I’ve been loyal to this brownie recipe for decades and have no intention of changing it! It’s super easy, super chocolatey and super fudgy. I firmly believe the best brownies must be made with both cocoa and melted chocolate, and butter instead of oil. Bonus: it’s a simple one-bowl, hand mixed recipe!
Homemade Chocolate Brownies
These homemade brownies are every chocoholics dream come true.
Need a chocolate fix urgently? These will be in the oven in 15 minutes flat (if not faster).
Hate washing up? Just one bowl to deal with here.
Like your brownies outrageously chocolatey and fudgy in the middle? This one delivers in spades.
Not such a confident cook? This recipe is astonishingly forgiving. Even if you overcook them, they might look cakey, but they still have that rich, fudgy mouthfeel. There’s just not enough flour in these to make them dry and overcooked!
And look ↓↓↓ Super fudgy yet you can actually pick it up, rather than scooping up gloops of raw batter!
And that crinkly top we all know and love!
What makes a good brownie
The secret to a really great brownie is using both melted chocolate AND cocoa powder, plus butter instead of oil (because butter has way better flavour than oil). The combination of these plus minimal flour, just enough to make a barely-set batter, and brown sugar rather than white (for extra moisture and chewiness) is what will deliver that perfect rich, fudgy brownie you’ve been dreaming about.
And to make a killer brownie, stir through a generous amount of chocolate chunks. Not only will you get little pockets of gooey chocolate, it also makes the brownie extra fudgy because some of the chocolate melds in with the batter as it bakes! (This is optional though, and I don’t add the extra chocolate for everyday brownies 🙂 ).
How to make Homemade Brownies
These dreamy brownies start by melting chocolate and butter together before whisking in eggs and vanilla. Then just mix in flour and coco powder, and lastly stir in the extra chocolate chunks if you’re using it. Scrape into lined pan and bake!
How to tell when brownies are done
Stick a toothpick in the centre of the brownie, hold it for 2 seconds, then take it out.
super gooey – if there is a lot of smear on it (24 minutes bake time)
** moist and fudgy (my favourite) ** – if the toothpick gets a brown strain and has some smear on it (28 minutes)
cakey (but still fudgy mouthfeel) – toothpick is clean with just a few crumbs (32 minutes). But still really moist (because this recipe only has 1/2 cup of flour in it, impossible not to be moist!).
Fudgy, gooey brownies
The brownies in the photos and video are what I call “fudgy moist”. As in – super fudgy but not just a gloop of uncooked batter. You can pick it up with your hands rather than eating it with a spoon.
I have more elaborate brownies in my repertoire – such as these Outrageous Nutella Brownies (which certainly live up to their name!) and these Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies (the caramel filling is creamy and set, like a soft fudge).
But this classic Chocolate Brownies recipe is the one I make most of the time. It’s my go-to because it’s everything I want in a brownie made with minimal fuss. The essential ingredients to make it super chocolatey, lovely and moist, and no unnecessary extras.
The other thing is that my brownie is sweet, but not tooth-achingly sweet. There are some brownie recipes out there that use almost double the sugar I do and they are far too sweet for me. The sugar in this recipe is just the right amount of sweet for me. No one has ever complained about my brownies not being sweet enough, that’s for sure! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Easy Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 200g / 14 tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 US sticks)
- 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips or melts/discs (US: semi-sweet chocolate) (Note 1)
- 1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
- 3 large eggs , lightly beaten (fridge cold or room temp is fine)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder , sifted
- Pinch of salt
OPTIONAL EXTRA CHOCOLATE ADD-INS
- 180g / 6oz (1 cup) dark chocolate chips, or block/bar chopped into chunks (OPTIONAL!) (US: semi-sweet chocolate) (Note 2)
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE
- Melt choc and butter, mix in sugar and vanilla, then eggs. Stir in flour, cocoa and salt, bake in lined 20cm/8" pan at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) for 28 minutes. Cool before slicing.
FULL RECIPE
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Spray a 20cm/8" square tin with oil or grease with butter. Line with baking paper/parchment paper with overhang (Note 3).
- Melt chocolate and butter – Place butter and chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl, microwave in 30 second bursts (takes me 1m 30 sec) until melted. Stir until smooth.
- Sugar and eggs – Add sugar and vanilla, mix, then add eggs and mix well until smooth and molten.
- Dry ingredients – Add flour, cocoa and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate, pour into pan.
- Bake 24 minutes for really gooey in the centre, 28 minutes for fudgey but still very moist (my favourie, shown in video & photos), 32 minutes for moist fudge-cake-like. (See in post for toothpick testphotos).
- Rest for 10 minutes before lifting out of the pan (they are fragile when hot). Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting. For really neat slices, refrigerate for 30 minutes, or even overnight, but always eat at room temp for fudgy perfection!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2016. Updated with new photos and brand new video in 2020.
