Dairy Free Brownies

The easiest and most moreish brownies that take no time at all to come together, and dairy-free too! This is my go-to brownie recipe because not only do they taste amazing, they’re also all made in the one bowl (less washing up!) and use only a few simple ingredients which I almost always have on hand in my pantry or fridge!

When my baby daughter had a suspected cow’s milk protein intolerance (CMPI) I had to cut out all dairy from my diet in order to keep breastfeeding. This was more difficult than I thought it would be, and one of the things I really missed (and craved!) was a good, fudgy chocolate brownie! Thankfully this recipe is not only dairy-free and delicious, but is so easy to whip up that even my sleep-deprived-new-mum self could manage these after a long day.

These brownies are adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s best cocoa brownies (which were adapted from Alice Medrich’s book, Bittersweet), and they’re now a firm favourite for my whole family, dairy-free or not, purely for how simple they are to make and how moist and chewy they turn out each time.

A Few Ingredient Notes

To made these brownies dairy free, we’re subbing out butter for oil and using cocoa powder instead of blocks of chocolate.

• Oil: I love using extra virgin coconut oil to make these brownies as I enjoy the slight coconutty flavour it imparts to it, but you can use any neutral flavoured oil you have on hand. I’ve used peanut oil when I’ve had no coconut oil and it was just as good. I’d just steer clear of extra virgin olive oil, I found the taste to be much too overpowering for this recipe.
• Sugar: I like to use brown sugar for this recipe for the extra flavour and moisture, but white sugar works too, so use whatever you have on hand.
• Cocoa Powder: Most people will tell you to use the best cocoa powder you can find for a recipe like this, and while I definitely recommend doing so if you can (since the cocoa really is the star here), I’ve also made this with cheap supermarket-brand cocoa here in Australia and the brownie turned out just fine, so don’t let that deter you if the craving strikes!
• Nuts/Chocolate Chips: This is purely optional but I like my brownies with bits in them so, depending on my mood, I like to add chopped dairy-free dark chocolate, pecans or walnuts into the mix. If you’re looking for dairy-free chocolate, check the ingredient list of your favourite dark chocolate block first as they can often be dairy free already!

Dairy-Free Brownies In Minutes!

1. Preheat your oven to 325F/160C and line your square baking tray. If I’m not caring about appearances (i.e. this is just me mixing up brownies for my own after dinner snack) I’ll just squish a big sheet of baking paper into it so it fits, but if you want to be neat, see this video for tips.
2. Mix your sugar, cocoa, oil and salt together, before adding in the vanilla and eggs one at a time.
3. Once that’s all combined, add in the flour and anything else you want to mix in and give it all a really good mix and you’re ready to bake!
4. Once it’s in the oven, keep a good eye on it for the last 10 minutes of baking since you want to be careful not to overbake it. An overbaked brownie is a sad thing, so make sure to check it early- you want very moist crumbs when you pull out a skewer/knife poked into the middle of it.
5. Let cool if you can and enjoy! My husband thinks these actually taste even better after they’ve been refrigerated, while I’m in the still-warm-from-the-oven camp!

How to Store

These will keep in an airtight box in the fridge for 3-4 days. Bring them to room temperature for cutting/serving as they will harden quite significantly when cold.

Looking for Other Dairy-Free Baking Recipes?

• Lemon and Poppy Seed Gluten and Dairy Free Muffins
• Muesli Slice

If you try this recipe, please let us know how you went in the comments below!