These paleo and keto brownies are extra fudgy, super easy, just 5 ingredients and 1g net carb a pop! Now that’s what we call the ideal low carb chocolate dessert! The recipe was first published on January 8th ’18, and has been updated to provide more info on various sweeteners.
The Ultimate Paleo & Keto Brownies 🍫
Suuuper Fudgy!
Ridiculously decadent, suuuper fudgy and intensely chocolatey, these keto brownies are one indulgent low carb chocolate treat. Plus, they’re suuuper easy and with staple (grain-free) pantry ingredients.
And guess what? Just 1g net carb per brownie. (Drumroll please!) 🥁
p.s. these are very chocolatey, as in proper chocolate! So ideal for you dark-chocolate-lovers out there.
Oh, and if you’re into brownies and cheesecake (who isn’t?!), do check out our keto cheesecake brownies based off these guys.
The Origins
This recipe happens to be a keto adaptation based off Alice Medrich’s famous cocoa brownies, incidentally one of the most popular brownie recipes on the web. And the keto result varies little from the original, albeit perhaps a little less chewy and more melt-in-your-mouth sorta thing (courtesy of the lack of gluten).
Fun fact: Medrich’s original recipe called for beating vigorously with 40 strokes (exactly!) to incorporate the batter. Now that’s what we call precision.
A Couple (Very Simple!) Rules
We’ll start with the most important one: do not over-bake the brownies! Timing might just be the most important rule when making any type of brownie, so you don’t end up with a dry and crumbly mess. Keep an eye out for them, and take them out once the center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out moist (but not drenching).
We even prefer to slightly undercook them and chill them in the fridge before cutting. That’s the secret for extra fudgy brownies.
I’ve also noticed that when using powdered erythritol rather than xylitol (my favorite), you also need to decrease the baking time by about 5 minutes as they cook faster.
You’ll also want to use eggs at room temp. Reason being that if your cocoa/butter mixture is not hot enough (and your eggs are very cold), they’ll solidify the butter and your batter will be too thick (doesn’t affect the end results, just annoying to spoon rather than pour!).
And if possible, refrigerate the batter overnight. This is an old Medrich rule, but it does work a charm to get a richer texture (as the flavors have had a chance to mingle). Though if not possible, honestly don’t sweat it– we’ve done them either way multiple times. Just keep in mind that your batter will solidify in the fridge (as the butter sets), totally normal and just pop the baking dish in the oven as is.
The Chocolate
Cocoa brownies are generally regarded as second best to their ‘molten chocolate bar’ counterparts, given that they’re generally more cake-like than fudgy. But that’s most definitely not the case here, as these are some of the fudgiest brownies you’ll ever make.
Albeit ‘healthier‘, as you can control the chocolate and fat input completely, so no added refined sugars, preservatives etc. And of course, cocoa powder is much less expensive than chocolate bars (particularly keto ones!). So think of these keto brownies as wallet-friendly too.
Cocoa or cacao? Both work great, just know that quality really matters here. Our favorite will forever be the Dutch-processed alkaline cocoa Valrhona, known to be one of (if not the) best cocoas in the world. But feel free to use a raw cacao powder (arguably more nutritional perks here), though keep in mind that your brownies will be lighter in color and more reddish in hue. Both are well and good, as long as they’re unsweetened.
p.s. a lightly sprinkle of flakey sea salt works wonders to cut through the chocolate in these guys! And Maldon flakes are the undisputed best, by a mile.
The Flours
This recipe uses almond flour only (💥💃🎆!!). Yup, that’s it! Having said that, you can always sub half of the almond for hazelnut flour (think Nutella), if you wanna spiff things up a notch or give them a little twist.
In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great. Both are super fine grinds.
The Sweetener
You’ve got a couple options here. Xylitol and allulose (use the higher amount as its less sweet1) have become my top choice (no aftertaste, best and chewier texture), Lakanto (barely any aftertaste, and many of you also love the Golden version), and powdered Swerve (some cooling sensation, but still great). Xylitol takes (much) longer to dry out though so your brownies will be extra delicate (think gooey) right after baking.
