The BEST Low Carb Brownies Recipe
These low carb brownies are just like the traditional brownies my mom used to make (with the help of Pillsbury or Betty Crocker). They are the most like a classic box mix brownie. They are great warm, in between cakey and fudgy, and rich with chocolate. There are also only 2 g net carbs in each brownie in this low carb brownie recipe!
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I love brownies I have over a dozen brownie recipes including Raspberry Brownies, Brownies in a Skillet, Keto Flourless Brownies, Keto Cheesecake Brownies, and a Keto Mug Brownie.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a guest post so when I saw Hannah’s Low Carb Brownie recipe going viral in the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook group I asked her if I could share it here on Joy Filled Eats. I was thrilled when she said yes! My sweet tooth was also thrilled. There are never too many easy low carb brownies and although this is similar to my Keto Fudgy Brownies it is different enough to warrant its own spot on my blog.
Hannah’s recipe uses cocoa powder as the base whereas my recipe uses melted baking chocolate. That makes her gluten-free brownie recipe more economical if you are on a tight budget. This gluten free keto brownie recipe is also SO easy.
Hannah’s Fabulous Brownies
Hannah: I created this recipe after trying 8 to 10 other sugar-free, low carb brownie recipes that I just didn’t personally enjoy. I really love brownies and I would rather go without than eat something that doesn’t even have a semblance of that “real” brownie taste and texture.
My husband has laughed at me as I’ve been disappointed after trying so many recipes that people said tasted JUST LIKE _____, and I’ve worried that these people either haven’t tasted the real thing in too long or are unashamed liars! I absolutely love these brownies and I am so excited to be able to enjoy them happy knowing they are not bad for my health!
Ingredients Needed
Almond Flour – I prefer almond flour in low carb baking. It has a mild flavor and gives a tender crumb in gluten free brownies, cakes, cookies, and biscuits. It is a good sub for wheat flour on a low-carb diet.
Coconut Flour – Just a little bit of coconut flour goes a long way. Coconut flour helps to balance the oiliness of almond flour since it is naturally drier and absorbs more liquid than other alternative flours.
Sugar-Free Sweetener – I like to use a blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia in my recipes. You can purchase this pre-mixed from the Trim Healthy Mama website or mix your own according to my recipe. By using a combination of sugar alcohols and stevia you can use half the amount required of 1:1 sweeteners and regular sugar. If you can’t use xylitol with pets in the house sub in allulose or additional erythritol.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder or Cacao Powder – I’m currently using raw cacao powder which can be used for cocoa powder. Costco has Navitas Cacao Powder for a good price. I like the flavor in my baked goods. You can use black cocoa powder for an Oreo flavor or dark cocoa powder for a dark chocolate flavor.
Vanilla – Adding pure vanilla extract a standard in any baked good. It brings out the flavor of the other ingredients in the same way a pinch of salt does.
Coconut Oil – I use refined coconut oil in recipes that I don’t want to have a coconut flavor.
Sugar Free Chocolate Chips – You can use any sugar free chips you enjoy. ChocZero now has white chocolate chips and peanut butter chips in addition to dark chocolate and milk chocolate.
The ingredient measurements can be found in the recipe card under the blog post.
How to make Low Carb Brownies
It is easier to make low carb keto brownies than you think! All you need is a medium sized bowl and a whisk or wooden spoon.
First Step: Mix together the liquid ingredients.
Top Tip💡
The most important thing when making these low-carb brownies is to use room temperature eggs and melted coconut oil. If your eggs are cold they can make the coconut oil solidify when you are mixing.
Second Step: Add the dry ingredients. Spread in an 8 by 8 inch baking dish that has been greased or lined with parchment paper.
Third Step: Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the brownie batter.
Fourth Step: Bake. These are cakey right from the oven and get fudgier and fudgier as they cool.
Variations
There are so many choices for my low carb brownie recipe. Here are a few of my favorites:
Sugar Free Whipped Cream – whip up some cream, add a little powdered sweetener and use to top this keto brownies recipe.
