Keto Brownies
These keto brownies are fudgy, chocolatey, and low carb. It’s also an easy one-bowl recipe!
After sharing my favorite fudgy brownie recipe, I received several requests to create a keto brownie recipe. This keto version is rich, decadent, chocolatey, and fudgy.
Brownies don’t use a lot of flour normally, so making a keto version is not that different than making regular brownies and the final outcome is pretty similar too.
While these don’t taste exactly the same as my favorite fudgy brownie recipe, they do taste like really delicious fudgy brownies and I don’t think many people would be able to even tell they are low carb and keto-friendly.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Swerve confectioners sugar
- Dutch-process cocoa powder
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Superfine almond flour
- Baking powder
- Sugar-free dark chocolate roughly chopped
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Place the eggs in a bowl filled with hot water. You do not want the water to be boiling because you don’t want to cook the eggs. Just use hot tap water from your kitchen sink. This will slightly warm up the inside of the eggs so that when they are cracked open and added into the batter later, they will not cause the butter to harden.
In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the sugar and whisk to combine. The mixture should look thick and grainy.
Place the bowl back into the microwave and heat for about 40 seconds. The butter should be hot (but not bubbling) and separated from the sugar.
Whisk the sugar and butter together so that it is uniform. You should notice it come together into a thin, smooth paste and the top should have a glossy finish.
Whisk in the cocoa powder. This will cause some of the butter to separate again, but that is okay. Whisk in the warmed eggs and vanilla until smooth.
Add the baking powder and almond flour and gently whisk until the dry ingredients are just combined. The batter should look glossy.
Stir in 3/4 of the chopped chocolate. The batter should be very thick
Pour the batter into the prepared 8-inch pan. Smooth and even out the top with a spatula. Sprinkle remaining chocolate over the top of the batter.
Bake the brownies for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until the brownie batter is set and not runny. Brownies should be fully set at around 20 minutes. If you want them slightly underbaked and fudgier, you can remove them a few minutes earlier.
Allow the brownies to cool for about 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
Recipe Tips
Baking with sugar substitutes and sugar-free chocolate is a little bit of a learning curve, so this did take me several attempts to get right. Here are some tips you should read through before making this recipe.
Sugar Substitute for Keto Brownies
For this recipe, I used Swerve Confectioners Sweetener. I have not tested this recipe with other sugar replacements, but I think most that are erythritol-based like Swerve should work.
It is important is to make sure you use the confectioners rather than granular. Granular sugar works for traditional brownies, but because erythritol does not melt as well as granular sugar, you need the powdered version in these brownies or else it won’t melt into the batter.
Almond Flour
I have only tested this recipe with superfine almond flour. I haven’t tried coconut flour or other gluten-free flours, or all-purpose flour.
If you are looking for more brownie recipes, I have a lot to choose from.
Sugar Free Chocolate
The chocolate flavor in these brownies is a combination of unsweetened cocoa powder and chocolate chunks. I don’t recommend leaving out the chocolate chunks because the brownies will be missing half of their chocolate flavor.
I like using Lily’s sugar free chocolate bars to make this recipe. I used dark chocolate (70%) so it is a little more bitter. If you like something sweeter, you can use Lily’s milk chocolate bar instead.
I prefer chopped chocolate, but you can use sugar-free keto chocolate chips. They won’t melt as well and you won’t get as gooey fudgy texture.
Tips for Making Brownies
- For this recipe, the sugar is melted into the butter twice. This is because the first time the sugar is added to the melted butter, it will not completely melt the sugar. Make sure to follow the steps in the directions for melting the sugar into the batter, otherwise, your batter will not turn out correctly and will be very thick and grainy.
- Make sure to use slightly warmed eggs. Cold eggs will cause the melted butter to harden and it will become very difficult to mix. Warmed eggs will melt into the batter and keep it liquid.
- I prefer to bake brownies in a light metal nonstick pan. Darker metal pans tend to cook the brownies edges too soon and glass pans tend to cook the brownies slower.
- The brownies are not that thick, so an 8 x 8 inch baking dish will produce the best results. A 9 x 9 inch pan will result in much thinner brownies.
