These easy one-bowl keto brownies have a secret ingredient to make them extra fudgy and chewy. This might just be the ultimate keto brownie recipe and no one can tell they are low carb and gluten-free. At less than 4g total carbs, you can dig in with gusto!
Remember some time ago when I promised to bring you more basic keto recipes on this blog? Well these super fudgy keto brownies are part of that promise.
I love baking more elaborate creations and proving to the world that the keto diet it anything but restrictive. But sometimes I forget that simple and straightforward can be just as delicious.
So let’s skip the fancy stuff and get down to basics again!
Why you’ll love this recipe
The secret to the perfect texture is the addition of a little gelatin. I figured if it helps make my keto ginger molasses cookies chewier, it couldn’t hurt to try adding it to brownies, right?
And it really works! These keto brownies have all the best features you’re looking for, with a dense, rich texture and a slightly crackly top. They’re incredibly easy to make too. It takes a single bowl and 35 minutes from start to finish.
And readers swear that no one can even tell they are keto. I call that a win.
Ingredients you need
- Butter: Use unsalted butter and make sure to let it cool a bit before adding the sweetener and eggs.
- Sweetener: I recommend Swerve or another erythritol-based sweetener for this recipe. Using another sweetener will change the texture and consistency. Learn more about keto sweeteners here.
- Eggs: Large eggs are the standard for baking.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla always brings out the chocolate flavor.
- Almond flour: Make sure you are using a finely ground almond flour for the best consistency. I also have a coconut flour brownie recipe, if you prefer.
- 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.
- Grass fed gelatin: Grassfed gelatin is the best choice for this and other 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. You can also omit it completely but the brownies will be less chewy.
- Chocolate chips: Make sure to choose keto-friendly chips like ChocZero!
- Pantry staples: Baking powder and salt.
Step by Step Instructions
1. Whisk together the wet ingredients, including the butter, sweetener, eggs, and vanilla extract. Sweetener goes in with the wet ingredients so it dissolves better.
2. Add 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 so that you don’t end up with blobs of gelatin in your brownie batter.
3. 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 to thin the batter – it depends on your cocoa powder and how absorbent it is. The batter should be the consistency of conventional brownie batter. Stir in the chocolate chips or chopped nuts, if using.
4. Spread the batter in a greased 8×8 inch metal baking pan and bake at 350ºF 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.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
This is a basic keto brownie recipe that you can customize and add your own fun twists to. Try these delicious ideas:
- Stir in ½ – ¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Use brewed coffee instead of water to enhance the chocolate flavor. Or add some espresso powder for a mocha flavor.
- Add some different flavors of keto chocolate chips, such as white chocolate, peanut butter, or mint.
- Add some keto chocolate frosting or chocolate ganache.
- Drizzle with some keto caramel sauce for a decadent treat.
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.
For fudgy keto brownies you will need almond meal, swerve sweetener, butter, eggs, cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips. My secret ingredient to making these brownies chewy is the addition of grass fed gelatin.
This brownie recipe is tested with almond flour and you can not simply swap out with coconut flour. You can, however, substitute with sunflower seed flour for a nut-free version.
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.
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.
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.
- 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, such as Swerve or Lakanto, to achieve the best texture. Other sweeteners like BochaSweet and allulose will make them more cakey and soft.
More delicious keto brownie recipes
If you love brownies, I have the ultimate list of the best keto brownie recipes. Some of my personal favorites include:
Fudgy Keto Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter melted
- ⅔ cup Swerve Sweetener
- 3 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup almond flour about 50g
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon grassfed gelatin
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup water (as necessary)
- ⅓ cup 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.
Gina says
Just made these tonight and they are amazing! Whenever I am on a search for a recipe I always check your site first and I haven’t had one fail me yet.
Carolyn says
I love hearing that. Thanks Gina!
Diane says
I’ve now made these 6 times and every batch has been wonderful. My latest batch, instead of almond flour, I subbed about 25g or 2-3T of coconut flour and I left the water out (by mistake). They still turned out wonderful! I find if I cook them just until the edges of the mixture around the glass 8×8 pan looked fully cooked but the middle still looks a little wet and as long as I have the courage NOT to touch or cut the brownies until they are completely cooled, they are a perfect fudgy brownie – in texture and taste. Thanks again for such a marvelous recipe!!!
