With a fudgy brownie base, and sweet cream cheese swirl, these Vegan Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies are a decadent treat that won't last long!
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Our family is brownie obsessed.
We love brownies because they are rich, decadent and fudgy!
I love getting creative with my brownie recipes.
Hence the plethora of vegan brownie recipes you'll find on my blog including Sweet Potato Brownies, the BEST Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies, Gluten-Free Tahini Brownies and even No-Bake Nutella Brownies.
Basically if it's called a brownie, I'll eat it!
Today I'm sharing another decadent, yet unique vegan brownie recipe: Vegan Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies to be precise!
Let me show you how to make them
Ingredients You'll Need for Vegan Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies
These brownies, while they sound fancy, really don't require a ton of ingredients.
Most of the ingredients you need, in fact, you probably already have on hand!
I'll list out everything you'll need below:
- Vegan cream cheese (the kind you use is important so see the section on which cream cheese to use below!)
- Sugar
- Flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Oil
- Non-dairy chocolate chips
- Optional: vanilla extract
The Best Vegan Cream Cheese for Baking
As for the best vegan cream cheese to use in this brownie recipe, I HIGHLY recommend using a nut based cream cheese, specifically Kite Hill Vegan Cream Cheese.
The oil-based vegan cream cheeses separate in the oven, create a weird texture. Plus they become transparent!
They are also not as sweet as the Kite Hill Brand.
How to Make Vegan Brownies
Like I said above, these brownies sound fancy, but really are so easy to make.
Simply follow the step-by-step instructions below and you'll be on your way to enjoying some creamy, fudgy vegan brownies in no time!
- Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x9 inch pan. Set it aside.
- Step 2: In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Set it aside.
- Step 3: In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips for 30 seconds. Stir and continue this process, only microwaving 30 seconds at a time, until the chocolate has melted. Set it aside to cool.
- Step 4: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add the melted chocolate, non-dairy milk and oil to the flour mixture and stir until combined.
- Step 5: Pour the brownie batter into your prepared baking dish and smooth out the top.
- Step 6: Take the cream cheese mixture and dollop it on the top of the brownie batter. Take a knife and drag the edge of the knife through the cream cheese and brownie batter in a swirly motion. Top the brownies with extra chocolate chips if desired.
- Step 7: Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, or until your desired doneness.
- Step 8: Allow the brownies to cool before slicing and serving. They may be a little crumbly if you cut them before they cool and set!
How to Store Leftover Vegan Brownies
If possible, I like to keep my vegan brownies covered in the pan or in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two.
However, if you don't think you'll be finishing them that quickly, transfer them to an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to a week. Brownies that have been refrigerated will be come denser as the chocolate becomes cold in the fridge, so you may want to allow them to come to room temperature before serving.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies
Ingredients
CREAM CHEESE SWIRL:
- ½ cup vegan cream cheese* 4 ounces
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
BROWNIES
- 1 cup chocolate chips + more for topping
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F and grease a 9x9 inch pan. Set it aside.
- In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips for 30 seconds. Stir and continue this process, only microwaving 30 seconds at a time, until the chocolate has melted. Set aside to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients from the flour to the salt.
- Add the melted chocolate, non-dairy milk and oil to the flour mixture and stir until combined.
- Pour the brownie batter into your prepared baking dish and smooth out the top.
- Take the cream cheese mixture and dollop it on the top of the brownie batter. Take a knife and drag the edge of the knife through the cream cheese and brownie batter in a swirly motion.
- Top the brownies with extra chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, or until your desired doneness.
- Allow the brownies to cool before slicing and serving. They may be a little crumbly if you cut them before they cool and set!
- Place any leftover brownies in an airtight container in the fridge. The brownies will taste even better and get more fudgey once refrigerated.
Laura says
These brownies are the best vegan brownies I’ve ever made or tasted! I can’t resist having at least 2 a day 😋
My brownies didn’t have the nice looking swirl from the cream cheese, but it didn’t matter since they taste amazing.
Faith VanderMolen says
The taste is definitely more important than the appearance. So so happy to hear you liked this recipe!
Riley says
These are so good and easy to make! I'm newly postpartum and they hit the spot. I'm glad i re-read the instructions because originally i tried to eat one while still hot and it felt crumbly but also squishy so i put them back in the oven. Then i noticed the note about how they should completely cool and be refrigerated. They taste awesome and not crumbly when refrigerated!
Faith VanderMolen says
Yes! Definitely allow them to cool. I'm glad you saw that note! And congrats on your new baby! Eat ALL the brownies to fuel those late nights and nursing/bottle sessions:)
Nicole says
You suggested Kite Hill. Is this a taste preference or the way it cooks?
Thank you!
Faith VanderMolen says
Both! I tried this recipe with a tofu-based cream cheese and I remember not liking it as much. I hope you can give them a try!
Danielle says
Can you use an alternative flour? An almond flour? Or gluten free flour?
Faith VanderMolen says
Hello Danielle! I'd recommend using an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. Bob's Red Mills Gluten Free Baking 1-to-1 is my favorite and I've used it in this recipe before. I think just using almond flour would make the brownies too crumbly, but I haven't tried it. I hope that helps and that you can give these brownies a try!
Kate says
Could I double the recipe and make it in a 9x13 Pan?
Faith says
Hi Kate! I wish I could say for sure, but I haven’t tried that! Do you need a lot of brownies? I’d say it should work, but the baking time may vary depending on the thickness. Or you can double the recipe and just use two 8x8 or two cake pans for more brownies too! I’d love to know if doubling the recipe and using a 9x13 works so please keep me posted if you try it!
Caleigh says
I doubled it and it gets the pan really full but none overflowed out of it. I wouldn’t recommend it though I’d do 1.5X the recipe and you should be good
Faith says
Great to know Carleigh! Thanks for sharing!
Sandra says
Hey! Your recipe looks brilliant. I was wondering if I could use dark chocolate component instead of the chocolate chips and if so, what would be the measurement in grams?
Faith says
Hi Sandra! I'm excited you want to make these brownies...they're amazing! You could definitely use a dark chocolate bar and just melt it instead of chocolate chips. If you have a cup measurer, just chop the bar up into chip-size pieces until you get a cups worth. If you don't have a cup measurer, I quickly googled how much 1 cup of chocolate chips is in grams and it came back to 175 grams. I don't know how accurate that is, because I've never done it, but it could be a good place to start. I hope they work out for you!
Lucy says
The best vegan brownies I've ever had, thank you!
Jennifer says
These look delicious! What oil do you use?
Faith says
Hi Jennifer! I hope you can make them! I just used canola or vegetable oil...any neutral, liquid oil will work!