Keto Cream Cheese Frosting – make this into a low carb chocolate brownie cake by baking in a round pan and piping on some creamy icing!
ChocZero Peanut Butter or White Chocolate Chips – sub in a sugar-free chocolate chips in a unique flavor.
Ice Cream – who can resist a brownie sundae. I love these with my low carb keto coffee ice cream.
Peppermint – around Christmas I just love mint chocolate. Add 2 teaspoons of mint extract to turn these into peppermint brownies.
Common Questions
Are these fudgy or cakey?
These are very similar in texture to box mix brownies. To me, these are the most similar to box brownies than any other keto brownies I’ve tried. Using cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate really makes them taste like the good ole’ family-sized fudgy brownies from a mix.
They are unbelievably delicious but a little cakey when they are still hot from the oven. They do become fudgier when cooled. My preferred method of eating these is to chill them overnight in the baking pan (use parchment paper!) or an airtight container and then warm up individual squares. This is the way to get fudgy keto brownies!
Can I use a baking mix for low carb brownies?
No. Baking blends really do NOT work here. It needs to be this specific combo of almond and coconut flours to get that almost real brownie taste and texture!
What sugar-free sweetener can I use for Low Carb Brownies?
This recipe is very versatile. You can use erythritol, xylitol, THM Gentle Sweet, THM Super Sweet, or a blend of erythritol and monk fruit sweetener like Lakanto.
I always use my sweetener blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia in my keto diet recipes except for times a powdered sweetener works better, like in icings.
Can I use butter instead of coconut oil?
Yup! If you prefer butter works fine in this recipe and any of my other keto brownie recipes that call for coconut oil. I use salted butter and melt it first.
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The BEST Low Carb Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/3 c cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Start by whisking the room temperature eggs and then the melted coconut oil and vanilla together with the warm water, this will prevent an undesirable texture from the coconut oil resolidifying during the mixing process.
- Once the wet ingredients are all stirred together, add the cocoa powder, sweetener, salt, almond flour, coconut flour and baking powder.
- Whisk together and spread into a greased or parchment-lined 8×8 pan.
- Lastly, sprinkle the chocolate chips on the brownies and bake 20-30 min. The time on these seems to vary quite a bit.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally Published November 10, 2016. Revised and Republished April 5, 2024.
Can I use pyure?
I think so but I have not tried it. Pyure is equal to super sweet.
I used it. It tastes really good There’s some kind of off taste but I think it’s just because it’s different than what I usually eat. Nothing I can’t overcome. Thank you for the recipe!
How much pyure did you use?
These were good….however when I calculated the carbs (by individual ingredient amount) I calculated 10 total carbs for each serving (1/16th of the recipe)…and that is without the chocolate chips…
I did use swerve as the seeetener, could that be the difference?
Are you subtracting sugar alcohols and fiber? My nutrition calculator does not have an option to list sugar alcohol separately so I subtract those manually.
These were by far the best brownies I’ve tried! Thanks for sharing!! ❤️❤️
Outstanding! Made this afternoon in preparation for the Royal Wedding celebrations tonight – just had a sneaky try and by far the best low carb brownie I’ve tasted yet, and so easy to make! Thank you, will become a regular in our house. Will be serving warm tonight with whipped cream, can’t wait – for the wedding AND the brownie!!!
Hi! What kind of alteration would need to be made for high altitude? I’m new to living somewhere with a high altitude. I made these today and they are SO YUMMY but the texture isn’t what it should be… they fall apart really easily (and I’ve let them cool). Would love suggestions as the taste is spot on!! 😁
Hi Bonnie, I live right around sea level myself so I don’t have any personal tips for high altitude. This post is very informative though: https://oureverydaylife.com/adjust-baking-brownies-high-altitudes-35821.html
Hi!
