Like my flourless chocolate cake, I make these Flourless Chocolate Brownies even when I’m not after a gluten free dessert because they’re that good! Using almond meal instead of flour adds lovely undertones of nuttiness as well as guaranteeing they’ll be fudgy and moist.
One bowl, quick, easy and impossible to stuff up!
Flourless Chocolate Brownies
I don’t think of these as gluten-free brownies. Rather, I tell people they are flourless chocolate brownies made with almond meal instead of flour, so they happen to be gluten-free.
And unlike regular brownies made with flour, these flourless brownies are virtually impossible to overcook to the point that you lose that desirable fudginess that we all know and love about brownies.
Win, win!
However, please note. If you ask me to choose between these flourless brownies and classic brownies, I’ll plead the fifth. There’s enough space in this world for both!! (A phrase I often use for competing food-love-interests).
What goes in gluten-free brownies
Here’s what you need to make these gluten-free brownies:
Almond meal / ground almonds (same thing) – this is finely blitzed raw, whole almonds in powder form, used in place of flour to add a beautifully nutty flavour to baked goods (like in this very popular Orange Cake and Flourless Chocolate Cake). It makes them ultra moist and also gluten-free.
Find it in the baking section, dried fruit and nut section or health food section of grocery stores.
Making your own: Blitz whole, raw unsalted almonds until powdered.
Almond flour is slightly different but can be used. Brownie texture will probably be a bit more cake-like (almond flour is made with blanched peeled almonds, no skin, and is finer) and a less pronounced almond flavour.
Rice flour – This is ground rice, widely available these days at everyday grocery stores. It takes the place of flour in this recipe to give the brownies a bit of much needed structure compared to using just almond meal.
Note however that some brands (like McKenzie’s in Australia) are not fully ground into a fine powder and sometimes have a tiny bit of a grit in them. Not a big deal in this recipe, but I prefer using Asian brands as they never seem to have this problem (Asian aisle, Harris Farms in Australia, Asian stores).
Chocolate – Use cooking chocolate chips from the baking section of the supermarket, not eating chocolate. Though actually, Lindt chocolate bars work great, not all eating chocolate does so that’s why I generally don’t recommend it!
Butter – No need to soften it as it is melted with the chocolate.
Large eggs – Use eggs sold in cartons labelled “large eggs” which are 55 – 60g / 2 oz each. This is an industry standard. If you don’t have eggs this size, crack eggs in a bowl, whisk then measure out 90 ml / 100 grams.
Sugar – I like to use brown sugar as it adds a bit of caramely flavour to the brownies. But white sugar works just fine here.
Vanilla – Extract is better quality and flavour than imitation vanilla.
Salt – Generally good practice in baking to include a touch of salt as it brings out the flavour of other ingredients. It doesn’t make these brownies salty!
How to make flourless chocolate brownies
Nice and easy – one bowl and just a wooden spoon!
Melt the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. I do this in the microwave – 3 x 30 second bursts on high, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
Mix well until smooth, then let it cool for 5 minutes just to be sure we don’t accidentally cook the eggs!
Vanilla, sugar, eggs – Stir in the vanilla and sugar, then mix the eggs in until incorporated and the batter is smooth.
Add dry ingredients – Mix in the almond meal and rice flour.
Bake – Pour into the prepared pan, smooth the surface then bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean but still a bit wet. You want it to be moist because that means the brownie is still fudgy! Note however that flourless brownies are far more forgiving than brownies made with flour as the absence of flour makes it hard to overcook them to the point of drying out.
Cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before using the paper overhang to lift the brownie out of the pan. Then fully cool on a rack before cutting to serve.
Cutting / serving hot v cooled – Fudgy brownies are difficult to cut when warm as they are too gooey. It is best to fully cool to room temperature before slicing. Better yet, for best results, refrigerate so it firms up, slice when cold so you get neat squares. Then allow to fully come to room temperature before serving. This way, you get perfect neat slices but the same gooey eating experience!
Also, close up proof that even though these are flourless brownies, you’ll get the signature crackly brownie surface that we all know and love:
And proof of fudgy insides:
YUM.
I see these fudgy beauties in your future. Very near future, in fact. Like – this weekend.
Then after you’ve made them, come back and tell me how much you loved them!!! 😇 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Flourless Chocolate Brownies (gluten free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or melts / semi-sweet chocolate (Note 1)
- 85 g / 6 tbsp unsalted butter , cut into 1 cm / 1/2" cubes
- 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (sub white)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs (55-60g / 2 oz each)
- 2/3 cup almond meal / ground almonds (or almond flour, Note 2)
- 1/3 cup rice flour (Note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 325°F (160°C fan-forced) with a rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Preparation: Grease and line a 20cm / 8" square pan with baking paper (parchment paper) with excess overhang so it's easy to lift out the brownie when cooked.
- Melt butter and chocolate: Place chocolate, butter and salt in a heatproof bowl. Microwave in 3 x 30 second bursts on high, mixing in between, until melted and smooth. You could also do this over simmering water on the stove.
