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Nearly Fat-Free Brownies

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Brownies with no added fats

Well, almost.

The only fat in these vegan and nearly fat-free brownies comes from 2 tbsp of flaxmeal that works as an egg substitute in this recipe and from some wonderfully nutritious walnuts. And since that is all healthy fat rich in Omega-3 fatty acids as well as fiber and protein, who could possibly complain?

The brownies themselves are chewy, delicious, luscious. And what makes them extra-guilt-free is the fact that you have the option of making them with whole-wheat pastry flour.

I used cocoa powder in this recipe but if you want an additional chocolate punch, you could add 1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips to the recipe. Just stir it in along with the walnuts.

Gotta rush off now, but enjoy these nearly fat-free brownies, everyone!
Brownies with no added fats

5 from 1 vote
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Brownies With No Added Fats

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 16 2-inch brownies
Author Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp instant coffee (optional, but coffee really enhances the chocolate flavor)
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp flax meal plus 6 tbsp water , whisked together
  • 1/2 cup chopped , lightly toasted walnuts

Instructions

  1. Sift all the dry ingredients, including the flour, coffee, cocoa, baking soda and salt, into a bowl and set aside.
  2. In another bowl mix together the maple syrup, water, sugar, flaxmeal mixture, and vanilla extract.
  3. Whisk together until well mixed.
  4. Add the flour-cocoa mixture to this in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition using a ladle or spatula.
  5. Stir in  the walnuts. The batter will be really thick.
  6. Prepare an 8 X 8-inch baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil. Leave an overhang on each side of the pan so you can easily lift the brownies out after they are baked. Spray some non-stick cooking spray on the foil.
  7. Pour the batter in and, using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread evenly in the pan.
  8. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  9. Cool thoroughly. Lift out the brownies using the foil overhang as handles, and cut into squares. Dust with some powdered confectioners' sugar for a pretty finish.
  10. Enjoy!

 

Got a craving for more chocolate? Try my divine chocolate cupcakes.
**
I don’t believe in the concept of hell, but if I did I would think of it as filled with people who were cruel to animals.–Gary Larson

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Comments

  6. I read the recipe twice to make sure they are in fact fat free. How can you make such delicious beauties without fat?? How??? They look delicious Vaishali.. I’m going to try them soon.

    Reply

    • It is definately not fat free. The flax is fatty so this recipe has more fat than a brownie made without any kind fat. This brownie is great with flax. I ve made it a number of times. But flax is the highest source of lignans and omega 3 in a vegan form. These brownies are fantastic because of the flax! Go for it! I am making them again today!

      Reply

      • Donna, I appreciate the fact that you liked the brownies and thanks for letting me know. However, your comment is misinformed. Two tablespoons of flaxmeal, divided among 12 brownies, gives you 0.4 grams of fat in each serving from the flax. Were you to add eggs or butter– as a regular brownie would have– it would be far more than that.

        Reply

        • Oh and i forgot those uwalnuts. Those are fatty also. Those are kept to a minimum….but is still fat. Its very misleading. If someone wanted a fat free recipe and did not want any fat..they would in fact get a low fat recipe. If you have a heart condition you may be told to lay off the fat including plant sources. Also the manufactures use this trick. The serving size is very small and they can say its non caloric or fat free if a teaspoon or so is under a certain amount. Your site says fat free. If you eat 2 brownies the fat gmams go up. I need 20 grams a day per mcdougall…uh oh..i just ate up 1/4 th of my allotment for the day. You re recipe is still wonderful. I made it fat free. It was still great!

          Reply

  18. Wow…decadent-looking brownies…healthy ones with flaxseeds and walnuts…thanks for sharing this awesome recipe Vaishali…I have bookmarked this to try it soon 🙂

    Reply

  19. “Fat-free” is like music to my ears. 🙂
    I make a version of these, but mine has butter. 🙁
    Should give your version a try. Btw, there’s a little more in your brownies from the walnuts, but its the good kind and I’m not copmplaining. 🙂

    Reply

  20. I did not have eggs and was looking for eggless baking and landed here – thanks so much for this wonderful recipe. I probably may never go back to egg/butter version. I will come back to your site for more guilt free food – calorie wise and other wise!!
    – Krithika

    Reply

  21. Hi vaishali..
    I made these brownies yesterday, but they turned out to be too crumbly..and not chewy and moist.. Any idea where i might have gone wrong..or any suggestions? i followed the recipe almost to the hilt.
    Thanks
    Neha

    Reply

  22. Neha, Your oven must be heating too much– it’s not something anyone but you can determine. I’d advise reducing the cooking time and doing the toothpick test earlier the next time.
    Also,I’m curious to know what you mean when you say you followed the recipe “almost” to the hilt– changing the smallest ingredient in baking can throw the whole recipe off. Replacing the maple syrup, for instance, would not make the brownie as chewy. Removing the flax would not make it as moist. Changing the type of flour could also have consequences.

