to enjoy these chocolatey snacks.
- In order to make these peanut butter brownies gluten-free you need to substitute just one of the recipe ingredients. This is the all-purpose flour. These days, it's super easy to find gluten-free all-purpose flours inside grocery stores. The best ones are the 1:1 baking blends which are specifically designed for desserts like gluten-free cakes and brownies.
How To Make Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Line a large, square baking tray with parchment paper.
2: Combine the dry brownie ingredients inside a large bowl.
3: Also combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
4: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to make your brownie batter.
5: Spoon the brownie batter into the lined baking tin.
6: Add the peanut butter mixture onto the brownie batter.
7: Swirl the peanut butter into the brownie batter. Bake.
8: Let the brownies cool a little. Serve warm.
Expert Tips
Eat the brownies warm - I highly recommend eat that you consume the brownies while they're still warm. They taste great like this as they are so chocolatey. If you prefer them cooler, this is also fine.
Use high-quality cocoa powder - This simple change will take your peanut butter brownies to the next level. Using higher-quality cocoa powder varieties instead of regular cocoa powder make baked chocolate goods beautifully rich and delicious.
Recipe FAQs
Vegan butter gives brownies a better flavor than a neutral-tasting oil such as, vegetable oil. However, oils give brownies a gooey and moist consistency, which dairy-free butter cannot give them.
Some things that you should never do when baking brownies include opening the oven door before they're baked, over-mixing the batter, not checking the oven temperature and not measuring the ingredient amounts out properly.
Store these vegan brownies at room temperature for up to two days or in the fridge for up to four days.
More Vegan Chocolate Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Fudgy Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
For the brownie batter:
- 165 g all-purpose flour
- 120 g cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 0.25 teaspoon salt
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 150 g vegan butter melted
- 250 ml soy milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 60 g vegan chocolate chips
Peanut Butter Swirl:
- 150 g smooth peanut butter
- 20 g vegan butter melted
- 60 g powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius (356F).
- Line a 9-inch, square baking tin with parchment paper then set aside.
Make the brownie batter:
- To a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined.
- Next, in a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated and light brown sugars and vegan butter.
- Next, pour in the soy milk and vanilla extract and mix again.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and fold them together until a smooth brownie batter forms. Also fold in the chocolate chips.
Make the peanut butter swirl mixture:
- In a bowl, mix all four of the peanut butter swirl ingredients until combined.
Assemble & bake the brownies:
- Spoon the brownie batter into the lined baking tin. Spoon dollops of the peanut butter swirl mixture onto the top of the batter, then use the back of a knife or a skewer to swirl it into the brownie mixture.
- Bake the brownies for 20 minutes in the center of your oven.
- Allow the peanut butter brownies to cool in the baking tray for 10 minutes then serve warm. I like to have mine with dairy-free vanilla ice cream.
Video
Notes
- I highly recommend eat that you consume the brownies while they're still warm. They taste great like this as they are so chocolatey. If you prefer them cooler, this is also fine.
- This simple change will take your peanut butter brownies to the next level. Using higher-quality cocoa powder varieties instead of regular cocoa powder make baked chocolate goods beautifully rich and delicious.
Jae says
These look amazing