With oat flour and chia eggs, these vegan peanut butter swirl brownies contain no animal produces, but are gluten-free as well. They're so good, you won't even realize they aren't a traditional brownie.

If you would have told me a few years ago, I'd not only be making homemade brownies but vegan gluten-free brownies, I would have thought you were out of your mind. Crazy how times have changed.
I actually have to credit my mom here as her cookie business, Heartsong Cookies, started making vegan cookies as some of her friends wouldn't eat dairy. Over time they became more and more popular and then she realized a lot of people who are vegan are also gluten-free or even if they aren't, they didn't notice the difference when she made gluten-free cookies.
So here I am today sharing these vegan peanut butter swirl brownies... man that's a mouthful. I was actually inspired to make these for a potluck Lauren and I went to. A couple of our friends are vegan, but also one friend can't eat gluten.
So I sent the host a variety of recipes that sounded good to her and we settled on some vegan gluten-free brownies. I scoured the internet and took the best of a few different recipes to make these.
I'm not going to lie though, the first time I made them I failed miserably. I quickly learned what my mistake was - not using a food processor. As there are no eggs and no gluten, you don't have to worry about overworking dough. The food processor is key to making everything come together to where it looks exactly like regular old brownie dough.
The best part about this dough however, is you can lick as much off the spoon as you want. However you might want to be careful or you won't have any dough left! Needless to say when we brought these to the party, everyone enjoyed them, even people who aren't vegan or gluten-free. But if you are at least one of the aforementioned, I'd suggest giving these a try.
Jump to:
Recipe Ingredients
- Dark chocolate chips - semi-sweet chocolate works as well.
- Coconut oil - vegetable oil works too.
- Chia seeds - acts as the eggs to help bind everything.
- Oats - processed to make a flour.
- Sugar - if you want it to be vegan, use cane sugar.
- Cocoa powder - just more chocolate flavor.
- Baking powder - helps the brownies rise slightly.
- Instant espresso - enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Salt and vanilla extract - enhances the flavor.
- Peanut butter - creamy is best.
How to Swirl Peanut Butter in Brownies
To swirl the peanut butter, drop dollops of peanut butter on top of brownie mixture. Using a toothpick or knife, drag it back and forth through the layers to create a marbleized look. Don't go overboard on swirling the batter as it doesn't need to look perfect.
What if I Don't Have a Gluten Allergy?
Not a problem. Just use regular all-purpose flour. Or if you want to try something besides oat flour, almond flour works great as well.
Where Do I Find Dairy-Free Chocolate?
My go-to is Enjoy Life. They have a variety of chocolates that are all dairy-free which makes them great for vegans. They can be found at most grocery stores these days.
How Long Do Vegan Brownies Last?
Freshly baked vegan brownies will last for about 3 to 4 days at normal room temperature if covered in an air-tight container. You can also freeze for 3 months before warming up.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Good Dark Chocolate - I mentioned it above, but use good dairy-free dark chocolate.
- Chia Seed Eggs - in order to get the consistency you want, but make it vegan you have to replace the eggs. Soaking chia seeds in some water before adding to the brownie mixture is an easy substitute.
- Oat Flour - this isn't a must but have found that pulsing oats until they form a flour make for a great binder for vegan brownies. The fact that they make the brownies gluten-free don't hurt.
- Natural Cane Sugar - if you want the brownies to be 100% vegan you need to use good, quality cane sugar as granulated sugar is processed with bone char to make it white.
- Food Processor - use food processor to combine the brownie mixture. Since there are no eggs or gluten, you don't have to worry about overworking batter.
- Don't Overbake - you want to bake the brownies until the edges are set and the center is slightly underdone.
Other Healthy(ish) Dessert Recipes
- Chocolate Hazelnut Bars
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites
- Eggless Brownies
- Chocolate Pumpkin Cups
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Balls
If you’ve tried these vegan peanut butter swirl brownies or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips (dairy-free)
- 5 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 chia seed eggs (2 tablespoon chia seeds plus 5 tablespoon water)
- ⅔ cup old-fashioned oats
- ⅔ cup natural cane or granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon instant espresso
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips (dairy-free)
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper.
- In microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate and coconut oil in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth and glossy.
- In a measuring cup whisk together chia seeds and water and let sit for 5 minutes. (You can also use flaxseed meal with same ratio)
- In food processor, pulse oats for about 3 minutes or until it makes finely ground oat flour. Add sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, instant espresso and salt and pulse for about 30 seconds until everything is combined.
- Add melted chocolate, chia seed eggs and vanilla extract and puree for about 3 minutes – scraping down sides as needed. You want it smooth. If batter appears to thick, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time and pulse. It should be slightly less thick than a frosting, but not runny at all. Fold in the additional chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter in to the baking pan and make sure it's evenly distributed.
- Measure out peanut butter in a mixing cup and stir in powdered sugar.
- To the brownie pan, add dots of the peanut butter powdered sugar mixture and swirl with a toothpick or knife. Do not go crazy on this however. Sprinkle top with a few more chocolate chips or shaved chocolate if you'd like.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are set and the center is slightly underdone. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Good Dark Chocolate - I mentioned it above, but use good dairy-free dark chocolate.
- Chia Seed Eggs - in order to get the consistency you want, but make it vegan you have to replace the eggs. Soaking chia seeds in some water before adding to the brownie mixture is an easy substitute.
- Oat Flour - this isn't a must but have found that pulsing oats until they form a flour make for a great binder for vegan brownies. The fact that they make the brownies gluten-free don't hurt.
- Natural Cane Sugar - if you want the brownies to be 100% vegan you need to use good, quality cane sugar as granulated sugar is processed with bone char to make it white.
- Food Processor - use food processor to combine the brownie mixture. Since there are no eggs or gluten, you don't have to worry about overworking batter.
- Don't Overbake - you want to bake the brownies until the edges are set and the center is slightly underdone.
Chris says
Looks good for being vegan!