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.
Jennifer & Joseph Holt says
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.
Mary says
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.
Carolyn says
Sounds wonderful!
Jen says
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
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Linda A. says
Does the nutritional analysis include the chocolate chips which are listed as an optional ingredient?
Carolyn says
yep, it sure does. If I use them in my recipe, I include them in the counts.
Kayla says
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!
Carolyn says
Wow, so happy you liked it!
Ann says
Came out cakey. :((
Carolyn says
Then you overcooked it.
MARLA OSTEEN says
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!
Allison says
Hey there, wondering if you can substitute coconut flour? I have a bit allergy and can’t use almond flour.
Carolyn says
Not in this recipe, but you can use sunflower seed flour. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/how-to-make-your-own-sunflower-seed-flour/
Elita says
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!
Tony says
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!
Carolyn says
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.
Tony says
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?
Carolyn says
No, the microwave would not be good.
Christopher Sorel says
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
Vicki says
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!
Carolyn says
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.
Cindy says
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.
Carolyn says
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.
Cindy says
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
Carolyn says
Hey, more butter is never a problem in my book! 🙂
Keri says
If u leave out the gelatin do u still need the 1/4c of water?
Carolyn says
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.
Suzanne Lanoue says
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.
Amy T says
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.
Carolyn says
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.
Kara says
Here for the comments, haha! I was searching for a good Keto brownie recipe and found this! I made them immediately with my boys. They are still cooling but look AMAZING!!! Can’t wait to try them. Before I chose to make them I was reading the reviews and comments. When I saw how the owner commented back to Jane, I knew these brownies were going to be good! Love how you defended yourself, rightfully so! Felt like I met my match, haha! Keep up the good work. Thanks for this stellar recipe!
Carolyn says
Thank you, Kara! I appreciate your support.
Molly Zemek says
Made these today and had two 9 year old boys declare they are “the best brownies we ever tasted”. I also topped them with your chocolate ganache, so they were over the top. Without the ganache they were still incredibly fudgey and full of chocolate.
Donna says
I want to make these to take to a party and put them in mini cupcake liners (parchment paper). How long should I bake them?
maryse says
I made this tonight, they turned out quite delicious! I used golden monk fruit sweetener and pecans (I was out of chocolate chips). I baked it in a 9″ porcelain baking dish, (that’s all I had) it took ten minutes longer of cooking time. I will make this again for sure!
I have a question, I need to buy a 9″ square baking pan for that sort of thing, what would you recommend? What kind of bakeware do you use? Thanks!
Carolyn says
I almost always get USA Pan for metal pans. Very non-stick but also non toxic, and they last. For this recipe, I actually recommend the 8 inch so the brownies are thicker but you could do the 9 inch and bake them less.
Carolyn says
Oops, I forgot the link… https://amzn.to/2V9f3sG