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This fudgy olive oil brownies recipe is surprisingly easy and delivers rich, chocolaty goodness – minus the butter! Everyone will love this simple treat.
Welcome to your new favorite treat: these fudgy olive oil brownies! These quickly became a fan favorite recipe and are our family’s go-to brownie recipe. They’re rich and chewy: a dairy free brownie filled with peanut butter and olive oil (so it’s Mediterranean diet friendly).
When creating this recipe, Alex and I were curious about using olive oil in a brownie. Combined with peanut butter, it makes a rich, fudgy chocolate brownie recipe with a chewy texture and robust flavor. Here’s why we love these brownies:
- They’re easy to make, with no stand mixer or special equipment required
- They use healthy fats like olive oil and peanut butter
- They feature dark chocolate (my favorite food group!)
- They are rich and chewy, and you don’t notice there’s no dairy! Everyone will love them, no matter their diet.
What readers are saying
We passed this recipe by a few readers as recipe testers before sharing it with you. Here are a few highlights from what they had to say:
- “The BEST homemade brownies! Fudgy and moist, with a deep chocolaty flavor. I’ll never buy a box mix again…. so easy to make and so delicious!” -Julie
- “These brownies are sooo rich and fudgy!! Yet somehow I think they’d also appeal to those who prefer cake-like brownies.” -Andrea
- “The brownies baking in the oven were hands down the best air freshener! As my kiddo said with a full mouth, ‘These are really good!’ 10/10 would make again.” -Claire-Anne
- “SO good! So good, in fact, one kid said this ‘must be’ the go-to brownie going forward!” -Nicole
Key ingredients in fudgy olive oil brownies
These dairy free brownies have simple ingredients and no “tricks” or substitutions, aside from the olive oil and peanut butter standing in for the traditional butter. However, many brownie experts use both oil and butter in a brownie recipe, so the true swap here might be peanut butter! In creating the recipe, we referenced this tahini olive oil brownies recipe as a proof of concept, but changed it up quite a bit. Here are some key ingredients for this recipe:
- Dutch process or dark cocoa powder: This is the key ingredient! It’s a special type of cocoa powder is treated with an alkali to make it pH neutral, giving it a darker color and milder flavor. This type has deep rich notes instead of the lighter fruity notes that you’ll get with regular cocoa powder. It’s available at most grocery stores!
- All purpose flour: You’ll need just a hint of flour for this recipe. Almond flour should work for gluten-free.
- Olive oil: Use only extra virgin olive oil.
- Creamy peanut butter: Peanut butter brings a rich, savory flavor and offsets any bitter notes from the olive oil. You could use almost butter as well, or any other nut butter. Use sunflower butter for nut free.
- Dark chocolate chips: Most dark chocolate chips brands are vegan, but make sure the package says dairy-free. We like the brand Guittard 63%.
Rounding out the ingredient list is granulated and brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt. Since these dairy free brownies contain eggs, they are not vegan. Head here for our vegan brownie recipe for a full vegan recipe!
How to make olive oil brownies: step by step
Brownies are quick and simple, and don’t even require a mixer! This brownie recipe comes together like most:
Step 1: Mix together the dry ingredients: cocoa powder, flour, and salt.
Step 2: Melt the olive oil, peanut butter, and chocolate chips on the stovetop over low heat until completely melted and smooth.
Step 3: Pour the melted chocolate into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the granulated sugar and brown sugar, then the eggs and vanilla extract. Switch to a spatula and mix in the dry ingredients until a very thick dough forms.
Step 4: Fold in the remaining chocolate chips. Then pour the batter into an 8 x 8″ pan prepared with parchment paper. The batter will be very thick, which is as expected.
Step 5: Bake 30 minutes until set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean (though there will be some melted chocolate if you hit a chocolate chip!). Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then use the parchment to lift out the brownies to cool further.
Serving and storage info
Cut the brownies into 16 slices and serve them warm from the oven, or room temperature. Our favorite is room temperature, because the texture is a little more set. But if you just can’t wait, feel free to dig in!
These dairy free brownies store up to 5 days at room temperature. We recommend wrapping them in aluminum foil or they can become slightly dry. For longer term storage, place them in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Just make sure to let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving, since the texture becomes solidified when cold.
Gluten free variation
We’ve had several readers test the gluten free variation of this recipe with almond flour and it works well. Here are notes from reader Lexi:
- “One batch I made gluten free with almond flour and almond butter. They turned out very well with a great fudgy texture. Very chocolaty, not too sweet. They were perfect! The second batch I made the recipe as written, with all-purpose flour and peanut butter. They were equally as delicious! They had a slightly chewier texture but just as fudgy. Very well balanced. I will definitely be making both versions again!”
A few more brownies recipes
We hope you love these brownies as much as we do! They are a new family favorite. Here are a few more fun brownies recipes to try:
Dietary notes
These dairy free olive oil brownies are dairy-free. For vegan, go to vegan brownies or zucchini brownies. For gluten free, go to gluten free brownies or use the almond flour replacement in the recipe below.
Yes, olive oil works as a replacement for vegetable oil in most brownie recipes. However, it does have a bitter aftertaste, which can compete with the other flavors in baked goods. We suggest using a brownies recipe customized for olive oil like the one below, which balances the olive oil in combination with nut butter.
These brownies are dairy free: they use olive oil in combination with peanut butter as the baking fat, instead of butter. Since they include eggs, they are not vegan.
A neutral oil like grapeseed oil or vegetable oil is often used in brownie recipes. But olive oil works, and is considered one of the healthiest cooking oils.
Fudgy Olive Oil Brownies (Dairy Free!)
