Easy Homemade Brownies

Easy Homemade Brownies that are rich, fudgy, and so much better than the box. These stovetop brownies are made in a single pot and can be in your oven in less than 20 minutes!

easy homemade brownies with mugs of milk

A Homemade Brownie Recipe That’s as Easy as Box Mix

When we returned from vacation a few weeks ago, I didn’t have enough ingredients to prepare a halfway decent dinner for us, but somehow I had everything I needed to make Easy Homemade Brownies.

That’s how it goes in our house. Priorities, people.

I spotted this easy brownie recipe in Rachael Ray magazine a few months ago, and they were moved straight to the Must Make Immediately List.

It’s not that I don’t already have a homemade brownie recipe I love. I do. That brownie recipe is rich and fudgy and chewy and all the things I’ve ever wanted in a brownie.

The only problem is, it’s not very quick. As much as I loved it, I found that more often than not I was still turning back to the good ol’ trusty box mix when a brownie craving hit.

slice of homemade brownie recipe with mugs of milk

Then I found these, and everything changed. I’ve made these at least five times since I found the recipe, and each time I’ve tweaked them a bit more to our liking.

Now, I think we’ve finally nailed a homemade brownie recipe that is:

  • Quick (We’re talking in your oven in 20 minutes or less!)
  • Easy
  • Prepared in a single pot (yay, no extra dishes!)
  • Super duper fudgy AND
  • So much better than the box
easy homemade brownies surrounded by chocolate chips

Tips for Making the Best Fudgy Easy Homemade Brownies

Typically, brownie recipes made with cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate yield a drier, cakier brownie. This is because they lack the cocoa butter found in melted chocolate.

BUT, never fear, friends, with a little bit of science, we’ve found a way to make an easy cocoa brownie recipe that dense, fudgy, and has that irresistible, paper-thin, crackly top.

Here are our tips:

  • Use melted butter. If we wanted a fluffy, cake-like brownie, we might cream room temperature butter together with sugar. But we’re actually looking for the exact opposite texture, so we’ll be using melted butter (and plenty of it!)
  • Add an extra egg yolk. This is my favorite trick for adding moisture and chewiness to baked goods. It’s also the secret in my Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies.
  • Use a higher proportion of brown sugar to white sugar. Again, we’re going for a deep, rich flavor and chewy brownies! Brown sugar fits the bill.
  • Go easy on the flour and nix the baking powder. These brownies require just enough flour to pull them together. After testing these with and without baking powder, I’ve decided I prefer the texture without any leavening at all.
  • Finally, under bake your brownies! This may not be everyone’s preference, but we love the extra gooey texture of an under baked brownie. If you test with a toothpick, you actually don’t want it to be dry!
stack of fudgy homemade brownies

Homemade Brownie Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make the BEST fudgy brownies!

  • 1 1/2 sticks (12 Tablespoons, 3/4 cup) butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • Hefty pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips- This is optional, but there is nothing better than getting a pocket of melted chocolate in the midst of a bite of fudgy brownie.

How to Make Homemade Brownies from Scratch

step by step photos of stovetop brownies being made
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9 inch square baking pan with butter. If you want to be able to remove and serve your brownies outside of the pan, create a parchment paper sling or use a pan with a removable bottom (<<<here’s ours).
  2. In a medium sized pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from heat, then whisk in the brown and white sugar until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
  4. Add the cocoa powder and flour and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes (under-done) or 40-45 minutes (baked through). It can be tough to tell when these are done since they’re so dark in color, but if the center no longer jiggles, take them out. Trust me on this one.
  5. Allow to cool or eat directly out of the pan because you have no self control (at least, that’s what I do).
super up close shot of crackly topped homemade brownies

How to Store and Serve Homemade Brownies

Store homemade brownies at room temperature tightly wrapped with plastic wrap or in an airtight container. They will stay soft and chewy for several days after they’re made, if they manage to last that long.

My FAVORITE way to serve these is warm with a scoop of strawberry ice cream on top. GAH. I’m drooling just thinking about it.

If I’m enjoying these plain, I love to add a sprinkling of sea salt on top. Give me ALL the sweet and salty desserts.

You can also top them with peanut butter frosting and make Buckeye Brownies or add them to a Brownie Ice Cream Sundae Cake!

Can you freeze homemade brownies?

Brownies can be frozen! Remove them from the pan and freeze as a single block wrapped tightly in plastic wrap OR wrap individual slices and freeze that way. Check out my guide to Freezing Cookies and Bars for detailed instructions and tips.

More Recipes for the Brownie Lover

If you’re a fan of deep, dark chocolatey desserts, you’ll absolutely love these Almond Joy Cookies and these Brownie Cookies.

Need a decadent, dark chocolate cake? Look no further than the BEST Chocolate Bundt Cake.

