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.
How do you get the crackly top? that has always been my problem. 🙁
Hi June! Check out our article here: How to Make Brownies with Shiny Thin Crust. Hope that helps! 🙂
Can you use parchment paper instead of aluminum foil?
Thanks
Sure! Just make sure you also spray the parchment paper with cooking spray 🙂 Enjoy your brownies!
These are our all time favorite brownies! Thank you for sharing! I make them all the time, but was wondering if they could be frozen? Thanks!
Sure! Freeze already cut up in an air-tight freezer container. You can also cut them up into smaller cubes to be placed in ice cream, it’s so delicious! 🙂
Will brown sugar makes these better and more moist? Thanks.
Please see the tips in the pink box above this recipe regarding why we used granulated sugar in this recipe 🙂
Hi Tessa! Is the non-stick cooking spray on the foil necessary? Thank you!
Hi Irene! Yes, the cooking spray is necessary on the foil, otherwise your brownies will stick to the foil. You can also use parchment paper in place of the foil, but that will also need to be sprayed with cooking spray.
I have never commented about a recipe, but this was the best, easiest one I found. I added walnuts and Reeses peanut butter chips because I didn’t have chocolate chips. The Beownies were incredible!
So glad to hear how much you enjoyed your brownies, Will! The addition of nuts and peanut butter chips sounds fantastic, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Do you know how many calories, carbs, and fat are in these?
We don’t count calories, carbs, or fats in any of our recipes. Sorry I can’t help you further!
Hi! I was wondering, I wanted to make blueberry brownies, if I use your recipe and add in 1C of blueberries, would the brownies still be nice and chewy even with the moisture from the blueberries? Thank you!
We haven’t tried that! Please let us know how it goes if you test it out 🙂
I ended up putting in 1 C of blueberries. The brownies came out pretty fudgy flavor but it was really soft/mushy vs chewy. Do you have any idea if that may be due to the blueberries? Thanks!
I followed the recipe exactly and added in 1 C of rinsed/dried blueberries. Before baking, I did leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours. The result was the brownie was pretty moist, not dry. It wasn’t chewy at all but it also wasn’t cakey or mushy either. Overall it wasn’t a bad brownie.
Do you have any ideas or guesses on how to make it chewy with the addition of blueberries? Thank you!
I’m glad your experiment turned out pretty well! As we haven’t tested this recipe with fruit, I can’t say for sure how to tweak the recipe to keep that chewiness to the brownies. I’m wondering though if 1 cup was too much, maybe try using only half in the batter next time, then placing the other half on the top of the brownies as soon as they’re taken out of the oven so the texture of the brownies isn’t altered as much? Did you use the blueberries as an addition to the recipe, or did you substitute anything out?
Just made these on our boat and I’m totally smitten! They’re everything the perfect brownie should be…chocolatey, moist (I know, I know), and most importantly, CHEWY!
Who knew you could enjoy such a decadent treat on a boat! So happy to hear how much you loved this recipe, Nicole, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hello I really appreciate that you starting adding amounts in grams. Since in Europe we don’t have measuring cups, it helps a lot… Previously all my recipes failed due to not measuring properly. About the oil what type of oil do you recommend? Coconut? Canola? Sunflower? Corn? And what’s the equivalent of 1/3 cup in oz / ml or gr? Thanks
Maria from Italy
Hi Maria, we recommend using vegetable oil for this recipe, but you could try substituting with canola oil. We actually 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; however, 1/3 cup of vegetable oil is equal to about 74 grams-check out our free Ingredient Measuring Cheatsheet to help you with future recipes when needed Hope that helps!
Needed a fast chewy brownie recipe and went for this one – and it did not disappoint! It looks 20 minutes to prep + the 30 minute baking time (during which time I continued to get ready for my last minute desert party. This brownie is chewy without being gooey, flakey top layer. I used Dutch Processed chocolate and the taste in the recipe was wonderful!! The desert was loved by the teens and adults alike! I will definitely be making this again!
So wonderful to hear your brownies were such a hit! Thanks for letting us know, Judy! 🙂
Quite oily. I don’t know why only 1/3 cups of oil would make it this way, but not only is it very prominent in the texture, there were large oil spots after we laid a paper towel over the brownies over night. Too oily for us, and the chocolate flavor is about the same as boxed brownies, even when using high quality cocoa powder and chips.
Sorry to hear your brownies turned out oily! We haven’t heard of this issue yet! Did you make any ingredient substitutions? What brand of oil did you use? What size of pan and type (glass, aluminum…etc) of pan did you use to bake your brownies in? We definitely want to help you figure out what happened, they shouldn’t turn out like that!