Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: The perfect balance of chocolate sweetness.
Texture: CHEWY, of course 🙂
Ease: Super easy. One bowl, no electric mixer needed.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: This Brownie Recipe is WAY better than a box mix and almost as easy. It’s my go-to recipe!
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These Chewy Brownies are my go-to recipe when I need a quick, easy, crowd-pleasing dessert. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve made it over 200 times. It’s truly the best!
There’s even a secret ingredient that helps to mimic that box-mix texture (but with way better flavor!).
The Kitchn tested this recipe, raving about how quick and easy it is! Even Bon Appétit used the recipe as part of their research in their quest to create a perfect chocolate brownie.
What Makes Cookies Chewy, Crisp, or Cakey?
My free guide reveals the ingredients and tweaks that matter.
As a trained chef, it surprises people to learn brownies are among my favorite things to bake at home. I don’t need something fancy, I need something satisfying and that chewy texture is where it’s at.
I have shared over 50 Brownie Recipes over the years. My Ultimate Brownies are rich, dense, and fudgy. My Brown Butter Brownies have the most stunning crackly crust. And my Toffee Brownies are have a unique crunch.
But these brownies are my everyday go-to reicpe. Check out just one of the 1,000+ 5-star reviews for these best homemade brownies:
Reader Love
I have been using this recipe for about a year now! It is the easiest recipe I have ever used, I get so many compliments on these brownies!! Thank you thank you thank you!!! ❤️
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Tessa’s Tip
Struggling with gummy, collapsed, underbaked, or dry-edged brownies? Ditch the glass pan and use a light-colored metal baking pan instead. Learn more about the differences between Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans here.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chewy Brownies
The Cocoa Powder
I recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder for a deeper flavor and fudgier texture. Natural (aka unsweetened) cocoa will offer a milder chocolate flavor and a slightly drier but chewier texture. My favorite Dutch cocoa powder for brownies is Penzey’s or Guittard. Learn more about how Natural and Dutch-process cocoas affect your baking here.
The Chocolate Chips
I prefer semisweet chocolate chips, but you can use any kind you like–just keep in mind it will affect the sweetness of the brownies. You can also add 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans in addition to the chocolate chips. Just don’t skip the chocolate chips entirely, as they’re key to achieving that shiny, crinkly crust on top of brownies. Learn my top FOUR methods for achieving a shiny thin brownie crust here.
The Fat
- Melted butter plus vegetable oil provides the best taste and texture.
- You can use avocado oil or any other neutral-flavored oil instead of vegetable oil.
- Make sure your oil is fresh to avoid any off flavors.
- Check out my side-by-side baking experiments with Butter vs Oil here.
The Sugar
Don’t reduce the sugar in this Brownie Recipe, as this will cause dry, crumbly brownies that will stale faster. Learn more about sugar’s functions in brownies here.
The Eggs
These Chewy Brownies use two whole eggs plus an additional egg yolk for EXTRA chewiness and richness. Using cold eggs prevents doming and increases moisture.
The Flour
A small amount of all-purpose flour is essential for creating Chewy Brownies – but avoid adding too much, as this can cause dry, cakey brownies. Use a digital kitchen scale to prevent accidental overmeasuring. If you don’t have a digital scale, use the spoon-and-level method described here.
Secret Ingredient: Cornstarch!
Cornstarch mimics the texture of box mix brownies, creating thicker, chewier brownies with a nice shiny crust. Don’t skip it if possible!
Avoid Leavening for Fudgy & Chewy Brownies
I prefer no baking soda or baking powder for rich, dense brownies that are not even remotely cakey. If you’re team cakey, don’t even bother with this recipe. It’ll be far too chewy and fudgy for you!
Can I Double this Chewy Brownies Recipe?
Yes! Double all ingredients and bake in a 9 by 13-inch light-colored metal baking pan (don’t use a glass pan!) and add a few minutes to the baking time.
Storing & Freezing Brownies
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge. They are even more fudgy when they’re chilled!
To freeze, wrap the cooled whole slab or individual slices of brownies in plastic wrap inside an airtight container. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or for a couple hours at room temperature, before serving.
Brownie Substitutions
This Chewy Brownie recipe is written to yield a perfect chewy brownie. Altering any ingredients will change the outcome. If you can’t use one of the ingredients listed, check out my extensive brownie recipe index for tons of other brownie options (including coconut oil brownies).
More Brownies Recipes You’ll Love:
- Malted Brownies – made with brown butter!
- Toffee Brownies
- Copycat Cosmic Brownies – ultimate nostalgia!
- Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies
Best Ever Chewy Brownies
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Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons (71 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups (249 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, cold
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (74 grams) neutral oil (like vegetable or avocado)
- 3/4 cup (75 grams) cocoa powder*
- 1/2 cup (63 grams) all-purpose flour, measured correctly
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup (128 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 8 by 8-inch light-colored metal pan** with foil or parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and sugar. Microwave for about 1 minute, or until the butter is melted. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolk, whisking vigorously for 1 minute. Whisk in the vanilla, then stir in the oil and cocoa powder.
- With a rubber spatula, stir in the flour, cornstarch, and salt until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the brownies are set and a cake tester inserted into the center has moist crumbs attached. Do not overcook. Let cool completely to solidify before cutting and serving.
- Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Brownies will be gooey when served warm, chewy when served at room temperature, and fudgy when served chilled.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This recipe was originally published in 2017 and has been updated with additional baking tips and new photos. Recipe photos by Joanie Simon and Baking Science photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Perfect brownie!
These were delicious! Tasted and had consistency just like a boxed mix but homemade without freaky ingredients! Looking forward to trying some of the other recipes. A definite keeper, going in my file! Thank you for such a great recipe.
FYI, I did not have enough white sugar and had to sub 1/2 cup of brown sugar. I was concerned about it changing the consistency, but my husband was really craving brownies. I don’t know if it did or not as I have only made them once, but they sure were good. I also did not include the single egg yolk, just the two eggs and it seemed fine.
I made these at sea level, and they were perfect. However, I recently moved to CO and the elevation is 5300. The brownies turned out cakey and sank in the middle. Any suggestions on how to get the desired chewy texture without the sinking effect?
Hi Shruti! I’m glad to hear that you enjoy these brownies when baking at sea level! Tessa and the rest of our team have never lived at high altitude, so we don’t have much experience with baking adjustments for this. King Arthur Baking has a terrific article on baking at high altitudes here. Because there’s so little leavening in this recipe (usually the first thing to adjust for high altitude baking), I would recommend starting with King Arthur’s suggestion of adding a little additional flour, along with their oven temperature/bake time adjustments, and adjust further as needed from there. Good luck in your quest! Happy baking!
Wow! Amazing way better than store bought. So rich and creamy and the time and heat was perfect. Absolutely best recipe with the best flavor and consistency.
Can you double this recipe & bake in 9″ x 13″ pan?
Hi Sally! Yes, to double this recipe, use a 9×13 pan and bake for the same amount of time. Happy baking 🙂
Do you have to use parchment paper or foil in the pan?
Hi Debbie! We definitely prefer to use parchment or foil, so we can easily remove the brownies from the pan for cutting and serving. Feel free to skip it, but just note that it’s possible the brownies may then stick to the pan and be difficult to remove.
can I make these in a 9×13 pan? I need to feed about 20 people and an 8×8 won’t cut it! I was thinking if I doubled everything? do you have a suggestion?
Hi Kristine! As Tessa mentions in the recipe notes, “To double this recipe, use a 9×13 pan and bake for the same amount of time.” Happy baking!
Interesting. I baked these twice, and I find the flavor and texture of the brownies improves *significantly* as they age. The first day these are baked, they’re alright. They taste like boxed brownies as the author noted, and the flavor is dulled somewhat by the oil in the batter (I used grape seed oil, which shouldn’t be too overwhelming.) Day 2 and 3 onward, they soften, become smoother, and the chocolate flavor intensifies and deepens. I suppose this is because the gluten softens and the flavors have time to mingle. I thought they were delicious after they aged. These are definitely brownies for people who prefer dough-y to gooey brownies. I’d recommend baking these a couple of days ahead of serving them, which is counter intuitive for a lot of baked goods.
I can’t use cornstarch and would love to try this recipe. I typically sub out baking powder for cornstarch in baking anyway. However, I don’t know in this recipe if that will make it rise too much as the objective is chewy. Any suggestions or thoughts?
Hi Nikki! Adding more leavening agent to these brownies will definitely change the texture – it will make them rise more and give them a cakier texture, so we definitely don’t recommend that. If you cannot find cornstarch where you live, give arrowroot a try instead. We haven’t tried it ourselves, so we can’t say for sure how it will go – but it’s a thickening agent similar to cornstarch, so it may yield similar results. Alternatively, just skip the cornstarch – but your brownies may not be quite as thick or chewy, and it may not develop that beautiful shiny crust (see the pink tip box above the recipe for more info and side-by-side pictures!). I hope that helps! Let us know what you think of these brownies once you’ve given them a try 🙂 Happy baking!
Didn’t have corn starch on hand so used an additional tablespoon of flour and turned out perfect. Also made it in mini bread load silicone pan and it came out amazing too.
good basic brownies. used a metal pan. didn’t have an extra yolk so I added 20g butter. sugar less 40g. is this why I didn’t get a nice crackle top? irs always elusive to me
Hi Katherine! This recipe is written in a very specific way, to produce perfectly chewy brownies with a shiny, crinkly crust. Adding additional fat will change the ratios of the recipe and therefore alter the outcome, and reducing the sugar will also reduce moisture and change the texture. These changes are almost definitely the reason for your brownies not getting that lovely crust on top. You can read more about how to achieve that shiny brownie crust here, and read about why reducing sugar in baking can have big results on the outcome here. I hope that helps, and I hope you give these brownies another try as written sometime – they really are amazing! Thanks so much for trying Tessa’s recipe and Happy Baking! 🙂
Delicious!! I added. nuts to the mix.
Needed an extra 8 to 10 mins to bake. So good!!
Amaaaazing recipe ! Dark chocolate lovers are going to enjoy this one. Just the right sweetness with a deep chocolate flavor. I used Dutch processed cocoa powder, 50/50 white and brown sugar and added freshly toasted walnuts. Such a delight ! Highly recommend 😀
Just made these and amazing! Thank you. Wanted to check are your oven temperatures fan or conventional? As in if I am using a fan oven in the UK do I need to take 20 degrees off the temperature you state? Thank you.
Hi Lucy! So happy to hear that you enjoyed these brownies! 🙂 All our recipes (and most American recipes, generally speaking, unless otherwise stated) will use conventional temperatures, as convection ovens and convection settings aren’t as common over here. You will need to shave about 25°F off the stated temperature for best results. Learn more about this in Tessa’s Ovens 101 article here! 🙂
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer.