Rich, fudgy Keto Peanut Butter Brownies are the indulgent treat you need. The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is delicious. Great for potlucks, holidays, and late-night sweet cravings. They are low carb, grain-free, and gluten-free too.
There are very few people I know that aren’t fans of peanut butter and chocolate together. Thankfully, keto cooking has come a long way from when it first started. Back in the day, eating delicious desserts was just a dream and not a reality. But that is no longer the case. If you've spent years loving regular Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies you've come to the right place for a keto version!
If you are looking for something that will give you an ultimate sugar fix without the sugar, this low carb peanut butter brownies recipe is what you have been waiting for. They are sweet enough that you only need a little piece, and they will satisfy your needs. Besides, if you do need a second one, your secret is safe with me!
What You’ll Need
You’ll see two sets of ingredients for this keto brownie recipe. A couple of them are repeats for the topping and the brownie themselves.
Brownie Ingredients:
- Butter - You’ll need to use salted, melted butter to get the right texture and flavor.
- Water - The water needs to be warm, but not hot.
- Eggs - To properly combine the ingredients and bind them, it’s important to use room temperature eggs. You can set them on the counter 30 minutes - 1 hour before making the brownies. Or you can place them into a bowl of warm water to speed up the process.
- Sweetener - My sweetener is the best combination I have found for making these keto peanut butter brownies. I do have a few alternatives for you in the recipe notes if you want to try something else.
- Almond & Coconut Flours - Using a combination of these two gluten free flours gives the keto brownies a fantastic texture.
- Cocoa - To give them a rich and decadent taste, you will need some cocoa. Use unsweetened to ensure it is low carb.
- Vanilla - A little bit of vanilla extract brings out the rest of the flavors.
- Baking Powder - Using baking powder is a must, so the brownies raise enough while baking.
- Salt - Just a little bit of salt will help bring out the sweetness in the peanut butter brownies.
Topping Ingredients:
- Peanut Butter - Luscious creamy natural peanut butter is the star of these brownies.
- Cream Cheese - The cream cheese really elevates the flavor as well as the texture to make these the ultimate brownies.
- Butter - You’ll need a little bit more melted butter for the topping. Make sure you use salted butter for this too.
- Sweetener - A little bit more sweetener, and you will have the perfect topping!
How To Make Keto Peanut Butter Brownies
This is a pretty straightforward recipe, and it’s even great for the beginning baker! Don’t be afraid to tackle this easy dessert!
Step One: Grease a 9x9 baking dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step Two: Combine the melted butter, warm water, and eggs together in a large bowl. Slowly add the sweetener, flour, cocoa, vanilla, salt, and baking powder into the butter mixture.
Stir and pour into the baking dish.
Step Three: Prepare the topping by combining the peanut butter, cream cheese, butter, and sweetener together. It will be thick.
Using a spoon, drop dollops of the topping on top. The peanut butter layer is a bit too thick to swirl into the chocolate batter. If you really want to make these peanut butter swirl brownies thin it with a little warm water so you can make peanut butter swirls.
Expert Tip: I actually find it easiest to do this with 2 spoons. I scoop some filling the first spoon and push it off the spoon and onto the brownie batter with the second spoon.
Step Four: Bake the brownies for 35-40 minutes or until it’s puffed up and it’s jiggly in the center.
How Do You Cut Brownies
Cutting brownies can either be easy or an utter disaster! Over the years and with much practice, I have figured out exactly what to do to cut fudgy keto brownies with ease and look beautiful. This is especially helpful if you are taking them to friends or family!
- Don’t cut the chocolate peanut butter brownies while they are still hot. This will cause little clumps to stick to the knife, and as you make cuts, more will keep sticking. They are the easiest to cut after chilling in the refrigerator.
- Using a plastic knife is very helpful. I know it seems strange, but brownie bits don’t stick to plastic the same what it does to a regular knife.
- Add a little grease or non-stick spray to the knife, so nothing sticks to it. No need to go overboard; a little bit will do the job.
- If you do want to use a steel bladed knife instead of plastic, heat it up by dipping it into hot water. Dry it before cutting, but the warmth helps make the slices smooth.
How Do You Store Keto Peanut Butter Brownies?