- I grease the interior of the baking pan and then line the bottom with parchment paper, with the paper coming up two of the sides of the pan. This makes it easy to remove the entire brownie batch once it is fully baked, so that you can slice them on a cutting board rather than attempting to slice them in the pan.
- Sugar free chocolate does not melt as much as regular chocolate. Because my family prefers extra fudgy brownies, I underbaked mine slightly. The brownies are still fudgy when fully baked, but they won’t look as gooey as the ones in the photos.
Tips for Slicing Brownies
- Let the brownies set for about 30 minutes before slicing.
- If you under bake your brownies slightly for an extra fudgy texture, my tip for slicing the brownies is to use a very sharp warm blade. Run the knife under hot water to heat it up (or dip it into a bowl of hot water), wipe the blade dry and then make one swift slice into your brownies. They should cut straight through with minimal crumbs. If your brownies are extra fudgy, some of the brownie batter will cling to the knife but the hot blade will keep the amount to a minimum. You then dip the blade in hot water again, wipe it clean, and cut again. You need to wipe the blade clean each time before the next cut.
I really loved how these turned out – I’ve tried other low carb brownies and these are the best keto brownies I’ve had yet. If you have a craving for chocolate I hope you try them!
More Sweet Keto Recipes
If you’re looking for more keto dessert recipes you might like:
- Keto Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
- 3 Ingredient Keto Japanese Cheesecake
- Keto Chocolate Cookies
- Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
Keto Brownies
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup swerve confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs , slightly warmed
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup superfine almond flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2.8 oz sugar free dark chocolate, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the interior of an 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Remove eggs from fridge and place into a bowl filled with hot water. You do not want the water to be boiling because you don't want to cook the eggs. Just use hot tap water from your kitchen sink. This will slightly warm up the inside of the eggs so that when they are cracked open and added into the batter later, they will not cause the butter to harden.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in microwave. When butter is fully melted, add in the sugar.
- Whisk sugar until it is fully incorporated. The mixture should look thick and grainy. Place bowl back into the microwave and heat for about 40 seconds. The butter should be hot (but not bubbling) and separated from the sugar.
- Whisk the sugar and butter together so that it is uniform. You should notice it come together into a thin, smooth paste and the top should have a glossy finish.
- Whisk in cocoa powder. This will cause some of the butter to separate again, but that is okay.
- Add in warmed eggs, vanilla and whisk until batter is smooth.
- Add in baking powder and almond flour and gently whisk until flour is just incorporated. The batter should look glossy.
- Stir in 3/4 of the chopped chocolate. Your batter should be very thick
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Smooth and even out with spatula. Sprinkle remaining chocolate over surface.
- Bake brownies for about 18-20 minutes, until brownie batter is set and not runny. Brownies should be fully set around 20 minutes. If you want slightly underbaked and fudgier brownies, you can remove a few minutes earlier.
- Allow brownies to set for about 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
- Make sure to use slightly warmed eggs. Cold eggs will cause the melted butter to harden and it will become very difficult to mix. Warmed eggs will melt into the batter and keep it liquid.
- For this recipe, I used Swerve Confectioners Sweetener.* I have not tested this recipe with other sugar replacements, but I think most that are erythritol-based like Swerve should work.
- It is important is to make sure you use the confectioners rather than granular. Granular sugar works for traditional brownies, but because erythritol does not melt as well as granular sugar, you need the powdered version in these brownies or else it won't melt into the batter.
- For this recipe, the sugar is melted into the butter twice. This is because the first time the sugar is added to the melted butter, it will not completely melt the sugar. Make sure to follow the steps in the directions for melting the sugar into the batter, otherwise, your batter will not turn out correctly and will be very thick and grainy.
- I used Lily's dark chocolate bar* for the chocolate chunks. I don't recommend leaving out the chocolate chunks because the brownies will be missing half of their chocolate flavor. The dark chocolate I used (70%) is on the bitter side and may not be for you if you don't like extra dark chocolate. If you like something sweeter, you can use Lily's milk chocolate bar* or 55% dark chocolate* instead.
- I prefer to bake brownies in a light metal nonstick pan. Darker metal pans tend to cook the brownies edges too soon and glass pans tend to cook the brownies slower.
