Need brownies but don’t have eggs? These gooey, fudgy, homemade egg-free brownies contain no weird ingredients, but they’re perfect for egg-allergies and budget-friendly baking.
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When you’re on a tight budget and you like baking, eggs and oil are like kryptonite. Both ingredients are some of the most expensive parts of baked goods.
I used to buy 1 dozen eggs a week. Since I tried to do all our baking from scratch, I had to decide. Were we going to eat scrambled eggs for breakfast or could I make brownies tonight?
Not exactly a life-altering dilemma, but it was still frustrating. Chris voted brownies. I voted scrambled eggs. We took turns winning.
Until this recipe. Now we eat both.
Egg-Free Brownies Recipe
Whether you have egg-allergies, ran out of eggs, or are simply trying to save money and eat dessert, these egg-free brownies fit the bill.
You may know flax eggs make a great egg-replacement in baked goods. But flax can be hard to find and expensive. Try these egg-free brownies instead. No weird ingredients – just some extra flour!
This egg-free brownies recipe feels a little bit like a science experiment at the beginning. However, if you can make cream of wheat from a box, you can make this no problem.
Budget-Friendly Egg-Free Brownies Baking Tips:
- Save money on Natural Sweeteners
- Save money on Healthy Fats
- How to replace oil in baked goods with real food alternatives
Dairy-Free Vegan Brownies
Are you dairy-free or vegan? Here are some budget-friendly tips:
If you don’t have chocolate chips (or need something allergy-friendly,) we use dark chocolate from Aldi (dairy-free and fair trade!) and chop it into chunks for our egg-free brownies. Far less expensive than allergy-friendly chocolate chips.
Instead of butter, use half coconut oil and half of another neutral-flavored oil, like avocado or palm shortening.
- Check out these tips (and the video) for budget-friendly allergy-friendly baking.
- And go here for more tips on real food substitutions!
Helpful Equipment for Making Egg-Free Brownies:
You probably already have all the necessary stuff – bowl, whisk, pan, etc. However, When it comes to storing leftover egg-free brownies or bringing them to a party, I avoid plastic wrap. It’s wasteful, disposable, bad for the environment, and an unnecessary expense.
For several years, I stored leftover brownies (or anything in my baking pans) by placing a towel over the top of the pan and setting a cutting board on top. It totally worked. But eventually, I got a few Pyrex baking pans with lids. They’re easy to use, dishwasher safe, and I never have to buy plastic wrap – or try to find my cutting board and a clean towel.
This Egg-Free Brownie Recip is:
- Allergy-free
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Vegan (with dark chocolate and coconut oil)
- Vegetarian
- Delicious
- Budget-friendly
- Make-ahead
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo #cheapskatecook and @cheapskatecook on Instagram.
Egg-Free Brownies
Need brownies but don’t have eggs? These gooey, fudgy, homemade egg-free brownies contain no weird ingredients, but they’re perfect for egg-allergies and budget-friendly baking.
Recipe adapted from the MOMYS Cookbook
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup flour, (white, whole wheat, and spelt all work)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter or oil, (coconut oil or palm shortening work great)
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 3/4 cup sugar*
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1-2 cups dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips, to taste, (optional)
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a small saucepan, use a whisk to stir together 1/3 cup flour and 1 cup water. Heat saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently and cooking until mixture grows as thick as muffin batter (maybe a little thinner).
- Remove pan from heat and use a rubber spatula to scrape flour and water into a large mixing bowl. Set aside and let it cool completely.
- Place butter in the saucepan over medium-low heat. When the butter melts, remove the pan from the heat and stir in cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth with no lumps.
- Remove saucepan from heat and set aside.
- Add sugar, salt, and vanilla to the flour and water mixture in the large bowl. Beat or stir together until smooth.
- Add cocoa and butter to the mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together flour and baking powder.
- Add flour mixture to the large mixing bowl and stir together.
- Pour batter into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.
- Cool for 15-20 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.
Notes
*You can substitute the sugar for 1 cup honey or maple syrup. It will slightly change the taste and texture of the brownies.
Fudgey Brownies:
If you prefer fudgier brownies, reduce the 2 cups flour to 1 1/2 cups and the baking powder to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1 squareAmount Per Serving Calories 139Total Fat 4.3gSaturated Fat 2.6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 10mgSodium 79mgCarbohydrates 25.4gFiber 1.1gSugar 14.7gProtein 1.7g
Please note: The actual calories and nutrition of this dish will change depending on what ingredients you use. Nutrition information is not always accurate.
More Egg-Free Dessert Recipes:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Bars
- Mix-in-the-Pan Oat & Fruit Bars
- Healthier Pumpkin Bread
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Dessert Hummus
- Real Food Apple Crisp
- Healthier Banana Bread
- 3-Ingredient Frozen Berry Whip
- Apple Crisp Bars
Okay, important question: Brownies with nuts or without nuts?
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I needed an egg-free brownie recipe for my 9 year old son’s class and thought this one sounded perfect. He enjoyed the science-like nature of it and we all LOVED the finished product. These weren’t overly sweet (perfect for those who don’t love super-sweet desserts). It’s almost like a cake/bread. The consistency is wonderful (though admittedly challenging to work with in the final mixing process). When I make these again, I will cut back on that final dose of flour and baking soda as recommended and see which version I like better.
So glad you enjoyed it! Let me know how the variation goes!
Hi! Is the batter supposed to be very thick?
Hi Reese! Yes it is!
