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These fudgy gluten free brownies have deep chocolate flavor, a chewy center, and the shiny crinkly top you usually only get from a box.
The secret? Melting the butter and sugar first. With a full cup of cocoa powder and plenty of chocolate chips, these brownies strike the perfect balance between rich and sweet—and you'll never miss the 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
That crackly top: It’s not luck—it comes from melting the sugar into the butter, then beating it well into the eggs.
Fudgy, chewy center: These brownies have a dense bite, but they’re never gooey or cakey.
Deep chocolate flavor: A full cup of cocoa powder gives you a rich, intense base without needing melted chocolate.
Plenty of chips: Five ounces in the batter, plus more on top, add pockets of melty chocolate.
Easy to customize: Add nuts, flavored chips, or a swirl of marshmallow or nut butter before baking.
How to make gluten free brownies
To make the perfect brownies, start by melting the butter and sugar together until the mixture is bubbling and the sugar is mostly dissolved. Let it cool slightly.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla. Slowly drizzle in the warm butter-sugar mixture while whisking constantly so the eggs don’t scramble.
Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth, then switch to a spatula and stir in the flour, xanthan gum (if needed), cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
Fold in most of the chocolate chips, then spread the thick batter into a prepared 8-inch metal pan. Top with the remaining chips.
Bake at 325°F for about 30 minutes, until the center is no longer shiny. Cool in the pan, then chill for an hour before slicing for the cleanest squares.
My Pro Tip
Expert Tips for the Best Gluten Free Brownies
Melt the butter and sugar first
Don’t skip this step! Heating the sugar with the butter helps dissolve the sugar crystals and gives you that signature crinkly top.
Beat the eggs well
The texture of your brownies depends on it. Well-beaten eggs help create structure and chew—and they help trap air for that shiny top.
Use a light-colored metal pan
A light cast aluminum or anodized metal pan bakes evenly and won’t overheat. Avoid glass or ceramic, which retain heat and can lead to burned edges.
Line your pan, even if it’s nonstick
Use parchment or foil to make cleanup easy and ensure nothing sticks—even the corners.
Don’t overbake
The center should look just set, not fully dry. The brownies will finish setting as they cool. Since they’re dark in color, visual cues matter more than a toothpick test.
substitutions
Ingredient Substitutions
Dairy free
Use a vegan butter in bar form, like Melt or Miyoko’s. For best results, avoid soft tub-style spreads. If needed, try half Earth Balance sticks and half shortening (like Spectrum or Crisco). Don’t forget to use dairy-free chocolate chips.
Egg free
Replace the eggs with two chia eggs or flax eggs. The texture will be slightly different, and flax may add some flavor—but the chocolate usually covers it well.
Corn-free
Swap the cornstarch for an equal amount of arrowroot or potato starch. Both work well in this recipe.
Gluten Free Brownie Recipe
Equipment
- Handheld or stand mixer (or whisk with stamina!)
Ingredients
- 9 tablespoons (126 g) unsalted butter, chopped
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- 2 (100 g 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 light-colored metal pan with parchment or nonstick foil. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter and sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to bubble. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla until well combined. Slowly drizzle in the warm butter-sugar mixture, whisking constantly.
- Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.
- Switch to a spatula and stir in the flour blend, xanthan gum (if using), cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
- Fold in about 4 oz of the chocolate chips. The batter will be thick and sticky.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the top.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center no longer looks wet.
- Cool the brownies in the pan at room temperature. For clean slices, chill the pan in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Lift out the brownies, slice into 9 squares, and serve—or wrap and freeze for later.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
At room temperature: Brownies will stay fresh for a few hours uncovered, or up to 2 days if wrapped tightly.
In the refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
In the freezer: Wrap tightly in freezer-safe wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature before serving.
FAQs
Nope! A handheld mixer makes it easier, but you can whisk by hand—just be vigorous, especially when beating in the eggs and cocoa powder.
Yes, but bake for about 5 minutes less. The brownies will be a bit thinner.
Yes, but bake in two 8- or 9-inch square pans. A 9×13 pan will make them too thick to bake evenly.
Use nonstick foil or parchment. If you’re using parchment, clip it to the sides of the pan with heat-safe clips so it doesn’t shift.
Not in this recipe—but I have separate recipes for almond flour brownies and oat flour brownies that are designed for those flours.
I was super pleased with this recipe. Thanks so much! I actually made a regular batch and sugar free batch. For those that use other GF blends, I used GFJules. It is pricey, but I found it works the best in cakes, which is typically what I am making. I buy it in bulk to save money. I did substitute more GF flour for the cornstarch as I think GFJules uses more cornstarch than most. I also added a bit more vanilla. I was a bit concerned about the amount of cocoa powder, but I have had a lot of success with recipes from here before. This recipe is a keeper.
For the regular batch, the top was beautiful. I did not use chips on the top as I put caramel bits in there since I made them for my son’s bday, and that is his favorite. My son and daughter absolutely loved them.
For the sugar free one, for those interested, I used a monkfruit allulose blend (skinny monk). I did not get the nice crackly top, but I am pretty sure I didn’t let the butter cool enough. Or maybe I won’t get that with sugar free. I used dark chocolate chips in this one (sugar free). These were really delicious. My gramma loved them as well. I went back for seconds immediately.
