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.
Dahlia Rahman says
I pretty much always have these ingredients on hand, however, my bf is vegetarian, and he loves eating my keto desserts, but i also want them to have that chewy texture is there any kind of sub you would recommend instead of just leaving the gelatin out??
Carolyn says
Oooh boy. I wish I knew. You might try 1/2 teaspoon xanthan or guar gum but I am not sure it would quite do the trick…
Katrina says
I make these all the time! Thank you for all of your hard work. Even my Keto skeptic kids like these!
Carolyn says
Hooray!
MJ DLC says
These are excellent. I have made these now 5 times and my non-keto husband and co-workers love them! I always feel nervous baking anything that isn’t described by weight but somehow this comes out perfect everytime. Oh and I love to squeeze in gelatin in my diet and this is a perfect vehicle for it. I also substitute coffee for the water, a tip I found delicious from another of your recipes. Thank you!
Carolyn says
So glad you like them!
Alex says
Great recipe! Made this for my keto mom & aunt. Did not include gelatin and used all the water, batter did come out thin so when baking I added an additional 10min to bake time and it came out great. It was sweet and had good chocolate flavor(could get a little more)! Would recommend to new keto bakers. Thanks for the recipe!
CHRISTINE says
Hi Carolyn! I would just like to say THANK YOU! This is the first keto brownie recipe that was a success for me! Iv’e been on a hunt for a good tasting desert recipe and I’ve not seen one until now. This was so easy and yummy! My kids love it too! Thank you once again! I’ll make it for Thanksgiving and see if my cousins think it’s any different from the regular brownies that are full of sugar. I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Carolyn says
So thrilled you like them!
Tiffany says
Carolyn, these are baking now, and i barely could stop eating the raw batter long enough to stick the pan in the oven.
Question, are your carb counts net or total carbs?
Thanks so much for all your hard work and fantastic recioes.. i have all of your book (except e-books, i keep missing those) and waiting on your bewest book to arrive..3 more days!!
Congrats on all of your success and God bless!
Carolyn says
Carb count is total, but not including erythritol because it has zero impact on blood sugar. if you do net, simply subtract the fiber.
belle says
how much avocado oil should be used instead of butter? i cant wait to try these!
Carolyn says
1/2 cup but you might find you don’t need water.
Kathy says
We made this according to your ingredient list and it turned out to be chocolate soup! What did we do wrong?
Carolyn says
Well it’s hard to say for sure. What brands of almond flour and cocoa powder did you use? What sweetener? How big were your eggs?
Mario says
Ok after reading the recipe, I decided to try it!!
After the brownies are done baking, after they cool for a bit, they are still a bit wet.
Would putting them in the fridge after be a good idea? To help solidify the entire brownie pan??
Carolyn says
If you want them more firm, the fridge would be fine.
Missymonypenny says
What would make them salty? U didnt call for unsalted butter so I’m thinking she may have mismeasured. Us she used Lakanto. I did see others do that & were fine.
Annmarie says
Excited to make these brownies! Ok, so I can skip the gelatin? Since I’ve began Keto I find myself running to the store daily either for eythritol, psyllium husk, protein powder etc etc… all I want is something sweet to make!!! Also, can I use Stevia powder instead of Swereve? Any help would be appreciated and glad I found your blog ♥️
Carolyn says
You can skip the gelatin but they won’t be as chewy. As for stevia, I don’t recommend it with chocolate, it’s very bitter. And in this case, it may change the end result because Swerve is a bulk sweetener and stevia powder is not.
Kristie says
Hi there. I made the skickerdoodle blondies yesterday, and these brownies today. While the taste is amazing, both of them were not set. I checked the temp in my oven, and I cooked both recipes 5-10 minutes longer when they didn’t appear that they would firm up. Any suggestions? I used all ingredients in the recipes.
Carolyn says
Not sure what to say. They set fine for me (obviously) and the majority of the readers who’ve tried them. Any chance you are using extra large eggs? If not…then keep baking until set. That said, you risk drying them out too much if you keep baking. I prefer my brownies on the fudgy side.