And if you’d like a blonde version of the brownie, be sure to check out my Brown Butter Blondies.

stack of fudgy homemade brownies

Easy Fudge Brownies

Yield: 9-12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Easy Homemade Brownies are rich, fudgy, and studded with melted chocolate chips. This stovetop brownie recipe made with cocoa powder can be in your oven in just 20 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 sticks (12 Tablespoons, 3/4 cup) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup sifted cocoa powder
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with butter. Set aside.
  2. In a medium sized pot, melt the butter on the stove top over medium heat. Remove from heat, then whisk in brown and white sugar until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
  4. Add the cocoa powder, flour, and salt and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes (under done) or 35-40 minutes (baked through), or until the center is just set. A toothpick inserted in the center should come back with a few moist crumbs attached. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.
  6. Allow to cool or eat directly out of the pan because you have no self control (at least, that's what I do.)

Notes

Many of you have asked why this recipe has no baking powder! These brownies are intentionally dark, dense, and extra fudgy! If you would like them to have just a little more lift and cakiness, you can add a 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder.

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Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 391Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 112mgSodium: 158mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 4gSugar: 40gProtein: 5g

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108 Comments

  1. this is my go to recipe for brownies, it adapts really nicely into an instant pot recipe too! always turn out perfect.

  2. I made these brownies earlier this evening. They are deliciously yummy. I used my anchor hocking 8×8 glass dish. I melted some butter and put down parchment paper and spread more melted butter all over the paper and up the sides of the dish. I then sprinkled some flour… the only changes I made to the recipe is i used a stick of land of lakes margarine and 1/2 stick of challenge salted butter, I left the salt out since I don’t use salt a lot in foods or baked goods. I used 1 teaspoon of silk cake flour and filled the rest of the 1/3 cup of flour with all purpose flour. only chocolate chips i had on hand were dark chocolate so that is what i used.

    I baked the brownies @ 350 at first for 17 min then checked on them but the center was still really jiggly so I put them back in the oven for an additional 7min. they looked done but just to be on the safe side i did put them back in one last time for an additional 2min. I let them cool for 2hr and then cut them… the way I cut them I got 20 brownies and I have eaten 3 so far hahahaha they are very yummy thanks for sharing will def make again

  3. These homemade brownies are my go-to recipe now! They are incredibly easy to make and turn out fudgy and delicious every time. I love the tip to under bake them for that extra gooey texture. The addition of chocolate chips is a must for me!

  4. Hello. Iโ€™m an avid baker and realized Iโ€™ve never baked brownies before! My coworker asked for brownies for tomorrow to get her through a busy day. You might want to add an option that if using unsalted butter to add 1/2 tsp. salt. My daughter actually found this recipe and didnโ€™t which butter to use. An experienced baker would assume that it is unsalted butter not salted. Iโ€™m going to try this recipe since Itโ€™s quick. I would add some walnuts. Some chips too on top before putting in the oven. Txs.

  5. Made these today – LOVE the recipe! I love that it’s just made in one pot– no mixer needed (THANK YOU!) And no oil- they were perfect! This is my go-to recipe from here n out, absolutely! I did 1.5 recipe and used an 11×17″ pan. There was even some extra so I filled a little 6″ round cake pan. but I got 15 BIG brownies out of the 11×17…. LOVE IT! Wish I could post a pic– I took some good ones!!!

  6. Iโ€™m a little confused. There is mention of baking powder/soda in the ingredient list. I found nothing regarding this. Also the instructions do not tell you to add the salt and vanilla. I made these, put them in the oven and a few seconds later I noticed I didnโ€™t add vanilla. Had to add it and whisk it in immediately in the baking pan. Now I see reference to the baking powder? Well I didnโ€™t and I sure hope these come out okay. Just a suggestion, you may want to redo your ingredient list and instructions to correct this .

    1. Hi! Sorry about the confusion. I just checked the recipe and blog post, and both don’t list baking powder or soda. And the salt and vanilla are added in step 3. ๐Ÿ™‚ Were you viewing the recipe on my site? I’m concerned if it’s showing up with those issues elsewhere. I’m sorry it was confusing and I hope you still were able to enjoy the brownies!

    1. You don’t! If you’d like it to be slightly more cakey, you can add up to 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.

  7. I’m confused the recipe above is not calling for any baking powder. It calls for cocoa powder but no baking powder. How much baking powder?

    1. These actually don’t need any baking powder, as we want them to be dense and fudgy, not fluffy. However, if you prefer a little more lift, feel free to add a 1/2 teaspoon!

  8. The recipe calls for salt but in the instructions it never said to add it and I forgot about it while I was reading the instruction part…will this change my brownies?