    Reply

  23. Great recipe, I just finished baking them (and devouring them).
    However, do you have any suggestions as to how I could reduce the sugar. Any substitutions/reductions I could try next time.
    Also would using spelt flour be okay?

    Reply

  24. Hi Molly, You could replace some of the sugar with agave nectar which is low-glycemic. It might also make the brownies chewier. Substituting the sugar with artificial sweeteners would produce a drier brownie and I don’t recommend it.
    If you don’t mind less sweet brownies, you could just reduce the amount of sugar, You might want to reduce the baking time by a few minutes because there will be less moisture in the batter.
    I would guess spelt might work in this recipe, although I can’t honestly say since I haven’t tried it with spelt.

    Reply

    • I just used ethrytol and some date sugar (ground dates)…I added a small amount of powderd sugar but youll need to add some nut milk or water to make it more moist.

      Reply

  25. these were very good, I omitted walnuts and added 1/4 minced fresh mint. I also found that baking them for 20 minutes was long enough. Thanks for the great vegan recipe!

    Reply

  29. hey vaishali!! u wud laugh if u knew how i stumbled upon ur site but m so glad i did! i ve 1 ques,what do u mean by whole-wheat pastry flour.is it the same as whole wheat flour(atta) m in jaipur and i dnt get all kinds of things here so was just curious. i hope u reply!!

    Reply

  30. Sonal, no it’s not the same– whole-wheat pastry flour is very low in gluten which makes it an ideal, healthier substitute for all-purpose flour which is refined. Atta flour has a higher gluten content. If you don’t have whole-wheat pastry flour, I’d suggest using just all-purpose instead.

    Reply

  31. Hi Vaishali,

    Thanks for this recipe! I’ve now tried 3 different low fat vegan brownie recipes (one with black beans that I ended up having to throw away, which really made me feel guilty) and I’m hoping these will break my unlucky streak!

    However, I have two small issues; I’m diabetic, so I will have to replace the sugar with sweetener (I acknowledge that you said this will make the brownies drier, but that’s fine) and I don’t have flax seed – can I replace this with applesauce?

    Thanks in advance!

    Reply

    • Yes, replace the flax with 1/2 cup of applesauce. In fact, if you plan to skip the sugar and substitute sweetener instead, you might want to double the applesauce. That’s because sugar is considered a wet ingredient in baking, not a dry one, and the applesauce would put back some of the moisture in the recipe.

      Reply

      • So glad I read through the comments before asking you how best to cut back on sugar……now I know!
        I have actually made the brownies already, and they were delicious. We don’t get wholewheat pastry flour here in the UK so I used wholegrain spelt which worked beautifully. I like to avoid refined flour where possibles.
        I will try out your idea of double applesauce no sugar next I think, or maybe try no sugar, a little extra maple syrup and a little bit more applesauce as I love the taste of maple and would be perfectly happy to sweeten entirely using that. It is never obvious how to reduce and eliminate sugar without wrecking the recipe so your suggestions were great. I happen to care more about reducing sugar than reducing fat and it would be much appreciated if you are able to tell us (when you can, and where you remember!) in your guidelines how to go about this (if you know!)
        Xx

        Reply

  33. I made these and substituted about half of the sugar with agave nectar, also added a couple spoons of peanut butter – turned out great! I didn’t leave them baking as long though, I took them out at about 20 minutes. Thanks so much for the great recipe!

    Reply

  34. I made these brownies today and was shocked at how well they came out….without oil or butter. Thank you! They have the texture of a chewy brownie without making you feel the guilt. I did take a reviewer’s suggestion and baked them for 18 minutes. That helped keep them moist. I also added some vegan chips and pecans, because I didn’t have walnuts. These are the low fat brownies I’ve been looking for!

    Reply

  35. Hi Vaishali,

    I tried the brownies. They are amazing, I followed the recipe as is and it came out fantastic. Thanks for the great recipe

    VK

    Reply

  36. These were delicious! Great recipe. The only fault I found was the aluminum foil; I had to peel it off of each individual brownie. I think parchment paper would’ve worked much better. Otherwise, perfection 🙂

    Reply

    • Anna, glad you liked them. I agree with you about the aluminum foil — it is a problem when it enters the crevices in baked goods. I usually use parchment paper, but some readers in other countries don’t find it as readily.

      Reply

  38. I made these this morning and they turned out delicious – despite some minor changes. i’m not a great baker but this is one recipe that I will definitely add to my limited repertoire 🙂 Thank you.

    Reply

      • Oh dear, now I’m really confused. I’ve just read a comment above about replacing sugar and thought it was ok to go for an applesauce substitute?
        X

        Reply

  43. So delicious!! I now have a favorite brownie recipe and it is low fat too… So great next time I will be doubling the recipe for sure though!!!

    Reply

  44. I just made these today. I have to say I was skeptical because I usually don’t care for fat free/low fat baked goods. These are amazing! I omitted the walnuts because I don’t like nuts in my brownies, but they are perfectly fudgy and delicious. Can’t wait for my husband to try them. They are definitely a keeper in my book. Thanks so much! 🙂

    Reply

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