I love brownies and this looks like the perfect recipe. Couple questions before I try it out. Do you use unsweetened cocoa powder or regular? I bought semi sweet chocolate chips.. will that due??
Hi Jennifer, cocoa powder is normally unsweetened. That is what I use. You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips but if they aren’t sugar-free they will increase the sugar and carbs.
Hi! What kind of alteration would need to be made for high altitude? I’m new to living somewhere with a high altitude. I made these today and they are SO YUMMY but the texture isn’t what it should be… they fall apart really easily (and I’ve let them cool). Would love suggestions as the taste is spot on!! 😁
I made these today and subbed melted butter for the coconut oil, and bloomed the cocoa powder in hot coffee instead of using the warm water. I used Lakanto original sweetener. Really really delicious! I baked in a glass 8×8 pan and 24 minutes was just perfect for me. I will decrease the sweetener to 3/4 cup, as I prefer a darker chocolate flavor, but I loved these brownies!:)
Thank You!!! My son and I love these brownies so much! They have saved me on my low carb journey. I use coconut oil from Aldi’s and almond flour and coconut flour from Trader Joe’s and stevia (only 1/4 cup) from my local market. They are delicious and I make them every week now. Yum.
Have any of you tried freezing these? I have some leftover and don’t want to toss if I can save them for a later chocolate craving. 🙂
These were wonderful!! I used Lakanto sweetener, and good quality cocoa powder. I mixed the wet and dry ingredients separately, then combined them. I also “bloomed” the cocoa powder by mixing it with the warm melted coconut oil and leaving it for 10min. This really brings out the flavor of the cocoa. Husband said they were some of the best brownies he’s ever had.
Hi Hannah,
I made this lovely brownie just an hour back and must say they came excellent!! I am much more excited for the perfect way they turned up as I am fairly new to baking 😎Kudos to you for creating such a lovely recipe. Plus it being low carb is indeed a big bonus!! I used Swerve sweetener, so the taste is pretty similar to a regular brownie!! Thank you for such an awesome recipe 👍😄
Hannah, thank you, thank you!! I’ve made a number of low carb brownies and ate them but knew I needed to keep searching. This recipe is a winner. I used Pyure (1/2 c)… I prefer not overly sweet…and added walnuts and they turned out wonderful!! Baked in a parchment lined 8×8 for total of 25 minutes. Let them
Cool completely and oh, my…low carb delight! Now, to control the urge to eat them all 😂❣️ Thank you again.
Hi there
Is the 109 calories for the whole thing? It does not say per servving.
Thank you,
Doreen
Hi Doreen, it is for one brownie. At the top of the recipe box it says there are 16 servings so that is what the nutrition is calculated for.
Not at all fudgy and I followed the directions and am not at high altitude. Could pass as chocolate cake texture-wise but the sweetener aftertaste was overwhelming. I know you have some other great recipes.
I’m sorry you didn’t like these Cathy. I haven’t figured out why some people love them and they don’t seem to work for others. I wonder if this is a recipe where the brand of flours matters. Have you tried my Little Debbie Brownies or Pecan Praline Brownies yet? I think those are both fudgier than these. They use melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder.
And may I ask which sweetener you used? I didn’t get an aftertaste using gentle sweet.
Homemade version of Gentle Sweet (equal parts erythritol and xylitol, 3/8 cup of each here plus 1/4 tsp stevia) using THM brand stevia. Works well for most uses but was overwhelming in this. I have enjoyed several other of your recipes so I’m really not sure the difference with this one. I’m not new to THM and working with the sweeteners.
Hi Cathy, those are different measurements then I use in my homemade gentle sweet (https://joyfilledeats.com/sweetener/). And I use better stevia brand which is less potent than the thm stevia so I’m not exactly sure why your homemade blend didn’t work. Have you used it in other brownie recipes?
Do you know what the portions would be to make just a single serve brownie instead?
No; but you can change the quantity on my recipe card. It should adjust all the ingredients.
Okay I’ll try it, thanks!