Everyone loves brownies, right? They are Cheryl’s favorite dessert and she has been asking me to make her some with walnuts for ages. My new gluten-free vegan teff brownies have her seal of approval. She never suspected that they were gluten-free!
This past year I was diagnosed with a gluten allergy. While it did make me a little sad, I have been experimenting with teff flour the past few years.
I already knew that I could make gluten-free teff oat rolls, teff crepes with a sweet or savory filling, and even pizzelles.
If you are someone in your family can’t have gluten, tell me in the comments what you miss the most. I’ll see if I can come up with a gluten-free option for you!
This post is sponsored by The Teff Company, the makers of Maskal Teff™ products
What is Teff?
It’s a tiny whole grain that originates from Ethiopia. If you’ve ever had Ethiopian food, you ate teff in the spongy sourdough flatbread called injera.
While teff is used in that bread, it’s the fermentation process that gives it the traditional sour taste. You won’t find any of that in these gluten-free vegan teff brownies or other baked goods made with teff flour.
I think the fine grind of the teff flour really makes it easy to bake with. It doesn’t have the bits of bran that you expect from whole wheat flour. It feels a little like extra-fine ground cornmeal.
It’s also a good source of protein, calcium, and vitamin C.
The Different Kinds of Teff: Ivory and Brown
Brown can be found in bread or used for cereal, while ivory is mostly used for the sweet, spongy Ethiopian bread called injera. The grain can be a tricky one to cook with because it’s so small. If you don’t have the right equipment, it can be almost impossible.
The brown teff flour has a flavor that’s a little earthy and nutty. It’s perfect for anything chocolate. The ivory flout has a milder taste and does well in recipes where a lighter color and flavor matters.
Why use teff flour?
Teff is gluten-free, which makes it easier to digest than whole wheat or other types of flour.
In these vegan brownies, teff flour works perfectly in place of the normal whole wheat pastry flour that I usually use.
That’s because teff is high in protein. It creates a moist brownie that you would never guess is gluten-free!
Can You Taste That These Brownies are Gluten-Free?
I was amazed at how well teff flour worked in these brownies. They turned out fudgy and moist in the middle and slightly crispy on top, just the way I like them.
You really can’t tell these moist brownies are gluten-free.
Can I Make Gluten-Free Vegan Teff Brownies in My Instant Pot?
You can and they will be extra fudgey! I cook them in egg bite molds or mini-muffin silicone pans that fit into my 6-quart Instant Pot.
I get about 10 to 12 (2 tablespoon-sized) mini brownie bite out of this recipe.
You will need to use spray oil to easily remove the bites. Add 2 tablespoons of batter to each bite, then cover the mold with foil.
Also, you will put the egg bite molds on a rack over about 1 1/2 cups water for a 6-quart Instant Pot.
Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, release the pressure manually. Remove the molds and rack, let the brownies cool until you can touch them.
Normally I bake them in the oven in a 9-inch brownie pan.
Is Teff Flour Like Wheat Flour?
It is a gluten-free flour, but I think it behaves closer to wheat because it is a high-protein flour.
In most recipes, you will still not be able to substitute teff for wheat flour 1 to 1, but it works with these gluten-free vegan teff brownies.
You can see in the photo below that teff is grainier than regular wheat flour.
What you need to make these vegan brownies
In addition to brown teff flour and cocoa powder, you’ll need ground flax seeds, coconut sugar and other vegan sugar, avocado or coconut oil, vanilla, and salt.
You can add in any add-ins that you like. Cheryl insists on walnuts, but you could add any nut, chocolate chips, cocoa nibs, or even dried fruit if you wanted to.
How to make teff brownies?
Line a brownie pan with parchment paper to make the brownies easy to lift out of the pan after they are baked..
Just mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another one. Then mix the two together.
The batter is very thick, so I suggest that you scrape it out of the bowl into a pan and spread it as evenly as possible.
Top with add-ins and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
More teff recipes
- Vegan Teff Gingerbread
- Teff Crepes
- Savory Southwest Teff and Steel-Cut Oats
- Gluten-Free Vegan Teff Oat Rolls
- Chai-Spiced Teff Waffles
- Teff Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vanilla Gluten-free Vegan Pizzelles
- Apple Teff Pancakes with Homemade Date Caramel Syrup
- Pumpkin Pie with a Teff Flour Pecan Crust
- Gluten Free Vegan Irish Soda Bread
- Gluten-free Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes with No Added Oil!
- Vegan Chocolate Blintzes Stuffed with Vanilla Nut Cream
- Gluten-free Vegan Teff Stuffing
- Savory Southwest Teff and Steel-Cut Oats
The Best Gluten-Free Vegan Brownies Made With a Surprise 1-Ingredient Flour!
