The fudgiest, most chocolatey Keto brownies ever. This simple low carb and sugar free recipe makes perfect brownies time after time. Ready in 30 minutes!
I have not yet met a person who does not like brownies. There is something irresistible about their intense chocolate flavor and their fudginess. My guess is that you like them too – otherwise you would not be reading this!
These brownies are one of my favourite keto desserts. I dabbled a bit in trying to create an avocado brownie, but just did not like them enough to post. In the end, I adapted my original brownie recipe that’s been passed down to me by my Grandma and made it keto friendly.
It’s always a bit nerve-racking when you do the first test-run of a recipe. Sometimes there are spectacular failures, especially in baking!
But I was super pleased with how these keto brownies turned out. They are really easy to make and I’ve baked them many times since. They turn out like a dream every single time!
Regular brownies are a feast of chocolate, butter and indulgent sweetness. It’s the same with these low carb brownies – the only difference being that instead of sugar I used powdered erythritol and instead of flour my brownies contain almond flour.
This way, they’re not only sugar free, low carb and diabetic-friendly (they’re 3.2g net carbs per portion), but also grain and gluten free.
How to make extra fudgy keto brownies:
1.) Melt the chocolate: Break the chocolate into squares and place in a small bowl. Place this bowl inside a larger bowl which you have filled with boiling water. The water will heat the walls of the small bowl and melt the chocolate.
2.) Blend the VERY soft (or melted) butter, powdered sweetener, eggs and cocoa with a blender or in a food processor.
3.) Add the melted chocolate and almond flour and mix until you have a thick, smooth brownie batter. I did this in a food processor, but it is possible to simply stir it together with a fork.
4.) Line a rectangular baking pan or small casserole dish with baking / parchment paper. Cut the paper to size so that it covers the bottom and two sides of the dish. Grease the two remaining sides (or cover these with parchment, too).
5.) Fill the batter into the dish and smoothen the top. Bake 25 minutes or until the top is firm.
6.) Let the brownies cool completely before you remove them from the baking tin. They will be VERY soft when warm, but firm up as they cool down.
Top Tips for perfect low carb brownies
I’d say one of the most important tips for extra fudgy brownies is to slightly under-bake them. Yes, take them out before you think they’re done! The corners should be cooked and the top just set, but you’re looking for a jiggly middle.
If you leave them in the oven for too long, you’ll end up with crumbly brownies. We don’t want that!
Trust me and remove them from the oven after 25 minutes max. Then, simply be patient and let them cool COMPLETELY before cutting. If you place them in the fridge, they will firm up even more.
Here is a quick breakdown of the ingredients and what to look out for:
The chocolate
Use the best quality you can get hold of. There’s a LOT of chocolate in this recipe – almost 2 bars – so you’ll be able to taste it. In the UK, Lindt is a popular quality brand and I went for their 90% dark chocolate. It contains only 7 grams of sugar per 100g, which is very low, and it’s widely available.
You could use unsweetened chocolate as well (in the UK there’s a brand called Montezuma which Sainsbury’s stocks, in the US Baker’s chocolate is a good option). In this case, you may want to increase the amount sweetener.
If you decide to use sugar free chocolate such as Lily’s in the US or Balance in the UK, simply reduce the amount of sweetener you use.
The sweetener
I have made these low carb brownies twice – once with granulated erythritol and once with powdered erythritol.
The texture is smoother with the powdered erythritol and I preferred it. If you only have granulated sweetener, try grinding it down to a powder before you use it. Erythritol does not melt like sugar does and it can re-crystallise when it cools down.
In regular cake recipes granulated erythritol works absolutely fine. In dishes with a soft or fudgy texture, however, it’s better if you use powdered sweetener.
You can also use xylitol, Swerve or your sweetener of choice. With Swerve, be sure to use the cup measurements instead of grams. It’s lighter than erythritol.
The flour
I’ve tried it – both fine almond flour and ground almonds work. I first used 100g / 1 cup and the second time reduced the amount to 80g / 3/4 cup, which made the brownies even softer and more fudgy.
The fat
As you might have guessed even before checking the nutrition facts, Keto brownies are a high fat dessert. They are filling! That’s why one batch makes 16 very satisfying portions.
I like butter in my brownies. But if you prefer, you can swap out the butter for coconut oil. If you do, make sure you use an extra virgin coconut oil – it’s unrefined and you’ll taste the difference.
Note: I did not use baking powder in this recipe. But if you would like a little rise like you’d expect in a cake, add 1 tsp of baking powder.
You could also play around with different flavours – orange zest would be lovely, or try 1/4 tsp ground cardamom and 1 tsp cinnamon for a warm flavour. 1 tsp of vanilla extract would also work here.
Also, feel free to add in chopped nuts such as walnuts or pecans!
Make sure you also check out the other healthy brownie recipes on my site.
I adore these pumpkin brownies – the recipe is just as simple, but they’re much lighter in texture. And when I first started Sugar Free Londoner, I created these sweet potato brownies. At the time I was concentrating on lowering my sugar intake only.
Even though this recipe is not particularly low in carbohydrates due to the sweet potatoes, it’s still a MUCH healthier option than your regular sugary brownie recipes. One day I want to rework it to lower the carb content.
And last but not least – as a chocolate lover don’t miss this super indulgent chocolate lava cake or my keto cheesecake brownies!!!
Made these brownies? Give them a star rating below!
