These fudgy no bake chocolate brownies are easy to make in one bowl with 4 ingredients. These delicious healthy brownies are covered in chocolate, and are made from scratch in less than half an hour.
These no bake chocolate brownies are fudgy and velvety smooth, and one bite will make you swoon. Like all my brownie recipes, this no bake brownie recipe is rich and chocolatey, as well as eggless and dairy free. These chocolate covered brownies are an easy homemade brownie recipe that will become your favorite.
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Why You'll Love These
Date brownies. These easy 4 ingredient chocolate brownies are the delicious treat you are looking for. They are chocolate brownies with dates that are refined sugar free, and have a sweet caramel flavor like my classic chocolate smoothie, these homemade fudge bars.
Healthy brownies from scratch. With the protein from peanut butter, and the iron and fiber from dates, these brownies will help you feel great. Like my no bake peanut butter brownies, these brownies are also dairy free, eggless, vegan, and gluten free, and can be nut free.
Easy brownie recipe. Make them in a blender, food processor or even in a mixing bowl.
Ingredients
- Peanut butter. These are no butter chocolate brownies, but they do use nut butter. If you don't want to use peanut butter, try almond butter, cashew butter, peanut butter, and even tahini (sesame seed) butter.
- Medjool dates. You can find these packaged in the produce section of your grocer. I have options in the recipe notes to use date paste or to use pure maple syrup.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder. I use dutch processed because it's darker, has a milder flavor, and is less acidic. But any unsweetened cocoa works or even cacao powder.
- Chocolate chips. Melted, or melt your favorite chocolate bar. I use Enjoylife semi sweet mini chips because they melt smoothly and easily.
- Salt. Essential for flavor.
Optional Topping. I melted chocolate chips and milk together for a fudgy chocolate top. You can even add a teaspoon of coconut oil for shine.
See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
Here are general steps to make this recipe. For specific measurements and instructions, scroll down to the bottom of this post for the printable recipe card.
Preparation: Line a loaf pan with parchment paper so the sides hang over the sides. Soak the dates for 2-5 minutes in just boiled water. Cut open the dates, or pull open with your fingers, and remove the pit. Toss into the blender.
Step 1: Melt ½ cup of chocolate chips in the microwave for 45 seconds. Stir until the chips are melted.
Step 2: Add the melted chocolate to the dates in the blender. Then add the peanut butter, cocoa powder, and salt. Process until crumbly.
Step 3: Press the batter into the lined pan and even off the surface by pressing with a spoon.
Step 4: For the topping, melt ½ cup of chocolate chips in the microwave for 45 seconds. Stir in 2 tablespoon of warmed milk until creamy.
Step 5: Pour the melted chocolate on top of the brownie batter and even off by tipping the pan.
Step 6: Set the pan in the freezer for 15 to 25 minutes to set. Then cut into 8 slices.
Recipe Tips
1. Soften the dates quickly by dropping them into a pot of just boiled water for five minutes. No measuring of water necessary. Then drain the dates, rinse and pit.
2. Stir your peanut butter to incorporate the oil fairly evenly. You can even microwave the jar, lid off, for 15 second intervals to help loosen it up to stir.
3. Be sure all ingredients are at room temperature when you add them to the blender. Uneven temperatures could lead to funky textures.
4. When cutting these chilled no bake brownies, use a sharp knife, and run it under hot tap water to heat it, then dry it thoroughly and make a cut. Keep repeating between cuts to get even clean brownie sides.
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Storage
Store your chocolate brownies in an air-tight container or storage bags. They can keep at room temperature for 2 days; refrigerated they can keep one week. And frozen these brownies keep for up to three months. You might want to freeze the brownies individually in freezer storage bags so you can thaw as needed.
Substitutions
Peanut butter. You can use any nut butter, almond, cashew, or peanut butter. Choose the runny kind that have only nuts and oil as ingredients, no added sugar.
Using PB2 peanut butter powder to lower the fat. Use 8 tablespoons of PB2 with 6 tablespoons of water to produce the ½ cup of peanut butter needed for the recipe. This will reduce the fat by 8 grams per brownie.
Cocoa powder. You need to use unsweetened cocoa powder. It can be regular unsweetened or dutch processed, or even cacao powder.
You can use whole dates or date paste. You can make date paste ahead and store it frozen for occasions such as this. Here is my date paste recipe.
