No Bake Vegan Cosmic Brownies (Gluten Free)

GFGluten Free

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.

These No-Bake Vegan Cosmic Brownies are just as delicious as your favorite childhood treat, but are gluten free and good for you too!

Have you ever said “no” to a brownie?

Even if you have (though I’m doubtful), it’d be pretty dang hard to decline these yummy AND nutritious treats.

I’ve posted some No-Bake Rocky Road Brownies to the blog in the past, but I wanted to keep things simple with this one. These only require 6 ingredients + salt and come together in no time at all! Plus, they remind me of my favorite lunch box snack as a child, knows as the “Cosmic Brownie.”

Granted these don’t have rainbow chocolate chips, but other than that I’d say they’re pretty spot-on!

They’re fudgy, perfectly sweet, and would be perfect as a lunchbox snack, afternoon treat, or dessert! I’ve been loving them as-is, but you could also spread some peanut butter on top, or chop them up and use them as a sundae topping.

I mean, can we all appreciate this heavenly chocolatey square for a moment?

That my friends, is a decadent brownie thatĀ won’t leave you with a stomach ache afterwards. Yay, plants!

A Few Final Thoughts:
  • I chose to use Buckwheat Flour in this recipe because it allows the brownies to achieve a fudgy textureĀ without having to bake them. Plus, it can be eaten raw and is actually a decent source of protein. I wouldĀ not advise or suggest any flour substitutions for this recipe.
  • Feel free to use any chocolate of your choice for the chips – I prefer minis because they become more evenly distributed throughout the brownie. If you’re looking for something that is completely free of refined sugar, check out this chocolate that is sweetened only with stevia!
  • These brownies stay fresh on the counter for up to 7 days, but you could also freeze them and defrost as necessary – they’ll stay fresh in there for a month or so.

Finally, if you make this recipe be sure to post a photo on Instagram and tag me @frommybowl + #frommybowl! I can’t wait to drool over your yummy chocolatey recreations šŸ™‚

Print

No-Bake Vegan Cosmic Brownies

These No-Bake Vegan Cosmic Brownies are just as delicious as your favorite childhood treat, but are gluten free and good for you too!

  • Prep Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 10 brownies 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup Medjool Dates
  • 3/4 cup Buckwheat Flour
  • 1/2 cup Cacao Powder
  • 1/4 cup Almond Butter
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/3 cup Mini Vegan Chocolate Chips, divided

Instructions

  1. Pit the Medjool Dates and cover them with warm water. Set aside to let soak for 10 minutes.
  2. In the meantime, mix the Buckwheat Flour, Cacao Powder, and Salt together in a large bowl.
  3. Drain the Dates, then add them to a food processor or high speed blender with the Almond Butter and Vanilla Extract. Process until smooth.
  4. Add the Date and Almond Butter mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Reserve 2 tbsp of the mini chocolate chips, then add the remaining chips to the bowl as well. 
  5. Mix everything with a fork to start, then eventually you will need to use your hands to combine everything well. The mixture should be a soft dough when finished and should only be slightly sticky.
  6. Transfer the brownie “dough” to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper, then use your hands or a spatula to spread it out evenly in the pan (Note: it helps to lightly wet your fingers for this step). Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp of chocolate chips over the tops of the brownies and press them into the “dough.”
  7. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, to allow the mixture to thicken. Then, remove and slice as desired (I made 10 brownies, but you could also make 8 larger ones as well).
  8. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month – let thaw before enjoying, obviously šŸ™‚ 

Notes

There isĀ no substitute for Buckwheat Flour for this recipe.Ā 

Almond Butter may be substituted for any other nut or seed butter of choice, just keep in mind that this will affect the flavor.Ā 

Make sure your chocolate chips are Vegan – I used the Mini Chips by Enjoy Life Foods.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us ā€” we can't wait to see what you've made!

Want to save these Vegan Cosmic Brownies for later? “Pin” them using the image below!

