Olive Oil Brownies
These olive oil brownies are made from scratch and dairy free. They’re easy to make and extra fudgy with crackly tops and crispy edges.
How I made these 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 or anything too complicated for me.
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.
If you like this recipe, you have to try these red velvet brownies, and these Halloween brownies and this skillet brownie sundae.
Searching for more dairy free chocolate recipes? Microwave fudge / Hot fudge sauce / Dairy free hot chocolate
Ingredients & substitutions
- 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 below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make brownies without butter
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.
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.
More chocolate desserts you will love: No bake chocolate peanut butter pretzel bites / Chocolate chip cookie bars / Chocolate cupcakes / Chocolate chocolate chip cookies
FAQs and tips for making the best 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.
