Gluten-free brownies that are perfectly chewy and fudgy all at the same time. No cakey brownies here! These are perfect for those intense chocolate cravings!
Brownies have always been one of my absolute favorite desserts. I love the simplicity of them and they are a perfect fix for a chocolate craving. These are, by far, the best gluten-free brownies I’ve had. If you like your brownies to be fudgy and chewy, not cakey, then these are for you.
America’s Test Kitchen developed the perfect gluten-full version of this recipe, and I easily adapted it to gluten-free my favorite gluten-free flour blends.
I’m a huge fan of America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Illustrated. They research and test a ton before coming up with the perfect version of a recipe. If you’ve never followed a recipe by America’s Test Kitchen, you might be surprised at the precise steps involved, but trust that every little detail has been tested.
In this recipe, you might be tempted to skip lining the pan with aluminum foil but don’t! I have tried this recipe without the foil, and the brownies did not turn out as well, and lacked the shiny crust that makes these so beautiful.
Notes on Ingredients and Substitutions for these gluten-free brownies:
- As always, I only recommend baking with a good quality all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. All flour blends are not created equal! I recommend avoiding flour blends that contain any bean flours or that are primarily rice flour, as you’ll get a more gritty result. This recipe, like pretty much all of my recipes, has been tested with successful results with both gfJules gluten-free flour and Gluten Free Mama’s Almond Flour Blend and I recommend either one. Two other flour blends that I’ve been testing some (but not this recipe yet) with good results are Cup4Cup and Pamela’s.
- I’m not a fan of milk chocolate, so I use semi-sweet chocolate in my recipe. If you love milk chocolate, feel free to use milk chocolate chips. Or use bittersweet or dark chocolate if you love that.
- One of the main reasons these are chewy is that they have extra egg yolks. So you’ll be using two whole eggs plus two egg yolks. I really don’t think any egg substitutions would work well in this recipe. Sorry!
My favorite way to enjoy these (besides plain, with a glass of cold milk) is to have Brownie Sundaes with my homemade hot fudge! Chocolate heaven, I tell you!
Looking for more gluten-free brownies? If you love peanut butter too, then try my favorite gluten-free peanut butter brownies or these gluten-free buckeye brownies.
Gluten-free Chewy Brownies Recipe:
Best Ever Chewy Fudgy Gluten-free Brownies
Notice that you need 4 eggs total for this recipe. You'll use 2 whole eggs + 2 extra egg yolks. I'm sure you can come up with another yummy use for the leftover whites!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa(I use Saco dutch/natural blend)
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
- 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped (I use Baker's squares)
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil (corn, canola, vegetable, or coconut)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups good quality gluten-free flour blend*
- 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (omit if flour blend has xanthan in it already)
- 3/4 teaspoon table salt
- 6 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chunks or chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Make a foil sling: Cut 18" length foil and fold lengthwise to 8" width. Fit foil into length of 13x9" baking pan (I recommend using a metal one), pushing into corners and up the sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut 14" length foil and fit into width of pan in the same manner, perpendicular to the first sheet. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large, microwave safe bowl, whisk cocoa and boiling water together until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted. If you need to, place the bowl in the microwave in 30 second increments to help melt the chocolate. Whisk in the melted butter and oil. Mixture may look curdled at this point and that's okay! Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla extract, and continue to whisk until smooth and homogenous. Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into wet ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until combined.
- Fold in the bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate pieces.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool 1 1/2 hours.
- When cool, cut and serve! The foil sling makes it easy to pull them out and place on cutting board for easy cutting. These cut very nicely with a plastic bladed cutter.
- If you use a glass baking dish, cool the brownies 10 minutes, then remove them promptly from the pan so they don't overbake in the hot pan.
- Store leftovers at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
If using a flour blend that already includes xanthan or guar gum, then omit the xanthan called for in the recipe.
As always, be sure to double-check your ingredients for gluten.
Dairy-free adaptation: Use non-dairy alternative for butter, and use a dairy-free chocolate like Enjoy Life.
As always, be sure to double-check your ingredients for gluten. Feel free to try this with your preferred gluten-free flour blend, but I only guarantee a delicious, non-gritty result if you use one of the flours I recommend!
If you’re looking for more gluten-free brownie recipes, head over to my gluten-free brownies Pinterest board!