    1. I’m sorry about that! It will change the flavor a bit, but it will bake just fine! I recommend adding some flaky sea salt on top. And I’ve added the salt into the instructions as well. Thanks for giving me a heads up!

  9. For anyone who needs to keep this dairy free, I made this recipe with sunflower oil instead of butter and it came out amazing. This is the first brownie that is genuinely dodgy, not overly sweet and super easy. Thanks!
    Also I noticed that different people reported differing baking times. I found that when using an 8×8 the batter is thicker and takes longer to bake, whereas in a 9x 13 its flatter and therefore baked quicker

  10. I love these brownies!!! I got stuck in the house for awhile and had everything on hand normally I hate baking cause you gotta use so many tools and takes forever I just love cooking and these were one pot and so easy I’ve made them once like the recipe and once with almond flour for a friend who can’t do gluten… Now I want to make them for a friend who has 2 with severe egg allergy in her house, do you have any suggestions not flax egg or whatever that is ๐Ÿคฃ I know cakes can do apple sauce or something I don’t want to change the texture or anything these are sooooo perfect!

    1. Iโ€™m so glad you like the brownies! I havenโ€™t tried this with an egg substitute before! I think applesauce would work, but it likely would be more cakey than fudgy unfortunately.

  11. These were good! Very rich – definitely will need a glass of milk, cup of coffee or ice cream. Would definitely make these again.

  12. Hi,
    First, I haven’t baked these yet but I can’t wait to, they sound amazing!
    I had a question about the recipe. In the list of ingredients you list baking powder, but in the recipe directions it says baking soda. Can you please confirm which it should be.
    Thank you,
    Paddy Flaherty

  13. These are exactly what I was looking for! I made a different recipe a few weeks ago and they were wayyyy too sweet. These are perfect! I made two changes- first, for the cocoa powder, I used half dark chocolate powder and half milk chocolate. And second, I used a dark non-stick brownie pan, and mine were ready at about 30-32 minutes! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks for the recipe!

  14. My GOD these are the most amazingly gooey, delicious brownies EVER!!!!! Theyโ€™re a massive hit when ever I make them!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  15. These look delicious but they aren’t what I was looking for when I googled “pot brownies”, didn’t expect a one pot brownie recipe, thanks though!

  16. I absolutely love this brownie recipe! I did however add a bit more…..
    So what I did was I mixed a bit of espresso powder into the mix, and did half semi sweet chocolate chips and half milk chocolate chips. I baked it and let it cool.
    When it was (ish) cooled, I put on top a whipped mix of cream cheese and Nutella (mmm). I then sprinkled mini dark chocolate chips on top and put it in the fridge until it was set…. omigoodness.
    My family loved itโ™ฅ๏ธ
    Thanks! Bye!

  17. So good! But NB: if you use unsalted butter (as I do) don’t forget to add salt (I forgot! Very unsatisfactory flavor. I ended up sprinkling a little salt on each brownie, which made them vastly better!)
    Perfect thick chewy texture and with Special Dark cocoa powder, deep as midnight ?

  18. I have a hard time sticking to recipes but tried this one and it was great. I love fixing it all in one pan. It was very easy to whip up and so delicious that it is sinful. Love it!

  19. I loved loved loved loved the brownies. These are the best homemade brownies I’ve ever made. Little effort and much more flavorful and moist than others I’ve tried. Thank you!!!

  20. This is a good recipe, even better the day after and refridgerated BUT 40-45 minutes is way too long of a cook time. More like 25 minutes

  21. Just pulled these babies out of the oven, they are amazing!!!! Even though I had to play got potatoe with my piece!!! So worth it!!!!

  22. These look and sound amazing! I’ve never made brownies from scratch but have always wanted to. I just may need to make them this weekend since I have a fresh canister of cocoa and don’t want to see it go to waste ๐Ÿ˜‰

  23. Okay, so I can’t have chocolate, which is the BANE of my life, however, I tried your recipe but subbed in carob powder and carob chips that I got on Amazon (Chatfield’s brand) and it came out absolutely HEAVENLY!!!!! Ate 1/3 of the pan within 15 minutes so I froze individual portions from the rest of the pan to avoid going into a sugar coma. Next time I will try replacing a little bit of the sugar with Truvia in a vain attempt to try and justify pigging out. Thank you SO much for bringing chocolatey-tasting joy back into my life!

  24. Okay, so this took some additional effort on my part because I had to go and buy measuring ‘cups’ (I’m in the UK) and also do a bit of research in to what a ‘stick’ of butter is and also what ‘all purpose’ flour is!! Well worth the googling, calculating and trip to the shops!!! What an amazingly, hideously addictive substance this is!! My kids helped me, which was slightly stressful because it was my first attempt but woah the result was amazing! I think I maybe had the oven slightly too high (I had to convert into oC) and my oven is a fan oven so might need to be a bit lower. It caught on the sides so is a little bit chewy on the edges…. Doesn’t bother me, I still think it’s delicious. My husband said ‘that’s why I married you woman, you can get your bake on when you want to’!!! Praise indeed :0) The hardest bit of this whole experience is stopping myself eating the entire tray whist the kids are asleep….it is going to be one looooong night!! Thank you for a great recipe x

    1. This comment made me so happy! I’m so glad you were able to make the conversions and that the recipe worked so well for you. Hideously addictive is my new favorite phrase. Thanks again for coming back here to comment!

  25. I made half a batch because when I’m trying out a new recipe, I don’t like to waste ingredients if I mess up. Which happens. Oh wait …. except for the chocolate chips. My mom didn’t raise a dummy. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Okay. So I didn’t have cocoa powder – the regular kind – but lo and behold! I had Special Dark cocoa powder. Yeah. The kind that dyes your insides black. Mmmmmmmmm! So I used that instead and added a bit more white sugar to cut the bitterness.

    Oh my goodness. Yeah. Perfect. I am in heaven and will not return anytime soon. This is when I wish there was TastaPost (like Scratch-n-Sniff) so you could sample what I’ve made for yourself.

    Next time, no halfsies. Full bore, full recipe. Thank you!

  26. I made these brownies again. The first time, my husband and I both thought they were almost too intense/dense. I know … imagine that. Reason? We could only eat a small one. How fun is that? So, when I made them again (doubled the recipe for a 9×13) and added 1/2 t. baking powder. Perfection. We could eat 2 now. It all comes down to personal preferece, but this will be my go-to brownie recipe now. Thank you, Courtney.

  27. My test for a brownie is how it tastes the second day. That was this morning, so I had half for breakfast. Don’t judge me. Amazing. Didn’t know it was posssible for a brownie to be fudgier, more chocolatey and moister than my favorite recipe. I was
    suspicious of the brown sugar making it too sweet, but that didn’t happen. I used Ghiradelli 60% for the chips, which can only make them better. I’m going to pass this recipe/site on to my friend who is contantly on a quest for a better brownie. Thanks, Courtney!

  28. I just made these for y son’s sleepover. They are cooling now. I left out Tue extra yolk and added my homemade chocolate syrup to make up the difference, I was so excited to find a quick easy and one pot brownie!! I was out of brown sugar, thankfully I had molasses in the house.

  29. Made these with my boyfriend and he got really into the whisking and overdid it a bit haha… So they came out not so fudgy and more cakey, but loved the flavor and will definitely make them again still. Just would recommend to anyone else trying them to whisk a little more minimally ๐Ÿ™‚

  30. I have these in the oven now! ๐Ÿ™‚ I volunteered to take a baked good to my daughter’s choir concert tomorrow. I didn’t have chocolate chips so mine won’t be exactly the same but if the taste of the batter is any indication of how good these will be than they will be delicious! I am using a 9 x 13 pan and set it for 20 minutes. We’ll see how that works.

  31. Delightful. And so easy! I browned my butter first and used a regular 13×9 (or whatever the standard casserole is…) because I somehow don’t own an 8×8. Cooked for 28 minutes and came out perfect. Tip: use a good quality chocolate. The taste of the chips really comes through with each bite and I’d wished I skipped adding my store brand bittersweet chips

  32. I absolutely love this recipe! So easy to make and love the results. I used crushed dark chocolate instead chocolate chips
    Thanks for sharing! ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. its interesting that no one has commented on the ingredient list that says baking powder but in the instructions it says baking soda..so i just went with the powder in the oven now so will see if there are any differences

      1. THat had me wondering too! Like you, I went with the baking powder. Theyโ€™re cooling now, so weโ€™ll see.

        1. Hi Jane! Sorry about the mix up. The baking powder is right. I’ve fixed the recipe now. I hope you love them!

  33. Great recipe — very moist and fudgy; not too sweet. I cut down the white sugar by about half and added a heaping teaspoon of espresso powder. Next time, I will cut the sweetness even further by substituting toasted walnuts for the chocolate chips. I think I will have the ultimate adult brownie.

  34. Holy cow these are so good!! I have never made brownies like this and love it! I made a double batch and added some chopped walnuts to half. Everyone loved them, thanks!!

  35. These are amazing! I tweaked it just the slightest bit but substituting 1/4 cup of cinnamon baking chips for half the chocolate chips – YUM!

  36. Just made these… AMAZING! Wondering… Can you substitute the cocoa for flour to make blondie brownies?

  37. Girrrrrrrl, did you write this post just for me? There’s nothing better than freshly baked, dark, gooey, fudgy, melty chocolate studded brownies. And you weren’t kidding when you said this was an easy recipe. I’m swooning from delight over here!

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