I haven’t been this obsessed or this excited about a recipe in a while! I think of all the questions I get about egg substitutes and eggless recipes, brownies definitely top the list. After multiple tries, I’m so thrilled (and relieved) to finally be able to say, it IS possible to make gooey, rich, dark, fudgy brownies that most importantly, have that wonderful crackly, paper-thin crust, all without eggs. Let’s do this!
I’ve held back on being convinced by eggless brownies for one main reason: in recipes with less flour, like brownies, eggs are a miracle ingredient. Without them, the batter doesn’t have structure, a great texture and doesn’t get a natural rise. In brownies specifically, it is the combination of eggs and sugar that creates a thin meringue-like layer on top which is that beautiful crust we know and love.
I tried so, so many versions and always ended up with dry, cakey, extremely un-brownie brownies. It did seem however that a lot of vegan recipes used hot water for extra moisture in the absence of eggs, and the combination of hot water and sugar actually creates that crust. The other thing I noticed is cornstarch can be used as a binding agent and in my final try, that helped a lot because without it, the brownies fell apart way too easily. The thing is, I wanted to actually adapt my favourite recipe which uses butter (vegan recipes use oil which is great, but I really prefer the flavour of butter) and I also played around with adding some yoghurt which is another miracle ingredient in eggless recipes. It adds the fat and moisture we need and makes all the difference. I was so happy to be able to adapt my usual recipe to make it without eggs!
After all of this tinkering, I finally got the gooey, buttery, soft, dense brownies I’d hoped for. And that perfect crust!!! I do find that more than the ones with eggs, these ones depend on complete cooling for a firmer texture. In fact, I thought they tasted best on day two, if you can wait!
They have the perfect chewy edges and corner bits, with soft and fudgy centers. Seriously, so good, and so indistinguishable from their with-egg counterparts! It’s important to use good chocolate for this recipe (see the recipe notes for more) because it makes all the difference, trust me.
I hope you’ll make these today!
Please read the recipe notes before beginning.
Fudgy Eggless Brownies
Ingredients
- 75 gms butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces (5 tbsps; see notes)
- 150 gms dark cooking chocolate, 70% to 75%, finely chopped (see notes)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder (21 gms)
- 1 cup caster sugar (190 gms)
- 1/3 cup freshly boiled water (80 ml)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup thick, plain yoghurt or curd (55 gms)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (90 gms, see notes)
- 2 tbsps cornflour/cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
It's important to stick to these ingredients and measurements for the perfect brownies.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick baking paper, leaving a little overhang.
- Add the butter, chocolate and cocoa to a heat-proof bowl placed over a pot of simmering water, taking care that the bowl isn't touching the water. Stir often till melted and smooth. If a few small lumps of chocolate remain, take the bowl off the heat and stir to melt them completely. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and hot water, whisking vigorously till the sugar has dissolved (a balloon whisk is useful in this recipe).
- Stir in the vanilla extract, then pour in the melted chocolate mixture. At this stage both liquids will be warm so they'll be easy to stir together with a spoon or whisk, until you have a smooth mixture.
- Now stir in the yoghurt until incorporated, then sift in the flour, salt and cornstarch.
- Fold gently to combine into a smooth batter, using the whisk to break up any flour lumps. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, smoothening the top and making sure it's even all over.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until you see a crust has formed on top and a toothpick poked in the center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. If you bake it till the toothpick is completely clean, the brownies will be dry and over-baked. Some readers have said the brownies crumbled along the sides and because ovens do vary, you can also start checking for doneness at 20 mins to reduce the chance of over baking.
- Allow the brownies to cool completely at room temperature before lifting them out of the pan using the paper overhang and slice into 16 equal pieces, wiping the knife down after every cut to get neat pieces. I actually recommend slicing these on day two (keep them loosely covered at room temperature once cooled) because the texture improves. When freshly sliced, the center pieces could feel slightly greasy (see notes for more) but by the next day, they're perfect. Chilling the brownies for about 30 minutes before slicing also helps with neater pieces.
- Brownies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight tin for 4 to 5 days (if it's hot or humid, then about 2 to 3 days at room temperature is best), or in the fridge for about 10 days where they will be extra fudgy. They also freeze and thaw beautifully. Happy baking!
