A simple recipe for homemade Flourless Brownies. This recipe yields chocolatey, fudgy, rich brownies with crackly tops. Recipe includes a how-to video.
No flour? No problem.
Some of you have written and told me that you’re still having trouble finding flour in the grocery stores, so I thought I’d give you an alternative to making my flourless peanut butter cookies on repeat.
Today’s recipe is thinner but fudgier than my favorite brownie recipe. It’s richly chocolaty with crackly tops and a melt-in-your-mouth crumb. They’re perfect for making in a pinch (or for a gluten free friend). Or for yourself anytime… even after spending days perfecting this recipe Zach is still asking me to make it just because.
What You Need:
- Chocolate chips. Since so much of your flavor comes from the chocolate, I recommend using a premium brand of chocolate chips. I personally prefer Ghirardelli (and they’ve never paid me so much as a penny to say so).
- Butter. There’s less butter than you’d probably guess for a pan of brownies, less than one stick!
- Sugar. Only granulated sugar in today’s recipe.
- Cocoa powder. I prefer natural cocoa powder but Dutch processed will work as well.
- Eggs. We’ll whip these very well with our sugar, it’s an important step in the process and I’ll talk more about it below. Unfortunately I cannot advise a substitute for the eggs (I’m not saying one doesn’t exist, but they are key in this recipe and I don’t know of a substitution that would work properly).
- Corn starch. In order to give the brownies some structure, we need to incorporate corn starch into the batter (though if you don’t have it I believe arrowroot would work instead). If you’re a regular baker from my blog I would bet you have plenty of this in your pantry; it’s one of my favorite secret ingredients 😉
- Vanilla extract & salt. For flavor.
Note: This is just an overview of the ingredients that are needed and why I chose them. For the full flourless brownie recipe and amounts please scroll down to the recipe card.
Whipping the Eggs Properly is Key When Making Flourless Brownies
Because there’s no flour in this recipe, there are a few key ingredients and steps that work to bind these brownies together so that they don’t fall apart in your hands once they’ve cooked and cooled. Possibly the most important step is whipping the eggs. While with some recipes like my angel food cake or Swiss meringue buttercream we beat the whites themselves, for our flourless brownies we want the whole egg (white and yolk… not the shell!). Here we beat whole eggs along with granulated sugar until the mixture is thickened and pale yellow (see photo above) and falls in ribbons when the beaters are lifted out of the mixture. For a visual, see my video in the recipe card.
Whipping the eggs on high speed helps to not only bind the brownies together and provide structure, it also gives them a tiny bit of lift (though not much, the brownies are quite thin, but decadent and fudgy,) and encourages that deliciously crackly meringue-like top.
Because we’ve put all of this work into whipping our egg whites, you want to handle them a bit delicately to not deflate them with your other (heavier) ingredients. After using your electric mixer to whip the eggs, calm things down a bit and stir the rest of your ingredients together manually and gently with a spoon or spatula.
I used a whisk in the photo below because I thought it showed off the texture of the brownie batter best, but I promise I was gentle with it 😉
Tips:
- Melt your chocolate and butter together slowly in 20 second increments, stirring well every 20 seconds. Heating this for too long/too quickly will seize your chocolate and leave you with a grainy chocolate that won’t incorporate nicely into your flourless brownie batter. That’s if the butter doesn’t pop and explode all over your microwave first.
- I recommend a metal baking dish and not a glass one because the metal dish will heat more evenly and bake the brownies faster and more evenly.
- You can use an 8″x8″ or 9″x9″ pan, I prefer the 8″ (makes the thin brownies a bit thicker) but have cooking instructions for both in the recipe below.
- You can add nuts (stir them in at the end, just before spreading into your pan), but they’ll sink to the bottom of the brownies. Since these are fairly thin brownies anyway it’s not a huge deal, just be aware.
- Let your flourless brownies cool completely. They will be impossible to cut and pick up while still warm, you’d need to use a spoon (which I have done and it’s delicious, like a molten lava cake but not like a brownie)! You can speed up the cooling process by placing them in the refrigerator, though personally I prefer the taste/texture when they are at room temperature.
Storing
Store leftover brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
More Recipes You Might Like:
- Easy Fudge Recipe
- Lemon Brownies
- Mini Cheesecakes (another flour-free recipe)
- Oreo Brownies
Enjoy!
Be sure to check out the how-to video in the recipe card!
Flourless Brownies
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter cut into about 6 pieces (75g)
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (170g)
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup natural cocoa powder (25g)
- ¼ cup cornstarch (25g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line an 8x8 metal baking pan¹ with parchment paper (use enough that some is hanging over the sides so you can lift the brownies out of the pan easily after baking and cooling). Set aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, combine butter pieces and chocolate chips. Microwave for 20-second increments, stirring well in-between, until chocolate and butter are completely smooth and melted. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer (or stand mixer) to beat together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until mixture is pale and fluffy and increased in volume (this will probably take at least a minute, maybe longer, on high speed).
