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!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
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!!! ❤️
–
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
Email This Recipe
Enter your email, and we’ll send it to your inbox.
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.
These are hands down the best brownies I’ve ever made! I’ve always been a fan of boxed mix brownies but these are even better. They’re thick but not dense, and the flavor is perfect.
I actually call these boxed brownies on steroids haha 🙂 So happy you love this recipe, thanks for letting us know!
I have to say this is the best brownie recipe out there. I think I’ve made them about 5 times now, and they always turn out great. Fudgy consistently, crinkly tops, chewy… delicious. I have always doubled the recipe, and last time I accidentally put the oven temp at 350, but they were done at 30 min. Maybe a “smidgen” overdone, but I also used raspberry extract in the recipe which I read can affect the consistency. Really good though. Have used half black cocoa and half regular. This last time I put the temp at 325 and had to bake for an extra 10 min. Perfect!
So happy they turn out great every time! Love the addition of raspberry extract, yum!
Pure pleasure, wrapped up in the small things…
Too bad we couldn’t break this outside of the box/pan and swim in it!
I have made these brownies so many times. So easy and SO good! You won’t regret making these!!
Glad to hear they’re such a favorite, Hayley! Thank you for letting us know 🙂
This is a good recipe but I found them a little salty. I would probably decrease the salt to 1/8 tsp. next time. Also my oven didn’t quite get them done at 30 minutes but we like them gooey so it was ok. 🙂
These brownies are deliciously fudgy!
This is THE BEST RECIPE! Hands down, my favorite!
So glad to hear this, Sheila! Thanks for the comment!
This is now officially my go to brownie recipe. I’ve made it about 4 or 5 times with half black cocoa, and everyone loves them. I always double the recipe and this time I put in raspberry extract. Delish! Easy no fail recipe.
Ooo that sounds so delicious with the raspberry extract! I’m so happy to hear they’re now your go-to recipe!! 🙂
These were delicious! I didn’t have any chocolate chips so I made them without and they were still perfect!! Definitely will be making these again.
How do you cut brownies without ruining them??
The most important thing when cutting into brownies is making sure they’re completely cool, which will ensure they don’t fall apart upon cutting. You also want to make sure not to “saw” at the brownies when cutting with a knife, instead place the knife directly into the brownies, pressing straight down to cut. Hope that helps!
This looks like a super easy recipe, and as I’m without the use of my electrical appliances it’s perfect for our makeshift kitchen. I’m so pleased to see the weight conversion to grams apart from 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, could you tell me what the gram weight of it is please?
Hi Shaar, I don’t use a scale to measure liquids as there’s no air inside those ingredients so it’s difficult to mess up the measurements. 1/3 cup of vegetable oil is equal to about 74 grams-check out my free Ingredient Measuring Cheatsheet to help you with future recipes when needed 🙂 Hope that helps!
Hello
I cannot eat corn starch or any corn ingredients. what can I substitute it with in the brownie recipe?
thanks
Gale
I’m sorry to hear that! I haven’t tried this recipe without it-I personally feel it’s a crucial ingredient (see the pink tip box above the recipe) to ensure the outcome I was trying to achieve. Please let me know if you try this recipe without it or if you’re able to find a substitute that works!