Rachel says
Hi Carolyn,
Made these yesterday (and may have already eaten 4 brownies…) I actually subbed in xylitol (I don’t think I’ve seen Swerve in the UK) but left everything else the same and they were great! Super moist, perhaps a touch more cakey thanks to the xylitol but I left them fairly underbaked so definitely still got the fudginess! As a T1 diabetic I tend to just eat ‘normal’ food with everyone else cause none of the crazy stuff I’ve seen marketed as ‘diabetic’ is actually low carb, nor does it taste good, but these were super, and no worries about a large dose of attempted-to-be-perfectly-timed insulin either. I’ve tried a few of your recipes now and will keep coming back for more!
Carolyn says
Rachel so glad to hear it. It’s tough being Type 1 (I am not) and figuring out how and when to eat!
Joan says
The flavor of these was amazing! The texture did not turn out chewy and they were a bit too wet after baking. Mine were more cake-like and the bottom texture a bit wet with the chips sunk at the bottom with almost a layer of gelatin-like mousse around the chips. I will try again. I am not sure what I might have done wrong.
Carolyn says
Hi Joan, sounds like you may have needed a bit more flour or a bit more cocoa powder. If the chips were sinking to the bottom, then the mixture wasn’t quite thick enough when you poured it into the pan. Variations in both almond flour and cocoa powder can affect the consistency a bit. Try a few tbsp more almond flour or one more tbsp cocoa powder.
Rebecca Miller says
Hi Carolyn,
I like your website, it always looks fresh and inviting when I come in to search those wonderful recipes. I was looking for a brownie recipe; and now I have lots to choose from. I’m learning to “recook” and rebake” by using your books, I have 2 of them and use them all the time. I sometimes have bad days when I give into the processed foods but my taste buds have changed! letting me taste that waxy, oily, ughy stuff; I was able to throw it out!!
Carolyn says
Good for you!
Katrina says
I just made this last night and they turned out amazing!!! I have made 2 other brownie recipes, both with unsweetened baking bars and they turned out either really dry and crumbly or too bitter! These were perfect and some of the best brownies I have ever made, carb or no carb! I had to stop myself from devouring half the pan 😉 Thank you for this recipe!!! I can live life happily knowing that I can still have brownies lol
Kate says
Made these with a cheese cake layer. Perfect.
Janelle says
What recipe did you use for the cheesecake layer? And did you prebake the brownie layer first for a bit? Thanks!
Sharon Wilson says
Could these be frozen? I probably would be able to finish the entire batch. As I only cook for myself, I prefer not to make huge bakes as it’s too much temptation for me. If they can be frozen, how should they be stored and for how long?
Carolyn says
I didn’t try freezing them but I can’t see why not. Cut them ahead of time, wrap them up tightly and freeze for a month or two.
Roger Lockwood says
Not only can they be frozen, if you take the out of the freezer and microwave them for 30 seconds you will be treated to an out-of-this-world experience, akin to a chocolate lava cake, only better because of the peanut butter layer. I’m obsessed.
Carolyn says
Dude! Why didn’t you tell me this earlier???
Barbara B says
Try wrapping them inside wax paper, then portion them in a plastic baggie, then put them inside a freezer plastic bag. I have been doing this for years, with portioned burger meat, LC chocolate chip cookies, Carolyn’s waffles, muffins (slice in half first), etc. Works like a charm.
Barrie P says
So yummy and one bowl. This was my first recipe using Swerve and was impressed how close to sugar it was. I can’t wait to try more recipes from your website.
Robin says
Thank you so much for your quick and detailed answer! Much appreciated and will really help me with future recipes.
Robin says
You say significantly because of the change in sweetener only? Interesting. You did say the gelatin could be left out. Maybe I should try to make it with the gelatin. Just grosses me out as I don’t eat meat. Don’t understand why the sweeteners would change it so much. ??? Ideas?
Carolyn says
Why sweeteners would change it? Well for one, erythritol is non-hygroscopic, meaning it does not attract moisture and it tends to be harder and drier. Xylitol attracts much more moisture and doesn’t harden as easily. It’s a big difference.
