These vegan and gluten free s’mores brownies are the best dessert we’ve made so far this year. They’re fudgy, rich and insanely delicious with a buttery graham cracker crust, a decadent brownie layer, and toasted marshmallows.
This post is sponsored by If You Care and Feedfeed. All opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support us!
Memorial Day weekend marked the unofficial start of summer (in my mind, at least), which means it’s officially s’mores season, people!!
Traditional s’mores are great, sure, but these s’mores brownies are next-level. We can probably all agree that brownies are already one of the best desserts out there. So they can only improve with add-ins like crunchy graham crackers and melted marshmallows.
And more chocolate chips, of course. Always more chocolate!
Instructions
These fudgy brownies start with a buttery gluten free graham cracker crust.
The crust is just 4 simple ingredients. Gluten free graham crackers, vegan butter, sugar and a pinch of salt. It’s a versatile crust recipe that also works as the base of a tart or cheesecake bars.
After the gluten free graham cracker crust comes a classic, fudgy, chocolate chip-studded brownie. Of course, these brownies are also gluten free and vegan.
And, they have a special secret ingredient you might not guess by looking at these s'mores brownies: peanut butter. We love adding nut butter to brownies for the creamy texture it always provides. Peanut butter, of course, also adds a hint of that peanutty flavor we crave.
Finally, we finished off these gluten free chocolatey beauties with mini vegan marshmallows, perfectly toasted under the broiler.
Skip the mess of indoor s'mores in the microwave or over your stove. Really, skip the flames altogether, by taking advantage of the direct heat in your oven's broiler.
Just be sure to keep an eye on things--we all know how quickly marshmallows can go from perfectly golden brown to completely burnt!
Lastly, extra chocolate chips and graham crackers are optional, but highly encouraged toppings to your perfectly toasted s'mores brownies.
The secret to easy clean-up: parchment paper
These s'mores brownies are made possible by If You Care parchment paper! Seriously - good parchment paper is a mandatory part of this recipe, lest you end up with a crumbly, difficult-to-serve mess.
Parchment paper makes it incredibly easy to remove the brownies from the pan. That way, you can slice them into beautiful, bite-sized squares to share.
We’re thrilled to partner with If You Care and Feedfeed for this recipe. We’ve been using If You Care parchment paper for years in our own kitchen.
They make unbleached, chlorine free, all natural and compostable parchment paper. We use parchment paper all the time, especially for gluten free baking, and it’s great to have an option that’s sustainable and free from unnecessary chemicals.
When we’re finished using the parchment paper, we tear it up into small pieces and add to our compost!
Using Parchment for Easy Clean-Up
Pro tip: here’s how to line a brownie pan with parchment paper for easy removal and clean edges:
- Cut two pieces of parchment paper to fit the width of the pan (in each direction). They should be long enough to hang over the sides for easy removal.
- Spray the bottom of the pan with a bit of cooking oil spray or rub with butter. Lay one piece of parchment paper in pan and press down.
- Spray a bit more oil, then lay the other piece down going the opposite direction.
- Pour in brownie (or other delicous) batter, and bake!
More summer dessert favorites
A few more of our favorite sweet summer recipes...all gluten free and vegan!
- Dark Chocolate Dipped Figs
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Four Berry Pie Bars
- Strawberry Shortcake
We hope you give these scrumptious vegan and gluten free s’mores brownies a try! They’re the perfect dessert to bring to your next summer bbq or dinner party. You may want to make an extra batch - we can guarantee they’ll disappear quickly!
Print📖 Recipe
S'mores Brownies
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 dozen 1x
Description
These vegan and gluten free s’mores brownies are without a doubt the best dessert we’ve made so far this year. They’re fudgy, rich and insanely delicious with a buttery graham cracker crust, a decadent brownie layer, and toasted marshmallows on top.
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 8 oz. packages gluten free graham crackers
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 7 tbsp melted vegan butter
Brownies:
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup smooth peanut butter (or almond butter)
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ⅓ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup room temp coconut oil
- 1 ½ tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup gluten free all purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cacao powder
- ¼ cup oat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup melted vegan dark mini chocolate chips
- ½ cup mini vegan dark chocolate chips
For topping:
- ¼ cup melted mini dark chocolate chips
- 7-8 oz mini vegan marshmallow
- Graham cracker crumbs
- More chocolate chips
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 9x9 pan with If You Care parchment paper.
- Add graham crackers, sugar, and salt to a food processor and pulse to combine. Add melted butter and process until you can press mixture together between thumb and forefinger.
- Press ¾ of mixture into pan. Make sure to press it in well so it doesn’t crumble when you take it out.
- Bake crust for 15 minutes, then remove from oven.
Brownies:
- Meanwhile, add coconut milk, peanut butter, cane sugar, applesauce, room temp coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla to mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until smooth and creamy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cacao powder, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Slowly incorporate dry into wet ingredients until batter is smooth. Add in melted chocolate and continue mixing.
- Fold in mini chocolate chips. Let batter sit for 15-20 minutes (we have found this helps with texture of gluten free baked goods).
- Pour brownie batter over the top of graham cracker crust and smooth into even layer. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Melt ¼ cup mini chocolate chips. Spread gently over top of brownies with a spatula after they have baked for 30 minutes, and then top generously with mini marshmallows, remaining graham cracker crust and more chocolate chips.
- Return to oven and bake for an additional 7 minutes, then broil for 1-2 minutes (or use culinary torch) to toast marshmallows.
- Remove from oven, let cool for at least 20 minutes, then remove from pan and slice.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Brownie
- Calories: 603
- Sugar: 47.2 g
- Sodium: 537.9 mg
- Fat: 27.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 89.2 g
- Fiber: 6.5 g
- Protein: 7.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0.3 mg
Tiffany says
These look amazing!! Is there a substitute we can use to the nut butters (including sun butter 😔)?
Lexi says
Hi! Hmm, I'm struggling to think of a good alternative. Would coconut butter work for you?
Jaclyn says
HI! I just made this and it looks amazing! Would you suggest storing in the fridge?
Lexi says
Hi! Yes, I think that would help keep the brownies together although it's not totally necessary. Enjoy!!
Suzanne Batch says
Hi Lexi,
I’m preparing to make these for the holidays, but wanted to confirm I should still add additional xantham gum even if my flour already contains it?
Thanks so much!
Lexi says
Hi Suzanne,
It's not 100% necessary if your blend already contains it. We do sometimes still add extra to improve the texture of some GF baked goods, but these brownies should be fine without the extra amount. Thanks for checking and hope you enjoy!!
Diane Sansone Powell says
Hi, I just made the s’mores brownie. The flavor of the brownie is delish. My only issue is that it is a little crumbly. I followed your recipes as written. Do you know what I may have done or not done correctly to get this result. I am new to vegan baking and have had many fails (not your recipes just in general). I also have tried many vegan brownie recipes and I love yours the best. I just need find the perfect texture. Love to hear your thoughts. Thank you!
Lexi says
Hi Diane! Thanks so much for your comment and glad that you like the brownies! Do you mean the brownie as a whole (with the crust and marshmallow topping), or just the brownie layer? If you mean the brownie as a whole, I can confirm that this is definitely a pretty messy dessert. The brownie layer on its own shouldn't be too crumbly. Also curious to know if you let the batter sit for 15-20 minutes before baking.
Happy to answer any other questions!