Vegan desserts get a bad rap for many reasons. Too dry, dense, or crumbly, or simply “too healthy” to qualify as dessert (I’m looking at you cauliflower brownies and chia pudding!).
But I’m determined to share how delicious and even indulgent vegan desserts can be (when made right, of course). From fudgy brownies to classic banana bread to celebratory layer cakes, there’s an enormous variety of mouthwatering plant-based desserts that’ll rock your world (whether you’re vegan or not).
Below I’ve rounded up 40 of the best vegan dessert recipes, including some of my own recipes and lots of fabulous sweet treats from around the plant-based internet.
Table of Contents:
1. Brownies and Bars
2. Cakes
3. No-Bake Desserts
4. Cookies
5. Pies, Tarts and Pastries
6. Crisps, Crumbles and Cobblers
Brownies and Bars
A mix of chocolatey brownies and fruity bars that have two things in common: they’re easy to make and SO tasty.
The Absolute Best Vegan Brownies
Here’s my recipe for the absolute best vegan brownies, unlike any other recipe you’ll find! They’re supremely fudgy and chewy, intensely chocolatey, and boast a classic shiny, crinkly top!
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Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars
These Vegan Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars by Anna of Healthy Simple Yum are what dreams are made of. They are perfectly creamy and sweet with vibrant flavor!
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Vegan Cheesecake Brownies
Sweet Simple Vegan’s swirled cheesecake brownies are vegan, gluten-free and easy to make! Sweet, tangy and decadent and sure to impress the whole family.
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Apple Blondies with Caramel Glaze
These Apple Blondies by Rachel of Bakerita are full of warming spices and topped with a scrumptious caramel glaze. These chewy, soft apple blondies are gluten-free, paleo and vegan.
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Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars
These Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars by Laura of The First Mess are naturally gluten-free and loaded with tart and zesty lemon flavor. They’re rich, delicious, and naturally sweetened.
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Cakes and Breads
A mix of easy quick breads and more elaborate cakes with a variety of flavors, from evergreen classics like chocolate and lemon to seasonal delights like pumpkin and gingerbread.
The Absolute Best Vegan Banana Bread
This Vegan Banana Bread recipe is a reader favorite! With only 20 minutes of prep time, it emerges from the oven tender and moist, never dense or dry (it’s even fluffy!). Using fewer than 10 ingredients, it’s simple and extremely delicious.
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Pumpkin Sheet Cake
This Vegan Pumpkin Sheet Cake from Jessica in the Kitchen is the perfect mix of moist, fluffy and spiced! It’s so easy to make & the post features tips for making the best sheet cake pan ever!
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Lemon Olive Oil Cake
My vegan Lemon Olive Oil Cake is super lemony and so tender and moist that it practically melts in your mouth. And it only requires 10 ingredients!
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Vegan Funfetti Cake
This Vegan Funfetti Cake from Britt of The Banana Diaries is super moist, tender, and “buttery” sweet, full of rainbow sprinkles, and secretly vegan with a gluten free option!
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Vegan Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake
With warm cinnamon apple flavors, my Vegan Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake is soft and moist yet light and airy – the best of both worlds! A bundt cake pan gives it an elegant presentation!
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Fudgy Vegan Chocolate Cake
This Fudgy Chocolate Cake by Jenna of Butternut Bakery is out of this world! It’s super soft and moist with a creamy chocolate frosting, and just so happens to be vegan!
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Fluffy Vegan Gingerbread Cake
My Vegan Gingerbread Cake is incredibly fluffy and tender, uses simple ingredients, and features a homemade gingerbread spice blend and vanilla cream sauce that take it over the top.
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Vegan Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
This Vegan Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with tangy cashew yogurt frosting by Natalie of Feasting on Fruit is healthy, simple and SO yummy!
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The Best Vegan Pumpkin Bread
My Vegan Pumpkin Bread is the best you’ll ever try! Moist, tender, and made with a homemade spice blend, it’s incredibly simple to make. A must-make during fall!
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No-Bake Desserts
When your sweet tooth knocks but you don’t have the patience or energy to bake something, these no-bake desserts are a godsend!
Vegan Fudge
You won’t believe how rich, creamy, and chocolatey my vegan fudge is! It tastes just like the beloved Ferrero Rocher candy but is dairy-free and vegan! It requires just 5 main ingredients and is super easy and quick.
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Super Simple Chocolate Mousse
If you love chocolate, you’re going to love this Super Simple Chocolate Mousse by Toni of Plant Based On A Budget! It’s the perfect dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth!
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Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
This Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough by Six Vegan Sisters is made with just 7 simple ingredients and is for anyone who eats half the cookie dough before the cookies come out of the oven.
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Healthy Samoa Cookies
These no-bake Samoa Cookies from Dee of Green Smoothie Gourmet are a healthy copycat of the traditional girl scout favorite! Just a handful of ingredients and full of fiber, iron and potassium.
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Fudgy Vegan Chocolate Truffles
Made with just six main ingredients, my Fudgy Vegan Chocolate Truffles are wholesome yet taste indulgent and melt in your mouth. The secret ingredient: beets!
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Healthy Snickers Bars
These Healthy Snickers Bars by Caitlin of From My Bowl will satisfy any sweet tooth! Made with only 6 plant based ingredients, they’re easy to make and good for you too.
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No-Bake Cookie Dough Bars (Vegan & Gluten-Free)
Here’s my recipe for the BEST no-bake cookie dough bars you will ever try! Made with just six ingredients and vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free.
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Cookies
A mix of vegan cookie recipes, including the classic chocolate chip, holiday cookies, and even more wholesome cookies you can even eat for breakfast!
Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
These aren’t your average vegan chocolate chip cookies — they’re bakery-style, deeply indulgent, and engineered for maximum payoff. Crispy edges give way to an ultra-soft, gooey center, with rich, buttery flavor and dramatic pools of melted dark chocolate in every bite.
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Breakfast Cookies
Finally a cookie you can eat for breakfast and feel great (nearly 5g protein in each cookie)! My Breakfast Cookies are deceptively tasty but vegan, gluten-free, and so filling.
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Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
Vegan, hazelnut-crusted thumbprint cookies with a chocolate and hazelnut center! These cookies by Jackie of Vegan Yack Attack are perfect for any occasion and make plenty to be shared.
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Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
These oatmeal cookies from Michelle of World of Vegan are easy to make and foolproof. The cookie dough can be balled up and stored in the freezer so fresh-baked cookies are always minutes away.
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The Best Vegan Sugar Cookies
These vegan sugar cookies by Vaishali of Holy Cow Vegan are the best ever and quite classic–they are light, tender, with crispy edges, and they melt in your mouth.
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Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
These Vegan Gingerbread Cookies by Jeanine of Love & Lemons are perfect for the holidays! Soft, chewy, and deliciously spiced, they’re super fun to make and decorate.
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Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
These vegan double chocolate chip cookies from Gabby of The Cookie Dough Diaries are soft, gooey, and ultra-chocolatey and fudgy! They’re easy to make and use only simple ingredients.
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Vegan Linzer Cookies
Thes Hazelnut and Almond Vegan Linzer Cookies from Emily of Resplendent Kitchen are a holiday classic!. These cookies are filled with apricot preserves and a touch of Amaretto!
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Chocolate Chunk Vegan Pantry Cookies
My Chocolate Chunk Vegan Pantry Cookies are made with all your favorite vegan cookie mix-ins, like chocolate chunks, oats, nuts and dried fruit. They’re chewy, indulgent, and irresistible!
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Pies, Tarts and Pastries
These recipes are proof positive that vegan pastries and pies are not only possible but absolutely delicious!
Vegan Salted Chocolate Cream Tart
With a no-bake brownie base and a creamy salted chocolate filling, my gluten-free, vegan Salted Chocolate Cream Tart is one of the best easy desserts ever! It’s rich and creamy but made with wholesome ingredients and requires no baking.
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Bubbling Cinnamon Blueberry Pie
This pie by It’s Liv B is made with vegan pie crust, a bubbling blueberry cinnamon filling and is perfect with a scoop of ice cream!
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Easy Vegan Pumpkin Pie
This Easy Vegan Pumpkin Pie by Rae of Raepublic contains delicious warming spices of cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg, and uses classic fall flavors of maple syrup, vanilla, and almond.
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Vegan Chocolate Croissants
Carlo Cao teaches you how to make the best vegan pains au chocolate (AKA chocolate croissants) in a matter of a few hours! Super crispy in the outside and soft in the inside. The flavor is rich and delicate.
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Vegan Eclairs
These delicious pastry-cream-filled eclairs covered with chocolate ganache by Eduardo and Jimmy of Little Lighthouse Baking Co. will satisfy your sweet tooth any time!
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Vegan Italian Macarons with Aquafaba
Your complete guide to making vegan, eggless Italian macarons with aquafaba from Meggan of Cooking on Caffeine! Perfect for those avoiding animal products or who have an egg allergy.
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Warm Apple Fritters
These warming, comforting apple fritters by Maria of Food by Maria are perfect for fall. They’re so delicious served warm as a dessert or served with coffee or tea!
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Vegan Gingersnap Pumpkin Cream Tart
My Pumpkin Cream Tart features a luscious no-bake pumpkin cream filling and a gingersnap crust and is SO easy to make! It’s healthy, vegan, and gluten-free, but tastes indulgent. Plus, you can make it ahead of time for Thanksgiving!
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Crisps, Crumbles and Cobblers
Whether it’s stone fruit season or apple picking season, a fruity dessert with a crisp topping or cobbler cake is always appreciated (and easy to make)!
Vegan Apple Crisp
Tender apple slices are baked with warm spices and a drizzle of maple syrup, then crowned with a golden oat-pecan streusel that’s crisp, buttery, and irresistible. Served warm, this vegan apple crisp is the ultimate blend of comfort and elegance and perfect for holiday tables.
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Gluten-Free Apple Cobbler
This vegan Apple Cobbler from Sophia of Veggies Don’t Bite is so easy to make and absolutely amazing. No one will know it’s also gluten free and made with simple ingredients!
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Vegan Fruit Crumble
A classic British vegan fruit crumble by Richard of School Night Vegan, with a delicious buttery topping and sweet, sharp fruit filling. Perfect for blackberries, plums and apples!
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Vegan Brown Butter Peach Cobbler
My delicious twist on the classic Southern peach cobbler. Peaches and blueberries get swirled with vegan brown butter and cobbler. It’s sticky and caramelized on the outside yet fluffy and tender on the inside. SO good.
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Amazing recipe.
Our family prefers strawberries over raspberries, do you think making the swap will work.
Thank you!
Hi Jo, we haven’t tried it ourselves but don’t see the issue with this! You may want to use less maple syrup in the jam or omit it entirely since strawberries tend to be sweeter than tart raspberries. If you try it, please let us know how it goes!
Thanks for sharing recipes. I copied a couple :>)
You’re welcome, enjoy!
Loved this roundup and that you included lots of vegan bloggers I’ve never heard of!
We are so glad you loved it, Ashley! We hope you get the chance to try some of the recipes!