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These peanut butter brownies are fudgy, dense, and intensely chocolatey, with a thick layer of creamy peanut butter in the center. Made with simple ingredients, they are easy to make and taste like peanut butter cups in brownie form. Plus, they’re completely eggless and dairy-free!
Peanut butter and chocolate lovers, these brownies are calling your name!
If you’ve ever felt like a few swirls of peanut butter in brownies just weren’t enough, these deliver more. Much more. These vegan brownies have something special sitting in the middle: a thick, creamy layer of peanut butter sandwiched between two layers of fudgy chocolate brownie.
Now, if you’re worried that spreading thick brownie batter over soft peanut butter is going to be a mess, don’t worry! I came up with a little technique to create an even, clearly separated peanut butter center.
⭐️ Why These Are So Decadent
- Rich in peanut butter. Forget a few little swirls of peanut butter. Here, you get a generous, creamy layer running through the middle of every brownie. Yes, they are richer, but they taste so much better!
- Perfectly fudgy and chocolatey. Cocoa powder and melted dark chocolate give the brownies their deep chocolate flavor while vegan butter keeps them rich and fudgy.
- Made for peanut and chocolate lovers. If you’re a fan of peanut butter cups, these are basically the same but in brownie form!
🥜 Ingredient Details
This recipe is simple and comes together with just a few pantry staples. Here is what you’ll need:
- Flour – All-purpose flour works best here, although a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend might work too.
- Cocoa powder – Use Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder for a deeper, chocolate flavor.
- Baking powder – I like to add a tiny amount of baking powder to slightly lift the batter. Don’t worry, it doesn’t make the brownies cakey at all.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar brings sweetness and helps create a dense, slightly chewy texture. I do not recommend reducing the amount.
- Butter – It adds richness and gives the brownies their fudgy texture. Use vegan butter sticks, not a butter spread.
- Dark chocolate – Use dairy-free dark chocolate, preferably in bars. For reference, the chocolate bar I used contained 46% sugar.
- Milk – Any unsweetened plant-based milk will work here. Make sure it’s at room temperature, not cold.
- Vanilla extract – To round out the chocolate flavor.
- Peanut butter – The star of the show! I suggest using smooth, creamy peanut butter rather than chunky, which can be difficult to pipe. Also, if possible, use regular peanut butter such as Skippy or Jif. While natural peanut butter works, it’s a bit runnier and tends to make it harder to pipe the top layer brownie batter over it.
📔 Tips Before Starting
- Don’t press too hard when spreading the peanut butter. This might be the only step that requires a bit more care. You want to spread the peanut butter so it completely covers the brownie batter without pushing it into it. Take your time, be gentle, and you’ll be good!
- Slightly underbake the brownies. Take the brownies out of the oven when the edges are set, and the center appears dry but is still slightly soft. Overbaked brownies won’t be fudgy and tend to fall apart.
- Let the brownies cool completely before slicing. Yes, you’ll have to wait a bit! But allowing the brownies to cool completely gives them time to firm up, making them much easier to slice cleanly.
🥣 How to Make Peanut Butter Brownies
- Melt the chocolate. Melt the vegan butter and dark chocolate over a double boiler.
- Once melted, remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder to a bowl.
- Whisk. Whisk until well combined.
- Add the liquid ingredients. Pour in the milk, melted chocolate and butter, and vanilla extract.
- Mix. Mix until it forms a thick and smooth batter.
- Transfer half of the batter to a pan. Spread half of the brownie batter into a lined baking pan.
- Smooth it. Using a spatula, smooth it into an even layer.
Tip for Spreading the Peanut Butter
Since the brownie batter is quite sticky and soft, it can be tricky to spread the peanut butter over it. To make things easier, I suggest using a piping bag to pipe the peanut butter all over the first layer of batter. Then, use an icing spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it into an even layer.
Once that’s done, transfer the remaining brownie batter to the piping bag and pipe it over the peanut butter layer. Gently spread it with a spatula, and you’re done!
- Pipe the peanut butter. Transfer the peanut butter to a piping bag and pipe it evenly over the brownie batter.
- Try to cover as much of the surface as possible.
- Flatten it. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, carefully spread the peanut butter into an even layer.
- Tip: Be gentle and try not to press too hard, as you don’t want to push it into the brownie batter underneath.
- Pipe the remaining brownie batter. Transfer the brownie batter to a second piping bag and pipe it over the peanut butter layer.
- Spread it. Again, using a spatula or the back of a spoon, gently spread it out to completely cover the peanut butter.
- Bake. Finally, bake the brownies for about 25 minutes or until the edges are set and the top appears dry.
❄️ Storing
- At room temperature: Store these brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Refrigerator: For firmer brownies, you can store them in the fridge for up to 6 days.
- Freezing: These brownies freeze very well! Wrap each square with plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 3 months.
💬 FAQs
Natural peanut butter works, but from my experience, it’s not as easy to work with, especially when it comes to spreading the brownie batter over it. It also makes the filling a bit stickier compared to other types, such as Skippy.
Yes, you can use chunky peanut butter IF you use a large piping tip.
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Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
- 4.2 ounces (120 g) dark chocolate (chopped)
- 1/2 cup (104 g) vegan butter (diced)
- 1 and 1/3 cup (168 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
- 1/2 cup (50 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Skippy)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to
350 °F (175°C) and line an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking pan with parchment paper. - Melt the chocolate. Add the chopped dark chocolate and diced vegan butter to a double boiler. Melt them over low-medium heat. Once the chocolate is melted, remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder to a bowl. Whisk until well combined.
- Add the liquid ingredients. Pour in the milk, melted chocolate and butter, and vanilla extract. Using a spatula, mix until the batter is smooth.
- Transfer half of the batter to a pan. Transfer half of the brownie batter (about 13.5 ounces / 382 g) to the baking pan. Spread it into an even layer.
- Pipe the peanut butter. Transfer the peanut butter to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) round tip. Pipe the peanut butter evenly over the brownie batter. Then, use a spatula or the back of a spoon to carefully spread it into an even layer.
- Pipe the top brownie batter. Transfer the remaining brownie batter to another piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) round tip. Pipe it over the peanut butter layer. Again, using a spatula or the back of a spoon, gently spread it out to completely cover the peanut butter.
- Bake. Finally, bake the brownies for about 25 minutes, or until the edges are set and the top appears dry. Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing.
- You can store these brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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