Chewy, fudgy and rich gluten free peanut butter brownies are the bar for true peanut butter lovers. They have the perfect chewy brownie texture, and there's tons of peanut butter baked right into the batter. They're not just a chocolate brownie with peanut butter topping!
What makes this gluten free peanut butter brownies recipe special?
I like to think of myself as a purist. If you call them peanut butter brownies, they shouldn't just be chocolate brownies with, say, a peanut butter swirl. Those would be peanut butter swirl brownies.
These are straight-up peanut butter brownies. Of course, everything starts to break down when I realize that maybe they're actually gluten free blondies, since they're not, well, brown(ie). Then I'm really just not sure.
But I do know this: they're perfectly chewy, fudgy and packed with peanut butter flavor. The chocolate chips are up to you, but who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate anyway?
These gluten free peanut butter brownies are extra chewy
Do you ever wonder why a recipe might specify, say, melted butter over room temperature butter? Maybe you thought it was just on a whim. It's not!
For a light and airy texture, like you might find in our gluten free vanilla cake, you need to cream room temperature butter with sugar until it's light and fluffy. That creates air bubbles in the mix, which helps provide lift and creates an open, airy crumb during baking.
Here, we're using melted butter, which adds richness, but no lift. For chewy and dense brownies like these, we want richness. You take that first bite of these brownies and the moist crumbs melt in your mouth. Heaven!
Gluten free peanut butter brownies ingredients & substitution suggestions
If you have other dietary restrictions and you want to make these amazing peanut butter brownies, I want to help as best I can! I don't have any suggestions for replacing the peanut butter, though, since they're peanut butter brownies.
I do have a recipe for 4 ingredient peanut butter brownies that are made with peanut butter, brown sugar, eggs, and almond flour if you'd like a rice flour-free version. They're shockingly good!
Dairy free peanut butter brownies
The first time I tested this new recipe, I actually used nondairy butter. And I think I even liked it better than the “regular” recipe (!).
I used Earth Balance whipped buttery spread (to be exact), melted and cooled. The brownies didn't burn as easily as they can when you're baking with butter but tasted exactly the same. I say go for it.
Egg free peanut butter brownies?
There are two eggs in this recipe, and I confess that I haven't tried using an egg substitute. Two eggs is my upper limit for feeling good about a chia egg replacement. Proceed with caution!
Do I have to use chocolate chips?
You can leave them out, replace them with another type of chip (peanut butter? white chocolate? dark chocolate?), but don't add much more than 4 ounces total. It will negatively affect even baking.
Sugar free peanut butter brownies
Swerve brand non-sugar sweeteners make both granulated and brown sugar varieties. Try those!
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (256 g) smooth no stir peanut butter
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled briefly
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (164 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (140 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch x 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the peanut butter, melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla, and mix to combine well, breaking up any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Add the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt and about 3/4 of the chocolate chips, and mix until just combined. The batter should be thick and relatively smooth.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. A small offset spatula is ideal for this task.
- Scatter the remaining chocolate chips evenly on top of the batter, and press gently to help them adhere.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Rotate the pan 180° and reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
- Continue baking until lightly golden brown all over, set in the center and mostly firm when touched in the center (about another 15 minutes).
- The toothpick test isn’t reliable here as the brownies are very fudgy.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before removing, slicing into 9 equal squares and serving.
- Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for a few days or frozen in sealed containers for longer storage.
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (256 g) smooth no stir peanut butter
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled briefly
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (164 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (140 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch x 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the peanut butter, melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla, and mix to combine well, breaking up any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Add the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt and about 3/4 of the chocolate chips, and mix until just combined. The batter should be thick and relatively smooth.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. A small offset spatula is ideal for this task.
- Scatter the remaining chocolate chips evenly on top of the batter, and press gently to help them adhere.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Rotate the pan 180° and reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
- Continue baking until lightly golden brown all over, set in the center and mostly firm when touched in the center (about another 15 minutes).
- The toothpick test isn’t reliable here as the brownies are very fudgy.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before removing, slicing into 9 equal squares and serving.
- Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for a few days or frozen in sealed containers for longer storage.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Gillian says
Tried it with all natural peanut butter not no stir – as am very sensitive to corn and it’s derivatives and it worked just fine. Make again very soon as it was very yummy!
Nicole Hunn says
Good to know, Gillian. Glad you liked the PB brownies!
bonnie says
I tried this with natural crunchy peanut butter (it was mostly peanut chunks) and it worked really well! I didn’t have any xanthan gum so tried it without & it seemed perfectly fine. Thanks for the recipe :)))
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Bonnie, I’m glad you had success with your substitutions. For the benefit of others, I want to mention that crunchy peanut butter won’t incorporate into the mixture like smooth no-stir peanut butter, which would likely produce a relatively fragile brownie, especially without xanthan gum. But if that doesn’t bother you, go for it!