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.

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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




Hi Natasha. This fudgy brownies recipe are easy to follow. I made these brownies this afternoon. My niece said its delicious😋. Thank you so much!!
You are so welcome, Aida. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi Natasha!
Am form México, am traing to do the recipe in a 9×9 pan but the mixture rises so much that it falls out of the pan, you know why? I made the recipe step by step and weighed all the ingredients
Hi, are you possibly using the wrong kind of leavening? Baking soda is 4 times stronger than baking powder and would cause an overflow. Also, make sure to use all-purpose flour and not self-rising.
Am using baking power and
all-purpose flour, I made the recipe twice to make sure everything was ok, I don’t know what happened
Hi there,
Can you use less sugar? Seems like a lot of sugar. Thanks
Hi Samantha, the overall flavor is pretty balanced but you can dial back the sugar a little bit if desired. I always recommend making the recipe as written before experimenting though. We also don’t like desserts to be overly sweet.
Loved your recipe. The taste was awesome. But my brownies didn’t form an brown layer above like the one in the picture . I was totally black. Can you tell me what’s wrong with my process? Other than that the brownies tasted awesome
Hi Sai, did you possibly burn the top? I haven’t had that happen before so I’m not sure what else it could be. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor of these brownies.
Can I use regular coffee grinds or does it need to be instant?
Hi Jason, regular coffee grounds would not work in this recipe. It should be either instant coffee or instant espresso.
Hi Natasha,made the brownies and found it too sweet. Any recommendations?
Hi Ann, make sure to use semi-sweet chocolate chips. Using milk chocolate would make these brownies considerably sweeter.
Hi Natasha,
I used the hershey’s semi sweet chocolate chips (well it said in the packaging) and its also kinda too sweet for me. Any good semi sweet chocolate brands?
Thank you for sharing that Ann! The overall flavor is pretty balanced but you can dial back the sugar a little bit if desired. I always recommend making the recipe as written before experimenting though. We also don’t like desserts to be overly sweet.
Awesome brownie recipe!
I added peanut butter chips and 1/2 cup peanut butter to mixture!
Turned out even better!
THANK YOU!
You’re welcome, Tricia!! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi Natasha,
I have tried multiple recipes for Brownie, however this is the best one. I have one quetsion, when i baked it it was fudgy and most, hwoever after some time it wasnt as moist and fudgy. even though it tasted awesome.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us! I’m happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi! Was wondering if it will still turn out good if I did not put the coffee in? Let me know 🙂
Someone else commented that they didn’t add coffee and still liked the result but coffee really amplifies the flavor.
Oh my goodness, I have made different brownies before using different recipes. But this one is the best! So fudgy and has that perfect consistency that a brownie needs to have!! I will be using this recipe again! Its so yummy! In my opinion its the perfect brownie! My husband enjoyed it!!
That is great feedback! Thanks for sharing your review with us, and I hope you and your family will enjoy every recipe that you’ll try!
Hi Natasha, I love all your recipe. I have a question, could I substitute the instant coffee for espresso powder?
Thank you, Terri. Espresso powder should work fine in this recipe. I would bake at least 40 minutes or until the toothpick comes out with moist crumbs for a chewier browny.
I’ll admit I was a bit sceptical about this receipe. Only because I’ve never baked anything but brownies from a box. But, they were absolutely amazing!! Everything I’ve tried of Natashas has turned out truly wonderful! Thank you for all the great recipes. Im so glad I stumbled on Natashas kitchen.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Yummy!! I had them for breakfast this morning.
Isn’t it so great! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe Chris!
Your brownies look amazing. Do you think I would get the same results using margarine for dairy free?
Hi Bonnie, to be honest, I haven’t tested that to advise. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that.
My 11 year old son made these, accidentally putting in 3tbsp of coffee and probably pulling them out of the oven a tad too early, but they still might just have been the best brownies I’ve ever eaten.
That’s just awesome Jason!! I’m so glad you all enjoyed these brownies!
I would really like to create this cake for my husband but I don’t understand the doses of the ingredients, please could you tell me in grams pleaseeeeeee
Hi Akhi, we have the metric conversation on the recipe card. Simply scroll down to the bottom of the post and click metric. I hope that helps.
Yummy! Made some for my moms birthday. Topped it off with vanilla ice cream and homemade Raseberry sauce. Delicious. Mom loved it.
So awesome! I am so happy that you and your mom loved the brownies for her birthday. Thank you so much for your great review and feedback.
hi Natasha! pls are the chocolate chips just milk chocolate in chip form, or they don’t contain any milk at all?
Hi Annah, I would check the label on your chocolate but most semisweet chocolate chips have milkfat in them as an ingredient.
hi i was wondering if i can just use cut up milk chocolate instead of choco chips as i dont have them
Hi Eva, that may slightly alter the recipe depending on the kind of chocolate but if cut small enough I bet that could work!
This brownie recipe is the best. Never buying boxed brownies again.
Love it! So wonderful to read your comments and feedback, Laura. Thank you for sharing!
You say in your brownie recipe to use 1/2 lb of butter.Is that equivalent to 1 cup of butter?
Hi Diane, I recommend also seeing the photos for reference. We have two sticks of butter there at 4oz each. Two sticks of butter are equal to 8oz or 1/2 pound. I hope that helps!
Yes, Diane. 1/2 lb of butter (225 grams) definitely measures 1 cup.
Thank You Janna and Natasha. Will definitely try these out tomorrow.
I ended up using just one stick of butter because I wasn’t sure either and they still turned out delicious.
That is great to know that these brownies work with half the butter. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Natasha!
Love your recipes, I have made a couple of them and they are awesome!
Today I made this brownies though they tasted amazing they did not come out fudge at all, the texture came out more like cake, I followed everything exactly as you instructed and I baked it for 30 min instead of 37 because my husband likes very moist brownies but for some reason they came out drier than yours and I don’t understand why. I used a 9×9 pan, and all ingredients, waited the 15 min for the chocolate to cool down a bit, really don’t know what could’ve possibly gone bad, any ideas?
Hi Andrea, I have not had that experience but I’m curious if your dry ingredients are your culprit. I recommend seeing our post on measuring and making sure you are not scooping your dry ingredients with your measuring cup. Also, make sure you are using baking powder and not baking soda.
I used the exact measurements and didn’t use baking soda but now that you mentioned it I don’t know if it might have anything to do with the fact that my baking powder is aluminum free.
Anyways I loved the recipe so I will def try again later with regular baking powder, maybe that was the reason.
Thanks for replying