Carolyn says
Also I believe you said you used some stevia. If it’s liquid or powdered stevia that’s very concentrated, it has no bulk. So you changed the bulking agent in the sweeteners which again is a big change. Swerve adds bulk to the recipe because it has a crystalline structure like sugar.
Teri says
Hi Carolyn, love your books and blog. Quick question can I use bocasweet or allulose instead of swerve bnb in this recipe. Sorry to always ask but me and swerve just are not friends
Curtis says
Hello,
I’m currently baking these in the oven. I didn’t have a 8×8 baking pan so i used an 8×8 glass dish. I put them in for the recommended time and they are still quite a bit liquidy in the middle. I’ve monitored it for another 10ish minutes and I think they are done. The toothpick came out clean in the middle… I was just curious if you’ve made these with a glass dish and I didn’t see any other commenters ask this.
Very easy recipe to follow by the way, great recipe writing 🙂
Thanks!
Carolyn says
I haven’t made them in a glass dish but the time difference would likely be due to that because metal reflects the heat so much more.
gwyn says
I had the same experience using a glass pan!
Alondra F Hayes says
Oooohhhhh. I had the same experience. This makes sense!! I just kept checking until they were set, about 15 minutes extra.
Robin says
Well, I didn’t have the gelatin. Hubby can’t get past the cooling effects of Swerve (I don’t get it) so I use xylitol and stevia. I must have baked them too long as they weren’t fudgy. ??? Help. Just gotta get some fudgy brownies!
Carolyn says
Well, you’ve changed the recipe significantly so I don’t really know what to say. They may bake very differently using xylitol and without the gelatin, I can’t guarantee the fudginess.
Terese says
I made these today and they are amazing! I did make a couple of small changes – reduced the Swerve by half (so just 1/3 cup), as I personally find it sometimes to be a bit too sweet. I also added 1/3 cup of unsweetened organic shredded coconut (having just seen Carolyn’s Almond Joy Brownies recipe made me hungry for coconut!). I love how chocolately and chewy they came out – and not too sweet! I’ve never used the gelatin in baking before but I’m a convert now – they hold together very well! Love your recipes Carolyn!
Carolyn says
They all sound like great tweaks to me!
Diane says
Just made my 4th batch of these fantastic brownies!! Thank you so much for all your hard work and experimenting so we can benefit. I made one little mistake and forgot to add the water but they turned out perfectly anyway. Would you mind explaining the purpose of the gelatin (I use it – just curious about how it works) – hopefully I’m not asking you to repeat yourself…I read everything posted, but might have missed this. Thanks again and keep on keeping on!!
Carolyn says
In this recipe, the gelatin really helps give the brownies some chewiness. Not quite sure how it does that except that it gels things a bit together!
Nicole says
Can I use regular gelatin that isn’t grassfed? I have an orange box of Knox gelatin in my cupboard.
cherrytomatopie says
So I made these but for some reason I thought the recipe said 1 tsp of salt (which it doesn’t) so they were suuuper salty haha. The texture was so fudgey though! I couldn’t get past the excess salt however so they went into the compost bucket (womp-womp). I will try them again and be sure to follow the recipe this time 🙂
Katie says
These we hands down the BEST keto brounies I have ever tried! So delicious! They will be my go to brownie recipe from now on. I made your caramel sauce to drizzle over top and that was perfect too… YUM! Thanks for creating such amazing recipes!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Redsnapperuk says
Seriously, how easy are these to make? I had some almond milk I needed to use up, so use that instead of water. They are in the oven now and can’t wait for the family to try them! xx
Matt says
These are legit my new favorite keto brownies! So close to the real thing, it’s insane! I did add a touch of espresso powder, and some chopped pecans to mine as well, which put it over the top. Definitely try this recipe!
Nicole Foster says
These are fantastic! My husband (who doesn’t like sweets or eat low carb) said, “These are good. They don’t taste diety at all.” lol I think that’s the best praise you could get!
Bryan Martinez says
Chocolate is my life and if you’re saying a non-sweets addict approves then I am definitely trying out this recipe!