Oat Flour Brownies

Oat flour brownies are rich, fudgy and so decadent. They are the perfect dessert and easy to make, all you need is a large bowl and a spatula to make the batter. These oat flour brownies are gluten free, egg free and vegan.

Why you will love this recipe

• Easy to make – all you need to make these simple vegan oat flour brownies are a large mixing bowl and a spatula. No mixer or special appliances needed. Great recipe for kids to help with too!
• Simple, pantry ingredients – you likely have everything that you need to make these oat flour brownies in your pantry right now. You can find all these ingredients (or substitute ingredients) in the grocery store. You can even make oat flour at home if you cannot find it in your grocery store.
• Rich and fudgy – although these oat flour brownies have simple ingredients, they are still so rich and fudgy and exactly what you want when you are craving brownies.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Dairy free chocolate chips – use your favorite dairy free chocolate chips for vegan, dairy free oat flour brownies. I love the 72% dark chocolate chips, Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips or Pasha 85% Dark Chocolate Chips for this recipe. If you want this recipe to be lower in sugar, I recommend using Lily’s Chocolate Chips or Pascha 100% Cacao Chips.
• Almond butter – the almond butter helps to add more fats to the recipe to ensure the brownies are thick and fudgy, not cakey. You can use whatever nut or seed butter you love. Some other options include peanut butter, cashew butter, sunbutter (sunflower seed butter) or tahini.
• Oat flour – oat flour is made from finely grinding up oats. You can find oat flour in many grocery stores, or you can make your own using a high speed blender (see the instructions below). Oat flour absorbs quite a bit of liquid and can make a cakey brownie if too much is used. I have not tried this recipe with another flour, but your favorite gluten free all-purpose flour should work fine in this recipe. I do not recommend replacing the oat flour with coconut flour.
• Cacao powder – cacao powder is made from cacao beans. It’s not as bitter as unsweetened cocoa powder. You can swap out cocoa powder for cacao powder but may want to add an additional 1 tablespoon of coconut sugar to offset the bitter flavor from the cocoa.
• Coconut sugar – this natural sweetener is an alternative to brown sugar. You could also use maple sugar to keep this more naturally sweetened. If you don’t mind a bit of sugar, you can replace the coconut sugar with light brown sugar.
• Water – this helps to thin out the brownie batter.
• Baking powder – baking powder helps the brownies rise. Be sure you are using a fresh baking powder (opened within the last 6 months and well-sealed), for the best results.

How to make oat flour brownies

• This recipe for oat flour brownies was written for a 1.5 qt. baking dish (not an 8X8 pan). If you are using an 8X8 pan, the brownies will be slightly thinner and may be done cooking 2-3 minutes earlier.
• The brownies need to cool before slicing them or they will crumble as you cut them. Since these brownies are made without eggs, they are very fragile until all set up. Even if you are using, eggs, oat flour tends to make more crumbly baked goods, so it’s best to allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing.
• Place parchment paper in the baking pan to make these brownies easy to remove.
• Make this recipe nut free by using sunbutter or tahini in place of the almond butter.

Mix-in ideas

These brownies with oat flour are already so delicious on their own, but sometimes, it can be fun to add in other ingredients. Here are some fun mix-in ideas for brownies

• Chopped nuts: pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios
• Peppermint extract (add about 1/8 tsp)
• Chopped peanut butter cups, M&M’s or your favorite candy bar

Topping ideas

• Nut butter
• Whipped cream (almond milk or coconut milk based for dairy free)
• Ice cream
• Fresh berries or jam

Common questions

How to make homemade oat flour

To make homemade oat flour, place oats into a high-speed blender and process until very finely ground. You may have to stop and start a few times to ensure all the oats are broken down. Run through a sifter to sift out any large pieces left.

Note: 1.25 cups of oats = 1 cup oat flour.

What are the best chocolate chips to use?

This recipe was tested with Trader Joe’s 72% Dark Chocolate Chips and Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips. Some other great options would be Pascha Chocolate or Lily’s Chocolate Chips (lower in sugar).

Can you make these brownies lower in fat?

Yes, you can replace the nut butter in the recipe with applesauce or mashed bananas. The flavor will change slightly, but they will still be delicious.

How to make the brownies lower in sugar

Replace the coconut sugar with your favorite low calorie sugar substitute and use Lilly’s Chocolate Chips or 100% Cacao Chips (you will want to add 2 more tablespoons of your favorite sugar substitute if you choose this option).

Storing vegan oat flour brownies

• Fridge: Brownies made with oat flour are best when stored in the fridge (vs. countertop). Store in a well-sealed container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
• Freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months. These brownies have a high fat content, so they freeze well and defrost rather quickly. I recommend freezing brownies with a square of parchment paper or wax paper between brownies in a freezer safe bag.

If you love this recipe, you should try

• Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oat Flour Mug Cake
• Chocolate Chip Baked Oats
• Vegan Chocolate Protein Banana Bread
• Oat Flour Sugar Cookies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats
• Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies