These gluten free almond flour brownies lean on cocoa powder and real chocolate chips rather than a cocoa heavy mix alone, for a brownie that's soft and chocolaty forward in every bite.
Why You Will Love These Almond Flour Brownies
- Naturally Gluten Free. Almond flour replaces wheat flour entirely, with no blend or substitution guesswork.
- Genuinely Fudgy. Resting the cocoa mixture and using finely ground almond flour keeps these from turning cakey or grainy.
- Double Chocolate. Cocoa powder in the batter and chocolate chips folded in and on top keep every bite chocolate forward.
- Simple Ingredient List. Nothing exotic here, just pantry staples and one bag of almond flour.
- Easy Cleanup. One bowl for wet ingredients, one for dry, one 8x8 pan.
The Ingredients for the Best Gluten Free Almond Flour Brownies
- Butter adds richness and helps the batter come together smoothly when melted with the almond milk.
- Cocoa powder gives these their deep chocolate flavor and color.
- Almond milk loosens the batter and helps dissolve the cocoa powder into a smooth mixture.
- Sugar sweetens the batter and is part of what gives the top its crackly finish, a liquid sweetener here will change the texture.
- Egg binds the batter together.
- Vanilla extract rounds out the chocolate flavor.
- Almond flour provides the structure in place of wheat flour. Finely ground, blanched almond flour gives a smoother, less grainy result than coarser almond meal.
- Baking powder gives the brownies a bit of lift.
- Chocolate chips or chunks get folded into the batter and dotted on top for pockets of melted chocolate throughout.
- Slivered or chopped almonds are optional, added for extra texture on top.
Why Bloom the Cocoa Powder?
When you add the cocoa powder to the melted butter and milk it is referred to as blooming the cocoa powder
- Deep Flavor Release. Hot liquid dissolves the outer cell walls of cocoa solids, exposing the underlying flavor compounds and releasing volatile aromatics for a vastly more intense chocolate flavor.
- Smoother, Less Bitter Taste. Hydrating the powder in a warm liquid breaks down sharp, astringent polyphenols and bitter alkaloids, giving the finished bake a rich, rounded taste.
- Lump-Free Mixing. Raw cocoa powder is naturally hydrophobic and repels cold liquids, but blooming it creates a smooth, uniform slurry that mixes seamlessly into batters and frostings without leaving chalky pockets.
- Deeper Visual Color. The heat saturates the cocoa's natural pigments, transforming pale powder into a dark, luxurious mahogany color in cakes and brownies.
- Fat and Liquid Synergy. Blooming in hot coffee amplifies the natural espresso-like undertones of the chocolate, while blooming in warm butter or oil helps fat coat the cocoa particles, lingering longer on the palate for a rich finish.
Making the Best Almond Flour Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8x8 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- Combine the butter and almond milk in a bowl and heat in the microwave for about a minute, until the butter is melted.
- Stir the butter and almond milk together, add the cocoa powder, and combine until smooth. Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes. This is blooming the cocoa.
- Add the sugar to the rested cocoa mixture to the mixing bowl and combine.
- Add the egg and vanilla to the cocoa mixture and combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour and baking powder.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two additions, mixing well after each and being careful not to overmix.
- Fold in half of the chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Dot the remaining chocolate chips or chunks, and the slivered almonds if using, over the top.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Tips on Making the Almond Flour Brownies
- Use finely ground, blanched almond flour, not almond meal. Almond meal is coarser and includes the skins, and it's the single most common reason almond flour brownies turn out cakey or grainy instead of fudgy.
- Spoon the almond flour into the measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping and packing it. Packed almond flour means more flour than the recipe intends, which dries the brownies out.
- Stick with granulated sugar rather than a liquid sweetener like maple syrup or honey. Liquid sweeteners change the moisture balance enough to throw off the texture.
- Almond flour has a high oil content and goes rancid faster than wheat flour, so store any extra in the fridge or freezer if you don't bake with it often.
Troubleshooting Your Almond Flour Brownies
- Brownies turned out grainy or oily. This almost always means almond meal was used instead of finely ground, blanched almond flour, or the flour itself wasn't fine enough.
- Brownies are dry instead of fudgy. The almond flour was likely packed into the measuring cup rather than spooned and leveled, which adds more flour than the recipe calls for.
- Brownies came out cakey instead of fudgy. This can happen from overbaking, or from using almond meal rather than finely ground almond flour. Pull them at 15 to 17 minutes and check with a toothpick rather than baking by feel.
- Batter seems too thin or won't firm up. Letting the cocoa mixture rest for the full 15 minutes matters here, it gives the cocoa time to fully hydrate before the rest of the ingredients go in.
Try some of my other dessert recipes or gluten free recipes.
My almond flour banana cranberry muffins make a great gluten free treat. For a savory snack, try my almond flour cheddar biscuits.
FAQ's
Almond flour works well as a substitute in many baked goods, but it isn't a straight one to one swap for wheat flour in most recipes, this one is formulated specifically for almond flour's higher fat and lower gluten content.
It's higher in fat and calories than wheat flour, more expensive, and because of its oil content it goes rancid faster, so it's worth storing in the fridge or freezer if you don't bake with it regularly.
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Granulated sugar is what gives these their crackly top and reliable texture. Liquid sweeteners like maple syrup or honey change the moisture balance enough to affect the final texture.
They're naturally gluten free and higher in protein and healthy fats, but not meaningfully lower in calories, so healthier here is more about gluten content and fat quality than being a lighter dessert.
Using almond meal instead of finely ground, blanched almond flour. Almond meal is coarser and includes the skins, and it's the single biggest reason these turn out grainy or cakey instead of fudgy.
Getting almond flour brownies right comes down to two things more than anything else, the right grind of almond flour and not overbaking past that fudgy stage. Once those are dialed in, the rest of this recipe is genuinely simple, one bowl for wet, one for dry, and a double hit of chocolate chips to keep every bite rich.
Recipe
Almond Flour Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of softened butter
- ¼ cup of cocoa powder
- ¼ cup of room temperature almond milk
- ½ cup of sugar
- 1 room temperature egg
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of almond flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- ½ cup or more of dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks divided
- ¼ cup of slivered or chopped almonds. See notes
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease an 8x8 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- Add butter and almond milk into a bowl and melt heat in the microwave until the butter is about melted. Around a minute.
- Mix the melted butter and almond milk together to ensure butter is melted and then add cocoa powder. Combine until smooth and cocoa powder is incorporated. Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.
- Add sugar to the mixing bowl and add the rested cocoa mixture. Mix until combined.
- Add egg and vanilla and combine.
- Combine almond flour and baking powder in an appropriate bowl and whisk together.
- Next add flour mixture ½ at a time. Mix well before adding the second ½. Don’t overmix.
- Next fold in ½ of the chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
- Pour the brownie batter in the 8x8 baking dish and smooth out the top.
- Dot the top of the brownies with the remaining chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Nutrition
Notes
Private Notes
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