Name: Gluten-Free Vegan Flourless Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup organic peanut butter; 2/3 cups organic maple syrup; 1/4 cup organic cacao powder; 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1 tablespoon organic ground flax seeds; 2 tablespoons water (filtered/purified) ((filtered/purified)); 1/2 cup organic peanut butter

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This Fudgy Gluten-Free Vegan Flourless Peanut Butter Swirl Fudgy Brownies recipe is an easy and healthy recipe made with only 7 clean, real food ingredients. They're the perfect plant-based dessert made without traditional ingredients like eggs, butter, and white flour that everyone will love!

Here's Why This Recipe Works

My top 3 favorite reasons:

They're Made Without Flour, Butter, Eggs or Oil
Healthier Than Traditional Brownies
Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients

You can feel good about making this healthy, plant-based recipe because it's vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, oil-free, and contains no refined sugar.

What Goes Into This Recipe

Here are the nutrient-dense ingredients that are used to make this recipe:

How To Make This Recipe: Step-by-Step Instructions

Here's how to make this recipe and I'll show you how easy it is with step-by-step instructions below.

Before beginning, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare an 8 x 8 baking dish lined with parchment paper then set aside.

Step 1: Prepare The Flax Egg

Firstly, add all the ingredients for the flax egg to a small bowl, whisk together until well combined, then set aside.

Step 2: Prepare The Brownie Mixture

Secondly, add all ingredient for the brownie mixture to a medium-size mixing bowl

Re-whisk the flax egg, add it to the mixing bowl, then stir everything together until well combined.

Step 3: Transfer The Brownie Mixture

Thirdly, transfer the brownie mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly.

Step 4: Prepare The Peanut Butter Swirl

Fourthly, if your peanut butter isn't "runny", add it to a small saucepan and melt on the lowest heat, just long enough to make it soft and "runny".

Add dollops of the melted peanut butter onto the top of the brownie mixture.

Step 5: Swirl The Peanut Butter Topping

Fifthly, using the tip of a sharp knife, gently swirl the melted peanut butter into the brownies.

Step 6: Bake The Brownies

Sixthly, bake the brownies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20-25 minutes.

It's important to make sure they cool completely before attempting to remove them from the pan or serve them.

They will firm up after they've cooled off and will have a soft, fudgy consistency.

Step 6: How To Store

Lastly, store the brownies in an air-tight, BPA-free container in the refrigerator.

Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions

Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:

Peanut Butter: You could substitute with another nut butter such as almond butter, cashew butter, or even sunflower seed butter.

When working with the peanut butter swirl topping, you may need to use an extra step depending on the consistency of your nut butter:

Thick: If the nut butter you are using is thick without a lot of oil in it, you may need to lightly heat and soften it + 1-2 teaspoons of coconut oil which will make it easier to swirl into the brownies.
Runny: If the nut butter is "runny" or "drippy", you do not need to heat it and can add the dollops onto the brownie mixture and it should swirl in easily.

Cacao Powder: Can be substituted with regular cacao powder.

Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.

Cooling Time: It is very important to allow the brownies to cool completely before attempting to remove them from the baking pan or serving. They will firm up once they have cooled off.

Serving Size: This recipe will make (9) standard-size brownies. Nutritional information is for (1) brownie which is (1) serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are These Healthy?

In my opinion, they are much healthier than store-bought boxed brownies and even traditional homemade brownies.

Let's look at the ingredient list for both below.

Store-bought brownie mixes in a box contain a long list of unhealthy ingredients like this:

S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Pillsbury Fudge Supreme Peanut Butter Swirl Brownie Mix Ingredients: Sugar, Flour Bleached Enriched (Wheat Flour, Niacin Vitamin B3, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate Vitamin B1, Riboflavin Vitamin B2, Folic Acid Vitamin B9), Peanuts Butter (Peanuts, Sugar, Contains 22% or less, Molasses, Vegetables Oil Partially Hydrogenated [Soybeans Oil, Soybeans Oil, and, Cottonseed Oil], Vegetables Oils Fully Hydrogenated [Rapeseed Oil, and, Soybeans Oil], Mono and Diglycerides, Salt), Cocoa, Vegetables Oil Partially Hydrogenated (Soybeans Oil, Soybeans Oil, and, Cottonseed Oil), Corn Starch, Contains 2% or less of the Following: (Salt, Flavors Natural & Artificial, Baking Soda, Milk Non-Fat, Soy Lecithin

And, traditional homemade peanut butter swirl brownies aren't much better with typical ingredients like white flour, white sugar, eggs, and butter:

S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Traditional Peanut Butter Swirl Brownie Typical Ingredients: 1 pound unsalted butter, 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, 6 extra-large eggs, 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules, 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract, 2 ¼ cups sugar, 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¾ cup smooth peanut butter

My healthier version is 100% vegan + gluten-free and is made with clean, real food ingredients.

Do You Have Any Other Flourless Desserts?

Yes!

I love to make flourless, grain-free, and gluten-free desserts so here are a couple of my favorites that you might enjoy:

And in case you didn't know, I wrote an entire cookbook of no-bake vegan + gluten-free desserts called "CLEAN DESSERTS" to help you enjoy desserts guilt-free!

Can I Make These Without the Swirl Topping?

Yes!

The swirl topping adds an extra layer of peanut butter which is perfect if you love peanut butter!

However, if you want just a plain gluten-free vegan brownie recipe, simply make the brownies without the peanut butter swirl topping.

They are just as good, if not better!

Gluten-Free Vegan Flourless Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

This Fudgy and Flourless Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies recipe is an easy and healthy recipe made with only 7 clean, real food ingredients. They're the perfect plant-based dessert made without traditional ingredients like eggs, butter, and white flour that everyone will love!

{Plant-Based | Vegan | Gluten-Free | Dairy-Free | Egg-Free | Grain-Free | Oil-Free | Flourless | No Refined Sugar }

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 35

Yields: 9 servings

Calories : 243

Equipment

Ingredients

For the brownies:

▢ ½ cup organic peanut butter
▢ ⅔ cups organic maple syrup
▢ ¼ cup organic cacao powder
▢ ¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda

For the flax egg:

▢ 1 tablespoon organic ground flax seeds
▢ 2 tablespoons water (filtered/purified) (filtered/purified)

For the peanut butter swirl topping:

▢ ½ cup organic peanut butter

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare an 8 x 8 baking dish lined with parchment paper, then set aside.

Prepare the flax egg:

Add all ingredients for the flax egg to a small bowl and whisk together until well combined.

Prepare the brownies:

Add all ingredients for the brownies to a medium-size mixing bowl, re-whisk the flax egg and add it to the mixing bowl, then stir everything together until well combined.
Transfer the brownie mixture to the prepared baking dish, spread it evenly, then set aside.

Prepare the peanut butter swirl topping:

If your peanut butter is "thick", add it to a small saucepan, and gently melt on the lowest heat just long enough to make it soft and "runny", but taking care to not let it burn. However, if your peanut butter is "runny" or "drippy", you can skip this step.

Assembly:

Drop dollops of the melted peanut butter on top of the brownie mixture.
Using the tip of a sharp knife, swirl the melted peanut butter into the brownie mixture to create a marbled effect.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 - 25 minutes or until the center comes out clean with a toothpick.
VERY IMPORTANT: Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting and serving. They will be very "mushy" when they come out and will need to cool off. After cooling completely, they should be soft and fudgy after cooling but still hold together well.
Store in an air-tight BPA-free container.

Recipe Notes