Oat Flour Brownies Recipe

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For those who are gluten-free, oat flour can be an ideal substitute for wheat flour. These oat flour brownies are a perfect example.

These brownies are quite rich and fudgy. You also have the option to make them dairy-free!

A close up shot of three oat flour brownies stacked up on a white background.

Is Baking With Oat Flour Healthier?

Not necessarily. Wholegrain flour is wholegrain flour. However, if you are gluten-free, or need to be a on gluten-free eating plan for whatever reason, oat flour that is labeled as “gluten-free” is a wonderful option. Oat flour has become one of my go-to flours in my kitchen and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Dietary Adjustments

Dairy-Free – If you need to avoid dairy, use vegan butter. I used Miyokos and it worked beautifully. (Not paid to promote them, I just love the brand)

Gluten-Free – In theory, this recipe is gluten-free simply because it avoids wheat. However, you still need to ensure that you are purchasing ingredients labeled as gluten-free where needed. Gluten-free oat flour will always be labeled as gluten-free. Not all oat flour is gluten-free due to cross-contamination at processing plants. So look for the label. Also, make sure your vanilla extract is gluten-free.

Vegan – This could potentially be made vegan if you use vegan butter and a vegan egg substitute, as well as vegan chocolate chips.

What Makes A Brownie More Fudgy?

The first and most important ingredient in fudgy brownies is fat. The more fat you put into a brownie batter, the more fudgy the turnout will be.

Another important addition is putting chocolate chips into the batter. This helps keep everything fudgy as the chips melt during baking.

However, this recipe already accounts for those two things. So if you want to take it a step further…

How Do I Make These Brownies Fudgier?

The best way to make an ultimately fudgy brownie (besides adding more fat content), is to use a powdered, granular sweetener.

While the sweetener I used here is not considered clean eating, it is more appropriate for my blood sugar, so I stick with it. We all make our own little decisions with things like this.

But if you want to truly stick to clean eating, you can either purchase a clean, granular sweetener that is powdered, or you can powder one yourself at home using a spice grinder or coffee grinder reserved just for that purpose.

I find spice grinders to work the best for this. Coffee grinders work, but they tend to get a little gummed up over time and are harder to clean after each use.

Three oat flour brownies stacked up on a cake stand.

What Sweeteners Will Work Best For These Oat Flour Brownies?

Whether you use regular or powdered sweeteners, there are three types of sweeteners that will work best.

Sucanat
Coconut sugar
Monk Fruit

And if you need a more blood sugar-friendly version like I made, I used brown xylitol. The brand name is Swerve. But be aware that you will need to read the ingredients on these because this company puts out many sweeteners, and not all of them use the same ingredients. Avoid anything other than xylitol and avoid anything with Maltodextrin added.

Avoid liquid sweeteners like honey or maple syrup as they will offset the wet/dry ratio too much for this to bake properly.

Recipe Variations

Ginger brownies – Add ginger, either fresh or ground, for some added spice in your brownies. 1 to 2 teaspoons of either should do the trick.
Nut butter brownies – Instead of sprinkling the raw batter with walnuts, drizzle swirls of nut butter, such as peanut butter, through the batter. Just a couple of tablespoons should do the trick.
Mint brownies – If you want some holiday flare for these brownies, about a ½ teaspoon of mint extract should make for a nice holiday treat with plenty of minty flavors.

About The Ingredients

(Print the recipe from the recipe card below)

Butter – As mentioned above, you can use regular butter or vegan butter. If using regular butter, unsalted butter is best. Melt this in the microwave or on the stovetop before proceeding with this recipe.

Granular sweetener – See note above on what sweeteners to try.

Salt – I used pink Himalayan salt, but you can use whatever salt you normally cook or bake with.

Pure vanilla extract – You want the real stuff. Yes, it’s a bit more pricey, but it’s worth it. Vanilla flavoring just doesn’t taste the same and it adds a bunch of unwanted sugars and other ingredients to whatever you put it in.

Large eggs – While you can certainly use these straight from the fridge, it’s best in baking to let your eggs come to room temperature before you use them. That said, your brownies will still be just fine if you add the eggs when cold.

Unsweetened cocoa powder – Make sure this is only cocoa powder with nothing else added.

Oat flour – Remember to look for a package labeled as gluten-free, if you need that. Otherwise, any oat flour will do. You cannot substitute this with other gluten-free flours because they behave so differently.

Baking powder – Make sure it’s on the newer side so you get some proper rise from it.

Dark chocolate chips – These are optional, but they help with the fudgy texture tremendously. I used the Whole Foods brand (365) of sugar-free chocolate chips. But other good choices are either the Enjoy Life brand, or the Lily’s brand.

Walnut pieces – These are optional but tasty. You can either mix them into the batter or sprinkle them over the top of the raw batter in the baking pan, just prior to putting them in the oven. If you can’t find walnut pieces, simply buy walnut halves and chop them into smaller pieces.

How To Make Fudgy Oat Flour Brownies

An oven display set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. and butter your cake pan, then set it aside.

Melted butter, granular sweetener, salt and vanilla extract, sitting unmixed in a mixing bowl.

Melt the butter and put it in a medium bowl. Add the sweetener, salt, vanilla extract, and eggs.

Flour and cocoa powder added to other ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Then add the dry ingredients. The unsweetened cocoa powder, oat flour, and baking powder. You will also add in the chocolate chips here if you are using them. I highly recommend it simply because they help with the fudge factor. You may also add walnuts now if you want them inside the brownies, or you can wait and use them as a topping.

Mixing up brownie batter in a stainless steel mixing bowl with a whisk.

Blend well with a whisk.

Oat flour brownie batter poured sitting in a square cake pan.

Pour the batter into a buttered cake pan.

Walnuts sprinkled over the top of raw, oat flour brownie batter in a square cake pan.

If you are using walnuts for topping, you can sprinkle them on now.

Just baked, oat flour brownies in a square cake pan, cooling on a black, wire, cooling rack.

Bake the brownies for 50-60 minutes, or until the center is not giggly when the pan gets moved. Cool these completely before cutting. They can finish cooling in the fridge once the pan is cool enough to touch.

Three oat flour brownies stacked up with pieces of cut parchment paper between them.

Cut into 9 equal pieces (or smaller if you want fewer calories in each serving), and serve.

Recipe Tips

Every oven is different, so the baking time needed in your own oven may be slightly different than mine. For that reason, you should judge the doneness of these brownies by how they look.
The center of these brownies takes the longest to bake. You can test the doneness of the center area by giving the pan a light giggle in the oven to see if the center moves like jello. If it does, continue baking in 10-minute increments until the center behaves like cake instead of jello. If the outer edges start to look a little overdone, you can place a loose piece of foil over the pan to keep them from burning while the center finishes baking.
If you want the up the fudgy factor even further, you can powder whatever sweetener you use in a grinder first, or purchase a powdered variety.
Do not cut these brownies until they are fully cooled. I highly recommend cooling them to touch, and then getting them actually cold in the fridge before cutting. With a lack of gluten, these tend to be a bit more crumbly than regular brownies. Making sure they are fully cold before cutting will help keep them together. But if you just can’t wait for them to cool, I recommend eating them with a spoon while they are warm. It’s crazy delicious!

Storage Tips

A little of these goes a long way. They are rich and quite satisfying. So if you find yourself with leftovers, here’s how to store them.

How To Store Oat Flour Brownies

These will keep in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days. You can stack cut brownies, depending on the container you store them in, but make sure to put some parchment paper between each brownie or they will stick together.

How To Freeze Oat Flour Brownies

To freeze these oat flour brownies, it’s best to freeze them in a single layer. If you need to stack and condense them after that, some parchment paper will keep them from freezing together. These will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Recipe Supplies

For this recipe, you will need a brownie pan, a mixing bowl, and a whisk. To purchase any of these from Amazon, simply click the image below to be taken to that product on the Amazon website. (Affiliate links)

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