Vegan mug brownie with strawberries are the perfect sweet treat! These easy vegan microwave brownies are super fudgy and rich but simple to make and only have a few ingredients!
You are going to love the chocolate and strawberry combination! These gluten free mug brownies can be made in the microwave or the oven depending on how much time you have!
Why you will love these individual brownies
- An individual brownie is the perfect dessert or afternoon snack! These fudgy, rich brownies are a great snack or dessert and you get the entire brownie to yourself! No need to strategize who gets the end piece or the center, everyone can have their own individual brownie!
- With only a few ingredients, these gluten free mug brownies are dairy free, grain free, vegan, and don’t require any special equipment to make! Perfect for anytime!
- Make these single serve gluten free vegan brownies extra special, by serving them with a spoonful of walnut cashew coconut butter or chocolate peanut butter on top!
Ingredients
- Water + ground flax – This replaces the eggs in traditional brownie recipes.
- Applesauce – This helps to add moisture and a touch of sweetness to the brownies without overpowering the flavor
- Maple Syrup – provides sweetness and helps keep the brownies rich and dense.
- Cacao powder (or cocoa powder) – gives that deep chocolate flavor to the brownies
- Baking Powder – to help give the brownies some lift during cooking
- Peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter – this is the key to getting fudgy brownies out of the microwave.
- Strawberries – optional but so good.
- Cacao nibs or chocolate chips (optional) – this will take the brownies to the next level!
How to make these easy vegan brownies
Step 1: Start by mixing together the water, ground flax, applesauce, maple syrup and cacao powder. This will take a minute or so to fully combine, just keep mixing.
Step 2: Add the peanut butter to the mixture and stir well until fully combined. This will take 1-2 minutes.
Step 3: Add the chopped strawberries. You can also add in any other mix in’s (cacao nibs, chocolate chips, coconut flakes) you want now as well.
Step 4: Divide the brownie mixture between 2 ramekins. Microwave each brownie for 1:30 on high or bake in a 350F oven for 20 minutes.
Recommended kitchen tools
If you love single serving desserts
Even though most of my recipes are packed with really healthy ingredients, I can quickly go overboard with servings, especially when it comes to sweets.
I love single serving desserts, they help me control my portions while feeling fully satisfied by getting to eat “the whole thing”. I’m not really good at portion control when I’m staring down a plate of brownies.
If you are the same way, you might enjoy some of my other favorite single serve desserts including:
Other single serving desserts you will love
GET 10 OF MY ALL TIME GREATEST RECIPES IN THIS FREE EBOOK
Common questions
How to make brownies without eggs
You can use ground flax seeds or chia seeds to help bind and set the batter to make brownies without eggs.
Can you use frozen strawberries
I suggest using fresh strawberries since frozen strawberries are often not as sweet as fresh strawberries and they tend to give off a lot of extra water when cooking.
If you want to use frozen strawberries, make sure they are defrosted first, and you might want to add a small sprinkle of coconut sugar to the strawberries to help sweeten them.
Other fruits that would be good in these brownies
- Raspberries (fresh or frozen)
- Sweet cherries (pitted or defrosted from frozen)
What other mix-in’s can you add
What kind of ramekins to use
I have made this recipe using coffee mugs, regular bowls, glass ramekins, traditional ceramic ramekins and these fun square ramekins. When using traditional ramekins, the center of these really stays gooey and fudgy. The edges of the square ramekins can overcook in the oven but stay nice and gooey in the microwave.
How to make a cakey single serve brownie
These gluten free microwave brownies are pretty fudgy and dense. If you love a brownie that has a more cake like flavor, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of gluten free flour to the mix before stirring. This will make the perfect mug cake brownie.
How to store single serve brownies
Fridge: This recipe makes 2 brownies, so if you are by yourself, make both and store the leftover in the fridge for up to 4 days. You will want to cover the ramekin/mug so the brownies don’t dry out.
Freezer: You could freeze these brownies in the ramekins or mugs but that means you won’t have your ramekin/mug for some time. If you are trying to freeze brownies for later, it’s probably best to make a big batch and freeze individual servings.
Substitutions
- Ground flax + water: You could also use chia seeds for this. The flax replaces a single egg so if you are not vegan/egg free, you could use 1 egg in place of the flax + water.
- Applesauce: I like using applesauce because it does not overpower the flavor of the brownies. You could also use mashed banana or mashed sweet potato in place of the applesauce. Just note that the banana may add a little banana flavor to the brownies.
- Maple syrup: This makes the brownies sweet and fudgy. You could also use a low sugar monk fruit based syrup if you are trying to keep your carbs down. Other options are honey or date syrup. I tried this with coconut sugar and the brownies dried out and were crumbly so I don’t recommend that.
