I have tested dozens of keto brownie recipes over the years, trying to nail that perfect balance of crisp edges and a fudgy, gooey center. And THIS is the recipe that I come back to every time. It has everything you want in a brownie, without the sugar, carbs, or grains.
And it is the basis for so many other delicious treats, like Keto Peanut Butter Brownies and Keto German Chocolate Brownies. I mean, why mess with perfection? These keto brownies lend themselves so well to delicious toppings and frostings.
It took some experimenting, but I finally cracked the code to get that chewy brownie texture. The secret is so simple! A little gelatin mixed in with the almond flour and cocoa powder makes them ultra-moist and fudgy.
And they are so darn easy to make – one bowl and 35 minutes to pure chocolate bliss. I guarantee this will become your go-to keto brownie recipe. Top them with a scoop of keto ice cream or a drizzle of keto chocolate sauce for a seriously decadent experience.
Reader’s Thoughts
“This brownie exceeded my expectations of a brownie taste to the max. Most brownies are dry but this recipe takes them to another level and this is one of my favorite keto dessert recipes ever. If your on keto or not you need to make these yummy gooey brownies they definitely will put a smile on your face!” — Melinda S.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- So easy! Whip up this keto brownie batter in one bowl, and they’re ready for the oven.
- Rich flavor: If you’re a chocoholic like me, you will adore the deep chocolate flavor.
- Perfect texture: They have that wonderful chewy, fudgy texture that make brownies so unique.
- Low carb: They are very low in carbs, with only 3.6 grams per serving.
- Make ahead recipe: These brownies store well in the fridge or freezer so you can make a batch and enjoy them at your leisure.
- A crowd pleaser: Readers love them and many people say that no one can tell they are keto-friendly!
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour: Make sure you are using a finely ground almond flour for the best consistency. But these also work well with sunflower seed flour, for a nut-free option.
- Cocoa powder: I prefer Dutch process cocoa powder when baking keto brownies. It has a deeper, richer chocolate flavor, but you can use natural cocoa powder if you prefer.
- Gelatin: I like to use grass-fed gelatin for my keto recipes, but you can use Knox gelatin. Use 1 envelope for the brownies and make sure you add it along with the dry ingredients.
- Sweetener: I recommend an erythritol-based sweetener for this recipe. Using another sweetener will change the texture and consistency. Learn more about keto sweeteners here.
- Chocolate chips: Make sure to choose keto-friendly chips like Lily’s or ChocZero.
- Baking staples: Butter, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt.
How to Make Keto Brownies
- Combine the wet ingredients: Whisk together the wet ingredients, including the butter, sweetener, eggs, and vanilla extract. The sweetener goes in with the wet ingredients to help it dissolve.
- Add the dry ingredients: Mix in the almond flour, cocoa powder, gelatin, baking powder, and salt and whisk until well combined. Always add the gelatin powder with the dry ingredients before adding any water.
- Thin the batter. Stir in the water a little at a time to thin the batter to a thick but pourable consistency. You may not need the full amount of liquid. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Bake the brownies: Spread the batter in na 8-inch metal baking pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes. If you prefer cakier brownies, continue baking for another few minutes until the center is fully cooked through.
- Let the brownies cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars.
Tips for Success
Use a metal baking pan. Ceramic and glass don’t conduct heat as efficiently as metal, so they will take much longer to bake through and firm up properly. They may also get over-cooked on the edges while the center stays liquid.
How much water you need depends on how absorbent your cocoa powder is. Add a little at a time so you don’t thin out the batter too much. It should be the same consistency as conventional brownie batter.
Swaps and substitutions
- Dairy-free Option: Substitute the butter with melted coconut oil, ghee, or another liquid oil.
- Nut-free Option: You can use sunflower seed flour for nut-free keto brownies. Replace the almond flour cup for cup. You can also use other nut or seed flours.
- Egg-free Option: I have not tried to make these keto brownies egg-free, but a few readers had good luck using flax seed meal and water.
- Alternate Sweeteners: I highly recommend an erythritol-based sweetener to achieve the best texture. Other sweeteners like BochaSweet and allulose will make them more cakey and soft.