- Cool 5 minutes: Mix well to combine the chocolate and butter then leave to cool for 5 minutes.
- Add vanilla, sugar and eggs: Stir in the vanilla and sugar. Crack the eggs straight into the bowl, and stir until combined.
- Add dry: Add almond meal and rice flour, and mix very well until fully combined.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake for 25 minutes or until the brownies are slightly puffed all over and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out moist but clean. You want it to be moist!
- Cool and serve: Cool brownies for at least 30 minutes in the pan. Remove the brownie by holding the edges of the baking paper, fully cool on a rack. Then cut into squares (3 x 3 for gigantic ones, 4 x 4 for sensible ones). See Note 4 for more cutting tips.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Recipe originally published May 2014. Updated with much needed new photos and a video, plus the all important Life of Dozer section! No change to recipe – perfect as is. 😇
Life of Dozer
Massage balls to work knots out of my back regularly go missing around here….
So frigging easy. This is how simple pleasures are baked (made) of. Thanks again.
Is there anyway to make these gluten and nut free?? What could I sub the almond meal with??
I made this today and I just couldn’t eat only one square. I had to have two squares all together.
It’s moist, soft, rich, chocolatey, comforting, warm, absolutely divine. I love the healthier versions of your recipes. They are all great and I trust 100% they were all tested and approved beforehand. Thank you for being here for all of us who are passionate at cooking and eating homemade food.
Hi Nagi. Is the Erawan brand glutinous rice flour the right one?
Thank you. ❤️ Your recipes and book.
I made these for the staff working at our voting centre at the election on Saturday and they were SO popular!
Nagi, I notice you put a 3rd ingredient in with the almond meal & rice flour. Just wondering what it is please? I’ve cooked the brownies and they are awesome!
Hey Kerry, it’s salt 😉
Nagi, this sounds so delicious, like all of your recipes! Can I ask what is the best substitute for rice flour in thirds brownies?
These were delicious! Could not tell they were gluten free. Brought them to work and they disappeared quickly. So easy to make.
So flipping delicious! I’ve made my kids make these twice already since you put the recipe out 😄
My family loves it! The fudgy texture is perfect that it’s not gluey and scrumptious with Lindt dark chocolates. My husband is coeliac and I’m so glad I found this! It will be my regular go-to brownie recipe. Thank you so much Nagi!.
So good! Fantastic fudgy texture and super chocolatey! My son says this is now his favourite brownie recipe (that I make for him!) Thanks Nagi! 😘
Made this brownie. Tasted awesome. Easy to make too. A keeper!
I made this for morning tea and the family demolished the whole lot in one sitting. It was a hit. Thank you x
Super tasty and enjoyed by the family.
Thanks Nagi!
I made these for a friend and they said they were the BEST brownies they’ve had. My children also loved them!
Thanks so much for your amazing recipes, I have gone through and started cooking your recipes. One at a time. It’s built my confidence as I’ve never seen myself as a cook, although I come from a family of great home cooks.
That’s so great to hear Eileen, I’m so glad you are starting to grow confidence in the kitchen! Honestly, cooking IS 95% confidence and 5% about a recipe. I swear that’s why so many chefs have big egos!! 😂
I made these and they were as good as you said. What I really wanted to know was : how do you get your baking paper so even and perfect in the tin? Any hints about prep basics? What part of the tin do you actually measure? do you use butter or oil to hold it down? Thanks
Hi Amanda! My baking powder is a really fine powder so it’s naturally flat in the tin. In terms of prep basics, by far my biggest tip for baking is to use scales, it is the fastest way to measure ingredients plus more accurate for results. eg. It’s faster to weight flour than scoop and level a cup measure, and for recipes that say “whisk dry ingredients together” you can just weigh all the dry ingredients into the same bowl. My other tip is to measure out all ingredients first before starting a recipe, and prep everything in advance – so have whisks out ready to go, cake pan lined etc! For the tin, I measure the inside of the rim at the top, not the base. Same for pie dishes which have edges that slope outwards. I used to use butter to line tins but these days I use canola oil spray because 2 professional pastry chefs I have worked with say they use that instead because it’s faster and it has a neutral flavour, and that’s what they usually use at work. Though sometimes I still use butter because it “glues” better eg if using a very tall tin and I want to be extra sure the paper doesn’t flop down in the oven on top of the raw batter. Hope that helps! N xx
Friggin delicious! My friend texted me to tell me she has never had a brownie so moist!
Hello, as i live in the UK could we have weights in ozs or grams please, never know what a cup size would be . Thanks
Hi Rahel! If you click the “Metric” button above the ingredients the measurements will change to weights and mis 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi,
I’m planning on trying your gluten free brownies to bring to work. One of my coworkers hates bittersweet chocolate is there a chance I can substitute it for milk chocolate and it will still be edible?
Thank you!
Made these for my gf bff”s birthday! delish mine didn’t get the shiny top like the photo but rather remained looking grainy like the batter. Have learned that if you use a disposable plastic knife to cut brownies that they will cut much cleaner–try it! pretty amazing Thanks Naji!!