Recipe originally published Dec. 2012, updated June 2015.
Pin this to your gluten-free desserts Pinterest board:
Rachel says
I love America’s Test Kitchen too! I bet these are delicious!
Michelle @ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
They are!! Thanks for commenting Rachel!
Ryan says
I’m totally for fudgy and chewy – the only way to have a brownie!
Michelle Palin says
I agree!! We don’t like those cakey ones around here!
Angie@ConsciousEatery says
Wow, these look so fudgy and delicious!! Great, now I’m craving brownies!
Xiaolu (6 Bittersweets) says
Hi there! I just want to let you know that I made this recipe using a mix of superfine brown rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, and cornstarch (250 grams combined) in place of the GF blend; and it turned out really well! It was slightly too fudgy for me, so I think I may bake it slightly longer next time but really great flavor and texture overall. I have no sensitivity to gluten, but I’ve been trying to compile some go-to GF recipes for my friends and blog readers who do have to eat gluten-free. I shared these with some non-GF coworkers today, and they all loved them!
Miriam says
The notes at the top of this recipe say that it’s a one-bowl recipe, but the instructions say to use two bowls.
Also, I used a glass 9″x13″ pan & had to add 15 min. to the baking time. I left it in the pan (despite the warning not to) & they were still gooey in the middle. I used parchment paper (instead of foil) to line the pan & they came out easily. (Next time, I might try it without the cooking spray).
I substituted 6 Tbs. cocoa + 2 Tbs. butter for the 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate.
These brownies were very good!
Karen says
I agree about using parchment paper…really don’t like to bake or cook with foil. Also use a double boiler for melting chocolate…call me a purist. I’m making these brownies today. I can hardly wait, given all the wonderful reviews. Thanks for the recipe!
Ellen Wagner says
I made these for my 8-year old niece who has Celiac’s and a dairy allergy. We used her butter substitute. They were outstanding. Her mom is going to freeze them individually for her so that when others have birthday cake or whatever, Leah will have a yummy REAL dessert too! Great job on this! Couldn’t find Jules, so used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour and the xanthan gum. Chewy, moist, chocolaty, delicious!
June @ How to Philosophize with Cake says
Mmmm those look incredible! So chocolaty and rich. Hard to believe they are gluten-free 🙂
Jeanine says
Wow!! I’ve got the coffee, now I want one of these bad boys! They look perfect!
Audrey @ Unconventional Baker says
Wow Michelle — these look fantastic! I can’t get over how fudgy and moist they are ♥
Beth says
Making these for the second time in a week! My gluten eating family loved these rich and chewy brownies. They were wonderful paired with peppermint ice cream. Tonight we are going to use cubes as dippers for fondue. Made mine with Cup4Cup and they came out amazing!!
Beth says
Getting ready to make my third batch in two weeks. This time to use in a Christmas Day triffle. Last time I subbed out the unsweetened chocolate one ounce for 2 T. coco powder and added a full stick of butter in place of the 1/4 C. They were amazing and no, special chocolate needed!!
Rachel says
I just made these for a party and they are delicious! I too am a Cooks Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen fan!
Amber says
Hi, I am excited to make these brownies but feel, for the lack of a better word, stupid, for not understanding how to do the foil sling. Can you post a few pictures of how to do it, please? I don’t want to ruin the whole recipe because I baked them wrong!
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
Hi Amber – do not worry about that! Just line your pan with foil any old way that you’d like. It will be fine. The sling idea just makes it easier so you can lift the brownies right out on the foil and your foil isn’t bunched up in the corners. No worries though! Brownies shouldn’t be stressful – bake and enjoy them!!
Priscilla says
Hi could I ask would the recipe work without xanthan gum?
Judy says
I was just thinking the same thing! Thank you, Priscilla! I am curious what significance the zantham gum plays, also.
Heather says
Wow! A truly fudgy brownie! I used cup4cup and omitted the xantham gum as already contained. I also added a teaspoon of espresso powder and used canola oil with no butter. I will never use another recipe! I’m going to try to cut the sugar to 2 c they were slightly sweet. I used Valhrona cocoa and 68% chocolate chips. Just delicious ! I’m a profession chef and so glad I could not find my recipe at work today and had to troll google. Thx!
Kathy Lacombe says
Made these with my 13 yo granddaughter who was recently diagnosed with celiac disease. They are amazing! Taste was great, very moist and fudgy. She was so happy to find a delicious brownie recipe that fits her dietary restrictions. She shared her brownies to unsuspecting cousins and they kept asking for more.
Georgia says
Does anyone know how log the brownies last before they don’t taste as nice? I want to save them for 3 days, in the fridge?
Thanks
Georgia says
Let me tell you off the bat that these are absolutely delicious! They are like the brownies you buy in wee artisan cafes and have no idea how they made them so gooey and moist. This was my first try at a gluten-free recipe and it worked out fantastically, looking just like the photo. The brownies themselves are a bit greasy so I’s recommend not using oil but butter to grease the baking pan and I also couldn’t find xanthan gum so substituted it for agar agar ( you use twice as much agar agar as gum). The happily lasted 4 days out of the fridge under the chilly window ledge. I made this recipe as a present and all of the 9 people (this recipe makes loads) who tried them loved them and I would recommend this to people who are not gluten free also – on that note does anyone know if they’d work out the same using plain flour that has gluten in it? Thanks!
Georgia says
One more question – is there a way to download the recipe sheet rather than print it? Definitely want to share this!
Krystalrose says
You should be able to print as a .pdf file and save it to your hard drive. That is what I do.
Summer says
So I made these and they were amazing, but I made them for a friend who can only have GF food items . I was wondering, if I just wanted to make a regular non gluten version could I omit the xanthum gum and use the same amount of normal flour? Or are there another factors that would change the taste? I have been looking for a good regular brownie recipe, but this one was so good, I just want to adapt it for my everyday needs
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
Hi Summer! Yes in this particular recipe, all I had to do was swap the flour for gf flour + xanthan gum. That isn’t always the case, but with brownies, that’s usually all that’s needed. So you could definitely make them as you described! So glad you and your friend enjoyed them! Thanks so much for your comment!
Summer Oliney says
Thanks so much, I guess my quest for the perfect brownie recipe ended before it started, which is a nice change because when it comes to bake goods sometimes you have to try three or four bad recipes until you get to a good one so for that I thank you .
Melanie says
I followed the recipe exactly except I substituted regular sugar For coconut sugar I was disappointed with the results they were very cake likeI was wanting a chewy Fudgy brownie
Kristin says
Anyone had any success with egg substitutes? I can’t have egg yolks, but I can have egg whites.
Karen says
These are the best brownies I’ve ever had! I cannot believe they are gluten free. I am making my 2nd batch right now. Hahahaha
Dana says
My daughter and I made these today. They turned out super oily. I have a few of them back in the oven, separated by a few millimeters, to see if I can get them to cook up a bit more. We like fudgy brownies but these were a bit off.
We did leave out 1/2c sugar as 1.5 cups seemed like so very much sugar. I wonder if perhaps we didn’t have enough dry ingredients to soak up the equivalent of 3/4 cup of oil.
Ella says
I tried to make these and I’m not sure if maybe I did something wrong or if its the recipe but mine didn’t seem to turn out right on either of my two attempts. I made sure to follow tge recipe closely and even after I ended up adding an extra 40 minutes to the baking time the brownies were raw and soggy in the center. Could be me not quite doing it right or its that this recipe simply doesn’t work for me. For what its worth, the cooked parts of the brownies, while albeit dry and somewhat cakey, were not terrible. Definitely not trying this again, a waste of 4 good eggs, 2 and a half cups of sugar, and 6 ounces of delicious choclate. Color me disappointed.
Kate says
What kind of pan did you use to bake these in, Ella? It could be your oven isn’t calibrated correctly or doesn’t hold a consistent temperature or if you used a glass or stoneware type of baking dish, it would definitely require extra time to bake due to the nature of how these pans heat up slowly…the only other thing I can think of is that there was too much liquid added, somehow or…maybe the kind of sugar or flour you use is affecting the texture. Sugar is considered a “liquifier” so it will create a more moist brownie and if you’re using a sugar with a smaller crystal, you’ll end up with more sugar. Similarly, depending on the flour blend, you could end up with an imbalance of wet to dry ingredients so you could add a little more flour and/or cocoa powder (they will have similar effects although the cocoa powder will obviously add more chocolate).