Ingredients
WET INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup ground flax seeds mixed with 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup brown or coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup white or raw sugar
- 1/4 cup avocado oil or other mild flavored oil *or use mashed avocado to make these no oil added
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup Maskal Brown Teff Flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa or cacao powder
ADD INS
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup additional chopped walnuts for top of brownies optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8 x 8 inch brownie pan and/or line with parchment paper.
- Mix the wet ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Then mix the dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
- Add the dry to the wet and mix well. The batter will be very thick.Then add the walnuts and stir in.
- Scrape the batter out into your prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the additional ¼ cup walnuts over the top and press in with your hands.
- Bake for 30 minute
Nutrition
My New Favorite Gluten-Free Shirt from Etsy:
Jean says
Could whole wheat pastry flour be substitued for the teff? They look delicious!
Kathy Hester says
That should work too.
Beth E. says
Thanks for this! I’ve been looking for more recipes with teff because I have low iron and want to add more iron-rich plant-based foods to my diet. Of course I can’t eat teff brownies all the time for that, but it would be a nice treat!
GiGi Eats says
These brownies look like INSANE CROWD PLEASERS!!!
Annie says
Wow, Kathy! These look absolutely scrumptious!
Teresa says
Teff is one gluten-free flour that I haven’t gotten around to experimenting with. These brownies look like great incentive to get on that!
Amey Mathewsht says
Kathy! I just made these for a gf friend who is going to be housesitting for me while I’m away –Of course I had to try a couple (just to quality check) — they are so delicious! Thanks for a really great recipe
Kathy Hester says
You are so welcome! I just made another batch of these last night.
Khushboo@carveyourcraving says
What a clever way to use Teff . These yummy looking brownies are calling out my name . Pinning it right away!
Monika Trybull says
I made this recipe several times, it always dissapears in one sitting… my guests love it!
Morgan says
These turned out really well! Thank you, thank you! A lot of teff brownies online still have eggs so this was great. Probably will add vegan choco chips next time 😛
M.L. says
Is the nutritional information posted with this recipe? I couldn’t find them and would be very interested. Thank you Kathy! Cannot wait to try this recipe!!!
Kathy Hester says
It’s not here. Once I move all the recipes over to a new plug-in they should get added. For now, you can add it in at sparkrecipes.com. Plus it’s more accurate when you add in exactly the ingredients you use.
Janine says
Made these brownies for a family gathering, I am vegan and my mother is gluten-free. Everyone absolutely loved them (including non-vegans). Wonderful recipe!!
Kathy Hester says
I’m so happy to hear that!
Barbara says
Hello, I just happened upon this website and I want to thank you for such great recipes with teff flour. I use teff and I didn’t know it could be used this way. I would like a recipe for a loaf of bread as my husband now has to eat gluten free. He loves bread and hates to give it up. Please do a.version that’s dairy free, wheat free, soy free and oil free if possible.
Rachel says
I had some leftover (not so great) red wine that I used instead of water with the flax. It turned out really yummy! I think some vegan chocochips would have made it a bit yummier, and I think next time I’d add some plant based milk to make it a bit more moist. Really great recipe, thanks so much!
Melody Friesen says
Could I use applesauce in place of the oil?
Kathy Hester says
That should work fine, they will be a little more like cake.
Aary says
Could you please tell how many eggs should I use instead of 1/4 cup flax?
Kathy Hester says
I’m sorry but since I don’t cook with eggs, I have no idea.
Aary says
Could you help me understand how many flax eggs does 1/4 cup flax seeds and 1/2 cup water yields to? I wonder if the water is enough for the quantity? Please correct me if I’m wrong!?
Kathy Hester says
I’ve made this recipes dozens of time, so it does work with the amounts specified. It may be different than a standard flax egg, but again I promise you it works in these gluten-free brownies.
Alocasia says
Can bananas, and if so how much, be used to replace that raw sugar?
Kathy Hester says
I’ve never done that and since you are replacing a dry ingredient with a wet, you’d need to use less liquid – maybe start with 1/2 the oil?
I can’t guarantee it will work, but it’s worth a try. Let us know how it goes.
Ruby Wilson says
Can these be made with eggs instead of flax eggs? If so, what are the ratios?
Kathy Hester says
I’m sure you can, but since I’m vegan I don’t cook with eggs, so I’m not sure what the ratio would be. I’m thinking 1 egg possibly, but you’ll have to exoeriment.
Christina says
Can I grind Teff with my Vitamix to get teff flour?
Kathy Hester says
If you have a dry container you might be able to. I did not have great luck in my regular Vitamix container because teff is so tiny.
Kathy Hester says
But you might try a coffee or spice grinder if you have one.
Debi says
Mine turned out very hard. I can not have walnuts so I left them out.
janet says
If I substitute avocado for oil, is that a 1 to 1 substitution?