The Fudgiest Flourless Brownies — No flour, no problem! Chocolate and peanut butter are all you need for super fudgy flourless brownies!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies with Peanut Butter
These are the fudgiest brownies I’ve ever made. That’s what happens when there’s no flour.
And there’s no flour replacers, black beans, avocado, or any ‘interesting’ ingredients. Ahem.
Lately when I see flourless brownie recipes on the web, it’s a safe bet that there’s beans in them. I love beans, but I’ll keep them in my slow-cooker and out of my brownies. Thanks.
The flourless brownies are made with just a few simple ingredients. Chocolate, peanut butter, sugar, eggs. Now we’re talking.
They taste elegant, classy, and fancy, but take just minutes to make and you don’t even need a mixer.
They’re rich, velvety smooth, and not overly sweet. They’re what you crave on certain days when nothing else will do.
The peanut butter flavor is present yet subtle in the brownies themselves. However, I played up the peanut butter aspect by drizzling them with peanut butter. Going hog wild with my squirt bottle was almost as satisfying as the brownies.
The interesting thing about them is that although they’re very fudgy and not at all cakey, they’re not dense or too thick.
They’re perfect for anyone who’s gluten-free since they’re inherently gluten-free.
And they’re perfect for anyone who loves chocolate and peanut butter, which is everyone, right?
Ingredients in Flourless Brownies
To make these gluten-free peanut butter chocolate brownies, you’ll need the following easy-to-find ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- Semisweet chocolate chips
- Creamy peanut butter
- Brewed coffee
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Cocoa powder
- Instant espresso granules
Can a Different Nut Butter Be Used?
Of course! You may use any nut butter you’d like for this flourless brownie recipe, noting that no-stir or “traditional” nut butters work best.
For more of a true chocolate brownie flavor, try using cashew butter or sunflower seed butter. They’re milder in flavor than peanut butter.
Can the Coffee Be Omitted?
There’s two tablespoons of coffee and 1 teaspoon of instant espresso granules in the batter. Both serve to intensity and round out the chocolate flavor, but don’t make the brownies taste like coffee.
Although you could use water instead of coffee and skip the espresso, I wouldn’t.
How to Make Flourless Brownies
Making these no-flour peanut butter fudge brownies is simple! Here are the basic steps:
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and heat for 1 minute on high power to melt.
- Add 2 cups chocolate chips, one heaping 1/2 peanut butter, coffee, and heat for 1 minute on high power to melt.
- Whisk mixture until smooth.
- Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the cocoa powder, espresso granules, and whisk until smooth.
- Turn batter out into a foil-lined 9×9-inch pan.
- Bake until the edges are set, and the top and center have just set and are not jiggly.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow brownies to cool completely before adding the PB drizzle.
Can This Recipe Be Doubled?
Yes, very easily! Simply double the ingredients and bake in a 9×13-inch pan. The bake time should remain roughly the same.
Can Mix-Ins Be Added?
I imagine so! Just be sure to use gluten-free mix-ins if you need to keep this chocolate brownie recipe gluten-free.
Tips for Making Brownies Without Flour
“Traditional” no-stir peanut butter from a brand like Jif or Skippy will work best in this recipe. Homemade peanut butter will also work, but the brownies might be slightly oilier.
A few readers have asked whether the eggs / butter / sugar can be substituted, and for all of those ingredients, my answer is maybe. I don’t typically make low-carb or dairy-free desserts, so I really can’t speak to the best substitutes.
I recommend serving the flourless brownies chilled because anything this dark and fudgy tastes better chilled.
Pin This Recipe
The Fudgiest Flourless Brownies
No flour, no problem! Chocolate and peanut butter are all you need for super fudgy flourless brownies!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 2 cups (one 12-ounce bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- heaping 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons brewed coffee (leftover from the morning is fine; does not make brownies taste like coffee, water may be substituted)
- 4 large eggs
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso granules, optional but recommend (does not make brownies taste like coffee)
PB Drizzle
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
Make the brownies:
- Preheat oven to 300F. Line a 9×9-inch pan with foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and heat for 1 minute on high power to melt. It’s okay if it hasn’t melted after 1 minute.
- Add 2 cups chocolate chips,a heaping 1/2 cup peanut butter, coffee (doesn’t make the brownies taste like coffee and serves to enhance and bring out the chocolate flavor), and heat for 1 minute on high power to melt.
- Whisk mixture until smooth. If necessary, heat in 10-second bursts until mixture can be whisked smooth.
- Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the cocoa, optional espresso granules, and whisk until smooth.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 35 minutes or until edges are set, and the top and center have just set and are not jiggly. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow brownies to cool completely, at least 2 hours, before adding the drizzles. If you add the drizzles to warm brownies, they’ll melt together and while it tastes the same, cosmetically it isn’t what’s shown.
Make the drizzle:
- After brownies have cooled, add 1/2 cup chocolate chips to a small microwave-safe bowl and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute. Stir until smooth and drizzle over brownies using a spoon or squirt bottle; set aside.
- Add 1/3 cup peanut butter to a small microwave-safe bowl and heat on high power to melt, about 45 seconds. Drizzle over brownies using a spoon or squirt bottle.
- I recommend chilling the brownies before serving because they’re rich, bold, and taste better when chilled. Cover pan with a sheet of foil to prevent fridge smells and chill brownies for at least 4 hours, or overnight, before serving.
Notes
Storage: Brownies will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
9Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 398Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 149mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 3gSugar: 20gProtein: 10g
More Flourless Dessert Recipes:
Flourless Chocolate Cake — A classy, elegant cake that’s ultra rich, fudgy, and tastes better than what you’d get in a fancy restaurant and it’s so EASY!! Your friends and family will think you slaved over it and be so impressed!!
The Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies — Soft, chewy and they’ll be your new fave PB cookies!! One bowl, no mixer, no butter, naturally gluten-free!
Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies — These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are hands down the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever made. Know that I don’t say that lightly!
Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake — The cake is soft, extremely moist, dense but not heavy, and has bold peanut butter flavor that’s complemented by chocolate.
Peanut Butter Toffee Bit Cookies — You need just 6 simple ingredients to make these toffee cookies! The peanut butter cookie dough is accidentally gluten-free and packed with toffee bits!
Hi….I plan on making these and I don’t have instant espresso granules, but I have instant pure espresso powder. Would I still use a teaspoon of this? Please reply. Thank you.
I think if it’s an instant espresso product they are probably very similar but I cannot say for sure since I have only used the instant granules.
Hi Avery,
Can I leave out the sugar or replace it with another dry ingredient?
Not really…it’s only 1/3 cup but without it, I don’t think they will taste very good.
Made these last night! A few hours after they were cooled they had kind of a weird crumbly texture but much better after they sat in the fridge like you said! Great taste!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad they tasted great!
Hi, Averie! I love that these brownies are flourless, but, i have a family member that is allergic to dairy and cannot eat butter. What do you recommend as a substitute for the stick of unsalted butter that is truly dairy free? We are Huge Chocoholics!!! Thanks!!
Probably something like Earth Balance, vegan ‘butter’. Glad you love this recipe!
Does anyone know how many carbs are in each piece? Thank you
One of my room mates has been asking me to try a gluten free recipe, and I think I’ll give this one a go. I’m not sure though if I want to do the straight peanut butter on top. Does it overwhelm the chocolatey taste? Perhaps I’ll just do a bit less than you did in the pictures.
You can skip it all together if that’s better for you but no, I didn’t think it overwhelmed but maybe just do half the pan with, half without, if you’re concerned.
I made these for my colleagues today, and they were a huge hit! People wanted the recipe! So delicious!!! Thanks, Averie!
By the way, I am not sure if it is just my computer, but the ingredient list and directions are showing up twice in the recipe.
Thanks for trying them and glad they were a huge hit and people wanted the recipe! Love stories like that!
Thanks for the heads up about that weird glitch. About 6 months ago I had a string of about 1 month’s worth of recipes that showed up double and I thought I had fixed them all and just fixed this one – and hopefully that’s the LAST random one like that :)
do you think i can substitute peanut butter with nutella?
Not really because the textures/consistencies are different and with no flour, I fear that Nutella will become too liquidy, runny, and the brownies won’t hold together.
I’m wondering if I can sub honey for the sugar? Looking for a slightly healthier/less processed sweetener option…
No you cannot because the batter will become incredibly runny and soupy if you add honey (liquid) in place of sugar (dry).