Variations
Make nut-free brownies. Instead of peanut butter, use tahini (sesame seed butter), or sunflower seed butter. And use a nut-free milk such as oat milk.
To make these flourless brownies without dates, replace the 1 cup of dates with ½ cup walnuts and ¼ cup maple syrup.
FAQS
These no bake brownies are flourless brownies and do not contain any flour. They rely on dates and nut butter for their fudgy texture.
No, adding honey would add too much liquid.
No, there is no flour or baking agent to help it rise. For baked brownies, try my gluten-free brownies or my oreo brownies.
Yes, these no bake brownies are raw brownies as they are made with whole foods and no baked.
More Brownie Recipes
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📖 Recipe
No Bake Chocolate Brownies
Equipment
- blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup Medjool dates 10-12 dates or date paste*
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup peanut butter or almond butter or cashew butter
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips, melted
Chocolate top
- ½ cup chocolate chips, melted
- 2 tablespoon milk any milk or canned coconut milk
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Instructions
Prep
- Soak the dates in just-boiled water for 2-5 minutes. Then cut them open or pull open with your fingers, and remove the pit and the end knob if there is one. Toss into the blender.
- Melt the ½ cup of chocolate chips in the microwave for 45 seconds. Stir until all chips are melted. Microwave another 15 seconds if needed to melt all the chips.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, 8x12 inch, so the sides hang over.
Make brownies
- In a food processor or blender, blend all ingredients into a combined batter. It will be somewhat sticky and pressable.1 cup Medjool dates, ¼ cup cocoa powder, ¼ teaspoon of salt, ½ cup chocolate chips, melted, ½ cup peanut butter
- Press the mixture into the lined loaf pan and flatten the surface with a spoon.
- Melt the ½ cup of chocolate chips for the top in the microwave at 45 seconds. Stir until all chips are melted. Heat 2 tablespoon of milk and stir that in. Coconut milk will make the fudgiest texture, but any milk works.½ cup chocolate chips, melted, 2 tablespoon milk
- Pour that on top of the brownie batter. Tap the pan to even off the chocolate.
- Set the pan in the freezer for 15 to 25 minutes, then remove and cut into 8 pieces.
Storage
- Store your brownies in an air-tight container or storage bags. They can keep at room temperature for 2 days, refrigerated they can keep one week. And frozen they keep for up to three months.
Sharon says
Fudgy delicousness! My husband and I love them. Thank you for sharing.
Dee Dine says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Xiomara says
Thank you for the clarification. This recipe is incredible. Made it two days in a row it’s that good.
Dee Dine says
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Donna says
What size loaf pan did you use??
Dee Dine says
I used 8-inch by 4-inch!
Bobby says
What about using figs in place of dates?
Dee Dine says
I think dried figs are too hard to blend, and fresh figs are too moist to create the structure that dates create. But I haven't tried them!
Xiomara says
One more question it says two tablespoons flaxseed eggs, does that mean I should make the flaxseed egg and use two tablespoons of the mixture or make two flaxseed eggs and use it all ? I want to be clear so I don’t mess it up. Thanks.
Dee Dine says
Of course, no problem. The only flaxseed mixture to use it this: 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds + 6 tbsp water
Xiomara says
Step four in the prep says “Fold in ½ the melted chocolate. Mix again until creamy.” What do you do with the other half of the melted chocolate?
Dee Dine says
Thank you, I updated the recipe. Use the remaining melted chocolate chips after bars are cooled.
Ela says
Wow! Looks absolutely amazing, Dee! The texture is fantastic. Love that you added flaxseed eggs. 🙂
Dee Dine says
Thank you Ela! Flaxseeds are awesome! Thanks for stopping by, Dee xx
Klara says
OMG! I made these today and they came out perfect! I even doubled the recipe and used a loaf pan. Thank you for that option.
Dee Dine says
That's great news Klara! Thanks for your feedback! Dee xx
V says
Hello
Could I use oil instead of butter ?
Dee Dine says
I don't think so, although if you try, let us know how it worked out.
Alli says
Just want to point out that the recipe says 1/3 cup butter but the instructions say 2/3 cup.
Dee Dine says
Thank you Alli, I fixed it. The ingredient list is correct for a 4-inch by 4-inch pan. Many thanks for notifying me! Dee xx