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Fabulously Fudgy Keto Brownies
Ingredients
- 175 g / 6.17 oz butter unsalted, softened
- 100 g / 1 cup powdered sweetener
- 3 eggs
- 40 g / 1/3 cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- 175 g / 6.17 oz dark chocolate at least 85% cocoa solids, melted
- 75 g / 3/4 cup almond flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit
- Melt the chocolate: Break the chocolate into squares and place in a small bowl. Place this bowl inside a larger bowl which you have filled with boiling water. The water will heat the walls of the small bowl and melt the chocolate. (see notes)
- Blend the VERY soft (or melted) butter, powdered sweetener, eggs and cocoa with a blender or in a food processor.
- Add the melted chocolate and almond flour and mix until you have a thick, smooth batter.
- Line a rectangular baking tin or small casserole dish with baking / parchment paper. Cut the paper to size so that it covers the bottom and two sides of the dish. Grease the two remaining sides.
- Fill the batter into the dish and smoothen the top. Bake 25 minutes or until the top is firm.
- Let the brownies cool before you remove them from the baking tin. They will be VERY soft when warm, but firm up as they cool down.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Amy says
I’m usually awful at baking, especially keto recipes, but i cannot believe how amazing these brownies turned out! I never leave reviews but couldn’t not for these brownies – a huge family hit 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger says
So glad you like them!!!
Bybliopola says
What would you use to replace the chocolate? I only have cocoa powder and I reaaaally wanna try this out.
More egg? More butter maybe?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Use the brownie recipe from my keto cheesecake brownies! It uses cocoa powder only
Bybliopola says
Thank you so much! ♥
Rachel says
I had high hopes for these brownies and they did not disappoint! They cured my chocolate craving for sure!
Lil says
I love this recipe.
I actually changed out the sweetener for some maple syrup and they turned out amazing. Make this recipe every week.
I’m going to try and change some of the ingredients to make it vegan.
Thanks for sharing !
Katrin Nürnberger says
Oh, keep me posted and let me know how you did it!!!
Henri says
Hi,
If I use a monk fruit extract liquid sweetener can I use oat fibre, psyllium husk or coconut flour to balance out the bulk missing from using a liquid sweetener and if so to what ratio?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Good question. I’m only guessing here – maybe 1-2 tbsp coconut flour?
Henri says
Brilliant, thanks Katrin! I’ll let you know how it goes.
emily says
what about stevia instead of erythritol?
Katrin Nürnberger says
You can definitely use stevia instead. If you’re using liquid drops, remember that 1 teaspoon is normally 4-5 drops.
Natasha says
First time baking Keto pudding. Delicious – thoroughly enjoy having one for dessert. Don’t feel like I’m missing out. Taste so good. Definitely doing this recipe again.
Sue says
We love these brownies. Make them every week
Beccy Sisson says
Hi, I tried mading these today, it tasted lovely but unfortunately the mixture simply hasn’t bound together and is very crumbly, I followed the recipe to a “t” so not sure what went wrong
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Beccy, did the mix not come together in the bowl? This can happen when the chocolate has been heated too much and starts to seize. If is DID come together as a batter and you now have an issue with crumbliness, it could be that they were in the oven too long or browned too much. OR – did you write this comment when the brownies were still hot? Then simply have some patience. All almond flour baked goods firm up when they cool 🙂
Beccy Sisson says
Hi, yes it came together well in the bowl, though it did look a little thick, I took it out when it was just set but not wobbly, and waited about an hour before I cut it, I’m thinking there wasn’t enough egg to bind it, the eggs were small to medium, unfortunately it’s all I had
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hm. I guess it is possible. When you look at the ingredients though they should stick together even without the egg – butter, chocolate, almond flour. Is the texture crumbly? Or soft?
Beccy says
It looked slightly crumbly and not completely smooth, I’ll definitely try again
Donna says
What size pan? I’d really like to know before I bake these.
Katrin Nürnberger says
I used a 5 x 9 inch casserole dish.
Anhelina Hubkovych says
Very tasty! Great result from the first trial. Kids also love it.
Katrin Nürnberger says
So glad you liked it!
Rosie says
I have used 100% cocoa mass as chocolate and it turned out quite bitter. Would you recommend just adding extra sweetener?
Katrin Nürnberger says
That’s a good question. I think chocolate bars use a mixture of cocoa mass and cacao butter. Which means that by using only cocoa mass you might be using too much cocoa and that’s the reason why it’s bitter. I have actually just bought a bag of cocoa mass, but haven’t experimented with it in recipes. But my feeling is that you need less of it.
Lina says
Brilliant, as good as the real thing. My kids love it. I will be adding pine nuts or walnuts next time as a variation.
Katrin Nürnberger says
That should be yummy. Or try adding raspberries or a swirl of caramel sauce
Sue says
As I am allergic to nuts, I usually use coconut flour. I have been considering grinding up a mix of chia, flax, coconut and hemp seed to a fine flour. What I haven’t figured out is how that mixture comes out when baking or the equivalent amounts for a recipe. Any hints you know are much appreciated.
Katrin Nürnberger says
I would think that hemp seed probably behaves quite similar to almond flour. Both chia and flax soak up a lot of liquid, as does coconut flour. Have you tried to use a mix of sunflower and sesame seeds? If you grind that to a fine flour, you can replace it 1:1 with almond flour.