Dairy Free Brownies

The perfect shiny top of a dairy-free brownie.

Fudgy naturally Dairy-Free Brownies without butter and a secret brownie hack to get that perfect shiny top every time! Melted chocolate, brown sugar, and oil make the BEST brownie texture.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brownies with oil, olive oil brownies, dairy free brownies, brownies no butter, no butter brownies

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings brownies

Calories 248kcal

Author Jamie

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

¾ cup sugar (150 grams)
¾ cup light brown sugar firmly packed (150 grams)
½ cup oil
½ cup hot water
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips a dairy-free variety (100 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

1 ½ cups all purpose flour or gluten-free all purpose flour (190 grams)
½ cup cocoa powder (50 grams)
1 rounded tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch (20 grams)
1 teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon baking soda

Mix-Ins

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Prep: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a 9x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Dissolve the sugar: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, add both sugars, oil (warmed to liquid if using coconut oil), and hot water. Whisk by hand or with an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until the sugars are completely dissolved and you have a smooth sugar syrup. Don't skimp on the whisking -- this is what makes that perfect shiny crackly top! If needed, microwave the mixture for 30 seconds, then stir to combine. Continue microwaving in 15 second intervals, whisking in between, until the sugar is dissolved completely. See notes for tips without a microwave.
Melt the chocolate: Add vanilla and ½ cup of chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate to the mixture. Whisk until the chocolate has melted fully and the mixture is smooth. If needed, microwave the mixture as described in the previous step.
Dry ingredients: Add all dry ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together. Then add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Add the remaining chocolate chips and stir until well incorporated.
Bake: Spread the thick brownie batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out slightly fudgy but with no wet batter. In my oven, the baking time was 42 minutes.
Cool: Cool completely before removing from the pan and serving. If you do not let it cool, the melted chocolate makes these brownies very wet and they will not hold together well (you will need to eat them with a fork). Just like fudge, these dairy-free brownies are best enjoyed at room temperature or slightly warm.

Notes

Storage: Store these dairy-free brownies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days. Allow the brownies to cool completely before storing to maintain the shiny top and crisp edges!

What is the best oil for brownies? The best oil for brownies is a liquid oil with a buttery or neutral taste, like melted coconut oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil. Canola oil makes a great brownie texture but the taste can be strong if you are not used to it.

Brownie pan: Baking time is for a metal 9x9 inch baking pan. If using an 8x8 inch baking pan, expect baking time to be about 5 minutes longer and double check for doneness using the toothpick test. Baking times will be longer with a glass baking pan and baking is likely to be uneven. Choose metal if possible.

Allergy-Free Brownies: This recipe does not need eggs, is naturally vegan, and can be made gluten-free using gluten-free all purpose flour. We like Bob's Red Mill GF 1-to-1 flour for this recipe.

Variations:

Coffee Brownies - Instead of hot water, add hot coffee for a luscious coffee flavored brownie!
S'mores Brownies - Mix in marshmallows and bits of graham cracker before baking! Check out our S'mores Rocky Road for inspiration.
Chewy Brownies - Instead of melting some of the chocolate chips into the batter in step 3, add a total of ¾ cups of chocolate chips in step 4 as a mix-in.
Dark Chocolate Brownies - For dark chocolate brownies, use chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Nutrition