Need to satisfy your chocolate craving? These gluten free brownies are the perfect way to do it, and are made completely from scratch! They’re fudgy with crackly tops, easy to make, dairy free and made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.
I’m one of those weird people who much prefers vanilla to chocolate, but I can absolutely never say no to a good homemade brownie. Especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It’s basically the best of the dessert world.
These gluten free brownies are fudgy, chewy, perfectly chocolatey, and so easy to make.
Plus, they’re made in just one bowl, require no fancy ingredients. Throw in some chocolate chips for some extra fudge, drizzle on top a chocolate glaze or frost them completely, or even add some chopped nuts.
No matter how you serve them, this is my fool proof that recipe that anyone and everyone will love.
How to make this recipe
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add 1 cup worth of the chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30-45 second intervals, stirring between each until completely melted.
Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, milk and oil.
Add in the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder) and the melted chocolate and mix until a batter forms. Fold in the remaining 2/3 cup of chocolate chips (can omit if you prefer).
Transfer to an 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper and spread the batter evenly.
Bake for 32-38 minutes or until a toothpick comes out somewhat clean and the tops are nice and shiny/crinkly. I do 35 minutes in my oven, but all ovens are different. Bake for longer for a less fudgy and more cake like center.
Let cool completely, then slice into 16 even squares. With an 8×8 pan, 16 squares will be slightly small brownies, feel free to cut into 9 for larger ones.
The key to fudgy brownies
You may have noticed that is an old recipe that I updated to make 1000x better. The original recipe tasted great, but it was definitely more cakey than fudgy. Personally, I like both types of brownies, but after some feedback, I decided to upgrade these to be fudgier and get that gorgeous shiny crackly crust we all dream about. Just me?? Ok.
Anyway, I’ve tried and tested and have nailed down a few key tips to make fudgy brownies, you’ll never go back to a boxed gluten free brownie mix again!
Use melted chocolate instead of (or in addition to) cocoa powder. Many brownie recipes call for cocoa powder, (even some of my recipes), but I find for these gluten free brownies, using melted chocolate yields the best texture AND is the key to getting a shiny/crackly top.
Shorten the bake time! A longer bake time means the brownies will dry out slightly and won’t be as fudgy. This can be good or bad depending on how you like them. For reference, I baked mine for 35 minutes and they were fudgy without being too gooey. Feel free to go up or down!
Keep the baking powder/soda to a minimum. This recipe uses just 1/4 tsp of baking powder since it already has two eggs which helps the batter rise. Too much baking powder or soda will create too much air in the brownies which can cause them to be cakey or just collapse in the center after the cool. We don’t want either!
The best chocolate
You can use any kind of chocolate chips you like, but try to use good quality and avoid bittersweet. I suggest semi-sweet and love the brand Guittard since they’re made in a gluten free facility and taste just like regular chocolate chips, but are gluten & dairy free.
This recipe requires just 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, so you can use whatever you like. Either dutch processed or natural cocoa powder will work. It’s a small amount but just works to enhance the overall chocolate flavor and absorb a bit of moisture.
FAQ’s
Do they keep? Once prepared, these gluten free brownies will store for about 3-5 days. Allow them to cool completely before transferring to an air tight container. I store them at room temperature, but they’ll keep for longer in the fridge!
What flour is best? I used the GF Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour in the blue bag. You can try other gluten free baking flours like King Arthur, just make sure they have xanthan gum. You can also use regular all purpose flour instead if you are not gluten free!
What if I don’t have a microwave? If you don’t have a microwave, you can add the chocolate chips to a small pot, then put that pot in a larger pot with about an inch of water and melt over low heat, stirring regularly to prevent burning. Or, if you have an actual double boiler, just use that!
Can I make these gluten free brownies refined sugar free? You can, but, the tops won’t get shiny/crackly like in the photos. You can swap the semi-sweet chocolate chips for stevia sweetened chocolate chips and use coconut sugar in place of granulated sugar. I do not recommend a liquid sweetener like honey or maple syrup here!
Can I make them vegan and dairy free? This recipe is naturally dairy free (just use dairy free chocolate chips), but I do not suggest making them vegan. You can try my vegan and gluten free brownies instead!
Love chocolate? Try these next!
- One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- S’mores Bars
- Flourless Brownies
- Almond Flour Brownies
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Gluten Free Brownies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ⅔ cup semi sweet chocolate chips, divided I used Guittard
- ¾ cup oil I used avocado, any neutral oil like refined coconut works
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk I used almond
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp GF all purpose baking flour I used Bob's Red Mill
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add 1 cup worth of the chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30-45 second intervals, stirring between each until completely melted.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, milk and oil. Whisk in the melted chocolate
- Add in the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder) and mix until a batter forms. Fold in the remaining 2/3 cup of chocolate chips.
- Transfer to an 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper and spread the batter evenly.
- Bake for 32-38 minutes or until a toothpick comes out somewhat clean and the tops are nice and shiny/crinkly. I do 35 minutes in my oven, but all ovens are different. Bake for longer for a less fudgy center and vice versa.
- Let cool completely, then slice into 16 even squares. They slice much more neatly if you pop them in the fridge for about 20 minutes before slicing!
Rachel says
Oh my goodness these brownies are perfection! I had a tough day and knew making some fudgy brownies would turn my day around! Followed the recipe closely and baked for 30 mins! Only one bowl and sooo easy to whip together!!
Claire Cary says
Brownies for the win! So happy these turned your day around 🙂
Anne says
These are delicious ! Thank you for sharing a great recipe!!
Claire Cary says
Thank you, Anne! So happy you enjoyed them!
Emma says
Can I use coconut sugar instead of granulated sugar ?
Claire Cary says
Yes, that’ll work but it’ll change the texture slightly and the tops won’t get quite as shiny. You can also try my almond flour brownies which use coconut sugar already!
Jamie says
I loved this recipe! I used the recommended extra melted chocolate and less cocoa powder trick to make them a little gooier and even dropped the bake time a little more – down to 30 minutes – and they turned out perfectly! As a bonus, it was super quick and only required one bowl, my favorite type of recipe.
Claire Cary says
Perfect! So glad those substitutions worked out well! Thanks for the feedback!