Easy homemade brownies that are fudgy, moist, and will literally melt in your mouth. All you need is one bowl and a whisk to make the best brownies that are exploding with chocolate flavor!
Love brownie recipes? Other favorites include my Nutella brownies recipe, Oreo brownies and fudge frosted brownies.
Table of Contents
Best Homemade Brownies
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know my chocolate caramel brownies or cake mix brownies recipes have been long-standing favorites of mine. They both use a box mix and are so gooey and delicious. But I think these homemade brownies from scratch may be the new winner. They are seriously divine!
I’ve been on the hunt for a better-than-box brownie for years! My family loves the Ghiradelli brownie from the box mix and I’ve been determined to make a from scratch version. This recipe comes pretty darn close and my husband even declared them the BEST EVER!
I absolutely love these warm fresh out of the oven, but try to resist cutting into them too soon as you don’t want them to fall apart. These brownies literally melt in your mouth, are exploding with chocolate flavor and are perfect with a glass of milk!
Ingredients
This recipe is so simple to make and is ready in under 30 minutes. All you need is one bowl and a whisk. It uses pantry staple ingredients and I bet you have everything on hand to make them. I cannot wait for you to try them!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is best for this homemade brownie recipe. Brownies are not meant to have too much salt in them. Melt the butter ahead of time.
- Vegetable oil: This will moisten the brownies as it is being baked.
- Sugar: Use both granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Together they make a sweet texture but also the brown sugar will help moisten the brownies giving them that soft texture.
- Eggs: Leave your eggs out at room temperature. This is a baking tip that will help with your brownie batter when baking in the oven.
- Vanilla extract: Just a pinch will give this a delicious vanilla flavor.
- All-purpose flour: This is the base of the recipe. The flour will thicken the brownies in the dry ingredients.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: For the best brownie recipe, you have to have the chocolate. This cocoa powder will give the delicious chocolatey flavor these brownies need.
- Kosher sea salt: Sprinkle salt into the dry ingredients giving it the sweet and salty flavor it is needing.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: Fold the chocolate chips in the mix. They are thicker and larger which is hard to whisk into the brownie batter. Chocolate chunks are delicious too!
How to Make Brownies from Scratch
The perfect brownie recipe is right here! You will love the texture that is soft, fudgy, and gooey deliciousness in every bite. The taste of these brownies is priceless and you will never go back to a box again!
- Mix. Whisk together the melted butter, oil, and both sugars in a large bowl. Next whisk in the eggs and vanilla for about one minute.
- Combine. Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into the wet ingredients until just barely combined. Do not over-mix. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Bake. Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool. Remove the baking pan from the oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Use the edges of the parchment paper to lift the brownies from the pan and move them to a cooling rack. Once cooled, use a plastic knife to cut into 16 squares.
Cooking Tips
Follow these quick and easy cooking tips to make the best-baked brownies! We love a good chocolatey brownie and making it from scratch is even better. Use these tips to help make your homemade brownies taste amazingly delicious with a few ideas here.
- Melt butter. Make sure to use hot melted butter to help create the crackly top.
- Whisk eggs. Make sure to whisk the eggs really well before adding the flour.
- Don’t overmix. Do not over-mix after the flour has been added, this would create a more dense, cake-like brownie.
- High-quality chocolate. Use high-quality chocolate for ultimate flavor. This gives you delicious flavor but also helps with baking. You can even use a milk or dark chocolate chip too!
- Make it look good! Add a few extra chocolate chips on top of the batter to make the brownies extra pretty. You can even make them into spooky Halloween brownies!
- Wait to cool. Try to resist cutting them straight out of the oven, or else they’ll fall apart.
- Double the recipe. Feel free to double the recipe and pour it into a 9×13″ pan. They may need to bake a few minutes longer.
Recipe FAQs
The five ingredients are sugar, flour, cocoa, oil, and artificial flavor. Making homemade brownies helps know what is in the recipe as well as in your body.
A fudgy brownie is dependent on the ratio of fat to flour. There is usually more fat than flour for a fudgy type brownie compared to a cakey brownie. A cakey brownie has more flour than fat.
Brownie recipes do not have baking powder or baking soda in the ingredients. They are known for being dense and chewy. Cakelike brownies usually have a leavening agent that helps give them their fluffy texture.