Do you recommend cooking with any other alternatives to sugar such as sugar in the raw or stevia? I usually try to avoid white cane sugar unless it is for a special occasion or something.
I haven’t tried these brownies with anything other than the way I wrote the recipe. I really don’t bake with anything other than real sugar because not everyone has access to specialty products and not that stevia is ‘special’ for me in my area, it may be for others. So I just use what’s the most common.
Avery, I made these brownies the other day to bring to a party and they were a huge hit! My husband and I love them so much that I almost didn’t bring them…hehe. ;)
I did remove the coffee ingredients since kids were going to be eating them and they really came just as super tasty and fudgy. I blogged about them today:
http://tinaschic.com/2014/05/flourless-chocolate-and-peanut-butter-fudgy-brownies/
I’ve made 2 or 3 other recipes from you and you have NEVER dissappointed. Thank you so much for sharing all of your wonderful ideas! :)
Thanks for trying them, Tina, and so glad you guys loved them to the point they almost didn’t get brought to your event :) That’s great to hear and thanks for the shoutout in your post!
if one is paleo, can they use ghee or coconut oil for butter and sunflower seed butter for peanut butter?
I haven’t tried those options but LMK how they work if you do!
Whoa baby! Get out of my dreams and into my mouth! These are incredible, Averie. Sooooooo dark ‘n decadent ‘n fudgy. Absolute perfection, especially with the drizzles of peanut butter and chocolate on top.
Wow – these ARE happening this weekend in my kitchen. Now I just need someone to help me with them so I don’t eat the entire pan…
If you make them, LMK how it goes! You’ll have no problem finding some neighborly taste-testers I’m sure :)
Wow these look so fudgy and delicious! Hooray for gluten-free!
Wow! I am not a sweets fan but I tested this recipe to use later at a bridal shower. I used my co-workers as testers and everyone absolutely LOVED them! I skipped the chocolate on top because I felt they were rich enough. I tried them warm from the oven and chilled the next day – they definitely taste better chilled. And they couldn’t believe it didn’t have flour in it! Great find.
Thanks for trying them, and glad your taste testers agreed they were great! And I agree about the chilled, too!
mmmm… mmmmm.
These are my kind of brownies. My lips are smacking already.
I am so intrigued about the texture of these brownies! And the melted chocolate and peanut butter look absolutely stunning!!
These look amazing!! I love that there is no flour!
Averie,
I seriously cannot wait to make these. Does it work with your homemade peanut butter recipe? I stopped buying peanut butter since I discovered your recipe.
I haven’t tried using homemade PB but if you do, LMK how it goes! That’s awesome you’ve stopped buying it :)
Averie, I just want to run to the kitchen and make these right on the spot! I’m with you, I don’t want any beans or any different things in my desserts. These look so positively perfect. :)
You are so sweet & thank you!
Definitely AGREE with you in 100%.. I keep my beans in slow cooker. I saw these brownie recipes with avocados and beans.. but I am not sure how it will taste so I did not have a courage to make them. For me dinner is dinner.. and dessert is dessert.. But your brownies WOW they are perfect. I will Pin it and definitely make it. Thanks for this great recipe)))
I’ve made brownies with avo and they were fine. I actually have a blueberry muffin recipe that uses avo as the fat in place of butter and they’re excellent. But beans…I just can’t go there with desserts!
Have you ever tried black bean brownies? While these also look delicious, some of the best brownies I’ve ever had are black bean brownies and they are so fudgy and chocolaty and delicious that you’d never even know they have black beans in them. Of course if you have tried black bean brownies and you don’t like them, that’s okay, maybe their not for every one, but I really do think you should try them. You never know, they might be your new favorite brownies.
Ooh, lala! THIS is one instance where I am happy to see a recipe be free of the good ol’ gluten.
Ohhh yes!! Flourless and chocolate always equals dense, rich, delicious perfection! And then you threw in some peanut butter, which is ALWAYS a good thing!
seeing a lot of recipes using peanut butter! Love it, two of y favorite things. thanks for sharing.
These look amazing! You’re like a baking Wizard
I had brownies with beans in them once, and they weren’t the worst brownies I’ve ever had, but they were weird. More like crumbly fudge than brownies. These look insanely good! I’m currently trying to imagine what it’s like to bite into a flourless brownies that has a mousse-like texture. I bet it’s so good! :)
Super good and hard to fully describe other than just so good! And interesting about your bean brownies experience & description!
Flourless + peanut butter + chocolate. Could dessert be anymore perfect? Loving this!
I have recently started eating gluten free so thank you!!!! These look amazing. Do you think the ghirardelli bittersweet chips would be too bitter? I usually keep those on hand.
If you’re used to them and like them, I’m sure they’ll be fine here.
Another fabulous brownie recipe, Averie! Love the PB drizzle! Pinned!
Thanks as always, Anna!
So beautiful. I’d be afraid to eat them. JK. I’d be scared not to. :)
Have a beautiful Wednesday!
LOL I love the way you think :)
Lovely Averie!!!
Thanks Jenny :)
Say whaaaat! I can’t believe these treats are flour-free and so darn easy! They look irresistible, Averie.
Outstanding! I love the PB drizzle on top :)
Thank you, Amanda! :)
Wow, this looks divine. Chocolate, peanut butter, coffee! Yes, that’s for me. Pinning!
Thanks for pinning, Norma!
These look seriously divine! I bet they taste just as good as they look too!
THANK YOU for keeping the “interesting ingredients” (haha, love it) out of these delicious brownies. You. are. awesome.
Yeah I know reading your share of blogs you’ve seen all those ‘interesting’ ingredients that I’ve seen :)
Hey Averie, how much would i have to tweak the amount of butter by if i wanted to ommit the peanut butter? (My poor poor brother is allergic)
About 1/3 cup I’d say but I haven’t tested it and butter is thin and runny, PB is thick and dense; so it may or may not work out without it. If you are looking for a tried and true brownie recipe that you know will work, use one of them in the ‘related recipes’ that way there are no surprises!
Ohmygosh. Somehow, my guy hates BOTH chocolate and peanut butter. No joke. If there’s peanut butter in anything I bake, he refuses to take a bite (although he’s okay with whole peanuts — go figure), and he’ll only take one or two bites of anything with chocolate. Only if he’s “in the mood.” In other words, your brownies would be so perfect and so dangerous for me to make at the same time. I’d devour them all — no self-control with either of those two around!!
Somehow, my guy hates BOTH chocolate and peanut butter. <--- my initial reaction was, leave him! KIDDING of course :) But seriously how is that even possible?!? Eek, that is 90% of my blog recipes, using either choc or PB!
It was touch-and-go for a bit in the beginning of our relationship! ;) But after I got over the initial frustration of him refusing to taste test for me, I realized it was actually a blessing. I’ll never wake up to find an empty PB jar or my favorite dark chocolate bar wrappers from TJ’s in the trash! And with how much I love both, that’s really a blessing!
Why would anyone skip the coffee?!?
I would like a plate of the brownies, but I would settle for that squirt bottle of peanut butter.
And you can have these! No gluten! And they’re not a super sweet dessert, either. If you ever want authentic really good brownies, I think you’d love these. And the Pb squirt bottle, too! lol
I was just thinking about a flourless brownie the other day. Love that there’s no crazy ingredients, just all pantry staples. Fudgy brownies are my favorite so I know I’d love these!
I’m so with you Averie! No beans in my brownies, thanks :) Now peanut butter and chocolate?! That’s what I’m talking about! Love these so much!!!
wow these look amazing and that too flourless!
Do you know how much I wish I wasn’t sitting at panera right now? I want to eat a pan of these RIGHT NOW. But I have to wait. OMG.
You’re at Panera? Well they have plenty of diet-busters and things that you probably shouldn’t order, but want to anyway. Go order something :) LOL
“Chocolate is good, but if I can work peanut butter into something, even better. ” This is such a true statement!
I made some flourless, dairy free brownies over the weekend using almond butter. They were to die for! But OMGEEE, I really gotta try these. Move over, almond butter. Here comes peanut butter.
Your brownies sound excellent! Normally I don’t bake with almond butter very much (PB trumps it for me) but I can see where AB with brownies could add so much richness and a subtle but really great flavor!
Love the double drizzle of chocolate and PB! I have a co-worker who would love these because they’re gluten free (and I bet she would love me for making them). I’ve never made a flourless cake either–in fact, I didn’t realize how many eggs and how much butter was involved (wow). These look waaay easier–and so good with PB in the batter too!
Yeah flourless cakes usually rely on a carton of eggs, or nearly :) Would be great to make when you come into all those local eggs again! One of those classic French-ish type desserts where no cholesterol or fat grams are spared between the eggs and butter!
These look stupid good! Totally pinning.
Thoughts on a caramel/sea salt topping instead of peanut butter?
I think it would be great. I just happen to have a rash of salted caramel recipes coming up and I knew I couldn’t do (another) one here, but yes, go for it!
I love recipes that are naturally gluten-free! Peanut butter and chocolate just make everything better. Definitely pinned this recipe for later!
Thanks for pinning! :)
These look like fudge! So dense and chewy – the best way to have brownies! I love that you create a recipe that doesn’t use flour. Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Chelsea! :)
Whoa these look so fudgey! And brownies ALWAYS taste better chilled :-)
Agreed!
Averie, these are beautiful! I am so glad you didn’t include beans or any other filler. My husband is a gluten-free eater and he hates it when people try to mask veggies in dessert. This recipe is just pure goodness! So fudgy and as always, the peanut butter is a fabulous addition. Pinned!
Thanks for pinning & I totally agree with your husband. No veggies and even some of the flour subs are marginal at best. In a recipe like this, you can get away without using flour so why not!
So I had this massive chocolate-peanut butter fail this weekend — a very very dry quick bread that left me craving something EXACTLY like these brownies. Thanks so much for this post! Now I know what I’m doing tonight :)
Fails are the worst. But hopefully this recipe helps you forget about that other one!
Averie, I’m in love with the fact these have no flour in them… nor beans. ;) I especially love how there is a *heaping* 1/2 cup of pb! We are brownie (and pb) lovers up in here! Hope you’re having a fabulous week!
Yeah what is the point of 2-3 tbsp that I sometimes see in brownies or bars. That’s not going to do a thing :)
Holy YUM! So fudgy :)
xx,
Elizabeth
http://www.adrian-james.com
Oh my gosh those drizzles are just perfect! I’ve never made bean brownies for the same reason, just nervous about throwing beans in my baked goods and I don’t need the extra fibre in a treat. Flourless brownies on the other hand is something I haven’t tried either and yours looks amazing!
Yeah girl beans, brownies. No thanks. No matter how good some people make them look, I just can’t!
Woaahhhh … these look so incredibly good!!
Over the top amazing!
These brownies look amazing! I have been searching for gluten free dessert recipes to make for a get-together next week, and I think this is the perfect brownie! And peanut butter too? Sign me up!
Oh that’s great! Lmk if you try them!
These should really be called “FLAWLESS Peanut Butter & Chocolate Fudgy Brownies”. These look stunningly simple. Can’t wait to try them!!
Thanks for that super sweet comment :)
Yum, these look delicious! Relieved there are no beans or other weird stuff lurking inside!
LOL me too!
I love eating brownies chilled. I’ve made flourless fudgy brownies before but they were definitely dense and super intense. Adding peanut butter is a good idea!
Dark stuff this bold really is so much better IMO when it’s chilled!
These look so good! I’m a brownie addict and when I went vegan I thought I would have to give them up. My mom and I created an awesome vegan brownie recipe (http://www.veganosity.com/food/vegan-chocolate-chunk-brownies/) though so maybe I can adapt this one to be vegan!
You could probably try to do flax eggs or just a standard egg replacer and you’d be fine, along with some Earth Balance for the butter!
I couldn’t agree more about the beans in the brownies thing :) These look amazing, as usual…I’ve made flourless brownies before, (without beans!) but mine were much ‘shlumpier’ than yours!
I know you have a flourless chocolate cake/tort, and I’ve always drooled over it! I’ve always wanted to make it, too :)
Gah!! Totally swooning over those swirls Averie! These brownies look great!
You are a day too late!!!!!! I prepared a GF meal for friends today. I like to include a dessert and this would have been perfect. Another time–maybe soon, based on the looks of this!
A day late and a dollar short. Darn. Well, there’s always next time!
OMG, that peanut butter drizzle! I need these brownies in my life, like yesterday. Pinning!
Thanks for pinning, Amanda!
Mann these look like some SERIOUS Brownies. They looks crazy fudgy and the fact that they are GF too is a bonus