These easy chocolate brownies made with cocoa powder are the perfect soft and cakey texture, coming together in under 30 minutes. You will love making these brownies from scratch as they are just as quick and easy as a box mix but taste so much better!
Brownies are one of my favourite dessert recipes. It doesn’t matter to me if they are fudgey, chewy or cakey, I love them all.
I originally posted this recipe in the early days of this blog and as this recipe is something that I continue to make over and over again, I wanted to spend a little time to make this post even better, as I know this is a recipe that will become your go-to as well. So this is a brand new updated post, new photos and a key change to the recipe that makes it even easier than before, which I’ll talk about more as we go on.
While I cannot deny how much I love eating brownies, the thing that always turned me off making them at home was that they usually have a long bake time, and sometimes you really just don’t want to wait that long.
This is where this recipe comes in. It is made in a square pan, therefore making a smaller batch than a traditional brownie recipe and has a bake time of only 20 minutes, which is about half of what you would normally expect.
These brownies are more on the cakey side texture wise. They are soft, rich and moist as a brownie should be, but are designed with the weeknight baker in mind. I started making this recipe when I would crave dessert and needed something that would come together quickly without feeling like too much effort.
Within 30 minutes of you deciding to make these, you can be eating them. They are so simple to make it’s almost dangerous once you realise you are really only half an hour away from a decedent homemade dessert.
What makes these quick and easy chocolate brownies so good?
In the interest of the weeknight baker, these brownies are made with cocoa powder rather than real chocolate. I am going to assume if you had real chocolate in the house, you would have eaten that rather than started looking for something to bake.
This is a pantry staple kind of recipe. It is a recipe for those times when you don’t have any special ingredients but you do of course have the baking staples of cocoa powder, sugar and flour. Add in some vanilla for flavour and dairy-free butter for richness and you have yourself the simplest pan of brownies you have ever seen.
It’s also a one-bowl kind of recipe. Because if you’re wanting something to come together quickly, I am going to take an educated guess and say that you want the clean up to be equally as quick.
When updating this recipe I also decided to change the steps a little to make it even easier again. The original recipe used electric beaters to cream the dairy-free butter and sugar however this involves getting out another piece of equipment. The updated recipes asks you to melt the butter with the sugar instead, and this not only means you now only need a whisk to combine everything, but also means that the end result is just that little bit extra moist.
This is my base brownie recipe. It was where my love for easy chocolate brownies began, and has been the foundation for the many brownie variations you see on my site. We have dairy-free classic chocolate brownies which are filled with chocolate chunks and nuts, dark chocolate peanut butter brownies, and peppermint chocolate brownies for the holiday months. But if you are just looking for the OG then this is the recipe for you.
Next time you are looking for a quick recipe to satisfy a chocolate craving, or have unexpected guests you want to surprise with dessert, make these easy chocolate brownies. This recipe is one that you really need to bookmark because the situation that calls for these brownies is never far away.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with #eightforestlane as I would love to see.
Quick and Easy Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ cup dairy-free butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ cup plain flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C and line a 20cm square baking pan with a light spray of cooking oil and baking paper.
- In a large bowl, add dairy-free butter and sugar and place in the microwave for 30 seconds. Use a whisk to stir and then add it back to the microwave for another 30 seconds until the butter is melted but not bubbling. Set aside to cool slightly for a few minutes.
- Once the butter and sugar mixture is cool, add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- Sift in all of the cocoa powder and flour directly into the bowl and slowly whisk until the dry ingredients are incorporated and the batter is shiny and smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the batter with be quite thick. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the top is just springy when lightly touched.
- Let cool in the pan for a few minutes (if you can wait) before lifting it out using the baking paper and then cutting into 9 or 16 squares, depending on how big you want your brownie pieces. Lightly dust with a little extra cocoa powder if desired. Once cool, keep leftover brownies in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
Original recipe was published May 30th 2016.
More Chocolate Recipes:
Chocolate Honeycomb Cake
Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
No-Bake Chocolate Tart (Vegan)
Vegan Chocolate Rose Cupcakes
Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Vegan Biscoff Brownies
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Purplealien says
Did you use a beater or just mix by hand?
Sally says
I use a handheld electric beater to cream the butter and sugar, however if you don’t have one you could soften the butter first and use a whisk. Just make sure the sugar and butter is combined thoroughly.
Sam - Journo and the Joker says
You are right! Who doesn’t love a chocolate brownie. My mouth is watering. These sound amazing and look delicious.
Sally says
Thanks Sam 🙂
Ann says
Those look so divine! Now I have a chocolate craving.
Sally says
Thanks Ann, no apologies 😉
Edward Anderson says
Can’t wait to try this
Sally says
Let me know how they turn out!
Kelsea Sullivan says
These really do sound super quick and easy to make! Usually I have those ingredients laying around the house too… but now that I’m going to start a clean eating diet soon, I’ll want to make these with a few [yummy] substitutions. Thanks for sharing!
Sally says
I love recipes using ingredients I already have at home! Let me know how you go with your substitutions, I would be interested to see what you use and how they turn out!
Dom says
Looks truly delicious! My favourite!
Sally says
It’s hard not to love a brownie!
Katelin says
This brownies look so moist! A chef/friend of mine once told me to sub in half of the water for a brownie or cake recipe and use applesauce instead. You wouldn’t believe how moist recipes are after that!
Sally says
Oh that sounds great! Will give that a try Katelin 🙂
Francesca - From Pennies to Pounds says
I always struggle with making brownies so I will definitely be trying this recipe out! I think because I always worry it will be overcooked.
Sally says
I understand Francesca, I think the benefit of these being a little different to a traditional brownie is what makes them a lot easier and I find they always taste great!
Klauss says
Awesome brownies! Chocolate lovers will be delighted, and prepared not difficult 🙂
Sally says
Thanks Klauss 🙂
Kathleen says
Made brownies this weekend!! These look great!
Sally says
Thanks Kathleen! Brownies are always a good idea 🙂
Hannah says
Wow! How am I going to stick to my diet now?! 🙂
Sally says
haha chocolate is part of a balanced diet right?!
Kortney // Allergy Girl Eats says
Those are so easy to make! I always think of brownies as way to high maintenance, but this recipe looks so fun and made of things I generally have in the pantry. Yum!
Sally says
So do I Kortney! I love recipes that I can make without going shopping first!
Melanie says
This does seem pretty quick and easy. They took so delicious too…can’t wait to try them 🙂
Sally says
Thanks Melanie, they really are easy to make!