Made with rich melted chocolate and a peanut butter swirl, these gluten-free Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies are sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
I've made these peanut butter brownies three times in one week. They're that good! We love any kind of vegan brownie in our house. (Have you tried these fudgy almond butter brownies yet or my wholesome sweet potato brownies?!) However, these vegan peanut butter swirl brownies are especially delicious. Plus, they look stunning too! Oh, and if you like peanut butter as much as we do, then definitely try out some of our favorite savory peanut butter dishes such as this Vegan Maafe recipe and this creamy peanut butter curry...yum!
Why You'll Love This Recipe!
- Thanks to all-purpose gluten-free flour, these vegan peanut butter brownies are not only vegan, but gluten-free as well! They are a great dessert to take to an event or potluck as most people can enjoy them.
- The peanut butter swirl on top makes these brownies not only delicious, but stunning to look at. We eat with our eyes first, right?
- Made with minimal ingredients, many of which you probably already have in your pantry, this vegan brownie recipe is really quick and easy to prepare.
- We usually can't get through an entire batch of brownies in one sitting, but thankfully, these brownies taste better (and get fudgier) the longer they sit in the fridge!
Ingredients
- Peanut Butter - I personally like to use natural peanut butter and haven't tried this recipe with brands such as Jif, so keep that in mind!
- Sugar - I always make these brownies with cane sugar. It's coarser than super find white sugar, but it works great!
- Dairy-Free Chocolate - I love using my favorite dairy-free chocolate bar in this recipe. I just chop it up into chunks until I have 1 cups worth.
- Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour - I've only tried this recipe with Bob's Red Mill's Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, but hopefully, any gluten-free all purpose flour would work.
- Cocoa Powder - While melted chocolate provides most of the chocolate flavor for these vegan peanut butter brownies, a small addition of cocoa powder just ensures that these brownies are super chocolatey. You won't be using much, though!
- Neutral Oil - Neutral oil just means any oil that doesn't have a strong flavor. I usually use canola or vegetable oil. Coconut oil would work or a milk olive oil. I don't recommend extra virgin olive oil in this recipe.
- Non-Dairy Milk - Any store-bought carton of non-dairy milk should work. I usually use almond, soy or oat milk.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Peanut Butter - If you or a friend or family member has a peanut allergy, you can always use a different nut or seed butter. Almond butter would be amazing in this recipe. Or if you can eat nuts, tahini or Sun Butter would also work.
- Gluten-Free Flour - If you can eat gluten, regular white flour works fine in this recipe. Use the same amount of white flour as gluten-free flour.
- Double Chocolate Option - If you want to make these brownies extra decadent, you can stir some more non-dairy chocolate chips into the batter before pouring it into your baking dish.
How to Make Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400°F / 205°C and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and set it aside.
Step 2: In a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Set it aside.
Step 3: In another bowl, melt the 1 cup of chocolate chunks. Do this in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring the chocolate chunks every 30 seconds until melted.
Step 4: In a mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients, from the flour to the baking powder. Add in the oil, milk, and melted chocolate and stir until combined.
Step 5: Pour the brownie batter into your lined baking dish. Spoon the peanut butter mixture onto the brownie batter in stripes or blobs and run a knife back and forth through both mixtures to form a swirl.
Step 6: Bake the brownies for about 30-35 minutes or until your desired doneness.
Step 7: Allow the brownies to cool before enjoying!
Expert Tips
- These vegan peanut butter brownies taste better and get fudgier the longer they chill in the fridge. So whenever I want to serve these brownies to friends, I made them the day before, allow them to cool completely on the counter and then stick them in the fridge overnight. The next day they're perfect!
Recipe FAQs
To make a peanut butter swirl on brownies, simply dollop the peanut butter in stripes or blobs on the top of the brownie batter and run a butter knife back and forth (in a swirl motion) through both batters. The result is a beautiful, marbled swirl! Be sure to check out the recipe video below to see in video form how I make the swirl!
Currently I'm using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and it's been working like a charm in everything I bake. If you want, you can also make your own gluten-free flour blend at home. But in all honesty, I love Bob's Red Mill products and so far the gluten free 1-to-1 flour hasn't failed me!
If you live in a cooler environment, or if your house isn't too hot, you can simply leave these vegan peanut butter brownies in the baking dish and cover them with plastic wrap. They will keep well on the counter for 1-2 days.
To make the brownies last longer, transfer them to an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to a week. The longer they sit in the fridge, the fudgier, and sometimes harder, they may become.
More Fudgy Vegan Brownie Recipes!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a comment further down the page!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
PEANUT BUTTER SWIRL
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons sugar
BROWNIES
- 1 cup chocolate chunks melted
- 1 cup gluten free all purpose flour*
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup neutral oil
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 °F and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside.
- In another bowl, melt the 1 cup of chocolate chunks. Do this in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring the chocolate chunks every 30 seconds until melted.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients, from the flour to the baking powder. Add in the oil, milk, and melted chocolate and stir until combined.
- Pour the brownie batter into your lined baking dish.
- Spoon the peanut butter mixture onto the brownie batter in stripes or blobs and run a knife back and forth through both mixtures to form a swirl.
- Bake the brownies for about 30-35 minutes or until your desired doneness.
- Allow the brownies to cool before enjoying!
Video
Notes
- I love Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 baking flour!
- If you're allergic to peanut butter, you can try another kind of nut or seed butter.
Lenka says
Thank you so much for this recipe Faith! This is such a WIN for this weekend!
Super easy, fast and sooo tasty! We had them with vanilla ice cream - so addictive!
Faith VanderMolen says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them! And if you can chill them overnight before having one, they are even better 🙂
Mary Armienti says
How would I make these with nonGluten free flour?
Faith VanderMolen says
Hi Mary! Plain white, all-purpose flour works great. Let me know if you try them out and what you think!
Jill Griffis says
Our family LOVES these brownies! This was the selected dessert for a hard earned “end of soccer season” celebration. I made a double batch, because… leftovers. 😉
Lisa Sampson says
My batter was thinner once I added and the melted chocolate and1/3 c oil to the 1 c flour and the cocoa and sugar and 1tsp. baking powder . So I only added 3/4 c milk to the batter, not 1 c. I noticed when I baked it for 25 minutes it still was not very set at all. I was wondering did I make a mistake because I did not use an egg replacer like a flaxseed egg to the batter because the recipe did not call for it. Could that be why the batter was thinner and not setting up in the 25 minute baking time the recipe calls for?
Faith VanderMolen says
Hi Lisa! Did you end up baking them longer than 25 minutes? Everyone's oven is different so maybe they just needed a little more time baking in the oven? This recipe shouldn't need a flax egg as that would make the batter even runnier. The melted chocolate should hold everything together once they cool. I'm sorry you ran into some issues!
Marie says
Love, love, love peanut butter and chocolate together! I'm hosting some friends next weekend, and I think these will be our dessert. With a side of ice cream because that is always a good combo. Yum.
(...and believe I will make them once before just to make sure they are good, you know? #all mine )
Thank you Faith !
Faith says
Yes, these pair perfectly with ice cream! Please let me know if you like them. I'm sure you will!!
Jill Griffis says
Um- YUM!! This is definitely something we are going to try out this week!
Faith says
Yay! The vias have been helping me eat all the batches I keep making and they are all in love with them too! Let me know how they turn out!