The ultimate Fudgy Brownie Recipe! These homemade brownies are decadent and stay moist for days. Plus, there’s a secret ingredient that makes them super chocolatey without being overly sweet.
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Brownies Video Tutorial:
These brownies are unbelievably satisfying. Watch the video recipe and you’ll know why everyone loves this recipe!
The Only Brownie Recipe You’ll Need!
The inspiration for these brownies came from Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies in the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. We made them fudgier and supremely chocolatey. Here’s why these are the best homemade brownies:
- Easy brownies – No fancy equipment or tools required. All you need is a saucepan, spatula, whisk, and a couple of bowls to make the batter.
- No Room Temperature Ingredients Needed – you don’t have to plan ahead and can start making brownies as soon as the craving strikes.
- Fudgiest Center – these literally stay moist and fudgy for days. I made the last batch on a Wednesday and ate the last piece on Sunday and it was still moist and satisfying.
- Rich Chocolate Flavor – adding the cocoa powder and chocolate chips make these intensely chocolatey without being overly sweet.
- Crackly Top – These brownies have that classic, irresistible crackly top.
The “Secret” Ingredient for Brownies:
Just like with our Chocolate Cake, adding coffee amps up the flavor of chocolate without tasting like coffee. We used Instant Coffee Granules. The rest of the ingredients are simple and will give you the perfect brownie texture.
How to Make the Best Brownies:
1. Melt Chocolate: In a saucepan over low heat, melt together 2 cups chocolate chips and butter. Set aside to cool 15 minutes.
2. Wet Ingredients: Whisk together eggs, sugar, instant coffee granules, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
3. Dry Ingredients: Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt then fold these dry ingredients into the chocolate batter until no streaks remain.
5. Pour and Bake: Spread brownie batter into prepared pan, sprinkle the top with the reserved 1/2 cup chocolate chips, and bake at 350˚F for 35-40 minutes.
How Long to Bake Brownies:
Fudgy Brownies – Bake for 35-37 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center will come out fudgy.
Soft and Moist Brownies – Bake for 40 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with moist crumbs attached.
How to Store Brownies:
- At Room Temperature – Brownies can be stored at room temperature in a low humidity environment. To keep them fresh and moist, cover with plastic wrap directly over the brownies and store in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
- Freezer – brownies can be frozen for up to 3 months. To keep brownies moister, do not cut brownies until you are ready to eat them.
How to Serve Brownies:
Our favorite way to serve brownies is to top with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can also try a dollop of whipped cream drizzled with chocolate, or top with fresh raspberries.
For Frosted Brownies: cover them with Chocolate Ganache or Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.
What Mix-Ins Can I Add to Brownies?
Once you have a great brownie base like this one, you can change them up and make them your own.
- Caramel – Drizzle the top of the brownies with Homemade Caramel and a sprinkle of kosher salt.
- Walnuts or Pecans – chop 1 cup of walnuts and fold them in at the end, sprinkling a few over the top for walnut brownies.
- Chocolate Chunks – fold in some chocolate chunks in addition to sprinkling them over the top.
- Zucchini – if you want to sneak in some veggies, try our Zucchini Brownies
Can I Bake these in a Different Pan?
For this brownie recipe, we used a 9×9 square pan. Using different sized baking pans will affect the bake times, and the recipe. These tips should help.
- Bread Loaf Pan – Cut the recipe in half and bake as directed for a small batch of brownies.
- 8×8 Pan – this smaller pan will result in taller brownies that require a longer baking time (40-48 minutes) minutes).
- 12×9 Pan – this larger pan works, but the brownies will be flatter and will require less baking time (30-35 minutes).
- 13×9 Pan – Make 1 1/2 times the recipe or the brownies will be pretty flat. Bake about 40 minutes, or to your desired doneness.
Love Chocolate? More Chocolate Desserts:
- Chocolate Cake – so moist with the best frosting
- Chocolate Lava Cakes – with a gooey surprise center
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread – with melty morsels of chocolate
- Chocolate Chip Cookies – stay soft for days
- Chocolate Mousse – a classic, chef-approved recipe
Fudgy Brownie Recipe

Ingredients
- 1/2 lb unsalted butter, (softened or cut into pieces if cold for faster melting)
- 16 oz semisweet chocolate chips, (2 1/2 cups by measuring cup), divided
- 4 eggs, large
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp instant coffee granules, (6.2 grams)
- 3 Tbsp light olive oil , or vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter a 9x9 pan and line with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, Melt together 2 cups chocolate chips and butter while whisking then set aside to cool 15 minutes.
- In a second large bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp coffee granules, 3 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp vanilla extract.
- Stir cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt then use a spatula to fold mixture into the batter and fold just until combined. Do not over mix.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and sprinkle all over with remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 35-40 min depending on the desired doneness.* Cool until nearly at room temperature then cut into bars before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Thank you so much for this recipe. Really fudgy …
I have no words to describe.
Wonderful. Best Brownies I ever made…….
Thank you……………………
Thank you for your good comments and review!
100% recommend this recipe! I’ve tried so many different ones and this blows them all out of the water. Family loved them!
Hi Kayla! That’s wonderful to hear. Thank you for sharing.
I have tried so many brownie recipes, these are the best by far. It has everything you want in a brownie, fudgy, decadent, nice crust, and a great chocolate flavor. I love warming them up in the microwave
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your excellent review, Tracy! I’m so glad you found a favorite on my blog!
I have not made these yet,but have a question. From the pictures it looks like there’s brown sugar as well as white sugar. However, I don’t see any listing for how much brown sugar. Can you help me out? Maybe I am totally missing something.