:) <3
I’m very glad that you enjoyed the recipe, Lisa, but please understand that GF Jules will not work in most of my recipes. This recipe has very little all purpose gluten free flour in it at all, so the flour blend you choose matters less than it does in other recipes. It is extremely “strong” due to the fact that the very first, most plentiful ingredient, is modified tapioca starch.
Nicole, Is this the same recipe as in your book “Gluten Free on a Shoestring”? I forgot to pack it when we left for winter. I made what seems to be the same brownies for our family at Christmas – everyone loved them!! But I don’t remember melting the sugar in the butter and it called for parchment paper to line the pan, but they looked just like your pictures when I made them. Crackly top was great. Please, let me clarify, that you used a blend that includes zanthan gum, so you did not add 1/8 teaspoon, and if I use a blend without, I only use 1/8 teaspoon zanthan gum? It seemed like the recipe from the book used more for a blend without, but I could be wrong :) Thank you for your work to develop great recipes for those who need gluten free.
No, Marsha, this is not in any of my books. And, as indicated in the recipe, if your blend already contains xanthan gum (like Better Batter does, for example), you don’t add more.
This is probably the 5th GF brownie recipe I have tried. None of them have turned out well. No crackly top. Not a great texture either. I’m sorry, I wanted this to work. For others out there struggling w GF brownies, I would suggest WFM or Trader Joes box mix. They are both pretty good. I used to do Pamelas too but that can be harder to find.
Meredith, if you’re not having success with any of the recipes you’re using, I suggest that there’s something wrong with your ingredients or your technique. My guess is that you’re not measuring your ingredients by weight, and you’re not using a proper gluten free flour blend. When bakers only have success with boxed mixes, it’s usually a matter of measuring ingredients properly—and sourcing them right. I’d look at those, or just stick to so-so box mixes, but be fair to recipe developers like me who can’t control the choices you make in the kitchen, but can only make requests and suggestions!
Quick question- I love these brownies and we have a few GF as well as celiacs in our church and I am doing all the volunteer desserts for 100 people. I want to do this one for the GF crowd but am planning out my baking so as to not cross contaminate. Can these be frozen after baked or do you lose the chewy goodness?
Please see the post text under the title “How do I store gluten free brownies?”
Best brownies ever! First time I made them I tried to simmer the butter/sugar mixture until smooth, never happened and the sugar crystalized. I made the recipe anyhow and while the taste was great, the brownie had an unexpected (an not every bite) crunch. I tried again and melted the butter with sugar mixed in. I took it off the heat after a minute more. The sugar was not smooth, still a bit grainy. That was perfect. My brownies turned out amazing! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes. We are split in my house with 1/2 of us gluten free and half not, so since I do the baking we eat 95% gluten free. Best part is when my husband has to ask if its gluten free or not!
Yes, it does sound like you overcooked the sugar the first time, Lin. You just simmer until melted, but it won’t be completely smooth like when you’re cooking a sugar syrup. I tend to overthink things, too, but now you know that the recipe is correct as written, precisely. I try my best to be as precise as possible, but human nature is what it is! So glad you tried again, and fell in love. :)
Absolutely the BEST. Even the relatives that hate it when I bake Gluten Free said they were AMAZING!
Winning hearts and minds, one recipe at a time, Des! :)
I LOVE these brownies! I make them all the time. Definitely my go-to brownie recipe. My husband feels all brownies should have icing on them. I love that not only do these brownies not need icing, but they are actually better without it! Hubby agrees!
I have such mixed feelings about icing on brownies, Shelley! I’m glad he is willing to leave these bare, though, since the crinkly top… You gotta let it shine! So glad you both love them. :)
I am making the gluten free Crescent Rolls. According to the blog, you let the dough sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours. In the book it says at least 12 hours. Which is it? I don’t want to mess these up!
It doesn’t matter that much, Jenny. It’s not for flavor development; instead, it’s to allow the wet ingredients to absorbed by the flour and to chill the dough, which makes it easier to work with.
Did this recipe get edited? I see the publish date changed. The flour is only listed volumetrically, and not by weight. I’m assuming that’s a mistake.
Hi, Matthew, thanks for pointing that out! Yes, the post was republished, and the recipe card indicates what was changed. The recipe itself didn’t change, but the formatting did, and I mistakenly omitted the weight measurement for the flour blend. It’s fixed now!
Awesome. You’re the best!
Making today, can I add nuts in addition to the choc chips?
You sure can, Janet! Just replace some chips with nuts. I wouldn’t add more in total.
Hi, I’m from Indonesia. Glad to stumble upon your website :) I really want to make this. However, could I substitute coconut sugar for white sugar? Thank you so much for your kindness :)
Hi, Shinta, I’m afraid that coconut sugar does not behave like refined granulated sugar, no. I’d recommend you use one of the other brownie recipes I refer to here, like the coconut flour brownies or the super fudgy Paleo brownies.
Hi again – it wouldn’t let me reply for some reason, but thanks for your extremely quick response! They had 40mins in the end and have turned out pretty well. Well, the kids aren’t complaining any way! I did use Doves farm, self raising, and omitted the baking powder and xantham gum as both are included in the mix. One query I had was the amount of cornstarch as two tablespoons is more than 18g…but I used the smaller amount (18g). They’re (too!) yummy regardless :)
Glad they turned out. Two tablespoons of cornstarch by my measurement is, indeed, 18 grams. Volume measurements are notoriously unreliable and very variable, especially between countries. Ignore them and use the weight, always!