- Sift cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt into egg mixture and then fold ingredients together until combined with a spatula (if you don’t have a sifter, just whisk them together in a separate bowl to remove any lumps before stirring into egg mixture).
- Drizzle the melted butter/chocolate mixture into the batter and use a spatula to gently stir until just combined.
- Transfer to prepared baking pan and bake on 350F (175C) for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow brownies to cool completely before lifting out of the pan using the parchment paper and slicing and serving (if they're still warm they will definitely fall apart).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Sara
Hi! Do you think I could use fresh cranberries as an add in? Should I chop them in half?
Sam
Hi Sara! That should work fine. You can make them whatever size you’d prefer. 🙂
Shanthi
Good morning Sam. I baked flourless brownie for the third time today. Super delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe😊
Is there anyway I can bake without eggs? And also I’m interested to know if I could use egg replacer. Thanking you in advance 🙏🏽
Sam
Hi Shanthi! I am so glad you enjoyed the brownies so much! Unfortunately I am not sure how you would make these eggless. 🙁
Helen Singleton
My granddaughter is vegan, can I use applesauce in place of the butter? Also where can I get the little glass bowels for putting spices in
Sam
Hi Helen, I’m not sure that applesauce would work here, I think I would recommend a vegan “butter” instead, like Earth Balance. Are these the dishes you are referring to?
Anna
Hi Sam! I have an urgent question rn. I am making brownies from a box mix for fun but I don’t have oil!! I only have extra virgin olive oil, could I use that in place?
These look amazing!
Sam
Hi Anna! Olive oil has a pretty strong taste so your brownies may taste a little funny if you use olive oil. 🙂
Paula
Amazing brownies Sam! Thank you!! I baked them in a glass 8×8 pan, and greased with butter instead of parchment paper. They turned out heavenly! Just like the picture. They were definitely done in 35 minutes (my oven runs warm) Your video was very helpful. I will be making these again for my family!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Paula! 🙂
Shanthi
I’m so grateful for this recipe. It tastes so heavenly. Very simple to bake and so yummy. My children love it. Thank you so much, Sam🌹
Sam
You’re so welcome, Santhi, I’m so happy it has been such a hit! Thank you for commenting, I appreciate it! 🙂
Sally
Omg, these are the best brownies I have ever made and the only recipe where I was able to get that shiny crackly top. They are also gluten free too! My whole family loved them. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that they were a hit, Sally! Thank you for trying my recipe. 🙂
Priscilla
The flourless brownies turned out perfectly. The recipe was very simple.
They were so good!
Sam
Yay! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed, Priscilla, thank you for commenting, I really appreciate it 🙂
Caryl
Sounds Great! Can nuts be added without changing anything for quality of finished brownie?
Sam
Hi Caryl! Yes they can, just stir them in at the end. They settle to the bottom of the brownies, but since these are fairly thin it’s not a big deal.
Rebecca Sue Murray
I made these brownies last night and the hubby said he could eat the whole container they were so good!! They were good and very easy to make.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this!! Thank you for letting me know how they turned out, they’ve been a husband-favorite here, too 😂
Sheela
I tried baking my brownies for over 40 minutes, but my knife still did not come out clean. What could I have done wrong?
Sam
Hi Sheela! Did you use a metal pan? Your oven could possibly be running a bit cooler than it lets on and they may have needed just a bit more time. I hope they tasted good in the end!
Sheela
They did. They were very fudgey as promised 😊 Everyone in my family liked them, and they are almost gone.
Priscilla
Wow, looks yummy! I will try these tomorrow!
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much, Priscilla! I hope that you enjoy them. 🙂
Shirleen
Soooo delicious and simple to make,thanks for sharing!
❤️❤️ your recipes, homemade bread was a hit also and
paired very well with your ultimate potato soup!
Keep em’ coming😀
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Shirleen! I am also happy to hear that you also enjoyed the soup and homemade bread. Thanks for trying my recipes. 🙂
Marie Evans
That’s are amazing! I used dark chocolate chips…all I had on hand and I added walnuts, but instead of mixing them in, I sprinkled th in top before I baked them. My new go to!!
Do you think we could use a sugar substitute?
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Marie! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with baking using sugar substitutes so you will have to experiment. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out. 🙂
Lauren E
Lakanto monk fruit sweetener or truvia would work! I have used it in Sam’s recipes and you can’t even tell the difference! I hope this helps you!
Lauren e
I’m making these today! Thanks Sam! I have two questions: how many servings would you say if using an 8×8? And would egg whites work in lieu of eggs? If so, how many? Or applesauce? If so, how much? Thank you in advance!
Sugar Spun Run
I am excited for you to try this recipe, Lauren! This recipe yields approximately 12 brownies. To achieve the right texture and fudginess you need the whole egg, unfortunately, egg whites will not work. I have not tried substituting with applesauce so I am if you do, I’d love to know how they turn out. 🙂
Anna
These look so fudgy and delicious! Do you think milk chocolate chips will work in place of semi-sweet?
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you, Anna! Yes, that should be fine. Enjoy! 🙂