If using erythritol in any form, because it needs a little extra help to dissolve than xylitol (and they vary so much from brand to brand because of different fillers and so on!), you’ll want to be sure to use a powdered form. If you only have granular on hand, don’t sweat it, and simply blend it in your (very dry!) bullet or blender until powdered. Easy-peasy!
And one more thing to keep in mind, is that a few of you who have used erythritol (Swerve in particular) report back periodically that your batter ends up thick. This seems to be improved by microwaving rather than using a water bath, and using powdered rather than regular. Though there seems to be no hard rule here. Doesn’t seem to affect much the taste in the end, so just spread the batter rather than pour it in. But if you’re finding your brownies feel too thick, simply add in an extra egg (just don’t over-whisk or they could become more cakey).
Fun fact: it might also be my taste buds here, but I’ve noticed that stevia-based sweeteners (such as Pyure) don’t work so great when chocolate is involved as the aftertaste is accentuated. So I cannot recommend enough that you don’t use stevia-based sweeteners here.
Oh, and if just paleo or gluten free (or not restricted by sugars), simply sub 1-to-1 with coconut or regular sugar.
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup (or kitty!) around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 🐕
And… the video story!
(1g net carb!) Suuuper Fudgy Keto Brownies
Ingredients
- 130 g unsalted grass-fed butter or 8 TBS coconut oil + 1 TBS coconut cream if paleo
- 140-200 g xylitol allulose (use higher amount), powdered erythritol or coconut sugar if paleo*
- 80 g cocoa powder **
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs at room temperature***
- 70 g almond flour
To garnish
- flakey sea salt optional (but highly suggested!)
Serving suggestions
- unsweetened macadamia milk nice 'n cold!
Instructions
- See recipe video for guidance!
- Position a rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 350°F/180°C. Line with parchment paper the bottom and sides of a 8x8-inch baking pan. Set aside.
- Add butter, sweetener, cocoa powder and salt to a medium heatproof bowl. Melt over a water bath whisking constantly (or use the microwave, in small increments). You'll want to heat it up until most of the sweetener has melted and the mixture is well incorporated (note that erythritol, unlike xylitol, won't dissolve much at this point). Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
- Add one egg at a time, whisking well after each one until completely incorporated. The texture should appear smooth, with all the sweetener dissolving into the mixture. And if using erythritol, and your batter ends up too thick, you may want to add an extra egg. Just be sure not to over-whisk, or your brownies could end up more cakey rather than fudgy.
- Add the almond flour, whisking vigorously until fully blended (about a minute).
- Bake for 15-25 minutes (we do about 23 with xylitol and 17 with erythritol), or until the center is just set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out moist. This really does vary (a lot!!) from oven to oven (think convection etc), so give them a check from minute 15 the first time around, and remember that you'll brownies will continue to cook while they cool.
- Sprinkle with flakey sea salt (optional) and allow to cool completely on a rack. Lift brownies using the edges of the parchment paper and cut into desired size (we do 16!). To get extra clean edges, place in the freezer for 10 minutes prior to cutting.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Has anyone tried substituting another flour in for the almond? I would like to try to make these for a school event but it must be nut -free.
Thank you
Sunflower seed flour would be a good choice Alice!
Not exactly sure what I’m doing wrong myself. But I’ve cook these brownies now for over 30 minutes and they are still practically raw. Don’t know why the batter is not getting done. I’m experimenting with longer and longer times just to see exactly how long it takes my oven to cook it but up to this point I’m closing in on 40 minutes. Not sure if it’s my oven or the dish that I’m using the cook it in. But yes I did follow the recipe exactly including all of the tips inside the article based on what ingredients I was using.
Hi! Can I use Erythritol granules? I can’t seem to find the powdered kind.
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I just pulled mine out of the oven. They are really good. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Do we need to put the in the fridge to store or is room temp okay?
Awesome to hear Sherry! You can store at room temp! xo
I used 140g of stevia/erythritol blend (Bulk Barn Canada) and salted butter (omitted any additional). I baked for 15 minutes and these really hit the spot. I stuck them in the freezer for future cravings and would imagine they’ll be even better cold 😍 Thanks for the great recipe.
