Gluten-free Peanut Butter Brownies
Gluten-free peanut butter brownies are so easy to whip up, that I make them twice a month, and have been for many years! I LOVE them when they’re still warm and gooey! These are what I make when I’m craving a treat, but want to make something super easy!
These gluten-free peanut butter brownies are truly unlike any others I’ve come across in the 30-some years I’ve been baking. The peanut butter flavor serves as a great base flavor but is not overwhelming and the predominant flavor is the chocolate.
Loaded with chocolate chips, these brownies are gooey and melty chocolatey just out of the oven. After they set, they become perfectly chewy. I enjoy them both ways.
I’m relentless in my pursuit of the “perfect” version of any recipe I try. If I try a recipe and it doesn’t turn out, I try another one and another one. Often, I’ll end up combining the best parts of several recipes to come up with my own perfect version. This recipe I’m sharing today came about exactly opposite!
I actually started with this perfect recipe for peanut butter brownies, and trying other versions over the years has only solidified this one as my favorite! Similar recipes are usually called “Blondies”, and I find the dough base is lacking in flavor. The peanut butter in this base really makes these so good!
The recipe for peanut butter brownies found its way to me via my 7th grade cooking class at junior high school! Surprised? Me too! I only wish I still could remember who my teacher was that year so I could send her a link to this blog post. That class really sparked my interest in baking and I cherished all of the recipes I was given in class, keeping several to this day.
I can still remember just as class was ending the day we made these! It was the day we were learning about using a mixer, and what it meant to cream butter and sugar. When they were finished, we pulled the brownies out of the oven, cut them very quickly, and headed out of class with our still-hot brownies on a napkin. It is one of the very few good memories I have of those years.
I am trying to block out the memory of what I looked like as I carried that yummy brownie: a 13 year old awkward girl with braces, mall bangs and pegged pants. I’d like to think that a lot has improved since I was 13 – my appearance and my cooking/baking skills sure have!
Notes on ingredients for these gluten-free peanut butter brownies:
- Gluten-free flour: I’ve tested these with several flour blends over the years. I love results I’ve gotten using gfJules gluten-free flour, Gluten-free Mama’s almond blend, and King Arthur Gluten-free Measure for Measure flour and would recommend any of those.
- Use your favorite peanut butter – natural peanut butter is fine too! I’ve tested this with many kinds over the years and they’ve all worked well. I usually reach for Jif Natural as that’s one of my favorites.
- For the chocolate, I reach for my usual favorites: Guittard semi-sweet morsels, Enjoy Life mega-chunks, or Trader Joe’s chocolate chips. Feel free to use your favorite – even milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips if you prefer those!
- To make these dairy-free, just replace the butter with your favorite non-dairy butter alternative and use Enjoy Life chocolate.
And if you love this peanut butter and chocolate combo, be sure to make my gluten-free Buckeye Brownies next! Or try my gluten-free peanut butter pie recipe for a cool, creamy dessert. I’ve got my eye on these gluten-free brownie cookies from my friend Celeste and hope to make them soon!
I hope you’ll give these gluten-free brownies a try. They were easy enough for 7th graders, and with just a little adaptation for gluten-free, they are easy enough for gluten-free bakers of all levels! Enjoy!
If you make these and love them, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.
Gluten-free Peanut Butter Brownies Recipe:
Gluten-free Peanut Butter Brownies
I've been making these gluten-free peanut butter brownies a couple times a month for 9 years! See notes for easy dairy-free substitutions.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
- 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup butter or non-dairy alternative, softened
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, use the paddle blade to beat butter & peanut butter together until light and fluffy.
- Gradually add sugar and brown sugar, creaming well.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
- Add vanilla extract and beat just until mixed in.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 additions.
- Beat until well mixed.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Spread in a well greased 9" square baking pan. I usually use a glass 9" square Pyrex pan for this.
- Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes or until it looks set in the middle.
- Enjoy a warm gooey brownie, or let cool completely and enjoy a chewy brownie!
Notes
*If your gluten-free flour blend contains xanthan or guar gum then omit the xanthan gum called for in this recipe.
To make dairy-free, just use your favorite non-dairy butter alternative, and use dairy-free chocolate chips or chunks from Enjoy Life.
As always, be sure to double-check all of your ingredients to ensure they are gluten-free.
Pin this to your Gluten-free Dessert Pinterest board:
If you’re looking for more yummy gluten-free brownie recipes, be sure to check out my Gluten-free Brownies Pinterest Board.
Previous photo:
Made these today and they are amazing! The gluten free recipe was so easy and I had all the ingredients in my house already so didnt have to buy more. So delicious! Thank You!
Love that these are a treat but still contain lots of protein to balance out the sugar
Have you tried your recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gf baking flour?
If you use a measure for measure gluten free flour do you still need the xanthan gum?
Nope, if your flour blend contains xanthan, then omit what I’ve called for in the recipe. I usually note that in my recipes but can see that sentence got missed in the recipe card so I’ll go fix that now!
Hi ya. These are fantastic freaking brownies (blondies, but whatever, they have peanut butter and chocolate, what’s in a name?).
First time I made these, they were fantastic and we devoured them.
I decided to make them again. Realized I was missing a few ingredients – chocolate chips, an egg, brown sugar. Oh and I don’t use xanthum gum, it doesn’t like me.
Substitutions: Reeses Pieces.
For the brown sugar: Hemmed and hawed. Put almost the total amount of sugar plus around two tablespoons of molasses (didn’t actually measure lol).
Ooops… Only one egg. Solution there: water-oil-baking powder (2 tablespoons-1 tsp-2 tsps, respectively).
And the ground chia seed slurry (1/2 tsp chia and 1 tsp boiling water).
Pushed the sludgy batter into the pan and shoved it around until it was (relatively) even, put it in the oven and prayed.
Tick tock, tick tock…. Took them out, let them cool. …Well, as much as “CAN WE HAVE SOME NOW???” would allow.
They were still really good. Inhale worthy.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This comment made my night! I don’t know why I missed the notification for it before. I’m so glad you enjoyed these Jenn and also how awesome that they turned out the second time too even with all those changes! Way to make it work!
Michelle, These are so so so good. I had to freeze most of the pan so I wouldn’t eat all of them! Also, I wanted to say I love your site. Before I had to go gluten free, baking was my perfect hobby and I honestly thought my days of baking were over. Now I am starting to branch out with GF baking and your recipes have made it easy to take the plunge. You are awesome!
Sasha,
So sorry that I missed seeing and replying to your comment before. Reading this just made my day! Thank you for your kind words! So glad you enjoyed these too!
Hello i have pamelas baking mix…..can i use that for the flour to make these…ive used kagf flour before but i dont think i have any right now…thank u
Kim, Yes, Pamela’s should work just fine in this. Omit the xanthan gum called for in the recipe. Hope you enjoy!
Can you double this and make in a 9×13 pan?
Yes, Sandy! That works just great with this recipe. Hope you enjoy!
Best GF Brownies I have ever made….Just so tasty!!
So glad you enjoyed them! I’ve got these on my plan to make again this week too! I love them!
As written in the blog, this recipe still runs the danger of gluten exposure for those who really need to keep it gluten free. Use “Simply Jif,” not regular Jif, not Jif Natural; neither of those are certified or even claimed to be Gluten Free per Jif. Granted, if you have a mild intolerance or the like, you might be able to still use these. But I know my celiac daughter has some very sensitive reactions, and we have to stick with the GF labeled Simply Jif. (I believe there are more varieties of GF Skippy… but I’m a “choosy mother.” 🙂
Tammi,
Thanks for your comment. I encourage you to contact Jif to verify. I contacted them regarding this and received this information from them, June 2014. (I apologize that I forgot to reply with it then, I was traveling at the time.)
My email from Jif says:
Dear Ms. Palin,
Thank you for your inquiry regarding the presence of gluten in our Jif® products. For more than 115 years, providing our consumers with the highest quality products has been of paramount importance to The J.M. Smucker Company. Quality products begin with quality ingredients and we employ comprehensive procurement procedures to ensure our products contain only the finest ingredients from reputable suppliers.
Jif® Peanut Butter products do not contain ingredients derived from gluten. We are in the process of updating our product labels to more effectively communicate this. Jif® Peanut Butter products have been verified “gluten-free” per the established U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s criteria, which includes:
Ingredient Screening – The ingredient cannot contain gluten sources such as wheat, rye, barley or their derivatives or hybrids. We also review for the presence of oats.
Testing – While there is currently not a commercially available test to detect the presence of oats, the product must be tested to verify that it contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten.
Manufacturing Procedures – In addition, facilities that manufacture verified “gluten-free” products must have a comprehensive gluten management program. All equipment used in the manufacture of products containing any gluten or oat source must be thoroughly cleaned prior to producing a product that is “gluten-free”. These procedures must be validated and inspected after each clean-up.
Our Jif® Almond Butter and Jif® Cashew Butter also do not contain ingredients derived from gluten. However, they have not been formally certified as gluten-free per the above criteria.
For clarification, Jif® Hazelnut Spreads and Jif® Whipped Peanut Butter & Chocolate Flavored Spread may contain ingredients derived from gluten. As such, they are not considered gluten-free.
Thank you for your inquiry regarding Jif® products. If you have any further questions, please contact us at 800-283-8915, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Good peanut butter chocolate brownies
I’m so trying these Michelle! I saw you mention it on FB…Yum!
Karen,
I hope you do. They are the best!
I am posting another follow up… my youngest granddaughter came to spend three days with me to bake. Expecting her to ask to make an ice cream cake instead her very first request is more of those Peanut Butter Brownies!!! So we are going to make them today and save some to send home for her big sister too. Thank you for such a delicious recipe.
Kat,
I’m thrilled that your granddaughter loves these so much! That’s so fun!! Thanks for commenting again to let me know! This makes my day!! ~Michelle
My two little granddaughters and I made these brownies yesterday. Everyone loved them at a gathering today. Thank you very much for sharing such a yummy recipe that I can eat and everyone else likes too!
Kat, I’m so glad you made these and everyone loved them! I’ve had the same results serving to mixed groups… everyone loves them. Happy Baking!
Great Recipe!
I replaced the butter with coconut oil and the sugar with coconut sugar. I also use my own homemade peanut butter. I really like the gluten free mix from the XO baking company. It is the best one I have found so far(my opinion). I can replace it in almost anything, and I can not tell the difference. It is rice free! Rice flour is gritty to me for some reason.
For anyone that bakes, you need to check out the Misto. It’s like pam without all the chemicals. If you live in the Midwest you can find it at Hy-vee. Should be able to find it on Amazon too!
Amy,
Thanks so much for stopping by with your comments and especially all of your tips! I am so glad to hear that it turned out well with the coconut oil and coconut sugar. I have both on hand now and am going to go back through most of my recipes to see how those work in them. I just looked at that Misto and it looks like a great product!
Thanks again and happy baking!!
These were the best gluten-free dessert I have had yet! Have you ever tried using Mama’s pancake mix as an all purpose baking mix? Think that would work? The rolls were really good too! Thank you!!
Traci,
So glad that you liked these brownies. They are a definite favorite of mine.
I haven’t tried using Mama’s pancake mix as an all-purpose baking mix. I’d have to look at the ingredients on it and see. Are you thinking of wanting it for biscuits and such? I’m not really sure, you might ask her if she’s tried it.
Hope you have a delicious holiday baking season! ~Michelle
I made these today. They are absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for sharing this tasty and naughty recipe. I love that you can’t even tell they’re gluten free. Love it. Thanks.
Thanks Jade for coming back and leaving a comment for me. I’m so glad you were able to make and enjoy these!
Oh my gosh! These look wonderful Michelle. While I do not follow a GF diet, I knwo my GF best friend is going to drool over these. I mean how can you not! I love peanut butter anything. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Sally, thanks so much for passing it on to your GF friend! I hope she has a chance to try these and loves them!
Oh man, as usual, you know your way right to my heart/stomach. Those photos look so delicious. I have some Peanut Butter & Co. peanut butter around that I really need to make into a recipe or two if I want to avoid just sitting down with a spoon and eating it all! This might just be one of them, along with some flourless PB cookies, perhaps.
Oh yes, that peanut butter would be so good in these! Also check out my double peanut butter cookies on here. That is a recipe that really lets the peanut butter flavor shine! Let me know if you try one!
Can you substitute the “gluten-free” stuff for regular flour?
We do not have gluten allergies and these sure look delicious!
Yes, Sarah. The original recipe calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour and no xanthan gum. Make sure you measure where you use a separate scoop to pour flour into your measuring cup, then sweep the top with a knife. I hope you’ll give these a try! Enjoy!