Hi Janet! There is no brown sugar in this recipe. What you are seeing is the cocoa and the other one is instant coffee granules. 🙂
I hope you love the recipe!
Finally made these in an 8×8 inch pan. I baked for 43 minutes. Unfortunately they were under done, but still tasted delicious. I will know to bake them longer next time. Thanks for a killer recipe Natasha.
Thank you for sharing, Janet! 🙂
Hi Natasha!
This recipe is thee best one out there! So So good!!! Can you bake this batter in mini muffin tins for a “two-bite” brownie?
Thank you for always sharing your talent. 🙂
Hi Teena! I’m glad you love the recipe. You should be able to do that, but you’ll have to experiment with it and watch them in the oven so they don’t over-bake.
I followed everything to the letter and went to the max baking time and they completely sunk in the middle and are undercooked. So disappointed because I don’t have enough chocolate to make another batch.
Hi Sabrina! Did you use a different size pan? Also, make sure your oven is fully preheated before you start to bake. I recommend the use of an internal oven thermometer to see if your oven is calibrated. Often times using a pan that is too small, over-baking, or your oven being too hot is what causes the cake to sink in the middle. I hope that helps.
I had the same thing happen. I used a 9×11. The oven was at 350 as directed. They were still good just not sure why they sunk? I am in Colorado, very high altitude.. could that be it?
Hi Jen! The altitude could possibly affect that. I’m sorry I don’t have experience with high altitude baking but you may find this article high altitude baking helpful.
I have espresso powder. Would I use less than 1 tbsp? I imagine it’s stronger than instant coffee granules.
Thanks Natasha!
All your recipes turn out wonderful!
Hi Amber! You might be able to substitute it 1:1 but you can use less to start with if you prefer. You’ll have to experiment with it. 🙂
Hi , I want to make these brownies but I only have Avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil. Is it ok to use the avocado oil instead. thanks
Hi Tammy! Avocado oil should be fine because of its neutral taste. I hope you love the recipe.
Hi Natasha!
I made these brownies today and they are delicious! I cut the recipe in half and used a loaf pan. My husband loved them, too! He said, “Oh my goodness, these are out of this world!”
Thank you for a great recipe!
You are so very welcome, Betsie! I’m glad they were a hit. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Hi Natasha, i always try your recipes and they turn out to be really all the time. This time i tried your brownies but when i baked them, they were not even from the top, why is that? Like it was broken. I used 8*8 inches pans. I want to attach the picture, how can i do that?
Hi Khadija, the pan size may have something to do with it. We used a 9×9 pan for this recipe. If using an 8×8 pan you may need to make some adjustments. I like to follow this guide HERE for pan size adjustments. I hope this helps!
I made these as the recipe calls, and used a 10×81/2 baking dish and at 40 minutes they were completely uncooked in the middle, like batter. I put them in for another 10 and still very jiggly. So I cooked another 12 minutes. Not sure why they didn’t cook.
Hi Julie, I’ve never experienced that before and I can’t say for sure what went wrong. Also, it depends on where you baked it. The different kitchen tools have different settings too. I usually bake for 40 minutes with a toothpick inserted in the center, it should come out with moist crumbs attached.
I doubled the recipe and it somehow turned cakey. What went wrong?
Hi! Cakey brownies are usually an indication of over-baking. This recipe is intended to be more “fudgy” than cake. Also, watch my tutorial on measure your flour correctly HERE in case this was the issue. I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha, how to make it with Nutella?
Should i reduce the butter to half of the amount
Hello Sara. I haven’t tried using Nutella with this recipe yet to advise. If you do an experiment, we’d love to know how it goes!
oh my god! these brownies are absolutely DIVINE! i had to hid them to prevent myself from eating the whole thing XD
Hi Phi! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I made this so many times and it’s great but I don’t have a 9*9 in. pan and it take any hour with my 8*8
Good to know that you always love this!
Beautiful chocolates recipe. I just wish there was a diabetic version.
Hi Gwenn! Thank you. Yes, that would be great. I’m sorry I don’t have experience with sugar-free baking. I have heard great things about the brand “Swerve” 1:1 sugar substitute but I have not tested it myself.
Hi Natasha,
Last night I made Fudge Brownie. Your recipe is great my daughter loved it and she asked to me make again for her university friends. Excellent Recipe.
That’s great to hear! I’m so glad she enjoyed this recipe and I hope her friends will love it too.
Loved these! They were super moist and my flatmates said this was the best brownie they have ever had. I didn’t really get that crackly top however, and I followed your recipe exactly as guided. The only exception I made was using 1 cup of sugar instead of 1.25 cups. No other exceptions or substitutions were made. Would that be the reason for the lack of crackly top?
Good to know that you liked it. About the cracks, it’s hard to see what caused that without being there. Was anything possibly substituted or edited in the process?
Whoops. Sorry. Just saw your info on using different size pans. Thanks very much.
Great! 🙂
Super tasty! My only complaint was that I found them to be a little greasy, but I also ate them right out of the pan so maybe after cooling they are better lol. Very fudge though, just like I like.
Hi Tilly! I’m glad they were still tasty! Did you change anything in the process or make any substitutions? Letting them cool a bit may help but generally, if they are oily after baking it could be due to the way the ingredients were mixed, the quality of the butter or chocolate used, or possibly even baking them at too high of a temperate if your oven runs hot. I love using my internal oven thermometer to check the temperature of my oven when I bake. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha,
Can I cut the recipe in half? And if I can, what size pan would I use? I’m a one-person household. Thanks so much
Hi Peggy, you can reference the different-size pans in the notes above. 🙂