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.
i just realised the recipe here differs from the one on instagram. this one is missing 1/8 tsp of baking soda. i’ve always made it without the baking soda but now i think it might make the brownies slightly cakier, rather than dense with the baking soda. nonetheless, always my go-to recipe for brownies and i get nothing but compliments for them.
does the timing change if i have 9×9 or 10×10 or 11×11 instead?
Hi Sof! Yes, the timing will need to be reduced with a larger pan as the brownies will be thinner and bake more quickly. With a 9×9, I’d shave off 1-2 minutes from the bake time. For even larger pans, you’ll need to reduce it by a few minutes more. Keep an eye more so on the sensory indicator (cake tester inserted in center has moist crumbs attached) than timing. Hope that helps!
These are phenomenal! The perfect balance of fudgy and chewy. I followed the recipe exactly and used my kitchen scale but instead of semi-sweet chips, I added Ghirardelli Milk chocolate chips and they were just divine. Thank you so much, I finally found my go-to brownie recipe!! 😊
These are so good! Easy to make and fast. Will happily make again:)
I really enjoyed this recipe, I made it for the ladies at my work. It was a great consistence and the timing was perfect!
I did make a frowned-upon substitution during the recipe. I made these during a snowstorm and realized I had run out of cornstarch, but I did have powdered sugar. So, I used 1 cup of granulated white sugar and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, and the texture turned out great. I know the conversion for granulated sugar is 1:1.75, which is why I used 1/2 cup instead of 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. I figured that would make up for some of the corn starch.
I do plan to follow the recipe fully when I get more corn starch, but even with my sub, they turned out really well.
I’ve made this great recipe about 10 times. I’ve made some small adjustments to accommodate the fact that I’m making my own cocoa powder from fruit that I’ve grown. Because it’s not processed it has all the natural cocoa butter. I’ve lowered slightly the amount of vegetable oil and increased slightly the cornstarch. Just wanted to help anyone who is using fresh cacao as well.
I have now made this recipe about 10 times. I’ve made the smallest adjustments to accommodate my use of cocoa powder I’ve made at home from cacao I’ve grown and harvested, fermented and roasted. Because my powder has all the natural fat of the cacao beans success was found in slightly decreasing the vegetable oil in the recipe and slightly increasing the cornstarch. Just wanted to share for those who may start with yard fruit. Very good recipe. Thank you!
Hi Eric, I assume if I was buying raw cacao I could follow your suggestions. By how much would I reduce the oil and increase cornstarch? Thank you
These Best Ever Chewy Brownies are a game-changer! So easy to make with just one bowl and packed with rich, chocolatey goodness. The chewy texture is perfect, and the shiny crust takes them to the next level. Definitely my go-to brownie recipe now!
I love this recipe! I’ve gone on brownie baking jags a couple times a thought I was using a great recipe. These are head and shoulders above those! I also enjoy all the insights on your site about various substitutions. I share these with my neighbors. On behalf of all of us, thank you!! All the best, Leslie in NC
me want brownies cause me hungry fpr chewy ones
Me too bro
These turned out amazing! So rich and fudgy, topped with some flaky sea salt to balance the sweetness- will definitely be coming back to this recipe 🙂
I don’t use granulated sugar in my house so I substituted sugar in the raw and it came out too greasy. Just like she mentioned above if you can’t do the exact ingredients, then try a different recipe because this kind of messed up the brownies even though they tasted delicious.