Looked absolutely nothing like the mixture in the video when I was putting it in the pan to bake. It was hard and dry and wouldn’t spread out at all, so I knew something was wrong. I followed the recipe perfectly, double checked everything, so I have no idea what’s going on but this came out horrible. I used granulated erythritol, so if that’s why, you need to specify that it’s not going to work for this recipe because I just wasted a bunch of ingredients on something that isn’t edible.
For the life of me I can’t figure out what I did wrong either. It’s as if there’s too much cocoa powder, or too much almond flour, but I used exactly what the recipe called for. Maybe there’s some kind of problem with the conversion to US Cups, I don’t know.
Hi Mark! Did you read the notes on now Erythritol sweeteners can make the batters look like this?
I used granulated erythritol too, well aware of the caution. I mixed it vigorously before the eggs went in & then again after the eggs went in – an attempt todissolve it. It worked for the most part. You could barely percieve some granulation in the final product. Not objectionable to me. I did reduce the amount of cocoa, tho. I dislike too much cocoa so my batter remained moist. I used 58 grams. Plus I added vanilla extract. It was still very fudgy. In fact I made cream cheese icing to cut the fudgyness. I noticed our hostess combined this with cheesecake on another recipe. She must have agreed with me. This will go into my desert rotation but Im going to keep experimenting until I get the least cocoa that will work.
Hi Paola!
Your recipes, especially for baking, are hands down the best tasting keto recipes I’ve encountered. I think this original post was done before you started using allulose. How much allulose would you use in this recipe as a sub for the other sugars?
On another note, I am very sensitive to cooling/after taste of sweeteners and have recently discovered BochaSweet which is the closest thing to sugar I’ve tried! I’m still experimenting with it but would love to see recipes on your blog with it if you get a chance to test it out.
xo
Better than any regular full carb brownie I have tasted in my life! Thankyou so much! Loving these!
Which sweetener did you use? I want to make these for Thanksgiving.
Wow!! These were so delicious! I had almost given up on low carb baking because nothing was satisfying enough but I’m so glad I found your site! Everything is so delicious, these brownies taste just like the real thing, I’m so happy!
Also thank-you for all the research you do and testing with all sweeteners, etc so we know what is best to use, you are the only blogger that I’ve seen do that and it is so so helpful. Also, you are a saint and so kind in your replies. Some of these reviews are so frustrating because they ignore the recipe or notes and do the wrong thing then get mad at you! It’s crazy. These brownies are incredible.
Just made a triple sized version so it fit my tin better. 2nd time of making it and it’s been a life saver for a cake lover on keto. Lovely recipe thank you for sharing.
Did anyone have the problem that when they mixed over warm water that something separated and i ended up with a watery subsance along with some of the mixture formibg into a thicker substance? Not sure how to explain it. Will this change the over all bownie?
I’m having the same issue right now! How did it affect your brownie??
I swear I’m not a troll or a hater but it upsetting to be so deceived on a recipient. Kudos for the enthusiasm though.
I am a chef, not much into deserts but love to find new great recipients online that are low carb and delish. This is neither. Unless your standard is low. Gritty, pretty tasteless/bland and not worth the carbs you are consuming. But mostly, a waste of time.
Sorry.
As a chef you should know that the ingredients you use matter, particularly with keto (and remember that sugar free baking isn’t standardized).
That said, it sounds like you used an erythritol sweetener, when once cooled turned grainy and dry. If you want them to taste like sugar, I suggest allulose (i.e. please read the post next time, as I explain different ingredients thoroughly) xo!
This website gave me diabetes.
That’s literally impossible, everything is keto 😉
Hey can i use regular butter instead of grass fed ? And is the nutrition label for one brownie ?
Oh my…. How good! Thought I’d over cooked them As the toothpick came out dry. I immediately put them in the fridge to cool and after about 20 min… So good! With a scoop of vanilla ice cream those still warm brownies were the bomb! Followed the recipe exactly without a hickup. Moist and tender and so chocolaty even though I only had 1/2 the cocoa powder called for. Thx!!