All things Brownies
And more irresistible bars and slices
Life of Dozer
Dozer hates being hugged. Don’t know why. I mean, what dog doesn’t like their face being squished like this in a chokehold grip?
Hi, I’ve made this recipe several times now and absolutely love it! We use gluten free flour and prefer half dark half milk chocolate but it’s still delicious. It’s super easy one pot recipe. Just the way I like it. And, with two children being homeschooled during lockdown (England) there is no washing up to do – they lick the pots clean. T😉👍
Hi Nagi,
We love these brownies and I follow so many of your recipes – love them all. I notice on my fave crunchy peanut butter jar it states bake into brownies. Could I do this? And if so, at what stage of the recipe should we add this, and how much?
Jill (from Scotland)
Hi…these look fabulous! It will be my first time making brownies but I only have a 9×9 tin…do I have to adapt the recipe at all for extra mixture?
Hi Estelle, you can use this size, the brownies will be slightly less thick 🙂 N x
Hello dear Nagi,
I tried this recipe and it was simply yummy 😋 my family enjoyed it. Thank you so much❤️
Just made these, so delicious 😋 can I change the chocolate used to milk ?
Hi Shelly, I would find milk chocolate far too sweet here but you can if you like! N x
Thanks, I have just made again with milk chocolate 🍫 omg it’s amazing…thanks for your brilliant recipes x
Ive made these twice now. This first time I followed the recipe and the second time I used milk chocolate to melt with the butter and dark chocolate for the stir in chunks and definitely preferred it that way. Both ways were definitely delicious but I found using all dark chocolate made them a little too rich for me.
I’ve made these a few times now, cooking for 24 minutes is perfect for a lunchbox treat that lasts! I did cut the sugar to 120g and it was just as delicious (kid sweet tooth approved!). Thank you for another wonderful and quick recipe!
was looking for a easy brownie recipe for my husbands work meeting, found yours, so easy to cook and tastes so good as well
Hi Nagi I made this recipe twice. I nearly broke my arms trying to mix it both times. What am I doing wrong? I ended up just putting it in oven with many lumps. I
Measured everything both times and followed steps exactly
Hi Tasha, are your eggs cold? That will seize the melted chocolate mix and make it hard to stir! N x
Hi Nagi, this recipe looks great! If I’m going to make a half batch in a tin half the size, do I need to reduce the cooking time or keep it the same?
Thanks!
Hi Ellese, yes you’ll need to reduce the cook time, I would just keep an eye on it and pull it out once just set. N x
Hi Nagi,
Thanks for all your great recipes and for taking your time to help an very adverage cook out.
I have a friend coming to stay and wanted to make your easy choc brownies as they always work out beautifully. Can I substitute almond meal for the plain flour and if so how much?
Thanks for your help!
Kaye
No other words. Just LOVE..
Thanks so much Mashy!! N x
Used this brownie recipe for the first time the other day and definitely a huge hit in my family. Very fudgy, chocolaty yummyness! Replace the cocoa with cacao and worked perfectly. The only problem is they were devoured so I now need to make more!
I have a Gluten Free friend who I would love to make these for. Can I use gluten free flour instead and will it still work?
They will love these: https://lean-target.today/brownies-fudgey-easy-gluten-free/%3C/a%3E N x
Hi Nagi,
Can I use salted butter insteadbif unsalted?
There are no words as to how perfect these brownies are. Beyond perfection. Super easy, tasty and moreish – thank you again Nagi! I will never need another brownie recipe again!
Wahoo! I’m so glad you love them Elle! N x
I have made this at least a dozen times and it never fails. One day I realised I had no cocoa so I subbed drinking chocolate powder, and it worked a charm hahaha!!! I’ve modified today’s batch to be white choc cranberry Blondies, and I only have the confidence to mix it up so much because your base recipe is perfection!! Thanks Nagi xoxo
Thank you Fiona.
I was looking for a comment from someone who had used a substitute for the cocoa powder (there’s none left in my cupboard and I have to have brownies-Nagi’s brownies-tonight).
Hot chocolate powder it is!
I might even leave in the mini-marshmallows.
hiya! accientaly bought milk chocolocate instead, should i decrease the sugar amount?
Was wondering when you add nuts and if you leave or substitute anything for the nuts
Hi, Nagi! I am all out of brown sugar, and was wondering if this recipe could work with fine caster sugar or not at all? Thank you in advance!
Hi Bella, the brown sugar is key in this recipe, it keeps the brownies fudge and moist unfortunately! N x
Hi. Um can I skip the choc chips? Could I replace with other things? Or leave entirely? I suddenly NEED these. 😂
The best brownie recipe ever!!!!!!! Yesterday I added cinnamon and cloves to the mix and swirled cherry jam through it in the cake tin. Yummo!!