- Cacao powder: I like cacao powder over cocoa powder because the cacao is less bitter. However if cocoa powder is all you have, you can use that in place of the cacao.
- Baking powder: This is optional but if you have it on hand, it does help the brownies rise a bit while cooking.
- Peanut butter: What makes these brownies thick and fudgy is the nut butter added. You could use peanut butter, tahini, sunflower seed butter, almond butter or cashew butter in this recipe and they will all work well.
- Strawberries: Use fresh or frozen, be sure to cut them into small pieces to easily incorporate into the brownies. You could also use raspberries or sweet cherries in place of the strawberries. You can also omit the fruit completely and just make brownies without fruit.
If you love brownies, you should try
Vegan Mug Brownies
$2.52 Recipe/$1.26 ServingIngredients
- 1 tbsp. ground flax - $0.07
- 3 tbsp. water - $0.00
- 2 tbsp. applesauce - $0.10
- 3 tbsp. maple syrup - $0.93
- 1/4 cup cacao powder - $0.36
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder - $0.06
- 4 strawberries - $0.50
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (see below for peanut free choices) - $0.50
Instructions
- To a mixing bowl combine the flax, water, applesauce, maple syrup, cacao powder and baking powder. Mix well to combine (1 minute)
- Add the peanut butter to the mixture and stir well, it will be thick (1-2 minutes).
- Stir in chopped strawberries.
- Divide between 2 ramekins that have been sprayed with non-stick spray (avocado oil, olive oil).
- Microwave each brownie on high for 1:30. Do not microwave them together.
- Take out of microwave and allow to cool 2-3 minutes (or more) before diving in.
Notes
- Sunflower seed butter
- Tahini
- Almond Butter
- Cashew Butter
- Chopped nuts
- Chocolate chips
- Cacao nibs
- Toasted coconut flakes
jill conyers
Yes please! I just might eat both servings :)
Kate @KateMovingForward
Um, holy yumminess!! This looks amazing! I love the pairing of brownies with strawberries for a perfect spring treat!
Nicole @ Fitful Focus
YUM!!!! I want to make a whole pan of these. They’re healthy so it’s totally ok if I eat them all in one sitting, right?
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running
My mouth is watering looking at these!
Krista
These look great and so easy!! I can’t wait to try them. Love that all the ingredients are things I have at home already
Ivanna
I love brownies, these look yummy. Much better than devouring a whole pan after working out lol. Thanks for another yummy one :)
Mar @ Mar on the Run
oh my… not enough word to express how delicious this looks!!!!
Farrah
I will most definitely have a brownie with you–these look amazing! (I wish I had ramekins, but I’ll figure out something!) I have all the ingredients to make this! <3
Jessica
This looks sooooo good! I need one of these now!
~Jessica
Jeans and a Teacup
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner
Sometimes you do just need a little bite of chocolate! yummy and looks really easy too
Jen
GIRL – We can eat these on the detox!!! (Technically we can’t have bananas, but I’ve been eating them for workouts and we’ve been devouring the banana bread too!) These look amazing. I love brownies – especially the chewy edges. I seriously cannot come to your blog when I’m hungry because I want to eat every recipe you make!
Larisa (0to26point2)
OMG! This looks amazing! i will be making this asap.
Jen @ Pretty Little Grub
I cringed when I saw single serving brownie. Just what I need when I have a chocolate addiction ha ha. But then I saw it’s a healthy version brownie. hurrah!!
Ange @ Cowgirl Runs
What a great recipe! I love brownies AND strawberries :)
Meg @ Green With Decor
Yum, these look delicious!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
It’s like a mug cake…in the oven! Perfect still ;)
Miranda @ Miranda Writes Blog
These look delicious! I love chocolate and strawberries together so I bet these are great. And they’re single serving which is always nice…
Amanda @ Old House to New Home
Looks delicious! I love when desserts can be healthy!!
Jess @hellotofit
I crave sweets like it’s two full-time jobs. It’s bad!! Love the combo of strawbs and chocolate. Happy Wednesday!!
Andrea Jones
Just started my fat free diet! Bookmarking this and adding to the list. love!
Courtney
YUM! I’m always craving something sweet and can’t wait to try this :)
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment
Sweet over salty…but it’s a toss up between brownies and cookies! Looks like a great recipe. :-)
carolyn
Heavens these look so good! I’m usually not tempted by brownies at all, but these look yum!
Jessica
My goodness, these look & sound absolutely amazing!
Sara @ All That I Wished For
YUM! I need to make these!