Gooey, fudgy brownies that have only 3 grams of added sugar (in the form of maple syrup) per brownie and are Gluten Free, Nut Free, and Dairy Free?  Absolutely.  These Gluten Free Brownies are divine and so easy to make.  A one-bowl recipe that will have brownies in your tummy within 30 minutes. 

Brownies are like so many iconic foods – there are a million different versions, and each version has its own fandom.  And for every person that makes their brownies at scratch, there’s a different “trick” or “secret” or “hack.”  Every brownie lover has their preferences – gooey, cakey, fudgy, crackly, smooth, thick, thin…

There are a million ways to make a brownie right, but once you take the sugar out and the gluten out, it feels like there are a million ways to make a brownie dense and not very pleasant.  It took a lot of late night studying of many, many brownie recipes to figure out what might deliver the results that I was looking for.

Or, more specifically, what my dear friend Chie was looking for.  This recipe was a request of hers.  People, I LOVE requests.  It puts me on a mission to make a recipe of a food that someone is craving.  It motivates me and inspires me, because what is baking if not making food for the people we love?  So, please, if you have requests, or if you’re ever wondered if there’s a brownie recipe out there without nuts, without gluten, without dairy, and with a very low amount of only natural sugars – well, if I can’t find, I’ll make it.  And here it is.

In an ideal world, all baked goods would be naturally delicious sweetened only with stevia.  I have found that it’s possible to do that with almond flour, because almond flour is naturally sweet and moist.  But with Gluten Free Nut Free flours?  It’s a lot trickier.

Especially with brownies which typically call for 1 cup or more of sugar.  The sugar is the key to gooey caramelization. 

My goal nowadays when baking Gluten Free and Nut Free is not necessarily to eliminate added natural sugars completely because it’s just not happening right now.  But I can lower them way down to an amount that I think most people would consider healthy and moderate. 

A regular brownie recipe calls for about 1 cup of cane sugar.  For a batch of 16 brownies, that works out to 12 g of sugar per brownie!  That’s half the amount of sugar that we’re supposed to eat in a day according to the American Heart Association.  And I don’t know about you, but I have never been able to stop at just one brownie. 

These Gluten Free Brownies are sweetened with maple syrup and stevia.  Even with 4 Tablespoons of maple syrup, which is a pretty generous amount compared to most of my low sugar baked goods, each brownie comes in at just 3 grams of added sugars.  Of course, the kind of sugar you eat matters, too.  Each sugar scores differently on the glycemic index.  Maple syrup ranks at 54 on the glycemic index, whereas cane sugar is 100.  That’s a big difference in how fast your blood sugar levels will rise. 

Let’s figure out how this looks in reality.  The AHA says women should have no more than 24 g of added sugars per day.  So, at 3 g of added sugar per Gluten Free Brownie, that means you could eat 8 brownies in a day and be clocking in under the acceptable limit (if you don’t eat any other added sugars all day).  I’m pretty happy with limiting myself to 8 brownies a day.  That’s totally something I can live with.    

Why You’ll LOVE this Recipe:

• Gluten Free
• Nut Free
• Dairy Free
• Sugar Free
• Low FODMAP
• Low Cholesterol
• One Bowl Recipe
• Quick and easy

Ingredients for the Best Gluten Free Brownies:

• Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• kosher salt
• baking powder
• unsweetened cocoa powder
• Earth Balance Vegan Shortening
• grapeseed oil
• liquid stevia
• maple syrup
• vanilla extract
• eggs
• coconut milk
• chocolate chips

Notes on Ingredients:

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour – If you use a different Gluten Free Flour blend, make sure that it has xanthan gum.  If it doesn’t, you need to add a little, about ¼ cup teaspoon.

Unsweetened cocoa powder – It doesn’t matter if it’s Dutch-processed or not, but do not use Hershey’s Special Dark.  I tried that, and the brownies were as black as hockey pucks.  Just too dark, too bitter.  Use regular Hershey’s cocoa powder, or I like to use the 365 brand from Whole Foods. 

Grapeseed Oil – You can use any mild flavor oil here, but I tend to keep grapeseed oil on hand.  Why the oil + shortening?  The truth is that I needed 133 g of shortening, but each stick of Earth Balance Vegan Shortening is 113 grams.  I didn’t want to open another stick of shortening.  I also wanted to use a little bit of liquid oil to try to get the brownies to be gooeier.  Two tablespoons of oil is about 20 grams, and it’s just enough to make the brownies extra gooey.  Why not only use vegetable oil, you’re thinking?  Because of the flavor.  The Earth Balance Shortening has more flavor.  It also has water in it, just like butter does, and that creates steam in the over and air pockets and helps with the goal of not ending up with brownie bricks.

Chocolate Chips – Just make sure they’re Sugar Free.  You can use Lily’s Dark Chocolate Chips or Bake Believe which are both Sugar Free, but they do use sugar alcohols which are High FODMAP.  If you need to avoid FODMAPs, I recommend HU Keto Chocolate Chips which have no sugar alcohols.  And, really, if being completely Sugar Free isn’t a necessity for you, then use whatever chocolate chips you like.  It’s a small amount, and the rest of the brownie batter is so low in added sugars that it’s not likely to be a big deal.  You know your body best, so do what works for you. 

How to Make the Best Gluten Free Brownies From Scratch

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line a 9” x 9” metal baking pan with parchment paper.  You can use a glass baking dish if that’s all you have, but metal conducts heat more evenly and is the better choice in this case if available.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder.

Melt the shortening in microwave for about 45 seconds.  Add the melted shortening, grapeseed oil, liquid stevia, maple syrup, vanilla extract, eggs, and coconut milk to the dry ingredients.  Stir until completely combined.

Stir in ¼ cup of the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.  Scatter the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips over the top of the brownie batter.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Brownies are done when a toothpick inserted comes out almost dry – if the toothpick comes out covered in brownie batter, then they’re not done yet.  If it comes out with nothing on, then the brownies are definitely done and possibly overdone.  You’re hoping for a toothpick with a few small bits of brownie batter stuck to it. 

Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool completely.  Brownies will be very soft when they are warm.  If you need to serve them soon, pop them into the fridge to help them firm up.

Store brownies in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the refrigerator to help the brownies firm up or store them at room temperature to keep them softer.

More Amazing Gluten Free Sugar Free Recipes

Nut Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Frosting

Nut Free Granola Bars

Gluten Free Sugar Free Sandwich Cookies – Nut Free

Gluten Free Gingersnaps – Nut Free Sugar Free

Gluten Free Nut Free Vanilla Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting