Healthy Brownies

Make these easy healthy brownies, made without eggs or dairy, and full of lots of chocolate flavor thanks to a simple chocolate ganache topping. This guilt-free brownies recipe is easy to make from scratch and so yummy.

I’m always on the search for dessert recipes that combine the best of flavor and healthiness. That’s where these healthy brownies come in.

Brownies fall into two categories: ones that are ooey-gooey fudgy chocolate, and those that are more cake-like. It makes it tricky delivering the perfect recipe for folks because not everyone agrees on what makes a brownie perfect.

Key Ingredients

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients in this healthy brownies recipe:

• Coconut sugar — You can buy coconut sugar at health food stores, in the health food section of many grocery stores, or online. You can substitute brown sugar.
• Chia seeds — You can substitute ground flax seeds.
• Vegan yogurt — Any plain dairy-free yogurt will work here or you can substitute dairy-free sour cream.
• Almond milk — I used unsweetened almond milk, or add any plant-based milk like soy milk or even cashew milk.
• Rolled oats — Otherwise known as old-fashioned oats. You can substitute instant oats.
• Almond flour — I like adding almond flour to my baked goods because it makes them very moist. Besides, it makes these brownies gluten-free as well. I buy almond flour at health food stores, but I get the best deals during my vegan shopping trips at Costco!
• Cocoa powder — You can use natural or dutch-process cocoa powder.
• Baking powder
• Chocolate chips — There are so many great dairy-free chocolate chips to choose from!

There’s no flour in these healthy brownies, which makes them gluten-free in addition to vegan. And yet, this list of ingredients delivers delicious, fudgy, healthy brownies in a matter of minutes.

How to Make Healthy Brownies From Scratch

1. Stir together the vegan butter and sugar. Then stir in the chia seeds, yogurt, and almond milk.
2. Make oat flour by adding it to a food processor and pulsing until it resembles coarse flour.
3. Stir the oatmeal four, almond flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder into the bowl with the almond milk mixture until combined.
4. Pour the batter into a prepared 8-inch square baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.
   
5. Top cooled brownies with vegan chocolate ganache.

How Healthy are These Brownies?

There are several ways to measure the healthiness of any food you eat, such as calories, macronutrients (carbs, fats, protein), and micronutrients (getting down into the specifics of a variety of the phytonutrients in the food).

These healthy brownies have fewer than 200 calories per serving, which is pretty good when it comes to a dessert. Here are some of the nutritional highlights per serving:

• Calories: 190
• Carbs: 25
• Fat: 10
• Protein: 4
• Fiber: 4
• Sugar: 11

If you’d like a lower-carb version, use a sugar-free sweetener, like Swerve. I’ve used it in several of my sweet treats, and in moderation, it tastes fine.

Serve these healthy brownies warm or chilled. They’re great either way!

More Vegan Brownies

I love a good brownie. Here are some of my favorites:

Vegan Brownies from a Box

37 mins total

Vegan Pumpkin Brownies

60 mins total

Vegan Gluten-Free Brownies

40 mins total

Chocolate Banana Brownies

45 mins total

So many great brownie recipes!

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Healthy Brownies

These delicious healthy brownies are made with simple ingredients that make them taste rich and chocolatey!

5 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate Save Saved!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 9

Calories: 190kcal

Author: Marly McMillen

Ingredients

CupsMetric

• ▢ 3 tablespoons vegan butter , melted
• ▢ ½ cup coconut sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• ▢ ½ cup coconut yogurt , plain
• ▢ ½ cup unsweetened almond milk , vanilla
• ▢ ¾ cup rolled oats
• ▢ ¼ cup almond flour
• ▢ ¾ cup cocoa powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking powder

Chocolate Ganache

• ▢ ½ cup dairy free chocolate chips
• ▢ ¼ cup plant-based milk (see note)

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Spray a 9×9 inch square baking pan with a light coating of vegetable spray.
• In a mixing bowl, stir together the vegan butter and sugar. Stir in the chia seeds, yogurt, and almond milk. 
• Add oats to a food processor or blender and pulse until a coarse flour forms. Add the oat flour along with the cocoa powder and baking powder in with the chocolate mixture. Stir until just combined.
• Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes. 
• Make the ganache by combining chocolate chips and plant-based milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir to coat the chocolate chips then cook for one minute in the microwave. Allow it to sit for 1 to 2 minutes, then stir to combine.
• Once the brownies are done and have cooled for about 5 minutes, drizzle with chocolate ganache and use a spatula to spread it out evenly across the brownies. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow the chocolate to set.

Recommended Equipment

9×9 inch Baking Pan

Food Processor

(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)

Notes

Use your favorite plant-based milk for the ganache topping, such as soy milk, almond milk, or even creamier versions, like cashew milk.

Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 72mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 195IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2.2mg

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a rating below then tag @namelymarly on Instagram and hashtag it #namelymarly. I love seeing your creations!

Celebrate National Chocolate Brownie Day

To celebrate National Chocolate Brownie Day, I collaborated with some of my favorite food blog friends to provide you a big batch of recipes to choose from.

Please note, some of these recipes are not vegan. If you see a recipe you like let me know if you want help veganizing it.

National Chocolate Brownie Day Recipes

• Easy Homemade Brownies by Pretty Providence
• Easy Black Bean Brownies by Savory Experiments
• Brownie Peppermint Ice Cream Pie by Real Mom Kitchen
• Simple Chocolate Orange Brownies by An Italian in my Kitchen
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies by Creations by Kara
• Chocolate Gingerbread Brownies by The Baker Upstairs
• Christmas tree brownies by Super Golden Bakes

This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.