There are a few factors that help keep brownies moist. Make sure to only cut the brownies when you are ready to enjoy them. This will help keep them moist. Place them in an airtight container or freezer bag to store them. Keep them at room temperature but store them in the refrigerator to store for a few extra days.
5 star review
“Oh my gosh…. These brownies are amazing!!!! I’ve been trying to find a recipe that I could make dairy-free but they’re just not right. These are great thank you.”
-Doris
Storing Homemade Brownies
If you are lucky enough to have these homemade brownies last longer than a day, store them in an airtight container for five to six days. When ready to enjoy place them in the microwave for seven seconds and enjoy a warm and ooey-gooey delicious treat!
Freezing
Wait until the brownies have cooled completely, then cut into squares. Wrap the individual brownies tightly in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag or container and store them in the freezer. The brownies will keep in the freezer for up to three months. When ready to enjoy, unwrap and let thaw at room temperature for a few hours.
Love brownie recipes? Try these fun variations such as brookies, brownie mix cookie recipe or homemade brownie cookies!
More Easy Brownies Recipes
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Homemade Brownie Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter , melted
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup (198 g) white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (45 g) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (45 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher sea salt , can sub for regular salt
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips , optional but recommended
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8" pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with non-stick spray. I like to leave enough parchment paper to easily lift them out.
- In a large bowl whisk the butter, vegetable oil, sugar, and brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk for about a minute.
- Next add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir just until barely combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Be careful to not over mix.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean. Be careful not to overbake.
- Allow to cool slightly in the pan and then you can remove the brownies with the parchment paper to finish cooling. Once cooled, cut brownies into 16 squares with a plastic knife.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
The Absolute best homemade brownie recipe! Thank you for such a simple and delicious recipe. I didn’t have chocolate chips in the pantry so I chopped up some miniature Hershey chocolate bars as a substitute. Perfect brownies better than any box mix I’ve had.
Yum on Hershey’s bars in the brownies! Sounds so decadent!
Amazing whole family loves this recipe!
Thanks for the review on the homemade brownies!
So DELICIOUS!
So glad you enjoyed the brownie recipe!
OMG! I love thse brownies.
So glad you enjoyed the homemade brownie recipe! Thanks for your review Penny!
Omg these are the best I was looking online for a simple brownie recipe and came across this happen I was scared that I was gonna mess it up at first but I go they came out so good this is an amazing recipe
So glad you made them!
Really good but VERY sweet. I used the Lily’s no sugar added chocolate chips (in anticipation of them being sweet). Next time I’ll reduce the granulated sugar. But I do agree with the other comments that I wouldn’t buy a boxed brownie mix again!
Of course feel free to adjust to taste. The recipe has not been tested with using less sugar, let us know how it goes!
I cut the granulated white sugar to 2/3 C, used 1/4C Lilys unsweetened chocolate chips and 1/4C pecans and *chef’s kiss!
Perfection, then! So glad it turned out so well!
Can you make the batter 2 days in advance and it still being good ? Thx so much
I’m sorry that has not been tested. Let us know if you try.
These are THE BEST, and so easy! I’ve shared this recipe everywhere. I use gf cup 4 cup flour. No one knows they’re gf! I’ll never buy a box mix again!
Love it! So glad you can adjust this to gluten-free preference.
A great recipe, I’ve been making it over and over
So glad you are enjoyed them!
When I was looking at recipes for brownies,
I saw this one and I tried it. When my family tried it they said it was the best brownies they have ever had and I need to make this recipe again and again. Thank you.
So glad everyone loved them!
I’ve made brownies in the past, using different recipes and they weren’t great and bland. I ended up trashing it all, because no one liked it. I was craving brownies tonight and read thru 5 recipes, before finding this one! BEST RECIPE I’ve found! They’re so moist & flavorful!! My family loves these & I ended up eating most of it. Thank you!! Will definitely be using this recipe from now on.
Do you recommend to use chunk pieces of chocolate or must be semi sweet chips?
Either work! Chocolate chunks are delicious too :)
Literally the best brownies ever! I’ve made these a few times and I always come back to this recipe. These are unbelievably delicious.
There is nothing better than homemade brownies!! These are gooey, delicious, & so easy to make! Everyone loves them!
This was the most moist and melt in your mouth brownie recipe that I have made in a while! thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe