With veganism very much on the rise, there is no reason at all why a staple favourite, such as the chocolate brownie, should be out of reach to followers of this chosen lifestyle.

Here, we explore two of our favourite recipes: fudgy vegan brownies and healthy vegan brownies.

Fudgy vegan brownies

These Fudgy Vegan Brownies are deliciously indulgent and contain Vega Essentials!

So as well as your chocolate fix, you’re also getting a dose of protein, fibre, omega-3 and 13 essential vitamins! What’s not to love?

Serves: 16
Prep time: 15 mins

Nutrients per serving

Energy	Total fat	Saturates	Protein	Fibre	Carbs	Sugar	Salt
201kcal	10g	1.2g	5.7g	4.4g	19g	15g	0.04g

Ingredients

150g pecan nuts (plus 12 reserved pecan nuts for decoration)
300g pitted medjool dates
Pinch of salt
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 scoops (108 g) Chocolate Vega® Essentials
2 small cooked sweet potatoes

Shop Home Baking

Method

Add the pecan nuts to a food processor and blend into a flour.

Scoop the flesh from the sweet potatoes and add to the food processor.

Add in the 2 tbsp cocoa powder, pinch of salt, the dates and the Chocolate Vega® Essentials.

Blend everything together into a smooth mixture.

Line a small square deep-sided baking dish with parchment paper and spoon in the mixture.

Squash the mixture right into the corners and levelit out with the back of a spoon.

Place in the fridge to chill for two hours.

Dust the surface of the brownie with the remaining cocoa powder and cut into 16 small squares.

Press a pecan nut into the top of each brownie square to finish.

Shop ingredients...

Holland & Barrett Pecan Halves 400g

(135)

£8.99

Holland & Barrett Sea Salt 500g

(25)

£1.09

Naturya Organic Cacao Powder 250g

(102)

£6.99

Healthy vegan brownies

Suitable for: Gluten-free | Wheat-free | Dairy-free | Vegan | No refined sugar
Serves: 12
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients

For the brownies:

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 tbsp apple puree
100ml Provamel almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp Tiana coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp white wine or apple cider vinegar
200g gluten-free rolled oats (whizz up in a blender to form a flour)
50g ground almonds
2 tbsp flaxseeds
6 tbsp Bioglan cacao powder
4 tbsp Tiana coconut sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g walnut pieces

For the ganache:

1 x can coconut milk, chilled in the fridge overnight
2 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp cacao powder
½ tsp vanilla extract

Shop Home Baking

Method

Cook the sweet potato cubes until soft, then drain and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180^oC and grease and line a 12x9in baking tin.

Place ¾ of the cooked sweet potato in a blender along with the apple puree, almond milk, vanilla, maple syrup and vinegar and blend up until smooth.

If you don’t have a blender mash up the sweet potato until completely smooth then whisk with the other ingredients.

Stir in the oat flour, ground almonds, flaxseeds, cacao powder, coconut sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and fold in to form quite a thick chocolate batter. Stir in the walnuts.

Spoon this into your prepared tin then bake for 25-30 minutes, until risen and firm to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin.

Meanwhile, make the ganache by opening the chilled coconut milk can and scraping out the solid cream at the top.

Place in a blender with the rest of the cooked sweet potato, maple syrup, cacao and vanilla and blend until smooth.

Alternatively, whip in a bowl with the mashed sweet potato and other ingredients if you don’t have a blender.

Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (can be made 4 days in advance).

Once the brownies have cooled down, cut into 12 and spread a layer of the ganache on top of each one.

Decorate with anything you want - chopped hazelnuts, freeze-dried raspberries and pomegranate all work well.

Keep any remaining brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days (frosted) or 5 days (unfrosted).