No Bake Vegan Cosmic Brownies Gluten Free

 

 

About the Author

Hey there, Iā€™m Caitlin! I make easy-to-follow, wholesome, and budget-friendly vegan recipes that are mostly gluten-free and refined sugar-free. I’m also an avid yogi, love the great outdoors, am chocolate-obsessed, and enjoy eating almond butter straight off of the spoon.

Learn More

FREE GUIDE: 5 Tips for Quick & Easy Vegan Dinners

Plus, get all of my recipes sent straight to your inbox!

You May Also Like

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Wow, really! I’m thrilled. These no-bake refined sugar free brownies are amazing! Even my dad ate a lot of them. I made them yesterday and they’re already gone because they were sooo good šŸ™‚
    Thank you so much for your beyond amazing recipe! I really appreciate that!

  2. Make this often. You can definitely use oat flour as a substitute, despite the recipe notes.

  3. These homemade granola bars are made from wholesome ingredients, but taste just like the childhood favorite! Vegan, Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free.

  4. Just made this super simple and tasty recipe, thank you so much for it ! I have some leftover tahini pots, do you think it could work as well for the next time I’ll do this recipe or would affect the flavor?

    1. You can blend and make your own flours but sometimes getting it as fine as store bought is just more hassle. Vitamix is great, though!

  5. I didn’t have any almond butter, so I used powdered low fat peanut butter. I also made a mistake by using a big blender, so I had to add half a cup of almond milk to get the dates and PB to blend at all. It was pretty disastrous and thought the whole thing was a lost cause but it actually came out delicious and really reminds me of cosmic brownies which I do miss as a vegan! Thanks!! One day I’ll follow your exact recipe with a decent food processor.

  6. Hey Caitlin!
    I tried this recipe but somehow the brownies are not sweet. Did you use unsweetend cacao powder?
    Greetings,
    Hanna

    1. Yes, I used unsweetened. You can add more Dates or Maple Syrup to the recipe if you would like them to be sweeter – also don’t forget the Chocolate Chips, as those help a lot!

    1. I do not calculate the nutrition information for my recipes, but there are plenty of free recipe calculators online that can help you out! šŸ™‚

  7. I just got some dates because I have been DYING to make this recipe for ages!! Can’t wait to eat them today!

    1. yes, for this recipe you do. You can also substitute with another dried fruit if you’d like

    1. I don’t think that would be sweet enough – you could do half chocolate chips and half cacao nibs though!

  8. 5 stars
    I just made these using oat flour and a nutribullet in my college dorm – SO good. Going to use them for meal prep, thank you for making my weekly meals 10x better šŸ™‚

  9. 5 stars
    Made these late at night. They were super easy to throw togethet and suuuper yummy too. I also didnt have buckwhrat flour so i subbed oat flour!

  10. I tried making this recipe and i followed everything and had the ratios right but it didn’t work! The “dough” isn’t turning into “dough” and its just like clumps with lots of extra flour and now I’m sad! What did i do wrong!!

    1. Hi Colby, that is strange! If your dough is too dry, I would suggest adding 1-2 tbsp of extra plant milk. That should do the trick!

    1. Hi Bethany! This is because (1) all flours have different levels of absorbency, so the brownies may not come out as fudgy, and (2) it is not advised to eat most flours raw. Buckwheat and oat flours are ok, though – I have not tested this recipe with oat flour though!

      1. I recently learned about the dangers of eating raw wheat flour so it is interesting to hear about buckwheat. Do you know if almond or rice flours are safe?

  11. These were AMAZING. I made them yesterday and they’re almost gone already. My family agrees, these are some of the best brownies ever(:

  12. 5 stars
    Oh my goodness… YUM! Thank you for your creativity! These will definitely be made again for my husband’s upcoming birthday!

  13. Do you use the dark gray buckwheat flour from the store? Or do you grind up groats? These look so incredible, excited to try them!!

    1. Violet, I use buckwheat flour that is a darker gray color. I don’t think you would be able to grind the groats on your own and make a flour that is fine enough