Make a batch of vegan gluten-free brownies! These strawberry cheesecake brownies are sweet, rich and fruity thanks to the strawberry swirl! In partnership with neat.
Strawberry Cheesecake Swirl Vegan Brownies
If you’re reading this post the day it goes live, it’s February 14—Valentine’s Day. You may have even clicked on this post because you’re like, OMG I still have no idea what to bake for my babe today. No worries, friend. I got you with these fudgy vegan brownies!
Whether you’re baking for a partner, your family, or yourself (Valentine’s Day is also about self-love, okay?), these Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies are the cutest little festive treats.
Not only is the base of this vegan gluten-free brownie recipe delicious on its own, but when you add a tangy strawberry cheesecake swirl on top? Oh my gawwwwd, the final product is delicious. The flavors really complement each other—I mean what says Valentine’s Day more than chocolate + strawberries?
I mean, you could totally serve up chocolate-covered strawberries. But if you want to take it to the next level, I suggest these strawberry cheesecake brownies.
Ingredients for Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies
These vegan gluten free brownies are pretty simple. One special ingredient is neat’s new neat egg, which is an all-natural egg replacement made from chia seeds and garbanzo beans. Here’s everything you’ll need to make these vegan strawberry brownies!
- neat egg. The neat egg acts as a binder, just like eggs would, so the brownies stay together nicely.
- Sugar. Plain white cane sugar is perfect for this recipe.
- Nut or seed butter. I used almond butter, but you can use any nut or seed butter that you’d like.
- Applesauce. Go for unsweetened!
- Non-dairy milk. You can use any kind of plant-based milk that you prefer.
- Oat flour. You can buy oat flour or make your own by grinding rolled oats in the blender.
- Cocoa powder. This will give us all that rich chocolatey goodness we need for these vegan brownies.
- Baking soda. We don’t want something too dense, so baking soda will help keep things nice and fluffy.
- Vanilla extract. Just a touch to balance out all the richness from the cocoa.
- Salt. Always salt your baked goods! This helps balance out the sweetness.
- Dark chocolate chips. For more fudgy goodness!
- Extra-firm silken tofu. This will be the base of our vegan cheesecake swirl.
- Strawberries. Fresh or frozen both work. If you’re using frozen, be sure to defrost and strain off any excess liquid.
- Lemon juice. This will help amp up the strawberry flavor and lend a bit of tartness to the strawberry cheesecake swirl.
- Cornstarch. Just a bit to help thicken up the strawberry cheesecake.
If you’re looking for more ways to use neat egg, it can be used to replace eggs in any baking recipe. neat also offers shelf-stable baking mixes and meat-replacement mixes (I love the Southwest mix!). Check out the neat website for more info!
How to Make Vegan Brownies
These vegan brownies are done in under 1 hour, so you can spend more time hanging out with the people you love. I’d make a double batch, though—these brownies will go fast.
To start, preheat your oven to 350ºF and prep an 8×8 inch baking pan. Then, add your neat egg and 1/4 of water to a bowl and let that sit for about 5 minutes. Once your neat egg is ready, add it to the bowl of a food processor or a blender along with your sugar, nut butter, applesauce and milk. Blend it up until everything is well-mixed, then add in the oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, vanilla and salt and continue to blend until smooth.
Finally, add in your chocolate chips and stir them into the brownie batter until incorporated evenly. Pour all that chocolatey goodness into your pan, then time to work on your strawberry cheesecake swirl!
How to Make the Strawberry Cheesecake Swirl
While the base of this vegan gluten free brownie recipe is delicious on its own, I think we should level up with a strawberry cheesecake swirl, no?
Start by wiping out the blender or food processor that you used to make the brownie batter, then add in your silken tofu, strawberries, sugar, oat flour, lemon juice, cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Blend it up until you’re left with a smooth, light pink mixture.
Pour the mixture overtop the pan with the brownie batter. Then take a knife or a toothpick, insert it into the pan with the batter and the strawberry topping and drag it around the pan to create the the strawberry cheesecake swirl on top of the brownies.
Now you’re ready to bake! Pop them into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes before digging in!
Tips for Making These Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies
- Make your own oat flour. I love baking with oat flour, not only because it makes this a gluten-free brownie recipe, but because the flavor is slightly nutty, it adds a bit of extra fiber to the recipe, and you can easily make it at home! No need to go to the store and buy a fancy gluten-free flour! To make your own oat flour, just toss some rolled oats into a blender and grind them up until you’re left with a finely milled flour.
- Mix it up! While I love the pop of fruity flavor in these strawberry cheesecake brownies, you could totally get creative here. Cherries or raspberries would also be delicious for a tart pop. You could also try adding soaked dates instead for more of a caramel cheesecake flavor, or even swirl in some peanut butter!
- Let them cool! You know when you go to slice into your freshly baked brownies, you drag your knife through the pan, and the brownies totally fall apart? 99% of the time it’s because your brownies had not cooled enough! Allow your brownies to cool completely for a minimum of 10 minutes before slicing into it to make sure you get nice, clean slices.
More Vegan Brownie Recipes
There are so many ways to mix up your brownies and get a bit creative. If you’re looking for more delicious vegan brownie recipes, check out some of these favorites!
- Vegan Skillet Brownies (with Lentils!)
- Chocolate Mint Brownies
- Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Brownies
- Vegan Brookies by Hello Spoonful
- Triple Chocolate Salted Caramel Brownies by Vegan Richa
- Samoa Brownies by Abby Sharp
Strawberry Cheesecake Swirl Vegan Brownies
Make a batch of vegan gluten-free brownies! These strawberry cheesecake brownies are sweet, rich and fruity thanks to the strawberry swirl!
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- 2 tablespoons neat egg
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup almond butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup oat flour*
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
For the cheesecake swirl:
- 1/2 12-ounce package extra-firm silken tofu
- 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, halved
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon oat flour*
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Dash of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease an 8×8-inch pan.
- In a small bowl, add neat egg and 1/4 cup water; stir. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add sugar, almond butter, applesauce, non-dairy milk and neat egg mixture. Process until well-combined, stopping to scrape down the sides.
- Add oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Process until completely smooth. Add chocolate chips; stir until fully incorporated into the batter. Pour batter into the pan.
- In a clean blender or food processor, add all cheesecake swirl ingredients. Blend until smooth. Pour mixture over brownie batter. Use a knife to swirl the cheesecake filling into the top of the batter.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes; place in fridge for faster cooling time.
Notes
*To make your own oat flour, simply place rolled oats in a blender or food processor and blend until a fine flour forms.
Thanks to neat for sponsoring this post! I love working with brands whose products I really love and would honestly recommend. Thank you for supporting this blog that I love oh-so-much!
