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.
Not a fan of vegetable oils. Can I sub canola?
Hi Bryce! Any flavorless oil should work just fine 🙂
This time I have another question, but I did make them and they are fantastic!!! First step says to melt butter with sugar in microwave. Can’t you just melt the butter and then add the sugar after it comes out of the microwave?
Hi Paula! Yay, we’re so glad to hear that you enjoy these brownies! You want to melt the butter and sugar together in the microwave (or on the stovetop if you prefer). Heating the butter and sugar together separates the butter’s water from its fat, and the water then goes on to dissolve the sugar slightly. When eggs are added later, the sugar further dissolves in the moisture that exists in the egg whites. Finally, during baking, this liquid sugar makes its way to the top crust, forming a beautifully crackly, shiny crust. I hope this helps! Happy baking!
Hey! I just wanted to ask, i was not able to fine corn starch where i live, is it okay to substitute that with corn flour?
Hi Kat! This question depends on where you live. ‘Cornstarch’ in the US is the same thing as ‘cornflour’ in the UK – but ‘corn flour’ in the US is a yellow powder made from finely ground, dried corn. It all gets rather confusing lol. Just be sure to use the white, very fine powder. Arrowroot powder may also work (we haven’t tried this ourselves, but it’s more widely available in some places). I hope this helps! Let us know what you think of these brownies once you’ve given them a try 🙂
Hi there! I made these but wasn’t able to get the decide crinkle look and they came out raw-ish? I probably should have let them set longer though. Any idea to what I may have done wrong? Also, I used dark cocoa powder instead of regular. Not sure if that would make a difference or not? Otherwise, the taste was perfect
Hi Okaima! Hmm, it definitely sounds like something went wrong along the way here. How do you measure your ingredients? By volume (using cups), or by weight (using a digital kitchen scale)? When measuring by volume, it’s so easy to mis-measure ingredients (particularly flour) and throw off the entire chemistry of a recipe. Check out Tessa’s article here, where she talks about how to best measure ingredients to ensure accuracy every time. Cocoa powders can also have a big impact on your baking – read more about this in the pink tip box above the recipe. I also encourage you to check out what Tessa wrote above regarding baking pans for this recipe, just in case the pan you used was class/ceramic/silicone. I hope you give these brownies another try – they really are amazing! Happy baking!
Recipe was easy to follow and came out perfect.
I made these brownies today. They came out as promised – chewy, chocolatey, moist and with a shiny top. I loved how easy it was to make, and I loved the taste and texture. It wasn’t ultra rich and overly gooey, two things which put me off from brownies.
I generally like chocolate chunks in brownies. Can I replace half the chocolate chips with chopped chocolate without affecting the texture?
2) I find the website quite slow and stuck-y to use. As I was writing this comment, it suddenly reloaded and I’m re-writing it. I don’t think it’s my phone as I find other sites fast and smooth. It would be greatly appreciated if this was fixed as it makes using this site frustrating and not a very pleasant experience.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Hi Ammaarah! Thanks so much for your feedback regarding our website. We are always working to improve the user experience, but we have not noticed reloading issues on our end – perhaps it might help to clear your cache? To answer your question about these brownies, feel free to use chocolate chips, chocolate chunks and chopped chocolate bars interchangeably! This won’t change the texture 🙂 We’re so glad to hear that you enjoy these brownies! Happy baking 🙂
delicious and fudge. easy to make. I will be making these again!
Would the brownies be ruined/change if I were to add some caramel to it ? I was wondering if I could use this recipe for some turtle brownies. I’m not sure if you could add baking caramel and walnuts.
Hi Jasper! We haven’t tried that ourselves, but it should work well! We always recommend lightly toasting and cooling nuts before adding them to any batter/dough (toasting really elevates the flavor!). Caramels can be a little more tricky, as they’ll all melt differently while baking, but you could always try baking the brownies with chocolate and nuts and just drizzle the baked, cooled brownies with caramel sauce before serving? Just an idea. Let us know how it goes if you give this a try!
simply AMAZING !!!! I made one recipe and baked them in two small loaf pans (7.5”x4”). Baked them for 29 minutes. Also baked a double batch in a 9”x13” pan. Moist, fudgy – and so delicious. Some brownies are overly sweet – these are sweet but mostly chocolatey. Definitely a favorite now.
Thank you for the link to the metal binder clips. Just ordered them!
Hi Tessa- These are in the oven as I type. My husband prefers chewy brownies, so I am trying this recipe, but I will also be trying your fudgy brownie recipe (my fav). My question: I am having trouble with the parchment paper lining in my 8×8 pan. I line both ways, leaving an overhang, but part of the overhang likes to fall onto my brownies while they are baking. I see “clips” used sometimes to keep the overhang in place. Can you tell me what kind of clips to use or how to prevent this from happening? Thank you so much.
Btw: these look and smell amazing!!!
Hi Paula! Yes, using metal (not plastic) binder clips will help you secure your parchment paper to the edges of your pan 🙂 I hope that helps! We hope you enjoyed this recipe and can’t wait to hear what you think of Tessa’s fudgy brownies, too! Happy baking!
These are so good!!!!! I think they are the perfect combo of fudgy and chewy!!!
I appreciate the tip about using a metal pan instead of a glass pan. The consistency of these brownies was great, but I didn’t like the flavor. Mine tasted like they had too much cocoa. I measured everything using a kitchen scale so I don’t think I made them wrong. Maybe I got a bad batch of cocoa or chocolate chips? Maybe I’ll buy new supplies and try it again.
Hi Julianna! Because these brownies are a cocoa base, it’s definitely best to use a good cocoa powder. Some brands don’t have the best flavor, mostly because they contain a low percentage of fat. Higher fat content in cocoa is what lends a richer chocolate decadence, and creates brownies that are ultra moist, chewy, and tender in texture. I encourage you to check out Tessa’s article on fat in cocoa powders here. I hope you give these brownies another try with a different cocoa powder sometime – they really are so good! Happy baking 🙂