Keto Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter , melted
- 2/3 cup (121.33 g) Swerve Sweetener
- 3 large (3) eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (56 g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (28.67 g) cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp grassfed gelatin
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (62.5 g) water, (as necessary)
- 1/3 cup (60 g) dark chocolate chips, sugar-free, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease an 8×8 inch metal baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sweetener, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Add the almond flour, cocoa powder, gelatin, baking powder, and salt and whisk until well combined. Stir in a little water at a time to thin the batter to a thick but pourable consistency. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.
- Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are set but the center still seems a tiny bit wet. If you prefer cakier brownies, continue baking for another few minutes until the center is fully cooked through.
- Remove and let cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Traditional brownies are not keto-friendly, as they contain plenty of flour and sugar. A conventional brownie has more than 30 grams of carbs! But these fudgy keto brownies are made with almond flour and alternative sweetener, so you can indulge on a keto diet.
This recipe requires a nut or seed flour. However I have a delicious coconut flour brownie recipe, if you prefer to use it.
Store the brownies in a covered container on the counter for up to 4 days, or in the fridge for a week. They can also be frozen for several months. Store them in an airtight container to avoid freezer burn.
This fudgy keto brownie recipe has 3.6g of carbs and 2.4g of fiber per serving. For one 2-inch square, these keto brownies have only 1.2 grams of net carbs. Best of all, they taste as good as regular brownies, so you won’t miss the carbs at all.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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My husband and I made these about 10 days ago, used equate gelatin & decided we should’ve bloomed it with the water & then mixed it in.
We used the baking same pan you have but in silicone.
Our bake/convect oven cooks a little uneven so we forgot to turn them halfway into baking which made half of them PERFECT & the other half undercooked.
I finished the undercooked ones in the microwave & they came out a little more cake-like but I like my brownies both ways— fudgy AND cakey so I got the best of both worlds.
Since we didn’t premix the gelatin w/H2O, the texture was a little bit crystallized but when I warmed my brownies back up in microwave, as I like to do, the crystallized texture disappeared.
The taste is spot on & actually THE BEST brownie mix EVER!
These didn’t even make it past 2 days!
We ate them ALL!
SHAMEFUL, BUT TRUE!
EXCELLENT brownies!
We are making another batch today.
Thank you so much for this delectable recipe AND for sharing the nutritional information. ????
It takes a lot of time to share this info with us & even MORE time & money perfecting it!
We also very much appreciate the HONEST reviews; not just overly positive ones that leave us scratching our heads when the recipe doesn’t turn out nor taste good like other’s recipes we’ve tried.
Made them yesterday and they were yummy! Only changes that I made was that I used 1 cup of allulose as the sweetener because I prefer it and 3 tablespoons of Myers dark rum instead of the water because I love rum Inn my chocolate baked gooods. Big hit all around. The alcohol evaporates during baking leaving a nice rum flavor. Thank you for all of our hard work. Love your recipes.
Sounds wonderful!
Carolyn, this recipe is truly gangsta. Best low carb brownie I’ve ever tasted. I used Knox straight in the mix, no clumping. Used Lakanto chocolate chips as well. Thank you for all your beautiful work! xx
So glad to hear it!
Does the nutritional analysis include the chocolate chips which are listed as an optional ingredient?
yep, it sure does. If I use them in my recipe, I include them in the counts.
I cant believe these are low carb they are AMAZING! I never need to waste my expensive keto baking ingredients on brownie recipes that dont work out, this recipe is PERFECT!
Wow, so happy you liked it!
Came out cakey. :((
Then you overcooked it.
I made these yesterday and since I was using a ceramic pan I did have to bake them the full 20 minutes. Mine didn’t come out fudgy, they are more cakey. One roommate said they were too chocolaty (I like it!) and my other roommate said they weren’t sweet enough (neither are Keto or LC). I guess this means I have more for me!
Hey there, wondering if you can substitute coconut flour? I have a bit allergy and can’t use almond flour.
Not in this recipe, but you can use sunflower seed flour. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/how-to-make-your-own-sunflower-seed-flour/
Hi Carolyn, I love your blog, your cookbook and everything you do! One question, and I’m sorry if I missed this somewhere, but in the nutritional info you post, are the listed carbohydrates total carbs, or net? Thank you!
Hey! You have a great blog, but honestly, you will make us your non American followers really big favour if you could post your recipes in metric system as well… ???? I really do want to try more of your recipes and I’m sure the rest of the world would love that too!
There is a little button in the recipe itself for converting. I haven’t done it for all recipes because it takes a great deal of time to go back through and edit them all.
Somehow I missed it although I’ve read this recipe at least 7 times and I was actually looking for it- was it there from the beginning?
…. Anyway, thanks.
Do you think I can make these in the microwave?
No, the microwave would not be good.
oh heck fudgy please and never have put the extra chocolate on top as just swirl in my peanut butter or almond butter. Now have some new ways to try. Thank you
Hi Carolyn,
I really want to make these brownies but I am unable to handle sugar alcohols like erythritol. Major, major GI upset.
I would still like to keep them healthier so I would like to use coconut sugar. In searching through the comments I see where you have commented on erythritol’s difference in texture and absorbability to other sugar alcohols and sweeteners. If I use regular coconut sugar do you think it will affect the texture or absorbability? I have done some research and found charts that show you decrease the amount of erythritol vs. regular sugar so I know I might have to adjust that.
I actually don’t have an 8 x 8 pan, I know crazy, right? If I cook these in an 8inch cast iron skillet do you think they will come out the same?
I was also wondering if you think we need to adjust for altitude? I see where some people have issues with the batter being too runny so I am wondering if this is the case? I live at about 5,000 ft.above sea level.
Thanks so much for your help! I was inspired enough by your recipes to purchase some grass fed gelatin and look forward to baking some healthy stuff for my hubby!
Well I honestly can’t say for the changes what will happen. I think it will do okay in cast iron but an 8-inch circle is much smaller than an 8-inch square. Do you have a 9×9 pan? They will be thinner, though.
At altitude, you need to make some of the same adjustments that you do for regular baking.
I just made these brownies (followed the recipe exactly) and let them cool for 1-1/2 hours. I cut them and they are very, very soft. So much that they fell apart when I took a piece from the pan. I know it states that they are ooey, gooey, so I don’t know if I should bake them longer or if that’s how they should be. I let them cook for the full 20 minutes. Are you supposed to be able to pick them up and eat or are they supposed to be so soft you can’t pick them up? Should I bake them longer and if so, approximately how much longer. I love all of your recipes and you’re my go to person for any type of food. Thanks so much for making and testing these recipes so that all of us may enjoy them.
They do sound under-baked. That can happen if your oven runs cool or if you use a ceramic pan. You may want to put them back into the oven for 5 to 10. They aren’t bad for you, though. Just too soft.
Carolyn, thanks for your quick response. They were the best low carb brownies I’ve ever made and eating them with a spoon is not a problem – lol. I baked them for additional 10 minutes and they firmed up more. I’m thinking I may have used a smidge more butter than called for because I was using butter that I had cut from a butter round. Anyhoo, so so good and I don’t have to look at another brownie recipe because they are the BOMB!!! Thanks again, Cindy
Hey, more butter is never a problem in my book! 🙂
If u leave out the gelatin do u still need the 1/4c of water?
I don’t know, I don’t leave out the gelatin. Why don’t you make up the batter and see how it goes? If it’s pretty liquid already, skip the added water.
I made it but it’s very soft, more like a pudding. I’m going to put it back in the oven for a little bit. Hope it firms up. It’s delicious, anyway.
I would say, use unsalted butter because it’s a bit on the salty side. Or add in more sweetener to balance.
Love following your recipes but have a question. I see you use Swerve often. When I use it things are great when warm but then when it cools it’s like crunching on raw sugar. Am I doing something wrong? Seems the same with Lankato so I recently bought granulated bocha sweet to see if it bakes differently. Substitute sugars are expensive so any advise on baking with them would be great.
It’s a downfall of erythritol that it can re-crystallize. But that usually doesn’t happen in baked goods like muffins… mostly in custards and things with a high liquid content. For many things, you can do half Swerve and half bocha sweet but if you want a crisp cookie, Bocha sweet will not be your friend. It won’t crisp up at all. For cakes and such, it’s fine.