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    Home » Recipes » Brownies

    Vegan Date Brownies (3 Ingredients)

    Publish Date Apr 27, 2021 · Updated: Aug 7, 2022 by Yasmin

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
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    If you want fudgy browines, look no further. These Vegan Date Brownies are a simple and easy recipe, you'll want to make them all the time. They are made using wholesome ingredients such as dates, almond butter and cocoa powder, and are much healthier than traditional brownies. Making them a perfect healthy alternative for our sweet tooth toddlers and children. You can even eat the brownie batter raw - it's so good.

    A pile of three of the vegan chocolate brownies.
    Gooey Chocolate and Date Brownies.

    This recipe is so simple, and it also doesn't contain the usual suspect in healthy vegan baking such as coconut oil or maple syrup. Making it free from all added sugars and saturated fats. The perfect sweet treat for your family to satisfy those chocolate cravings. As these are free from flour, they are also naturally gluten free.

    Jump to:
    • What You'll Need
    • How to Make Them
    • Storage
    • Substitutions and Variations
    • Recipe Tips
    • Serving Suggestions
    • FAQ's
    • More Dessert Ideas
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    What You'll Need

    Ingredients

    Overhead shot of glass bowls set out on a white background with the date brownie ingredients in them.
    Vegan Date Brownie Ingredients.
    • Almond Butter - I sometimes make my own, as I find this a less pricey option than buying from Supermarkets. Almond butter is creamy and has a neutral flavor. Alternatively you can opt for *creamy* peanut butter, or possibly cashew butter, although I haven't tried the latter. Peanut butter does give a slight peanut taste but overall it's not too dissimilar.
    • Cacao Powder - I use Cacao Powder in this recipe instead of the more common cocoa powder, (but you can easily use either). This is because it's high in antioxidants, has a great flavour, and is still inexpensive. I buy mine by the kilo from an online Health Food Store. You can also get them in almost all health food shops, or places like Amazon.
    • Chocolate Chips/Chunks (optional) - We use a high cocoa content dark chocolate, usually above 70%. You can however choose whichever you like.
    • Medjool Dates - I recommend using large Medjool dates if you can get them. They are rich and caramel like in flavour. However, if you can't get hold of Medjool, any other soft date will work. Supermarkets and health food stores usually sell bags of these at a lower cost than Medjool. I get mine from Grape Tree in the UK. The dates contain natural sugars and lots of fiber. Both great for our health. They are also what gives these vegan brownies their incredible chewy texture.

    Equipment

    • Parchment Paper
    • Food Processor
    • Loaf Tin
    • Measuring Cups/Scales

    How to Make Them

    Side by side photos of the ingredients in a food processor before and after blitzing.
    Blending the Brownie Batter
    • Add the almond butter, cacao powder and de-stoned dates to the bowl of a food processor and blitz together until you have a smooth batter consistency. This creates a creamy date paste, which is the main body of the brownies.
    • If using vegan chocolate chips or chunks then add them to the mixture and pulse briefly to incorporate.
    The brownie mixture in a baking tin, lined with baking paper.
    • Line a loaf tin with parchment paper then spoon in the brownie mixture and spread it out with the back of a clean metal spoon. You might find this easier if you dip the spoon in warm water first, as this helps it to glide over the sticky batter.
    • I like to add a few more chocolate chunks to the top at this stage.
    • Bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes, then leave to cool to room temperature before removing from the tin. Once removed, cut your brownies in to 8 equal squares. The longer you leave them, the firmer they will be, making them easier to cut.

    Storage

    These can be stored in an airtight container, in a cool place, for up to 5 days.

    Substitutions and Variations

    I’ve added in things like walnuts and chocolate chips, toasted hazelnuts, pecans and almonds, and fresh raspberries. All are delicious.

    You can also sprinkle over some flaky sea salt (for adults), to bring out their intense chocolate flavor.

    Vanilla extract or vanilla pasta can also be added to the brownie batter to boost their flavor, use ¼ or ½ teaspoon depending on how much vanilla flavor you want in your end result.

    Recipe Tips

    For best results you want nice gooey dates. If your dates are a little dry, soak them in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes first. Then add your soaked dates to the food processor as per the recipe instructions.

    The brownie batter can be very sticky when trying to level it out in the tin. If you struggle to smooth it out with a wet spoon on the first try. You can try using a sheet of parchment paper; Lay it over the top of your brownie batter in the tin. Then using that as a non-stick layer between the brownie batter and your spoon, use the back of a spoon to level it out.

    Serving Suggestions

    Someone holding up a slice of vegan chocolate brownie in front of the camera, with melted chocolate oozing from the middle.
    Warm, gooey, chocolate brownie

    These are delicious served warm with Cashew Cream and fresh Berries as a dessert. Or simply enjoy on their own for a healthy delicious snack. We like to have these for breakfast...

    FAQ's

    Are Vegan brownies healthy?

    These ones are as they have no processed sugars and are made with Cacao rather than Cocoa. If you're using ingredients like Cocoa* powder, sugar and vegan butter then no, they aren't. However, there are many healthy vegan brownie recipes out there to experiment with instead, using things such as sweet potato, chickpeas or even black beans!
    *Cocoa isn't bad for you, its just that Cacao has more health benefits, due to it not being heat treated or containing added sugars like Cocoa typically does.

    Can these be made Raw Vegan?

    You can eat the brownie batter raw. I recommend rolling a tablespoon of the batter in to a ball with the palms of your hands. Then rolling the balls in hemp seeds, crushed hazelnuts or more cacao powder and storing them in an airtight container in the fridge (for up to 1 week).

    What else can be added to these if I want to vary the recipe?

    I’ve added in things like walnuts and chocolate chips, toasted hazelnuts, pecans and raspberries. You could also use another nut butter like peanut, or cashew.

