Gluten Free Brownies
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. If you love this recipe, try my dairy free brownies with my vegan caramel sauce or my sugar cookie bars next!
Before we get started…
- This recipe works best if your eggs and milk are at room temperature.
- I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, which I recommend, but for a richer flavor, you can swap with dark.
- Be sure to let the brownies cool completely before slicing so they slice nice and clean!
How to make gluten free brownies
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.
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!
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 30-38 minutes or until a toothpick comes out somewhat clean and the tops are nice and shiny/crinkly. I do about 33 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. Try my gluten free skillet brownie next!
Key ingredients & swaps
Eggs. Two eggs not only help bind all ingredients together, but they also react with the sugar to help create that crackly, shiny crust.
Sugar. For best results, I recommend sticking with regular white sugar. You can use coconut sugar in place of granulated sugar, but the tops won’t get quite as shiny/crackly. I do not recommend a liquid sweetener like honey or maple syrup here!
Oil. Some brownies call for butter, some call for oil, but with this recipe, I prefer the texture with oil. You can use any neutral flavored oil here.
Chocolate/cocoa. We’ll need both chocolate chips and cocoa powder to create a super rich and fudgy texture.
Flour. A little bit of gluten free all purpose baking flour will absorb some of the excess moisture here. I like Bob’s Red Mill GF baking flour, but any kind should work as long as it has xanthan gum.
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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 & flour
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.
As far as flour goes, 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!
How to store and freeze
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!
To freeze, allow to cool completely, then slice and place in a ziplock bag or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe container.
Reheat in the oven at 300 until warm through the center and enjoy!
Can I make them vegan or dairy free?
This recipe is naturally dairy free (just use dairy free chocolate chips), but I do not suggest making them vegan.
The eggs are key for binding all ingredients together as well as getting those crackly, shiny tops!You can try my vegan and gluten free brownies instead!
Try these desserts next!
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- S’mores Bars
- Flourless Brownies
- Almond Flour Brownies
If you want more recipes straight to your inbox, be sure to subscribe to my email list! As always, be sure to tag me on instagram so I can see your creation. Leave a comment and rating below if you try this recipe!
Gluten Free Brownies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ⅔ cup semi sweet chocolate chips divided
- ¾ cup oil I used avocado, any neutral oil like refined coconut works
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk dairy or non-dairy, room temperature
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons Gluten free all purpose baking flour I used Bob’s Red Mill
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon 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 30-38 minutes or until a toothpick comes out somewhat clean and the tops are nice and shiny/crinkly. I do about 33 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!
Notes
Comments
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These brownies are better than any I have ever had!
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hi i made these today and they were so delicious
I used however 1/2 cup oat flour and 2 tablespoons of cornflour.
and 1/2 cup butter the remaining amount oil.
I did also whisk the eggs until they were fluffy (since this is a solid way to make sure you get the crackle)
I know i made changes but its a solid recipe.
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I’ve made this recipe 3 times for my family now and they love it! It’s been a hit.
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I made this recipe for a wedding and everybody loved it! My boyfriend was actually upset that there was nothing left, he wished he could have kept it all just for himself 😄 Thank you so much Claire for the recipe, I’ll definitely recommend it!
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Aww love that!! Thanks, Julie!
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Best Brownies I’ve ever had. So easy to make and no one can believe they’re gluten free. They are really sweet so I reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup still very sweet and they come out just as good. Thank you for an awesome recipe.
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Thanks so much, Donna!
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These are hands down thee best gluten free brownies I’ve ever made. I used cup 4 cup gluten-free flour, dark chocolate chips and toasted pecans, then sea salt to the top after they were done. I baked them for 33 minutes and put parchment paper in the pan as instructed. They are literally perfect. They are not overdone, they are not dry, they are moist and fudgy and perfectly done all around. Thank you for the fantastic recipe!
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Thank you so much, Sarah!
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My brownies are in the oven as we speak. First time making gluten-free for me and it seems like they are going to be very tasty. I was just wondering why you used parchment paper in the pan instead of oil? And also I had difficulty seeing from your picture how you actually lined the pan. It looks like you only lined two sides and the bottom, is that correct? I also had a hard time keeping the parchment paper down as I poured the batter in so I’m not too sure if I’m going to have clean cut corners. Keeping my fingers crossed!
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I always grease the pan and then add the parchment so it sticks! It just makes removal much easier. I like to lift the brownies out out of the pan by using the parchment paper so they don’t continue baking in the pan after they come out of the oven. I just use one strip that goes across the bottom and two sides.
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Amazing! I love having a recipe without gluten, that I can eat, that others love to!
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Thank you, Heidi!
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Have made these GF brownies for 2 different groups of people and everyone loves them! It’s a keeper!
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I made these brownies and put them in the fridge over night so they marinated. Baked goods always seem to taste better that way. I put Lily’s chocolate mint chips and a Tbsp. of mint extract. They tasted really good but did not rise much. Maybe add baking soda?
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You can add some baking soda or more baking powder if you want them to rise more and be more cakey! I prefer them more fudgy which is why I didn’t include that.
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The brownies were delicious & so moist & fudgy. I doubled the recipe & baked in a 9×13 pan for about 45 minutes.
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I need to make these for an event at church on Sunday. If I make them on Friday, will they be okay for Sunday & if so, how should they be stored? Can the brownies be frozen after baking?
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Yes, I explain all storage tips in the post!
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Just about perfect. A tiny bit too dark or me some going to mix in some milk chocolate chips the second time around.
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I’d use semi-sweet chocolate! Not dark!
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This recipe is a total and complete failure! Changing from 1x to 3x changes the ingredient quantity and the servings, but NOWHERE does it mention that the pan size needs to change. ALL THE OPTIONS ONLY MENTIONED AN 8×8 BAKING PAN. ITS RUINED! IT’S GARBAGE NOW! $45 OF GF INGREDIENTS IN THE DAMN GARBAGE!
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Hi Christian, only the ingredient section changes when you modify the recipe. I think it is fair to assume an 8×8 pan would not work for a 3x brownie recipe. If you want to 3x, I would use 1 8×8 and then one 9×13 pan.
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Soon good, but a little too much oil, next time I will cut back the oil. This may be my bad, cause I used egg substitute.
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Did the final texture seem too oily? Or do you just prefer less?
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I had the same issue. Oil appears on top when you pull it out of the oven you would think everything is still wet but it’s baked. Definitely will do less oil to see if it stays in the batter.
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Mine came out oily too and I also used flaxseed as an egg substitute. I think not having the eggs affects the recipe. I’m going to cut down to half a cup of oil next time. Otherwise the recipe is delicious!
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You seriously thought you could triple a recipe with 3 times the amount of ingredients and not use a bigger pan? The recipe isn’t the issue. It’s you. Congratulations on proving that common sense is in fact dead.
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These brownies are delicious! You would never guess that they were gluten free. Delicious!
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Thank you, Suzie!
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