Vegan Skillet Brownie

If you, like us, have been searching for vegan chocolate brownie that can be made in a pan or over a campfire, then look no further! We’ve got all your campfire pan brownie needs covered…

We love this vegan skillet brownie because:

• It’s so easy
• You don’t need an oven
• It’s fudgy in the middle and cakey on the outside
• You can customise it with whatever extras you fancy!
• It’s absolutely delicious!

A skillet is a cast iron frying pan typically used for cooking over fires. Most recipes that you find when you look for skillet brownie just use the pan for decorative effect and they cook the brownie in the oven. Well that’s no good for people with no oven like us is it! So we came up with this vegan skillet brownie recipe - no oven required! It makes an amazing campfire brownie. And you can even make it in a normal pan, and on the hob, too. What’s not to love!

One of the reasons we love this skillet brownie is that it’s so easy to make. All you need to do is combine all the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and mix together. Then let the mixture sit for a few minutes, whilst you get your toppings ready!

If you are going camping, you can even mix the dry ingredients in advance, bring them with you in a jar or food container, and then simply add the water and oil when you are at camp. No need to carry lots of extra ingredients with you. Easy peasy!

You can customise this brownie however you like. Fruit and nut is a great combination, like the dried cranberries and flaked almonds that we used this time. Why not try walnuts, berries, peanut butter, jam… Get creative and have fun!

To cook the brownie press the batter into the skillet and then add your desired toppings. Cover with a lid. If you don’t have a lid that goes with your skillet you can improvise and use another lid, tray or heat resistant plate.

How to cook our vegan skillet brownie on a campfire

Ideally you want to make this brownie over hot coals, as you get a more gentle and even heat. You can also make it over flames, just make sure that they aren’t too strong as you can burn the base. Also, the less smoke the better so you don’t end up with a super smokey brownie! Timing wise it can vary depending on the fire, and the weather - we’ve taken from 10 to 20 minutes to make this on different occasions.

How to know when it’s ready

What you are aiming for is when you can see that the edges of the brownie have become lighter and cooked, but the middle is still dark and fudgy. This give the best brownie texture in our opinion. If you cook for longer it can become more cakey and crumbly, but is still tasty.

How to cook this brownie on a stove

You can also make this skillet brownie on your hob or gas stove. Simply cook with a lid on, for around 10 minutes on low to medium heat. If you have a grill, you can also cook it without a lid, for five minutes on the hob, and then five minutes under the grill. There’s just so many ways you can make our vegan skillet brownie!

Do I need a skillet to make this brownie?

A cast iron pan works well to evenly and slowly distribute heat. But it’s not essential! We’ve made this in a normal frying pan in our van. If you are using a normal pan over a campfire, then be careful to use on that is fully heat resistant. You don’t want any molten handles!

Our skillet is 18cm in diameter. So it’s quite a small pan, perfect for two very hungry peoples worth of brownie or 9 pieces. If you have a larger pan, simply use the serving slider in the recipe to change the number of portions to suit you.

You might like to check out our other really easy vegan camping recipes!

Chickpeas on Toast
Vegan Sweetcorn Fritters
Vegan Apple Fritters
Couscous Salad

📖 Recipe

Happy brownie eating!

Sophie and Paul