With a fudgy brownie base, and sweet cream cheese swirl, these Vegan Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies won’t last long!
It took three tries, but I finally perfected these Vegan Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies!
Until this past week, I felt like I was just making it through the day. I’m not even sure what tasks would occupy my time, but the three hour window between Harper’s feedings would always fly by. By the end of the day I didn’t have much to show for my time, other than I kept my child alive and fed and spent quality time with family.
Those first few weeks in Houston were just how I hoped they would be–restful and filled with family. But as our return to China approaches, I’ve found myself starting to ache for routine and productivity–for my sake and for Harper! For me, I feel like I’ve taken weeks off from blogging and experimenting in the kitchen and I miss it! In China I have a lot more opportunities to cook for others instead of people cooking for me, so it’s easy for me to find opportunities while in China to create new recipes. In America we’ve been so spoiled with family cooking for us or creating quick, delicious meals with store-bought items like bread, veggie burgers, hummus, etc.
Thankfully this past week I feel like I’ve found pockets of time to let my creativity flow in the kitchen. I’m branching out from my usual morning oats and creating different flavors of smoothies. I’m throwing dates, oats, nut butters and warming spices together in a food processor and whizzing everything together to form delicious, healthy cookie dough balls. And I’m melting chocolate and folding it in with flour and sugar and swirling cream cheese on top to create these rich, fudgey Vegan Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies!
Yesssss.
It feels good to be back!
The first time I made these brownies the flavor was amazing, but they were too cakey for my liking. The second time I made them I tried using vegan butter and that was complete fail. The third time I went back to my original recipe and reduced the amount of flour and they turned out spot on. Fudgey richness.
As for cream cheese, I HIGHLY recommend using a nut based cream cheese, specifically Kite Hill Vegan Cream Cheese. The oil based cream cheeses separate in the oven, creating a weird texture, and they are also not as sweet as the Kite Hill Brand.
I’d love to know if you give this recipe a try and what you think! Leave a comment down below or take a photo and tag #theconscientiouseater on Instagram so I can see your creation!
Vegan Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies
With a fudgy brownie base, and sweet cream cheese swirl, these Vegan Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies won't last long!
Ingredients
CREAM CHEESE SWIRL:
- 1/2 cup (4 oz.) vegan cream cheese*
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
BROWNIES
- 1 cup chocolate chips + more for topping
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1/3 cup oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees 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.
Notes
*I highly recommend using Kite Hill Cream Cheese!
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1 brownieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 154Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 93mgCarbohydrates: 19gNet Carbohydrates: 0gFiber: 1gSugar: 11gSugar Alcohols: 0gProtein: 2g
Nutrition information is a rough estimate provided by Nutrionix and should be used for informational purposes only.
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 9×13 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 8×8 or two cake pans for more brownies too! I’d love to know if doubling the recipe and using a 9×13 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!