Sara says
Same here. I had to bake for a total of 30 minutes to get to the doneness stated in the recipe. They were not overcooked. I just figured itsadofference in ovens and popped them on for a bit longer, checking periodically. I also did use “jumbo” eggs, so that could possible be the cause. Otherwise all was fine!
Carolyn says
Yes, larger eggs would DEFINITELY contribute to this. Glad they worked out though. In baking, you should almost always use large eggs and if you can’t then you cut down the amount of eggs. In this case you would use 2 jumbo eggs to match the 3 large eggs from the recipe.
Kristie says
I didn’t use extra large eggs, as I only ever buy large. However I DID add some water to thin them out, so maybe that was it. I just made them again and they are currently cooling on the counter. This time I didn’t thin them out, and I used Swerve confectioner’s sugar. They already look much more like a “traditional” brownie, so I’m anxious to give them a try.
Aseel says
I made them today and I highly recommend all of you reading this to try it this is awsome thnx for the incredible recipe
Jessica says
I have been keto for almost 4 years now (125lbs gone!), and have baked many keto treats. This brownie is not only my favourite keto brownie recipe out there, I think it may be my favourite keto dessert recipe, period. Yes, it’s THAT good. Tastes exactly like the real deal. Pop them in the fridge and they take on the consistency of cosmic brownies! This recipe is a game changer.
Carolyn says
Congrats on your amazing weight loss!
Kathleen says
These brownies are an absolute game-changer. The taste is incredible. But the texture! The mouth-feel is so fudgy and amazing. I brought a few when I visited my dad, a diabetic. He LOVED them and couldn’t tell they were sugar-free (and flour-free, for that matter.) He even called me the next day to ask if I left any there (no, because we ate them all!) One note, because cocoa powder is the largest ingredient, the better the cocoa powder, the better the brownies. I used half Hershey’s and half extra dark French cocoa powder I got at a gourmet store. Totally worth it.
Carolyn says
I am SO delighted to hear that! I agree, good cocoa powder is a must.
Claudia says
I made these for the first time today and they turned out GREAT! I’m controlling my diabetes through diet alone and your recipes really help make that possible. My mother is pre-diabetic, so I am taking this batch (minus one piece that I sampled, ha ha) when I visit my parents this weekend in the hopes of convincing her that healthy treats can be tasty and easy to make 🙂
I wonder how well these freeze. Hmm, will have to experiment with that…with the next batch, this one will be devoured quickly, I’m sure — thanks for another favourite, can’t wait for your book on soups to come out!
Jennifer says
This brownie is my first keto dessert ever – and it’s a winner. Mine was oddly more on the airy side at first (Too much mixing? Baked too long?), but became nice and dense after a night in the fridge. You have a new fan (especially after reading your perfect response to the earlier comment – thanks for being a blogger with integrity).
Carolyn says
Thanks, Jennifer. What brand of gelatin did you use? Not sure that would be the issue but I am curious if it is.
Jennifer says
Knox Gelatine – the only gelatin I could find in my supermarket. Btw, I made another batch and forgot baking soda that time and they turned out fudgy. Also delicious!
Carli Kassing says
Can I sub for coconut flour? I want to make these for my diabetic grandmother but she’s allergic to almonds.
Carolyn says
You can but I am not quite sure what the consistency will be and you will only need about 3 tbsp of coconut flour. Your other option is sunflower seed flour.
Anne says
I made these to bring to a tailgate/birthday celebration today. Everyone there was blown away by how good they were! Perfectly moist, great texture and great flavor! Thank you for the wonderful recipe! Can’t wait to try them with the salted caramel version next.
Carolyn says
So glad you like them!
LIRAZ says
HI CAROLYN!
I HAVE ON HAND ONLY THE 9 UNCH SQUER PAN. I BONT WANT MY BROWNIE WOULD BE TO THIN.
WAHT CAN I DO?
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Carolyn says
If that’s all you have, just make it in that and set the timer for 5 minutes less. Watch carefully and take them out when they seem right. They will be thinner, there is nothing you can do about that.