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




Hi there, if I did not use the coffee in the brownies would they still work. 🙂
can i omit the granules
Hi Amy, it will still work great without the coffee. That should work, but they might be slightly slimmer brownies so that they could bake a little faster.
Hi, if I double the brownie recipe is this two sizes of two pans suitable to bake brownies 1) 8 inch by 10.5 inch 2) 11 inch by 14 inch
Hi Thisum, I haven’t tried those exact sizes but it may work. If the pan is too big the brownie will simply be skinnier.
The brownies are delicious .I don’t put the extra chocolate on top but I do add pecan chips .Highly recommend!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! That’s so great!
Hi Natasha …This is my final Brownie Recipe,don’t need another one .Only one problem,the chocolate chips that I sprinkle on top like you do they sunk in the Brownie after baking.. After sprinkling I don’t push them like you do! I don’t know if that’s the reason ! Thank you.
Hi Runa, I haven’t had that happen – are you possibly using very large chocolate chips? Also, double-check our post on how we measure ingredients – if your mixture ends up too loose, it may be causing the chocolate chips to sink.
Hi Natasha, I follow the metric measurements and I use a digital weight scale. And I use the dr.Oetkar chocolate chips , I don’t think they are big . I have made this brownie recipe of yours may be 10 times , the only problem is that choc chips sank in everytime …..not fully but doesnot look like yours one….
I haven’t made the brownies yet, but I’m giving you 5 stars because every recipe I have made I love it!!! I’m not a coffee drinker. Can I leave out the coffee?
Hi Renae, it will still work great without the coffee. That should work but they might be slightly slimmer brownies so they could bake a little faster.
Hi Natasha! I have made these 4 times and they keep getting better every time! Love these!!!
That is just awesome! I’m glad you are loving this recipe, Kara.
Unfortunately, this won’t become my go-to-brownie recipe. The texture was wierd. Not fudgy but wet and very crumbly at the same time. Couldn’t get a clean cut no matter how well i cleaned the knife. Don’t know what i went wrong. Usually your recipes work great.
Hi Natalia, this is a very popular recipe for us and I haven’t had that same experience so I’m not exactly sure what could have gone wrong. I would recommend watching the video to make sure the process was followed as directed (make sure to add the ingredients in the order listed and make sure ingredients are the proper temperature). Also, be sure to bake on conventional oven settings, not convection. I hope that helps.
OMG…the best and only brownie recipe I will EVER use! I have a question though. I am making another batch as I type this. When I cracked open my eggs, each one had a double yoke! I hope they turn out but what should I do if this happens again? Should I have fished out the extra yoke?
Hi Sandra, That’s always a fun surprise! I haven’t experimented with that but I think it should still work out fine. I’m so happy you love the brownie recipe.
Sorry, I usually love all your recipes, but this one is a “no”.
Too sugary. I was skeptical that it called for a cup and a quarter of sugar with semisweet morsels, but followed the recipe exactly. They came out looking beautiful, nice and shiny, but more sugary tasting than rich chocolatey tasting.
Can I add hot water instead of coffee? I don’t like it much except the mocha frappichino
Hi. So I just made these brownies and really moist. Should have used a longer baking dish as the mixture doubled in size. Will for sure make these again. 🙂
Hi Natasha, really keen to try this recipe out. I am thinking of adding fresh raspberries. You reckon I can just fold them into the batter just before pouring into the baking pan?
Thanks!
Hi Aiks, I haven’t tried that to advise it will work. IF you experiment, I would love to know how it turns out.
I don’t think that would be such a great idea because they are so wet and would add way too much moisture to an already moist batter. If you are keen on pairing with raspberries, i would serve them on the side with a dollop of icecream or whipped cream. Raspberries and chocolate certainly do go good together!
Hi Natasha I am making your brownies right now and after 40 minutes it’s still wet inside the batter? I want them gooey like your video shows and that like a cake.
Hi Donna, for soft and moist brownies, I bake for 40 minutes and a toothpick should come out with moist crumbs attached.
Hi Natasha! I don’t have instant coffee on hand, but I do have whole coffee beans and a batch of regular ground coffee. Would either of these work or should I just buy instant?
Hi Kay, It should either be instant coffee or instant espresso. I haven’t tried experimenting it using whole coffee beans yet to advise.
Hi Natasha!! I just made this and it’s soooo delicious😋 my brother loved how the inside is so fudgy and moist, and my sister really loved the crackly top😍 cant wait to try your other recipes!! I have a list of ur recipes to try hahahahah
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Sabrina!
Hey Natasha,
I love this recipe of yours, but need a little help here. If I wish to substitute healthy ingredients in here, what would be the ratio. (if whole wheat flour and brown sugar is used in place of refined flour and sugar). Is it possible to get the same fudgy texture that way?
Hi Madiha, I haven’t personally tested that to advise but I recommend checking out the other comments below this recipe as I’m sure others have tried it and could have shared their experience below.
I have a really good segmented brownie pan, wondering if this could be used with this recipe? Thanks. Love you! and your recipes and videos.
Hi CAR, without testing it in a plan like that myself, it’s hard to advise. If you experiment, I would love to know how you like that.
Hi, I planning to double the brownie recipe. Is it fine to double the amount of baking powder
Hi, I would double everything if doubling the recipe and bake in 2 pans or one that is twice as large.
Hi Natasha –
Thank you for including tips for alternative size pans! I’d like to make individual brownies in a muffin pan. Any recommendations for the appropriate cooking time?
You’re very welcome, Heather. I honestly haven’t tried doing this recipe in an individual pan to advise but I think it’s worth experimenting with!
Hi can i please know the butter mesurement in grams for the fudgy chocolate brownies?
Thank you very much…
Hi Thushara, If you scroll down to our recipe card and click on “metric,” you can see the conversion there. I hope that helps.
Hi if I don’t wanna add eggs what can I substitute it
I wanna make it vegan
Hi Rash, I haven’t tested the egg substitution, so I can’t make that recommendation.