Why you’ll love these dairy free olive oil brownies
A few weeks ago, I asked one of my dairy free recipe groups on Facebook what sort of recipe they’d like to see. One of the first comments was brownies, and I was surprised I hadn’t thought of it before. I mean, who doesn’t love a good brownie?
I found this recipe for old fashioned brownies on Pinterest, and I thought it would be a great starting point for my dairy free brownies. It used melted butter, which is easily substituted with oil, and cocoa powder rather than melted chocolate.
The only other change I made was to double the vanilla extract. It’s a trick I learned after my niece accidentally used tablespoons instead of teaspoons in her chocolate chip cookies, and they turned out amazing.
And, these brownies were no different. They turned out better than any brownie I’ve ever had in my whole life. Try them for yourself and let me know what you think.
More dairy free desserts: red velvet brownies / dairy free tiramisu / dairy free key lime pie / peanut butter and jelly cake
Ingredient notes:
- Olive oil – You can use any kind of oil in this recipe, but I love the flavor the olive oil adds to the brownies. Use what you have and if you don’t care for the flavor the olive adds, use a light olive oil which has a less pronounced flavor.
- Chocolate chips – Use the best dairy free chocolate chips you can find. I found a local brand that makes dairy free ones, but Enjoy Life makes allergy friendly chocolate chunks that would work great.
- Cocoa powder – This recipe calls for regular cocoa powder, but I have used the darker, Dutch-process cocoa powder with this recipe and it works just fine. It will create a darker, richer chocolate flavor though.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Melissa’s tips & tricks
- Line your baking dish with parchment paper. Just fold the corners. It doesn’t have to be perfect because the batter will fill it out, but this makes taking the brownies out of the pan much easier.
- Take them out of the oven before you think you should. If you’re toothpick comes out with a tiny bit of batter on it, that’s okay. They’ll be nice and fudge-like.
Frequently asked questions
Normally, brownies don’t call for milk, but if you find a recipe that does, dairy free milk, or even water or cold coffee will be a great substitute.
Yes. If a recipe calls for melted butter, you can easily substitute oil in its place. For this recipe, I used olive oil, but any liquid oil, such as vegetable oil or melted coconut oil, would work.
No. Cocoa powdered doesn’t contain dairy. The ingredients in cocoa powder should be just cocoa powder and, in some cases, a alkalizing agent. If there is milk listed in the ingredients, it’s probably hot cocoa mix.
More dairy free chocolate recipes: microwave fudge / hot fudge sauce / dairy free hot chocolate / No bake chocolate peanut butter pretzel bites
Olive Oil Brownies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2/3 cup olive oil, divided
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- Whisk 1/3 cup olive oil and boiling water into cocoa powder mixture until smooth.
- Add sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and remaining 1/3 cup olive oil. Whisk until smooth.
- Slowly whisk in flour until smooth.
- Fold in chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
- Pour batter into pan and top with extra chocolate chips (if desired). Bake for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 30 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
So so good! The texture and taste of these brownies are perfection. I added a bit more vanilla then called for and I also added choc chips and pecan pieces on top right before popping into the oven, they came out perfect! I took them out before my knife came out clean (I love more gooey brownie). I also swapped for avocado oil because its the only oil I tend to cook/bake with for most recipes, didn’t seem to make a different in the taste though! My husband and I devoured them for dessert, this recipe is everything you want in a brownie! My hubby is dairy free so I cook and bake accordingly, there are so many yummy recipes I’ve found on SimplyWhisked that are perfect for us. Thank you!
I made this recipe like five times and I still don’t get a fudge texture. Instead the brownies turn out like a chocolate cake texture and semi dry even though I reduce the flour amount. Just like others have said it is very dry and Cake-like. Better ingredients don’t always mean better texture…
These were really good! I made them for a friend who can’t eat dairy. I cooked them for 35 min. I was worried that they would be too dry, since the top looked quite dry, but they were very fudgy. I added a tsp of decaf espresso powder to deepen the chocolate flavor, and added probably 1 1/2 c non-dairy chocolate chips.
My only change would have been to NOT use parchment paper, but just to oil the pan. Unfortunately, the brownies stuck badly to the paper.
great recipe, my kids loved it so yummy. definitely bringing these out for the birthday parties!!
15/10 super delicious. I love how the top gets crispy and the middle is fudgy. Not wanting to use expensive olive oil, I subbed canola oil and it turned out great (I added like a tablespoon or so extra water to compensate for some water being lost to boiling). Most brownies are too sweet and not chocolatey enough for me, but these were perfect. Thanks so much!
Forgot to leave rating when I commented lol
Admittedly I’m leaving a review before tasting the baked product because I just ate the remaining mixture while waiting for the brownie to bake. It’s delicious and that in itself tells me the brownie is going to be amazing!
Its the day after I made them. I had made two batches and tried only a piece of one when i made the initial comment. Tried the brownies the next day and they aged like fine wine. I made them for our easter celebration and they were an instant hit. My grandmother took the greatest liking to them, eating 3. Would recommend if you’re looking for a sweet treat thats not overwhelming. As a lactose intolerant person myself, one of the best dairy free recipes. The only thing is that I recommend cooking for 30-35 minutes and holding back a tad on the sugar for a more home baked feel. Will bake again 🙂