Thank you!! I made these yesterday for my brother who has never had brownies because he is allergic to eggs and he loves them!! They are a big hit with our whole family. Thank you for sharing this recipe 🙂
Oh my goodness, that makes me SO happy, Reese! Thank you for sharing, and I’m glad your brother liked them.
This was very good but I prefer a chewier brownie. I cut down on the flour and baking powder as suggested. Could I substitute baking soda instead of baking powder to make it chewier?
I think it’s worth a shot!
A craving for brownies. No eggs in the house. No applesauce or dates, either, which most recipes use for egg replacements. Enter: this recipe!
It turned out SO GOOD. We added chocolate chips and caramel bits. Next time we’ll try it with the “fudgier brownie” adjustments. I wish I’d seen that at the beginning, we would’ve tried it to start but we didn’t see it because it was at the bottom . 😀
We loved it! Thanks so much.
Yay! SO glad you found it at the right time!
I baked it as per your recipe.OMG the result is amazing.
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that!
These are SO GOOD. I used vegetable oil because that’s what I had and had to do half gluten free flour and half regular flour and wow. I also baked them in a smaller baking pan so they turned out super soft and fudgey. They were delicious. Thank you for this recipe!
hi,we made these and they were looking great untill we put into oven, for 15 then 5 minutes. Then more minutes,and more minutes. Its very gooey ,and water like,hardly baed. We followed the recipe. Kinda disapointed. there are great reviews,wondering what did wrong
Same thing happened to me, been baking for over 30 minutes now…
Hmmm, that’s so strange. Did the flour and water mixture at the beginning get really thick?
Oh no! That’s so disappointing! That’s happened to me a couple of times while baking items, and what I discovered was that my button for turning off the timer on the oven was also turning the oven off. There are two buttons to turn my timer off, and one of them also turns off the oven. Now when baked goods are taking extra long to bake, I have to check that – and usually that’s the problem. This has happened with multiple ovens, so I always like to check that first. If it was still gooey even though it was in the oven for a long time, that would be my first thought. Hope it helps!
Hi, can I substitute almond flour for all purpose flour?
Hi Isha,
I don’t think almond flour would work very well for this recipe, but if you have an almond flour brownie recipe you like, I would try substituting the eggs with flax or chia eggs. As long as the recipe doesn’t call for more than 3 eggs, flax and chia work great as a baking substitute.
I made these for valentine’s day, the batter was soo thick in the best way and they came out so fudgy and moist! I was able to cut out little heart shapes and the brownies held up really well. I cut back on the flour and baking powder as suggested, and basically just did the classic combining dry then combining the wet and mixing all together (I skipped the initial flour part, simmering butter etc). I also added some cinnamon and espresso powder to emphasize the chocolate flavor. Keeping this recipe on hand because it’s a great treat and super easy!! Thank you!
Oh, I’m so glad! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Me and my sister made this, everything was going well but we’ve cooked it for over 30 minutes and the inside is still raw batter.
Hi Marissa! I replied to your other comment as well. I’m wondering if the flour and water mixture at the beginning got really thick? That’s so strange that it’s not baking. Did it end up working out?
Lovely! Next time I will try fudgeyer
Thank you, Karen!
So I just tried these, I miss brownies, hate allergies. I followed the directions and the measurements but my batter turned out to be more of a cookie texture instead of a batter. What went wrong? I’m still confused
Hmm. that’s so strange, Beth! My guess is that it had something to do with the flour and water mixture at the beginning. That step can be tricky the first time. Did you have to swap out any other ingredients?
Love these Egg Free Brownies , seems so amazing , will love to try this one. Thanks for sharing this recipe .
The brownies came out great. The most important part is to leave them in the fridge til they cool down completely
In the beginning, do we stir 1/3 cup water with the 1/3 cup flour in the saucepan or is it 1 cup water?
Lana, it’s 1 cup water. Thanks for asking! I updated the recipe to be more clear.
WATCH her tutorial video on making these! Some of the instructions are different. I was confused as to what muffin batter looks like so I watched the video. It’s much runnier looking than I thought. She also added the sugar+salt+vanilla to the butter in the saucepan rather than the flour+water mixture. The other difference is she took the saucepan off the stove before mixing the cocoa. I would have boiled the cocoa with the butter so I’m glad I saw that! Can’t wait to try it after it cooks!
Lana, thanks for your comment! My recipes tend to be somewhere flexible, so I don’t usually follow them exactly, lol. But I updated the recipe instructions to be more clear. I hope that helps!
Brownie or cake? Answer: definitely cake but delicious regardless! I added a lil cinnamon and if you added a bit of fruit it’d be quiet Christmas-y
Hi Jess! Oh, that’s interesting! I know sometimes that happens with cake or brownies recipes – the texture changes without us knowing why. I’ve never had it turn out cakey for me. I hope it was still good!
I made these, using all fresh milled spelt. They turned out great!! I did reduce the flour at the end and baking powder. I also swapped out 3/4 of the cane sugar with coconut sugar. I may try all coconut sugar the next time. I let my flour/water mixture thicken really well per the directions. My final batter was very think and I had to spread around in the pan. Thank you for great recipe, love that it didn’t have weird ingredients!
made these for my birthday because one of my friends is allergic to eggs, I made the fudgey version and added milk chocolate chips and sprinkles. everyone in my family loved them and had no idea they were egg free
This was delicious. I was too lazy to go to the store and get eggs and milk today but I wanted a treat. Instead of using water I used coffee and it came out extra rich.
These Egg Free Brownies seems super delicious. One of my friend suggested me this delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing this ultimate one with us.
Hey Steph. What’s the purpose of the initial flour and water thing?