Easy to make! Awesome! Chewy! Delicious!
This recipe rocks!
These are amazing!!! I’m a recently diagnosed diabetic and have been craving for sugar free treats that actually taste good! And this, by far, is the best brownie recipe I’ve ever made! Thank you for letting me satisfy my sweet tooth!!! Loved every bit of it!!!
I used Erythritol and it did make my batter thicker and so I added another egg!!! Added a few morsels of sugar-free chocolate chip and they are bomb!!!
Awesome to hear Joy!! Xo!
Can’t believe lots of commenters were complaining that it is dry and grainy lol they could’ve just microwaved it. I think it’s because the erythritol crystallizes when cooled in the fridge. It happened to me but nothing microwave can’t fix 💞💞
You nailed it Con! I need to add this comment to the notes, you guys have recommended it a bunch (its the same thing with muffins etc made with erythritol, always best if you warm them up a bit to get them soft again) xo!
How many days can is store the brownies?
i love brownies and on keto thats the one thing i have been missing badly. Made these just now but i think i did something wrong because the erythritol didn’t melt at all on double boiler and i think i burnt them a little too from the top. I think i will need to toss the whole batch out so gutted i wish i could bake like you😢
I made these using powdered Swerve sweetener and baked for 15 minutes. I used a pizza cutter to cut them into perfect “two bite” brownie squares. I ate one warm with a couple spoonfuls of Rebel Vanilla ice cream and was doing a little food dance in the kitchen….so yummy!!!
The recipe says 140-200g for sweetener. I’ll be trying these tonight and will be using xylitol. So how much do I put in? Thanks
I knew it was too good to be true.
I was excited to find such a low carb recipe. I mean one gram net carb? Come on.
It is NOT one carb per piece. I started to be doubtful as I was making it.
I just made them and put them in the oven. Then I uploaded the recipe to Carb Manager, which takes the ingredient amounts and the number of servings (16) and calculates the totals.
I don’t know what you used but here ya go!
11 g total carbs
2 g fiber
9 g net carbs
10 g fat (with butter)
3 g protein
131 calories
NINE CARBS per piece! 😠😠😠
Before getting this angry, may I suggest you do some reading next time? Its common practice to subtract sugar alcohols as you do fiber, as they’re not regular carbs 😉 so they are 1g net carb a piece. xo!
I’m not sure what I did wrong but you could really taste the almond flour they were fudgey but I used coconut sugar to sweeten
I make these at least twice a month. My absolute fav! You must use good chocolate, it’s the difference between a great result and a not so great one. Read the whole article along with all the tips for the best outcome.
I had the lowest expectations of these, as I know you can’t expect it to be as good as the real thing, but I was blown away. These are SO delicious. You don’t feel like you’re settling for a “healthy” brownie. Amazing! I’ve tried a handful of your recipes so far, and none of them disappoint. So grateful for access to your website. I bought your ebook to support you.
We are doing low carb not keto, do you think this would works using canola oil and carbquick (carbalose flour) Or even just subbing the flour?
Don’t normally rate recipes, but these are so brilliant.
Dense and rich and wonderful.
Thanks for taking the time, love hearing from you guys 😉
Hi Paola, love your recipes and looked forward to making this one. I thought I followed the recipe to the letter, including using xylitol and weighing out my ingredients but the brownies turned out dry and crumbly. One thing I noted, like another reader posted, used granulated instead of powdered xylitol. Would this have caused the brownies to be dry and crumbly? Or possibly over baked them?
Just want to say that these brownies are really good. Very filling and yet you don’t feel weighted down. I’m just curious on a couple things. 1) I used 3 eggs and the batter was a little thick . They still came out great, but was hard to lay out . And another was how do I make them more like standard brownies? Meaning less dark chocolatey and maybe a little sweeter? I really liked them, but my wife and my 2 daughters like more milk chocolatey styled brownies . Great job ! I had 3 failed recipes in years past that used Stevia
Use less cocoa powder and more sweetener.