This fudgy olive oil brownies recipe is surprisingly easy and delivers rich, chocolaty goodness – minus the butter! Everyone will love this simple treat.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
- ¼ cup all purpose flour (or almond flour, for gluten-free)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter (or other nut or sunflower butter)
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips* plus one handful, divided (we like Guittard 63%)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 x 8″ baking dish with a piece of parchment paper, cut so that it extends on two sides to easily remove the brownies from the pan. Grease the exposed parts of the pan with butter or oil to prevent sticking.
- In a small bowl, whisk the Dutch process cocoa powder, all purpose flour, and kosher salt.
- Place ½ cup chocolate chips, ⅓ cup peanut butter, and the olive oil in a small saucepan over low heat and heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into a medium mixing bowl.
- Immediately whisk in the granulated sugar and brown sugar, then the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract. Switch to a spatula and stir in the dry ingredients until a very thick batter forms. Stir in the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle another handful or two of chocolate chips over the top.
- Bake 30 minutes until set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean (though there will be some melted chocolate if you hit a chocolate chip!). Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then use the parchment to lift out the brownies to cool further. Slice into 16 pieces and enjoy warm or cool to room temperature.
- Store at room temperature wrapped in foil for up to 5 days or refrigerated for 10 days. Allow to come to room temperature before enjoying (the brownies solidify when cold).
Notes
*Most dark chocolate chips are dairy free, but look for a “dairy-free” marking on the package.
The BEST homemade brownies!! Fudgy and moist, with a deep chocolaty flavor. I’ll never buy a box mix again…. so easy to make and so delicious! Betty who?? Haha!
The peanut butter surprised me! Melting it with the oil and chocolate chips kept them dense and chewy, without adding a peanut butter flavor. It was a nice substitute for butter and the brownies were rich and chocolaty.
Overall the taste was divine!!! I’d say a bit rich, maybe I’d half the chocolate chip amount added at the end – but this is a brownie and brownies are meant to be decadent. The 1/16 size of slice made for a perfect treat. The edges were perfectly chewy and not too crispy. The top was wonderfully crackly but not messy!
SO good! So good, in fact, one kid said this “must be” the go-to brownie going forward!
We had them post-cut/still warm. And we had them for dessert, with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles on top. Both were awesome. And someone snacked in the middle, because we only have 6 leftover…Hashtag wasntjustme!
I was skeptical when I read the recipe because I do not like oil in my brownies, but the house rules are that we make the recipe as presented the first time, tweaks (if needed) are done any time after. The batter came together easily. We were curious if the peanut butter would be overwhelming or not (it’s not).
The brownies baking in the oven were hands down the best air freshener around lol.
The end result: No heavy oil taste, I feel that the peanut butter cuts out some of the richness of a brownie (in a good way), and as my kiddo said with a full mouth “these are really good!” 10/10 would make again.
This recipe is truly amazing! We absolutely loved it and no one could guess that the brownies are dairy free. Or that peanut butter is actually one of the ingredients. The brownies are very rich and decadent and a small piece goes a long way. I think slicing them into 16 pieces was perfect. They were also incredibly easy to make and came together quickly which is a major plus in my opinion.
The brownies are so good on their own which is how we first tested them but I also decided to go one step further and make them into a fancy looking dessert for company by adding some homemade raspberry sauce I had left over plus whipped cream. It was stunning! Definitely fancy enough for any dinner party. This recipe is first class and I’m sure I will make it on repeat.
These brownies were absolutely perfect for my mom’s birthday! We are not always big brownie fans, they’re often too rich for us, but these were incredible. We loved the texture and the way the top got a little crispy. The hint of peanut butter taste was delicious. My dad rated them a 12/10.
They were also very simple to make, easy to follow instructions, and cleanup was surprisingly easy as well — I used a metal mixing bowl and hardly any batter stuck to it when I transferred it into the baking pan! I didn’t have a spatula to mix them with, but a wooden spoon worked just fine, it was just a little sticky, so I smoothed the top of the brownies with a metal spoon and that worked really well since this batter doesn’t seem to stick to metal.
I will definitely be making them again!
I made the brownies and oh my gosh, they are so good! I actually ended up making two batches.
One batch I made gluten free with almond flour and almond butter. They turned out very well with a great fudgy texture. Very chocolaty, not too sweet. They were perfect! You couldn’t even tell they were gluten free.
The second batch I made as the recipe was written, with AP flour and peanut butter. They were equally as delicious! They had a slightly chewier texture than the gluten free batch, just as fudgy. Great chocolaty flavor with a hint of peanut butter, a little sweet. Very well balanced.
We actually had a really hard time picking a favorite. I will definitely be making both versions again!
They were good, a very rich, chocolatey and dense brownie. I used almond butter vs peanut butter as that is what I had on hand. I have only made one other dessert with olive oil one and it wasn’t that great so I have tended to stay away from sweets with olive oil, but this has changed my mind to give others a try!
These brownies are sooo rich and fudgy!! Yet somehow I think they’d also appeal to those who prefer cake-like brownies. The chocolate flavor of a typical brownie dominates but there’s also a very welcome taste of peanut butter that comes through perfectly. It was an easy recipe to bake and follow. I personally love to top my brownies with flakey sea salt!
These brownies were a huge hit when my husband brought them to a recentl work lunch! One woman said they were the best brownies she’d ever had!
First bite, dreamy dark chocolate. These are so good and easy to make. I made the gluten free variety and used cacao powder as I did not have Dutch process. Also used monk fruit sweetener over sugar which I minimize. I added in some chopped pecans. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks so much for a great recipe. I will definitely be making them again.
Thank you for making them! So glad you enjoyed.
Hello:
I want to make these olive oil brownies. Can you tell me what the calorie/fat content is for these?
Thank you
Melissa L.