These Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies are fudgy and gooey, seriously indulgent and made with a secret ingredient! Sumptuously chocolatey, seriously moist and luxuriously dense, they're also refined sugar free, oil-free, naturally sweetened with dates, flourless and grain-free, and high in protein and fibre. They require just 6 ingredients and 30 minutes to make! And they leave you feeling pleasantly satisfied and full of energy, rather than nauseous and lethargic.
What's the secret ingredient?
I stumbled across a recipe for Ricotta Brownies and wondered how I could make a vegan version...then I thought of tofu! It's made in a similar way to ricotta (but with soy beans instead of milk), so it has a similar thick and creamy texture.
If you find the idea of a tofu-based dessert repulsive, I must say I was also a little nervous about the brownies tasting too strongly of tofu, but the cocoa powder actually renders the flavour completely undetectable. The tofu really enhances the texture as it works as a kind of butter substitute, adding creaminess and richness.
The sweetness in these brownies comes entirely from dates, which get blended up with the tofu to create a thick, silky-smooth, caramel-like mixture.
Inspired by my Chocolate Torte recipe, the flour-replacement in these grain-free brownies is ground almonds (almond meal/flour), which creates a simultaneously fudgy and chewy texture without sugar. The ground almonds paired with the tofu add lots of protein, which makes these brownies filling and satisfying.
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Place the soaked and drained dates, silken tofu, plant-based milk and salt in a food processor or blender.
- Whizz until completely smooth.
- Transfer into a glass mixing bowl along with all the other ingredients.
- Mix well.
- Transfer the batter into a square baking tin.
Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to remove the brownies after.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Leave to cool slightly before cutting into squares!
Substitutions you can make
- You can replace the ground almonds with ground walnuts or ground hazelnuts.
- You can replace the tofu with the same quantity of plant-based yogurt - coconut yogurt, soy yogurt, almond yogurt etc.
- You can add some chocolate chips to the batter.
How long do these keep for?
Quite unusually for gluten-free baked goods, the texture of these brownies lasts for a good few days - they should be stored covered in the fridge as you don't want the tofu to go bad!
More vegan and gluten-free chocolate recipes
- Chocolate Cookies
- Chocolate Banana Bread
- Chocolate Muffins
- Chocolate Mousse Cake
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Chocolate Tart
- Avocado Brownies
- Beetroot Brownies
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make it
Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.5 oz) silken tofu
- 235 g (1 ⅓ cup) pitted dates soaked overnight in cold water or in boiling water for 10 minutes
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or sub any other plant-based milk)
- Pinch salt
- 200 g (1 ⅔ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 50 g (½ cup) cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Drain and rinse the tofu, then pat dry with a paper towel.
- Drain the dates.
- Place the tofu, dates, almond milk and salt in a food processor or blender and whizz until completely smooth.
- Transfer into a bowl and add the ground almonds, cocoa powder and baking powder. Mix well.
- Transfer the mixture into a baking tin lined with baking paper (I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin).
- Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes until the top is cracked and the brownies have just set - don’t worry if they still look a bit gooey when you take them out, as they will firm up as the cool down.
- Leave to cool slightly before cutting.
- Keeps well covered in the fridge for up to a few days.
Video
Notes
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Jenna
Hi, can I use maple syrup instead of dates to sweeten?
Rhian Williams
Yes should be ok - would love to hear how you get on!
Tia
hi, i made these today but i half the recipe, turned out pretty good but not as sweet and has a taste of tofu? what should i do?
Rhian Williams
Hi - thank you so much for your feedback! It can depend on the type of tofu you use as some brands have a stronger taste than others. If making again I would suggest you could use slightly less tofu and more dates. Or I have several other brownie recipes that don't use tofu if you prefer that! For example these sweet potato brownies: https://www.rhiansrecipes.com/sweet-potato-brownies/ or this Chocolate Torte recipe could be used to make brownies, it's very similar to these brownies but without the tofu: https://www.rhiansrecipes.com/gluten-free-vegan-chocolate-torte/ hope that helps!!
Sylvia lindsley
Is this recipe suitable for type diabetics? I have made it before and enjoyed it. My diabetic son has a birthday coming up. He finds sweeteners give.him problems.
Rhian Williams
Hi! I don't think I'm qualified to advise on that unfortunately, so it's best to check with your son's doctor or dietician.
Gosia
I am IR and follow diet for diabetes and also have issues with sweeteners like xylitol or erythritol. You can use allulose- it does not cause digestive discomfort, it's as sweet as sugar, natural and does not rise blood sugar (it's an undigestible carbohydrate)
Katharina
OK- I was like very skeptical of using silken tofu in a sweet recipe.
But I have been proofen different 🙂 This one is lovely- I used a few more dates (like 2 or 3 more), but it was still not very sweet. Would recommed using more dates if you want it sweeter, but I did NOT taste the tofu in any way...
It was just lovely chocolaty and nutty 🙂 Loved it!
Just the servings are a little small- that amount would have never made 12 slices 😉 Ok maybe 12 slices, but than 4 for me *LOL*
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!
Patti
Wow! These are incredible. I made a batch tonight and am going keep some for my husband and me and give some away to a friend as dessert to go with a meal I made for her.
Your photos kind of look like there are chips in the brownies, so I decided to add some chopped up super dark chocolate and they are so yummy!
I wanted to bring your attention to what I believe to be a small typo in the recipe steps. Step 4 says:
Transfer into a bowl and add the ground almonds, cocoa powder and salt. Mix well.
The salt had been added to the food processor and the baking powder is otherwise missing, so I assume that is what was really meant for step four.
Thank you for counting to share your delicious recipes with us - I have loved everything I've tried.
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback, so glad you liked them! Yes that was a typo, I'm sorry about that. Thank you so much for letting me know, I've changed it now!