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These fudgy gluten free brownies have tons of rich chocolate flavor, a delicate crinkly top, and an irresistibly chewy texture. The secret is melting the butter and sugar first.
With a full cup of cocoa powder in a single batch, they're the brownie equivalent of a little black dress. And they'll make you forget all about the store-bought box mix!
“These are AMAZING! I was diagnosed celiac 5 years ago and have usually just used gluten free boxed brownies… never again!”
My take
Nicole's Recipe Notes
- Texture: the beloved crackly top gives way to a dense and chewy center. They're just fudgy enough but have some bite, not like a piece of marshmallow cream fudge.
- Flavor: rich and chocolatey, but not overwhelming. One full cup of cocoa powder mixes with melted butter and sugar for a perfect alternative to melted chocolate in the batter.
- Plenty of chocolate: there are 5 ounces of chocolate chips mixed into the batter, plus extra chips on top.
- Versatile: Change the flavors around by using a different flavor chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or even mini marshmallows.
How to make gluten free brownies
Melt butter and sugar until simmering, then let the mixture cool. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 eggs and vanilla; add the melted butter and sugar.
Add rich cocoa powder to the egg and butter mixture, and whisk it in well. Add gluten free flour (with xanthan gum), cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined.
Add chips, transfer to the pan
Mix in some chocolate chips, and transfer to a prepared square metal pan. Spread into an even layer, & sprinkle some more chips on top.
Bake the pan of brownies at only 325°F for about 30 minutes. Bake until the center doesn't look wet, then let cool completely. Chill first for clean slices!
My Pro Tip
Expert Tips
Don't skip steps
This method begins with melting the butter with the sugar, to dissolve the sugar granules. That way, they combine so much better with the rest of the brownie batter and mixes properly with the egg whites from the beaten eggs to create that crinkly top.
The next essential step is to beat the eggs well. Otherwise, the brownies aren't as chewy—and no crackly top.
Choose a light-colored aluminum pan
A light-colored cast aluminum pan heats evenly across the whole pan and doesn't attract too much heat like a dark-colored pan. A glass, stone, or cast iron pan will heat slowly but retain much more heat, and can cause the edges to burn before the center is set.
Line even a nonstick pan
Line your pan with nonstick aluminum foil, parchment paper, or regular aluminum foil sprayed with cooking oil spray will prevent them from sticking to even the corners and to make it easy to lift them out of the pan.
Watch your bake time
When you take them out of the oven, the center should be just about set, and they'll firm up more as they cool. Overbaking will likely burn the edges and bottom center but it can be hard to tell since the brownies are so dark in color.
substitutions
Ingredient Substitutions
Dairy free
To replace the butter, I recommend a vegan butter in bar form like Melt or Miyoko's Creamery brand. If you can't find vegan butter, try using half Earth Balance buttery sticks and half Spectrum nonhydrogenated shortening.
Be sure you're also using dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Egg free
Try two “chia eggs” or even “flax eggs,” since that may add some unpleasant flavor but the chocolate should cover it.
Corn-free
If you can't have cornstarch, try arrowroot or potato starch.
Gluten Free Brownie Recipe
Equipment
- Handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
Ingredients
- 9 tablespoons (126 g) unsalted butter, chopped
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (80 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, natural or Dutch-processed
- ⅓ cup (47 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- 2 tablespoons (18 g) cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line an 8-inch square cast aluminum baking pan with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil (or line with regular aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray). Set the pan aside.
- In a small saucepan, place the butter and sugar, and place over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until melted and simmering.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside to cool until no longer hot to the touch.
- Alternatively, cool the butter and sugar mixture down a bit by placing the bottom of the saucepan in a bowl of cool water. Make sure the butter does not solidify.
- In a large bowl, place the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until well-beaten and combined.
- Add the melted and cooled butter and sugar to the bowl slowly, whisking constantly. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the cocoa powder has been absorbed.
- Using a handheld mixer, beat until very well-combined.
- Add the flour blend, xanthan gum, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, and mix with a silicone spatula or spoon until just combined.
- Add about 4 ounces of the chocolate chips and mix until just evenly distributed throughout the batter. The batter will be thick and sticky.
- Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared pan and, using an offset or silicone spatula, spread into an even layer. It helps to moisten the tool you are using to smooth the top a bit to prevent it from sticking.