Keep the brownies in an airtight container once they have cooled. They will last 3-4 days at room temperature or up to 2 weeks in the fridge. In general, I keep all the baked good from my low carb recipes in the fridge. And, I like these best after they have been chilled.
Substitutions, Add-Ins, & Serving Ideas
Sugar Free Chocolate Chips - if you are someone who can never have too much chocolate go ahead and sprinkle in a handful before popping these in the oven.
Sunflower Seed Flour - this can be subbed for the almond flour if you cannot have almonds. You can also sub sunflower seed butter for the peanut butter to make these entirely nut-free.
Sea Salt - if you choose a peanut butter that is unsalted I highly recommend sprinkling a pinch of sea salt over the top of these after baking. The sweet-salty combination in these peanut butter chocolate brownies is fabulous.
Ice Cream - who can resist a warm brownie with a scoop of keto vanilla ice cream? I know I can't!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
Brownie Ingredients:
- ½ cup salted butter melted
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅔ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- ½ cup almond flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Topping Ingredients:
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 2 tablespoon salted butter melted
- ¼ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 9 baking dish.
- In a large bowl whisk together the butter, warm water, and eggs. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into the baking dish.
- In a small bowl stir together the topping ingredients. Drop dollops on top of the batter.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the entire brownie has puffed up and is no longer jiggly in the center.
Wendy Guillot says
I was really excited to make these, but I am not sure what went wrong. They are so so crumbly. I followed every step & used the listed ingredients except I used whole earth erythritol and crunchy peanut butter. Not sure if that would make a difference. I actually took them out at about 22 minutes because they were done.
Taryn says
Hi Wendy, how much erythritol did you use? Most keto brownies are best after you chill them. They crumble less. And then if you like them warm reheat them after they have thoroughly chilled. This gives a real fudgy texture.
Jeanne Wilder says
Sounds delicious
Linda says
How would you make these egg free?
Thank You!
Taryn says
I'm sorry but I'm not sure.
Mal says
You could probably use a flaxseed egg in place of eggs
Jany Riggs says
Taste great
Melissa says
Such an easy recipe. And beyond delicious!! I’ve tried other dessert recipes from other people and these by far are the best
Thanks for sharing your talent with us
Pamela says
Simply delicious. I don't think anyone would know they were low carb, but I'm not sure I want to share. Except for my mom because she gave birth to me.
Judy says
My stomach can’t handle anything but pure stevia (I buy THM) for sweetener so I find myself rarely making baked goods because I can never figure out if using just pure stevia will work but brownies are my weakness and if I can find a recipe for those I think it could help me a lot!! Do you have any thoughts on whether using pure stevia could be possible?
Taryn says
I would suggest trying smaller batch recipes. That way if it doesn't work it isn't as much of a loss. Check out my mug cakes. You could definitely add some peanut butter topping to the brownie mug cake. https://joyfilledeats.com/?s=mug+cake
Karen says
Is there a dairy free version of this yummy-looking recipe? My husband has dairy allergies but LOVES peanut butter & chocolate foods.
Taryn says
You can sub in coconut oil for the butter in the brownies. For the topping just sub more coconut oil for the cream cheese and butter. Just enough until it is thin enough to drop dollops on top.
Karen says
Thank you!!
I’ll give it a try 🙂
Nellie Tracy says
These are fantastic brownies! So decadent and delicious, the perfect mix of peanut butter and chocolate!
Katie says
I love that it's decadent and delicious, but still low carb!
John Costello says
Having been on keto for 2 years, I've grown a bit tired of the taste of almond flour...but not yet coconut flour. Could I use all coconut flour or is there another low carb flour I could substitute the almond flour with?
Taryn says
I'm not sure all coconut flour would work. If you want to try use 1/3 of the amount of almond flour. OR my suggestion would be to just add this peanut butter topping to my flourless brownies. https://joyfilledeats.com/flourless-brownies/
Meghan Allen says
These are rich and fudgy with lovely dollops of peanut butter goodie! I may or may not have eaten mine with a little low carb ice cream! Yummy!
Farhat says
Yummy! It would be a great combination to use almond and coconut flour together, and the texture out of this would be great. Would like to try. Thanks for the recipe.