The Best Almond Flour Brownies

These almond flour brownies are the best gluten-free brownie recipe I’ve tried (and I’ve tested quite a few!). You’d never know they’re made with wholesome ingredients like almond flour and coconut oil.

These are my DREAM brownies: double dark chocolate + espresso powder. This almond flour brownies recipe has become the go-to requested birthday dessert recipe in my family. For a dark chocolate lover, especially if you try to stick to a gluten-free or “whole ingredient” diet, they’re hard to beat! 

Ingredients for Almond Flour Brownies

These brownies have almond flour, coconut oil, coconut sugar (can sub regular or brown sugar), dark chocolate, espresso powder, and then the rest of your standard brownie ingredients like eggs, salt, vanilla, and baking soda.

A few things make these brownies unique. First, I highly recommend and almost always use Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder for baking. This isn’t a sponsored shoutout; I just genuinely love the extra layer of chocolate flavor it gives baked goods and can’t recommend it enough.

Second, I use dark chocolate chips (or a chopped dark chocolate bar) for the brownie base and toppings.

Finally, I add espresso powder, which deepens the chocolate flavor. I left the espresso powder out of the ingredient line-up photo accidentally, but you can find it in a small shaker bottle in the coffee aisle of your grocery store. You can also easily omit it, but I love adding it to these brownies or even my favorite basic chocolate chip cookie recipe for a little something special.

How to Make These Almond Flour Brownies

Although I love one-bowl recipes, I promise having to wash three bowls is worth it here. You’ll melt the chocolate in one medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients in a small bowl, and whisk the eggs and coconut sugar together in a final small bowl.

The eggs and sugar should look like the photo above and pass the “ribbon test,” meaning that when you lift a spoonful of the mixture, the egg/sugar mixture flows off of the spoon in a smooth “ribbon.”

You’ll whisk the egg/sugar mixture into the bowl of cooled melted chocolate. Then, stir in the dry ingredients until just barely combined.

One baking trick for keeping baked goods, especially things like brownies and muffins, from getting a tough texture is to not over-mix once the dry ingredients and liquid ingredients are in the same bowl. 

Finally, before going in the oven, I almost always top baked goods with a generous extra sprinkle of chocolate chips, mostly for looks. 

Ready for the oven!

You can let them cool to slice mostly cleanly, and these brownies are delicious served at room temperature.

For the most decadent celebration-worthy brownie, though, I love serving warm brownies with vanilla ice cream and even some dark chocolate sauce. 

If you try these dark chocolate almond flour brownies, feel free to let me know in a comment (with a star rating!) or take a photo and tag me @livbane on Instagram! I’d love to see!

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5 from 4 votes

Dark Chocolate Almond Flour Brownies

These almond flour brownies are the best gluten-free brownie recipe I've tried (and I've tested quite a few!). You'd never know they're made with wholesome ingredients like almond flour and coconut oil.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 12 brownies

Calories: 191kcal

Author: Liv

Ingredients

• 6 oz. dark or semi-sweet chocolate bar or chips, divided (6 oz. is approx. 1 cup regular-size chocolate chips)
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil or butter
• 2/3 cup almond flour
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I highly recommend Hershey’s Special DARK)
• 2 tsp. espresso powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar (can sub white or brown sugar) 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Melt 4 oz. chocolate (2/3 cup chocolate chips) either by microwaving in a medium bowl in 20-second increments, stirring after each increment, or over a double boiler on the stovetop. Stir in coconut oil or butter until melted and set aside to cool.
• In a different small or medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients: almond flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Finally, in a small bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until totally combined and able to drip evenly from a spoon
• Slowly whisk the egg/sugar mixture into the bowl of melted chocolate/oil until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add dry ingredients and stir until just combined, adding the additional 2 oz. chopped chocolate (or 1/3 cup chocolate chips), being careful not to over-mix.
• Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and top with an extra sprinkle of chocolate chips, if desired.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the brownies are almost fully set (you can test by jiggling the pan). Err on the side of under-baking. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving warm or to serve at room temperature, cool for a couple of hours to cut cleanly.

Notes

Store leftover brownies in an air-tight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or in the freezer for up to a couple of months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1brownie | Calories: 191kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g

Other Brownie Recipes You May Love:
Healthy No-Bake Brownies
Healthy Coconut Brownie Bites

Adapted from this recipe