- Scatter the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the top of the brownie batter and bang the pan firmly on the countertop to help the chips adhere.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven. Bake just until the brownies no longer appear wet in the center, about 30 minutes. The toothpick test is not reliable here, since the toothpick will come out wet even when they're done baking.
- The center may dome during baking, but the brownies will settle as they cool.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the brownies to cool in the pan at room temperature until the pan is no longer hot to the touch.
- For clean lines when you slice the brownies, place the brownies, still in the pan, in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour before slicing them.
- When you're ready to slice the brownies, remove them from the pan and peel away the foil. Slice the brownies into 9 equal squares.
- Serve the brownies immediately, or wrap tightly and freeze for longer storage. These freeze incredibly well.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
These brownies will stay fresh at room temperature uncovered for hours, wrapped tightly for about 2 days, and in the refrigerator for about a week.
For longer storage, wrap tightly in freezer-safe wrap, and freeze for up to 2 months. Let defrost at room temperature.
alternatives
Variations
Replace the chips
Instead of some or all of the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the recipe, try using white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chopped semi-soft nuts like walnuts or pecans. Any mix-in that's similar in size and moisture content will provide a unique flavor combination and turn out great.
Add a swirl on top
Before baking the pan of brownies, add up to 2 ounces of marshmallow creme or a few tablespoons of softened no-stir peanut butter in a few dollops. Swirl with a butter knife, and bake. It shouldn't change the baking time, but will affect the crackly top. Not a big problem!
Add some flavor
Try replacing the vanilla extract with another flavor extract, like almond extract, peppermint extract (and swap some of the chocolate chips for mint chips!). Add some coffee flavor by adding a coffee extract and/or adding about 1 heaping tablespoon of espresso powder to the dry ingredients.
Frost your brownies
For an extra decadent brownie, allow the brownies to cool completely. Before slicing, add a layer of whipped chocolate ganache like we use in our gluten free chocolate cupcakes to the top.
FAQs
Yes! Just whisk as vigorously as possible by hand. You'll know that the mixture is beaten enough when it begins to lighten in color.
Yes, you can use a 9-inch square pan instead of an 8-inch square pan. The brownies will be done about 5 minutes sooner, though.
Yes, but you should divide the batter, as doubled, and bake it in 2 square pans. If you try to bake brownies that are this thick in a 9-inch x 13-inch pan, the center may burn before the brownie batter bakes all the way to the edges. Place both baking pans in the oven at the same time, and rotate them about halfway through baking.
I prefer to line the pan with nonstick aluminum foil, or regular foil sprayed with nonstick cooking oil. Parchment paper also works, but can shift, so try clipping it to the sides of the pan with heat-safe clips.
No, this recipe won't work with almond flour, but our almond flour brownies do. For brownies without flour at all, try our naturally gluten free black bean brownies with beans as a base, or our classic fudgy flourless brownies with melted chocolate as a base.
No, that won't work here either. Try our oat flour brownies.
These are AMAZING! I was diagnosed celiac 5 years ago and have usually just used gluten free boxed brownies… never again! I used the Great Value gluten free flour from Walmart and it worked really well. My husband also loves them and he’s not gluten free. Thank you for all great recipe!!
So glad to hear that, Abby! Since brownies don’t have that much flour in proportion to other ingredients, I think this is a good recipe for using many brands of gluten free flour blends. Thanks for sharing your experience!
These brownies were so easy to make and turned out exactly as pictured!
I’m so glad to hear that, Kathy. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Hi Nicole, thank you for the great recipe. I’ve made these twice now. I threw in a cup of pecans and topped with a caramel drizzle the second time. This is the best chewy, fudgey brownie recipe I have tried.
My house is divided on chewy vs slightly cakey brownies. If I wanted them to be a little more cake like (just a LITTLE) is there anything you would suggest I try first? I would really appreciate your advice!
Thank you
Hi, Sean, so glad you loved the brownies. These really aren’t designed to be cake-like, so there’s nothing you can do that will make them that way. If you’re looking for a cakier brownie, I’d try these Little Debbie style gf brownies.
I’m not sure what we did wrong but when we were trying to milk the sugar with avocado oil instead of butter, because I am very free, it turned into a hard fall and it never melted. If you have any suggestions, let me know.
I’m afraid you can’t replace butter with oil, Nicole. You need to use vegan butter if you’d like to make these dairy free.
Amazing!