If you've been combing the internet looking for an easy but delicious vegan brownie recipe, you've come to the right place. What makes them so easy you ask? Well, they don't require ANY baking, and that makes them super simple to whip together.
"Little bits of heaven" is one way to describe these salted caramel brownie bites. The combination of rich brownie, sweet salted caramel, decadent dark chocolate, and sea salt makes them incredibly moreish.
The recipe makes a big batch, but luckily these brownies can be frozen and can be eaten straight from the freezer.
These heavenly bites will be the only vegan brownie recipe you'll need in your life.
WHAT’S IN THESE TREATS?
BROWNIE BASE
For this recipe, I used a classic raw vegan brownie base of walnuts, cacao powder, and Medjool dates. It's such a simple combination but always works a treat. I added salt to lift the flavor and a little cashew butter as a binder.
SALTED CARAMEL
This is possibly my favorite part of this entire recipe. The salted caramel is made from just a few simple ingredients and comes together simply by whisking. No need for blenders, pots, or pans. The base of the caramel is cashew butter, but this could easily to interchanged with another nut butter or seed butter of your choice. Try peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or even tahini.
The sweetness comes from maple syrup, which is my go-to liquid sweetener as not only does it taste amazing, but it's also got a good nutritional value as far as liquid sweeteners go.
CHOCOLATE COATING
I like to keep it simple here and go for a good quality dark chocolate. most dark chocolate is vegan-friendly by default, but remember to check the labels as some companies still manage to sneak dairy into them 🙁
If you'd prefer to make your own chocolate you could make my dairy-free milk chocolate which would pair wonderfully with this recipe.
HOW TO MAKE THIS VEGAN BROWNIE RECIPE
BROWNIE BASE
To make the brownie base, add the walnuts, salt, and cacao powder to your food processor and blend until the ingredients have broken down to a fine crumb consistency.
Next, add the dates and cashew butter and blend again for a couple of minutes until the mixture comes together to form a dough. You can always add a small drop of water if you feel like the mixture is too crumbly.
Line the bottom of an 11" x 7" pan (with a minimum height of at least 2 inches) with parchment paper. You can also use an 8 x 8" pan.
Evenly distribute the brownie dough to the bottom of the pan and use a spatula or flat bottomed glass to smooth out and compress the dough into the base. Place in the freezer to set for 2 hours.
SALTED CARAMEL
Meanwhile, prepare the caramel by adding the cashew butter, maple syrup, maca powder, and salt to a bowl.
Whisk the ingredients until they form a smooth caramel paste. Set aside.
Once the brownies are set, take the pan out of the freezer and add the caramel paste in a layer on top of the dough.
Use a spatula to gently smooth out the caramel as evenly as possible. Place the tray back in the freezer and allow the brownies to set for 4-6 hours (or overnight). Note: the caramel will not get completely hard, but you want it to set enough for you to be able to cut the brownies into portions.
ASSEMBLY
Once set, remove the brownie slab from the tray and cut it into 16-20 portions, depending on what size you'd like to make them.
Once cut, transfer the brownies back onto a tray lined with parchment paper and set them back in the freezer until you're ready to garnish them. This will prevent them from getting too "melty" before you dip them in the chocolate!
Add the dark chocolate to a heat-resistant bowl and gently melt over a double boiler. Be sure not to overheat the chocolate, you just want it to get warm enough to melt.
Remove the brownies from the freezer and carefully dip them in the chocolate one by one. I sit them on a fork and spoon the chocolate over them to coat them evenly.
Place the brownies back on the parchment paper to set and garnish with some more sea salt.
These brownies are best stored frozen and can be eaten straight from the freezer.
WHY MAKE THIS RECIPE?
- Plant-based and vegan-friendly
- Perfect finger food
- Guaranteed crowd pleaser
- Perfect for summer
- Easy to make
- Minimal ingredients
- No-bake
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free
- Free from any animal-derived products
More vegan brownies
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Description
Equipment
Ingredients
BROWNIE BASE
- 1 ¾ cups (204.75 g) walnuts
- 1 tablespoon cashew butter
- ¼ teaspoon (1.25 g) sea salt
- ¼ cup (22 g) cacao powder
- 10 (240 g) medjool dates, pitted
SALTED CARAMEL
- 1 cup (255 g) cashew butter
- ¾ cup (178 ml) maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) maca powder
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) sea salt
- 10.6 oz (300 g) dark chocolate, vegan friendly, for coating
Instructions
- To make the brownie base, add the walnuts, salt, and cacao powder to your food processor and blend until the ingredients have broken down to a fine crumb consistency.
- Add the dates and cashew butter and blend again for a couple of minutes until the mixture comes together to form a dough.
- Line the bottom of an 11" x 7" pan (with a height of at least 2 inches) with parchment paper. You can also use an 8 x 8" pan.
- Evenly distribute the brownie dough to the bottom of the pan and use a spatula or flat bottomed glass to smooth out and compress the dough into the base. Place in the freezer to set for 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, prepare the caramel by adding the cashew butter, maple syrup, maca powder, and salt to a bowl.
- Whisk the ingredients until they form a smooth caramel paste. Set aside.
- Once the brownies are set, take the pan out of the freezer and add the caramel paste in a layer on top of the dough.
- Use a spatula to gently smooth out the caramel as evenly as possible. Place the tray back in the freezer and allow the brownies to set for 4-6 hours (or overnight). Note: the caramel will not get completely hard, but you want it to set enough for you to be able to cut the brownies into portions.
- Once set, remove the brownie slab from the tray and cut it into 16-20 portions, depending on what size you'd like to make them.
- Once cut, transfer the brownies back onto a tray lined with parchment paper and set them back in the freezer until you're ready to garnish them. This will prevent them from getting too "melty" before you dip them in the chocolate!
- Add the dark chocolate to a heat-resistant bowl and gently melt over a double boiler. Be sure not to overheat the chocolate, you just want it to get warm enough to melt.
- Remove the brownies from the freezer and carefully dip them in the chocolate one by one. I sit them on a fork and spoon the chocolate over them to coat them evenly.
- Place the brownies back on the parchment paper to set and garnish with some more sea salt.
- These brownies are best stored frozen, and can be eaten straight from the freezer.
Nutrition
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