Easy Cocoa Powder Brownies
This easy brownie recipe calls for only 5 ingredients and is made in just one bowl! These cocoa powder brownies are fudgy and chewy and can be in the oven in just about 5 minutes! Pin it for Later »
Easy Brownie Recipe Overview
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Techniques Used: One Bowl Method
Here’s the rundown of what makes these brownies so easy to make:
- They are made in one bowl and can be in the oven in just about 5 minutes.
- They are made with cocoa powder and do not require you to melt any chocolate.
- They can be made with oil and without butter.
- They only require 5 ingredients and are made without baking powder or baking soda.
How do you make Brownies More Moist?
To make super moist brownies you want to be sure you do not over-bake them and slightly under baking them will keep them even more moist. Take the brownies out of the oven when there are moist crumbs clinging to a tester. If the tester comes out clean then they won’t be as moist.
You can use oil or melted butter for this recipe. Oil is going to make more moist brownies than using butter.
How to Make Brownies from Scratch
The process of making these homemade brownies is incredibly easy. You only need one bowl and a whisk!
Ingredients for Brownies
The 5 ingredients required for these brownies are: sugar, flour, eggs, cocoa powder, and oil or melted butter. Salt is an optional ingredient but I recommend it to balance out the flavors. You can also add chocolate chips or nuts into the brownies if you like.
Step 1: Combine Dry Ingredients
In a large mixing bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients until they are well combined.
Step 2: Mix in Wet Ingredients
Add the eggs and the oil or melted butter into the dry ingredients and whisk it all together until smooth. The batter will be quite thick.
Step 3: Bake the Brownies
Pour the batter into a greased square baking dish and use a rubber spatula to spread it out evenly. Bake the brownies until they are just slightly underdone.
Ingredient Functions in Brownies
- Flour: Flour is the structure for the brownies. These brownies have a low ratio of flour to keep them more moist and chewy.
- Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder is also part of the structure of the brownie but is the chocolate flavor of the brownie. You can use natural cocoa powder or dutch processed cocoa powder in this recipe.
- Sugar: You can use granulated sugar, brown sugar, or a combination of the two for these brownies. Brown sugar is going to give the brownies more depth of flavor and more chewiness. Sugar also keeps the brownies moist.
- Liquid Fat: Fat adds richness and moisture to the brownies. You are welcome to use oil or melted butter for these brownies. Oil will make the chewiest brownies.
- Eggs: The eggs bind the brownies together and add moisture and tenderness.
Easy Fudgy Brownies
This is an easy brownie recipe that only calls for 5 simple ingredients!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (392 gr) sugar (granulated, brown, or a combo of the two)
- 1 cup oil or melted butter, slightly cooled
- 4 large eggs (*See note for vegan option)
- 1 cup (120 gr) flour
- 2/3 cup (70 gr) cocoa powder (natural or dutch processed)
- 1/4 tsp salt (optional, but recommended)
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat oven to 350ºF (177 C) and lightly grease a 9X9" (23x23 cm) or 8X8" (20x20 cm) pan and set aside.
- MIX DRY INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt (if using) until well combined.
- MIX WET INGREDIENTS: Add the oil or butter and the eggs into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk the ingredients together until well combined. The batter will be quite thick. You can also fold in chocolate chips at this point if you want to make them extra chocolatey.
- BAKE: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a rubber spatula to smooth out. Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 30-45 minutes until a tester comes out with moist crumbs. Slightly under baking them will keep them extra moist and chewy.
- Let cool before slicing, they will be gooey straight out of the oven. You can eat them like this if you like, but they need to cool to completely solidify.
Notes
*You can substitute the eggs with equivalent EnerG Egg Replacer for a vegan option. Flax egg or chia egg will not work for this recipe unfortunately.
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Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 265
Made these for a quick treat, used self rising flour they were rich and fudgy also used a fourth of a cup of flaked coconut and fourth of a teaspoon of Expresso intensity of the chocolate was great
Hi Gina! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Awesome, best brownies
Can you use almond flour or coconut flour?
Hi Natalie,
Unfortunately I have never tested this recipe with either of those flours. If you do try it let me know how it goes. If you use coconut flour you will need to use about 1/4th the amount compared to all-purpose flour as it is much more absorbent.
im obsessed with these brownies ever since k tried the recipe now i make them once every 2 weeks! they’re amazing! i love all of your recipes!
That makes me so happy Clara! Glad you enjoy them so much!
This is my go to brownie recipe and has been for years! Simple. Fast. Delicious. Perfect for those us who love fresh baked goods but don’t have a lot of time! Thank you so much baker bettie!
That is so great to hear Jodi! Thank you!
These were terrible. Far too much oil and sugar. I do not suggest this recipe at all unless you’re baking for prison inmates.
Hi Misty! I’m so sorry to hear you did not enjoy these brownies. Since this is a tested recipe (I think I’ve made it at least 50 times over the last 5 years) and many of my readers have also made it with success, I’d love to help you troubleshoot! Did you change anything about the recipe at all? And when you say there was too much oil in the recipe, did yours come out oily? This can happen if your oven is possibly not heating hot enough to the set temperature. The oil can separate from the batter. Or did you not like the texture?
I used oil and boy did it bake funny. Edges over done and center not done.
I used butter and edges were over done and center TOO gooey. I don’t know what went wrong.
Hi Melanie! I’m so sorry to hear this didn’t work out well for you. It sounds like maybe your oven is heating too hot. This would cause the edges to set and burn before the middle gets cooked. Do you by chance have an oven thermometer? If not, try cooking them 25 degrees cooler next time.
I found this recipe after craving something sweet and not having any regular sugar in my house, only brown sugar. These came out amazing! I used all brown sugar and vegetable oil.
So glad to hear that you enjoyed these Erica!
Can you use normal white sugar
Hi Lucy! Yes, you can use granulated sugar or brown sugar. Granulated sugar is white sugar!
I may try Baking with butter instead of oil next time. These came out disgustingly gooey
Hi Lisa! Sorry to hear these didn’t work out well for you! It sounds like your brownies may have been underbaked. They should definitely solidify once cooled. Do you by chance have an oven thermometer to see if your oven is heating to the set temperature?
I just made it yesterday night and left it to cool overnight in the oven. Had it for breakfast this morning and it was delicious! The only thing I changed were:
Reduced sugar to 375 grams
Added 1/4 teaspoon espresso
Folded in Choc chips (gut feel on the amount so no weighting)
Love the texture and taste!! Fast and easy recipe to whip up when you have no time 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Joyce! Your additions sound absolutely delicious!
Hey I was wondering do you use self rising flour or all purpose flour? Thank you
Hi Terisa! You technically can use either if you only have self-rising on hand. But the brownies will be cakier. You want to use all purpose flour for a more fudgy texture!
I tried this recipe tonight and this is actually the worst brownie recipe I’ve ever made. I followed the recipe to a T and yet I had to throw it all away because in the oven a massive layer of oil came up and covered them. I took them out 3 times to remove the excess oil that kept appearing and still, after 45 minutes of baking it was like an oily batter, not a single inch had baked solid.
I used high-quality ingredients and I know brownies can be tricky but this made no sense. I’ve never experienced this before, ever.
Hi Ashley, I’m really bummed to hear you had this issue. I make this recipe almost once a week and it has been tested literally hundreds of times. I’m trying to figure out why you might have had this issue and it sounds like your oven may have not been heating properly. Do you by chance have an oven thermometer in your oven? I wonder if your oven isn’t getting quite to the set temperature. The lower temperature could definitely cause the oil to separate.
I had the same experience of oily separation. I was bummed but because we didn’t use egg but instead flax replacer we just smooshed it in to a bowl And whisked in more cocoa. We ate it like fudge balls. It wasn’t brownies but was Pretty good brownie batter balls.
Hi there, yes unfortunately flax egg doesn’t work for this recipe which is why I specify the EnerG egg replacer. The egg is really needed to bind the ingredients or it will be greasy and the EnerG replacer help emulsify the mixture as well.
My son loves brownies so I thought I would give these a go. First attempt and very happy with how easy the recipe is and the outcome. Next time I will cook for 3 mins less (middle was too gooey sat 35 mins but 38 was too long). Happy Saturday xxx
Hi Lucie! So glad to hear you enjoyed these!
The best brownies I’ve ever made. So yummy!
That’s so great to hear!
There used to be a section on making the brownies vegan friendly by switching the eggs with something. I can’t find that part! Can you help?
Thanks for bringing this to my attention Kate! I just use EnerG Egg replacer for a vegan option. I updated the recipe!
I can’t see the measurements of ingredients…need asap please
Hi there! I’m not sure why you weren’t able to see the ingredients. The recipe card with the ingredients and full instructions is at the very bottom of the post!
It didnt work out for me at all its all not cooked inside
Hi there! So sorry to hear that you had difficulty with them baking through. Do you by chance have an oven thermometer to make sure that your oven is heating to the set temperature? I make this recipe almost weekly with good results. I think maybe you needed to bake it just a little longer.
Easy and good… I reduce the cooking time by 5 min and top with peanut butter sauce and banana slices and serve with vanilla ice cream…
Hi Pamela! I’m so glad you enjoyed these! Your rendition sounds incredible!
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This recipe is fantastic! I decided to use it after another recipe failed tremendously, but this was fail-proof. My sister, who is a baker, even asked for the recipe after tasting the batch I’d made and now uses your recipe too. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed these brownies! That is fantastic!
This recipe turned out great! It’s easy, and you can also add extras very easily. Reading some of the comments they said it was too oily, I didn’t quite add a cup of butter (Mainly because I didn’t have a cup, haha) but it definitely left it perfectly between a dry and moist brownie. Also, I marbled caramel into the brownie which was delicious and it didn’t affect the cooking to crazy, and looking at the pictures and some comments they said they didn’t rise or quite cook properly, I sprinkled a little bit of baking soda in my dry ingredients (just a pinch) and it made my brownies super fluffy, if you like them dense I would not do this. Also, I had to cook mine for 40 minutes before they were cooked all the way through (easy fix to those who said they were terrible and undercooked.) Thank you for this great recipe will certainly be using it again.
Also, I would use butter instead of oil. (Everyones complaining the brownies are too oily (and they are just a little), and it does kinda make sense its a lot of oil, I would do butter, and if not butter than split between them, that also made a good result.
I made this recipe last week using all light brown sugar and vegetable oil. They came out perfectly chewy-fudgy after about 38 minutes in the oven. The only addition was a tablespoon of instant coffee powder. I used a 7″X 11″ pan to bake them in as I was afraid the 8″ X 8″ would make them too thick and too gooey in the middle and I didn’t have a 9″ X 9″ pan. I was very pleased with the flavor because I had searched for a recipe that didn’t call for vanilla, as I was out. Today I am remaking them, but I am using 1/2″ cup of brown sugar and the rest is white granulated. I’m doing half oil half butter and I did have vanilla today so I added it too. If the batter is any indication this batch will be as good if not slightly better than last week’s. Thank you for this recipe!
That’s so great Kathy! Hope the second batch was enjoyed as well!
Delicious recipe thank you. Will be making more for sure !!
That’s so great!
This was my first time baking and the results were lovely thank you xx
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Nina! That is so great! Good job on your first time!
I was looking for a recipe with few ingredients and this is one of the ones I tried.
My feedback would be to use a 9×9 pan instead of 8×8. Our oven cooks normally, however these brownies were still a soupy mixture after 30 minutes. It took another 15 minutes to get them close to being done.
In a 8×8 pan, the batter is just too deep to cook thoroughly.
Hi Julie! I make these brownies weekly in an 8×8 pan. The key is that they really need to cool to completely solidify. They are definitely super gooey right out of the oven. But you can definitely make it in a 9×9 pan if you prefer!
This is my go to recipe for making medical marijuana brownies. I use 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white. Place 4 tablespoons infused coconut oil in a 1 cup measuring cup and fill the rest with canola oil. They take a bit longer to bake but are fudgey yummy
I made these this evening and they were stuck to the baking tray even though I had it greased put when I was able to get them out of the tray they were so nice they weren’t moist they were like a really light sponge cake plus when I was putting it in the tray I didn’t need to spread it because it was so runny even though I done what the recipe said
Hi Ashleigh, That is very strange. What kind of pan did you use? Metal, glass, ceramic? If metal, was it a non-stick pan? I’ve never had this happen so curious if it was the pan and if so I will put a note in the recipe about it.
It was a metal pan I also used self raising flour because that’s all I had I put in chocolate chips in it as you suggested but it didn’t make a difference they weren’t moist at all they were very solid inside and even though I mixed it well they still tasted like flour
Hi Ashley, it sounds like you might have ended up with too much flour in your batter the way you describe them. Make sure you fluff up your flour with a spoon and lightly spoon it into the measuring cup without packing it in at all, and then level it off. Also, make sure you mix just until the flour is absorbed. It should only take about 10-15 seconds of mixing, otherwise the gluten will develop too much and the brownies will become dry.
When I greased it I also used greaseproof paper to help get it out but that didn’t make a difference at all
Hey!
I just wanted to let you know that i tried these brownies and i think they’re awesome!!! So easy! I used self rising flour for a cakier consistency and even my 91 year old grandmother liked them! (she’s won chocolate competitions for her fudge recipes so that was the best compliment i could get) will definitely keep this recipe around, thank you!!!
That is amazing to hear Ashley! So glad they were enjoyed by you and your grandmother. Good idea to use self rising flour for cakier version!
Just made these because I was craving something sweet and OMG these are delicious!
That makes me so happy Stephanie! <3
I couldn’t wait to try these after reading the reviews to see who was right, and the lovers of the brownie are right! These are incredible! I cut off about 2 tablespoons of one butter stick so when melted it reached above the 3/4 line but below the 1 cup line, in the middle of the 2. I also baked in about a 9×7 casserole glass dish for 45 minutes. Next time I will add some walnuts and possibly a chocolate frosting, bookmarking your site for sure!
Hi Colleen! So glad you enjoyed them so much! That makes me so happy!
I am SO subbing to your website Baker Bettie! Your feedback is respectful while responding to comments. That is admirable! I don’t bake, I cook so this is my first crack at trying to bake since I have organic cacao powder at my disposal. I read through the comments to get a feel for thoughts. I am quite pleased with your graciousness! That is a gift! My best to you!!!
Hi Shannon! Thank you so much for your kind comment. I have learned that responding with kindness is really the only way to respond at all. There is enough negativity in the world. Even if it is directed at me, I don’t need to do the same. It has made me a much happier person. I’m so happy to have you here! <3