- The brownies are not that thick, so an 8 x 8 inch pan will produce the best results. A 9 x 9 inch pan will result in much thinner brownies.
- Sugar free chocolate does not melt as much as regular chocolate. Because my family prefers extra fudgy brownies, I underbaked mine slightly. The brownies are still fudgy when fully baked, but they won't look as gooey as the ones in the photos.
WOW! I was expecting a total fail. I’ve tried so many dessert recipes that flopped. No, these are amazing! I can’t have almond flour so subbed 1/4 cup coconut flour and kept the rest of the recipe the same. Killed my chocolate cravings and the kids liked them too! Thank you!
I’m so glad it worked out well for you!
Would you be able to use coconut flour. I only have a small amount of almond flour on hand. Not sure if a 1/2 cups worth. Have you tried with coconut flour or would it be a disaster?
coconut flour is not a direct 1:1 substitute for almond flour. It is possible to make a coconut flour version but other ingredients and the amount of flour would need to be changed
I make these using 2 tablespoons of coconut flour. I don’t care for almond flour. Because coconut flour is so absorbent you only need 1/4 the amount. There are 8 tablespoons in a half cup, that’s how I figured out the amount of coconut flour. It has always worked great for me.
Phenomenal!
While thankfully my husband and I reached our weight goals last year, keto continues on with us. Why? We feel great.
What eluded us for these past couple of years was a truly EXCELLENT keto brownie recipe. THANK YOU! This is what was missing and has now been found.
PS: Because we had them and like them, we substituted mixed Lily’s (new->) “Milk Chocolate” and “Semi-Sweet Chocolate” Chips.
So glad you liked the brownies!
Wow these are wonderful. I just started Keto and i need something to take my cravings away and this will be a good start.
Good luck on your keto journey! glad you enjoyed these
These were awesome! Couldn’t tell that they were low carb/sugar! I used the Lily’s chocolate chips And they turned out great!
So happy these worked well for you!
These Keto brownies are so delish! I had to make them in a 9×9 cause that’s what I had. I baked them for 15 min and they turned out moist. I think I would bake for 12 min next time for extra fudgey texture. This is a definite repeat. Even my mom liked them. Said it was the first Keto dessert she enjoyed that tasted good! That’s a winner!
That’s so great to hear! So happy you enjoyed!
Baked these tonight and they were perfect! Way better than I expected. I added some chopped walnuts on top and served with a scoop of Rebel ice cream. This was my first keto dessert/baked good and I’m so happy it turned out delicious! Thank you for the recipe. ?
I’m really happy you liked the brownies!
Can I use regular flour for these instead of almond flour?
Sorry, but we haven’t tried all-purpose flour in this recipe.
These are absolutely amazing! You would never know they were keto brownies! This is dangerous for me! Yum!
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Question , how do you measure 10 tbsp of butter ? the stick only goes up to 8
You would need to take 2 tbsp of butter from a second stick to get to 10.
LOL!!!! Wow you are a very patient, sweet person. LOL. Thank you for this recipe. I’m going to try it out tomorrow. 🙂
I hope you enjoy!
My store doesn’t carrry Lily’s bars, only the chips. Do you think these would work?
Yes it will work with the chips. Keep in mind though that the chips don’t melt as much as the chocolate bars so your brownies won’t look as melty but they should still taste good!
Excellent. Not eggie. Taste like real brownies but no sugar. .
How many of these am I allowed to eat?
Estimated nutrition is provided in the recipe box. How many you can eat depends on your personal dietary restrictions.
Super easy to make, just waiting for them to set so I can dig in. They smell absolutely delicious and I made them into mini muffins. Cooked for 18 min in a black coated pan( that’s all I had) and they are perfect.
I hope you enjoy!
YUM! Need I say more?? These were easier than I expected to make and I love that the directions were so thorough! I used Lindt 85% and regular cocoa powder because it was all I had. I’m very impressed with these and I will absolutely be making them again. I may add a touch more sweetener simply to satisfy my super sweet tooth. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe!
I’m so glad you liked the recipe!
So eady to make. I used everything you recommended and added some espresso grind Bourbon flavored Death Wish coffee to the cocoa powder. They are baking now and smell amazing!
hope you enjoyed!