Vegan and Gluten-Free Small Batch Brownies

These Vegan and Gluten-Free Small Batch Brownies are sure to be your new favourite, with a delightfully chewy texture, rich chocolate flavour, all while being crazy easy to make! If brownies and marshmallows had a food baby, these are what you’d be devouring right now...which, of course, you can...since I created these wonders for you already!

Jump to:

• All about these brownies
• Before we get to the recipe - sign up to the email list
• Why small batch?
• Why you'll love these vegan and gluten-free brownies
• 📝 Ingredients you'll need
• 🔥 How to jazz up these brownies
• 🧁 Other recipes you'll love
• 📋 Recipe
• Vegan and Gluten-Free Small Batch Brownies

All about these brownies

Sweet rice flour is typically what’s used for mochi sweets which I’ve written about before, in the post for my Dark Chocolate Mochi Cupcakes. The flour is also known as mochiko or glutinous rice flour - not to worry, it’s gluten-free despite the slightly confusing name. It's widely available in Asian grocery stores and many supermarkets. Bob's Red Mill also have their own sweet rice flour product. I love using it as the sole flour in some recipes and in others, it’s great to combine it. When it’s used as the only flour, you get an amazing chewy texture. In these brownie recipes, the chew is relatively subtle but it makes for a delightful eating experience. I don't really refer to these brownies as mochi brownies because the chew is more subtle than in many mochi recipes. But it's definitely there, especially around the edges.

Using both melted chocolate and cacao powder in these brownies results in a deep chocolate flavour. Mixing the cacao powder with freshly boiled water in a step called "blooming" is a little trick I picked up from Georgia McDermott, the super talented Melbourne gluten-free guru from the Georgeats blog and books. The oil used in these brownies is high quality olive oil - it pairs beautifully with the chocolate and the flavour is quite subtle after baking.

These brownies are ridiculously easy to make and I’ve no doubt they’ll be the go-to gluten-free and vegan brownie recipe for many of you! They are lovely and fudgy with a delightful chew around the edges.

I’ve provided two different batch sizes for you to choose from with recommended pan sizes. Choose a small batch (in the amounts on the recipe card) if it’s just you and a few friends or a larger batch if you’re taking these brownies to a party. Check the Notes section in the recipe card below for full deets! Please note the images in this post are of the larger size and not the "small batch" amount.

I also have an amazing Miracle Flourless Brownie recipe you might like to try after this one! Suitable for anyone on a low starch diet or with limited ingredients in the pantry.

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Why small batch?

Small batch baking has really taken off in the last couple of years and I'm here for it. I'm not sure what's driving the trend, but I do wonder if it's related to people being more isolated in lockdown and not needing to make standard size recipes? It suits me well because I cook mostly for myself and eat a special diet, so I like to avoid having large amounts of anything around - especially when they're as tempting as these brownies. They basically call to me from the kitchen!

Why you'll love these vegan and gluten-free brownies

• Super easy and quick to make
• We use a simple "blooming" step for the cacao powder to really bring out the flavour
• Short ingredient list with only one flour to buy
• Budget friendly with affordable ingredients - sweet rice flour/glutinous rice flour is really cheap at Asian grocers; this recipe also doesn't use eggs or expensive nut flours and you can stock up on Lindt when it's half price
• Suitable for many different diets - vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free
• You could make it with tapioca flour if you need this recipe to be Paleo - I suggest using 20% more tapioca flour than listed for sweet rice flour
• As with many of my recipes these brownies are microbiome-friendly due to the cacao and the olive oil

📝 Ingredients you'll need

Ingredient amounts are provided in grams as this is the easiest and most accurate way to bake and get great results! Digital scales are very affordable and easy to find if you don't yet own any.

• High quality vegan dark chocolate - I usually stock up on 85% or 90% Lindt when it's on sale
• High quality olive oil - try using one that isn't too bitter when you try a little on a spoon (I like the Cobram purple label one here in Australia)
• Cacao powder (or Dutch processed cocoa powder)
• Freshly boiled water- this helps to bloom the cacao, deepening the flavour
• Cooking salt enhances the flavours
• Sweet rice flour (may also be known as glutinous rice flour or mochiko) - provides the signature mochi chew and it's so nice to just use a single flour in gluten-free baking! You can purchase this from Asian grocery stores, many supermarkets and also Bob's Red Mill have one
• Light brown sugar for sweetness, additional flavour and texture
• Optional sea salt flakes to top the brownies

For full details of how to make these brownies, refer to the recipe card below. For best results, I've provided measurements by weight, not volume - this ensures accuracy in baking.

🔥 How to jazz up these brownies

These brownies are perfect just as they are, but if you want to spice them up here are a few ideas:

• mix in uncrystallised ginger pieces
• layer in some orange marmalade - blood orange marmalade and chocolate is particularly amazing
• mix in some roasted coffee beans
• mix in some roasted hazelnut pieces

🧁 Other recipes you'll love

If you like the look of these Vegan and Gluten-Free Small Batch Brownies, then you'll also love these tasty recipes:

• Dark Chocolate Mochi Cupcakes
• Whole Blood Orange Cake
• Baked Pancake with Fig, Blueberry and Pistachios

📋 Recipe

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