I just made these tonight and they’re delicious! They’re a little too sweet for me and they’re definitely gooey, but not raw and I think I only did the 30 minute minimum. I’m going to do a repeat with less sugar to address the sweet issue, it will be interesting to see if they end up being a “firmer” brownie.
Beth says
Made them for aa baby shower. Came out chewy and fudgy. Texture is slightly gritty but definitely not bad. Added both semi-sweet and dark chocolate bits and a few Reeses Pieces on top for a little extra. Will make again.
Catherine says
Wonderful gooey brownies. We used semi sweet chocolate, and I found them way to sweet. Next time I will use at least 70% and will reduce the sugar a bit. The only other issue was using the foil inexpertly. I might try baking paper as the brownies baked into the folds of the foil. Sending them to a school fair for the bake sale as a GF option. Thanks for posting this recipe
Jessica says
I’m making these for the third time. My picky husband, who doesn’t care for sweets and when it comes to brownies he prefers the box mix, and he is new to the gluten free game and was not a fan in the past, he loves these. I live in Arizona and cannot turn on the oven this time of year so I’m going to try them in the crock pot or the grill. I’m running out of time though. I can hardly wait. This recipe taught me that good brownies just take time. These are amazingly good.
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
I would love to know how they do in the crockpot or grill!! Please let me know!
Lia says
I used Cup4Cup gluten free flour, 2oz semisweet chocolate instead of unsweetened chocolate and room temperature eggs (as suggested in every GF recipe I’ve ever used). This recipe was easy and delicious. I baked for 35 minutes and it was perfect! They were very fudgy and gooey but not under baked gooey. No one could tell the were GF. No gritty texture but I did also add an extra tablespoon of unsalted butter (5 instead of 4) Will definitely make again!
Brynn says
I made this tonight with Pamela’s mix. It raised so much it completely overflowed from all sides while baking. I had to pull it out way too early. I followed the recipe exact so my only guess is Pamela’s flour blend wasn’t good for this recipe. We ended up eating it with ice cream and everyone was very pleased still. It had amazing flavor and texture. I’ll be trying again with a different blend.
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
Or just use a bigger pan next time!!
Shelly Tefertiller says
If dairy free is needed do you recommend a butter replacement or some kind of oil? Or not to try it without real butter?
beth says
love this recipe. my go-to recipe and Always get complements. going to try recipe with all-purpose flour.
Shelly says
These are AMAZING! So happy I found this recipe. It is a keeper and nice to stop the hunt for a great gluten free brownie. Yay!!
Sydney says
These were insanely mediocre. I used Cup4Cup flour and cut the oil down due to a few comments mentioning that these were oily. And boy were they right, these were the oiliest brownies I have ever encountered in my life, to the point where it actually imparted an aftertaste. I had to drown them in whipped cream for them to be decent. They were super pretty, just like the picture with the shiny crackly top, but otherwise just not that great.
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
Wow. Sorry. Given the success most have had with these, I’m not sure what went wrong. But I also know that everyone has their own idea of a perfect brownie Good luck in your search for the perfect one! You might try my frosted brownie recipe, it’s a more cakey style brownie.
Karen says
For medical reasons, it’s been advised that I try a gluten-free diet. I figured if I can find a favorite gluten-free brownie recipe, I think I’ll be able to manage. Looking at ingredients very carefully, I see that sometimes chocolate is processed and cross-contaminated. The link you provided for the Cocoa makes it unclear to me if that is gluten-free, as it does not seem to say so on the label. Wondering if chocolate to be carefully reviewed as well for the ingredients. Thank you for your help and your brownies look amazing.
Roger says
Too much flour so that are very cake like. I will cut flour in half next time.
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
I hope your changes work for making these just how you want them! I know everyone has a different idea of what a perfect brownie is! The texture in these definitely varies based on which flour blend you use and how you measure your flour. It may very well be that with your flour blend, you do need to use less!
Kusac says
I’ve only recently discovered that I have gluten sensititivy, after years of trying to figure it out, so had been trying to find ways of making some gluten-free desserts and meals. I had been using a brownie recipe, trying to get it moist while still gluten free. While tasty, just could not avoid the dryness. Just a few days ago, an acquaintance had shown me this recipe, and I couldn’t wait to try it. Not only was it excellent, but I had my coworkers try it, and they said it was one of the best they’ve ever had, and wouldn’t have been able to tell it was a gluten-free item. Thank you very much!