    More Dessert Ideas

    Coming up with a recipe that I would be happy with my toddler eating was the drive behind making these. I've never believed that 'treating' your kids has to be synonymous with negatively impacting their health. There are plenty of alternative ingredients to get familiar with that are much more beneficial for your families health. For instance, choosing Cacao powder over Cocoa powder, the latter of which has less nutrients due to being heat treated and comes with added refined sugar.
    There's no reason your kids have to miss out on foods like brownies, cheesecake or cookies, just because you want to look out for their health.

    • Easy, Fluffy, Sugar Free Pancakes
    • Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars (Vegan & Gluten free)
    • Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana and Lentil Muffins
    • Edible Vegan Cookie Dough

    Recipe

    Someone holding up a slice of vegan chocolate brownie in front of the camera, with melted chocolate oozing from the middle.

    Vegan Date Brownies (3 Ingredient)

    Healthy, Vegan Date Brownies with the perfect fudgy texture. Made with only 3 ingredients. Gluten free, dairy free & soy free.
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Chocolate
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 16 minutes
    Total Time: 26 minutes
    Servings: 8 Brownies
    Calories: 254kcal
    Author: Yasmin

    Equipment

    • Baking/Parchment Paper
    • Food Processor
    • Loaf Tin

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Metric
    • 2 cups Pitted Medjool Dates (tightly packed)
    • 1 cup Almond Butter
    • ⅓ cup Cacao Powder
    • ¼ cup Warm Water
    • 80 g Dark Chocolate (optional)

    Instructions

    • Pre-heat your oven to 180°c (350°f).
    • Line a loaf tin with greaseproof/baking paper. Be sure to leave extra at the sides to help with lifting the brownies out of the tin once baked.
    • Add all of the ingredients (except for optional Chocolate or Nuts) to your food processor. NB make sure that you have de-stoned your Dates beforehand, if they aren't already.
      2 cups Pitted Medjool Dates, 1 cup Almond Butter, ⅓ cup Cacao Powder, ¼ cup Warm Water
    • Blitz on high speed for 20-30 seconds until mixture is smooth and well combined (no lumps of dates).
    • If you are adding in any nuts or chocolate chunks add them in to your brownie batter now and pulse a few times to combine.
      80 g Dark Chocolate
    • Spoon the brownie batter in to the prepared loaf tin.
    • Using the back of a wet metal spoon (using warm water), level the mixture to distribute evenly in the tin.
    • Bake in the middle of the oven for 16-18 minutes until the edges appear firmer and pull away from the edge of the tin.
    • Leave to cool down to room temperature, before removing the brownies from the tin.
    • Once removed, cut your brownies in to 8 equal squares. The longer you leave them, the firmer they will be, making them easier to cut.

    Notes

    For best results you want nice gooey dates. If your dates are a little dry, soak them in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes first. Then add your soaked dates to the food processor as per the recipe instructions.
    The brownie batter can be very sticky when trying to level it out in the tin. If you struggle to smooth it out with a wet spoon on the first try. You can try using a sheet of parchment paper; Lay it over the top of your brownie batter in the tin. Then using that as a non-stick layer between the brownie batter and your spoon, use the back of a spoon to level it out.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Brownie | Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 486mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 55IU | Vitamin B1: 1mg | Vitamin B2: 1mg | Vitamin B3: 1mg | Vitamin B5: 1mg | Vitamin B6: 1mg | Vitamin E: 6mg | Vitamin K: 1µg | Calcium: 110mg | Copper: 1mg | Folate: 19µg | Iron: 2mg | Manganese: 1mg | Magnesium: 103mg | Phosphorus: 168mg | Selenium: 1µg | Zinc: 1mg
    Did you make this recipe?Let us know what you thought of it in the comment section below. We'd love to hear from you!

    More Brownies

    • Vegan Black Bean Brownies

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Katey

      February 17, 2021 at 9:54 am

      5 stars
      All the family love these & my youngest daughter especially likes the option of having them in balls straight out of the fridge! We're hoping to have a go at making out own almond butter soon too!
      Easy to follow recipe & I like all the extra info too 😁

      Reply
      • Yasmin

        March 19, 2021 at 8:33 pm

        We are so glad to hear that these went down as well as they did in your house. Please let us know how you get on with the almond butter too!

        Reply
    2. sam

      April 17, 2022 at 11:25 am

      5 stars
      Why didn't anyone tell me about these sooner? I'm definitely going to be making these again!

      Reply
    3. Sally

      May 04, 2022 at 12:24 am

      5 stars
      Fab recipe and delicious Brownies. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    4. Skyler

      May 13, 2022 at 7:18 pm

      5 stars
      I've tried these and they are really nice. I really want to try them with nuts next time though. What nuts would you recommend topping them with when I do, Id like the nuts to be as crunchy as possible once baked.?

      Reply
      • Yasmin

        July 20, 2022 at 1:23 pm

        You can add any nuts you like, we tend to add almonds and/or pecans to brownies. It's especially nice if you toast the nuts in a pan for a few minutes before topping the brownies as well. Just be sure not to burn them in the pan - keep them on a low heat, then turn off and remove from the pan once they become fragrant.

        Yasmin

        Reply
    5. Jessica

      July 18, 2022 at 7:25 pm

      5 stars
      Awesome recipe! We loved them. Thank you so much 🙂

      Reply
      • Yasmin

        July 18, 2022 at 10:49 pm

        So glad you enjoyed them Jessica x

        Reply

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    Welcome to my blog Raising on Plants!
    I'm Mummy to 3 little monkeys under 5.
    If you’re a fan of cooking, baking and eating some healthy-ISH food – you came to the right place.
    Here you will find delicious, plant focused, vegan & vegetarian recipes to help you nourish your family from within

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