Notes
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These may be some of the best brownies I have ever made! 10/10 will be making again. I also really appreciated the added metric amounts!
Thank you for your kind words, Jess ! I’m so happy you enjoyed the brownies 🙂
Hey I tried these eggless brownies. Loved it . Reduced the sugar a bit. But I found them too soft, even difficult to pick up inspite of keeping in fridge.
Any suggestions
Hi, maybe add a few minutes to the baking time to get them firmer ? They are overall softer than regular brownies but should usually firm up a lot in the fridge.
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Hi, I made these brownies a few days ago but was kinda skeptical of the recipe and added baking powder and soda (just a pinch) but they ended up like cake. I just made them ago following the recipe exactly, and its so beautiful! Thank you so much! I’ve been looking for the perfect brownie recipe for so long, and I’ve finally found it!
Yay that’s great, I’m glad you gave the recipe another shot !
Hi. It’s an amazing recibe..I find one difficulty.. Whenever I cut brownie the next day..They stuck to parchment paper..I use best quality paper..Help me out
Hi, while I haven’t faced this myself, you can try lightly greasing the paper before hand and see if that helps. Since the brownies are quite soft and gooey, the center pieces may stick a bit but greasing should help.
Hey, I was just wondering if I could use this recipe with gluten-free flour? If so would I need to change anything else about it?
Hey, I don’t have much experience with gluten-free flours so can’t say for sure. I don’t think the brownies would have much structure without both gluten and eggs but if you generally swap GF flours, you can try it here. If you eat eggs try these https://thedessertedgirl.com/2020/02/20/gluten-free-brownies/
Just tried this recipe and woah! Really nice! Will be making these again for sure!
Yay! Thank you for your kind words 🙂
Hi.
Would really like to try this recipe.
If I am halving the recipe, and am baking it in 4 x 4 square tin,roughly how many minutes, do you think Inwould need to bake it for ?
Thanks a lot.
Hi! I’d start at 15 mins and then add more time if needed. Let me know how it goes!
Hey. I was searching for 1 Egg Chocolate Brownies Recipe and I came across your Fudgy Eggless Brownies guide which is well explained and easy to understand. I don’t like the smell of eggs and I am excited to give your recipe a try. Thanks and keep it up.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy the brownies 🙂
Omg, I just makes these brownies, and I’m in love. Thank you so much for this perfect brownie recipe, I definitely going to make this again
Yay! Thank you so much for trying them 🙂
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These were GREAT! I made a triple batch for my sons class in two 9×13 pans. Started them low for 20 min then at 360F for 20 min till they appeared crusted but still had crumbs on toothpick. They. Were. Amazing! Super fudgy not at all crumbly and they held their form well! Big hit!
Thank you, Tisha! I’m so happy to read this 🙂 Love that you were easily able to scale this recipe up too!
What an absolute treat these eggless brownies turned out to be! We had guests over the weekend and while eggs are generally great for home baking, our visitors don’t eat them so I went ahead with this recipe- so glad I did too since it received so many compliments ☺️
A scoop of white chocolate ice cream on the side made for a perfect companion to these ultra fudgy yummy brownies.
Thanks for all your trials leading to the perfect recipe!
Thank you, Priya ! Your words make me so happy 🙂 And white chocolate ice cream sounds amazing!
Made these as kids summer vacation began. They enjoyed the brownie with vanilla icecream. What more can one ask for. It tasted heavenly. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
I’m so happy to hear this! Brownies and ice cream sound so good, thank you for trying this recipe 🙂
hi, these look so good and i really want to make these but i don’t have an OTG. So, how would you suggest altering this recipie for convection mode in a microwave oven?
Hi, I don’t have any experience with convection or microwave baking, best to Google it or use a recipe specifically designed for it as the results can vary!
okay, thankyou
Can we use 50% dark chocolate as i don’t like 70% chocolate bitter taste…?
If yes then do we need to reduce the sugar amount?
The brownies taste sweet even with bitter chocolate so I recommend using that. If you reduce the sugar it might affect the crust as well, I can’t say for sure without trying that myself.
Tried making these brownies today – didn’t have Greek yogurt so I substituted in sour cream and it worked just fine. Also added in extra chocolate chips into the batter just before baking for more fudginess. Overall, turned out well. Thanks for the recipe!
Sour cream sounds yum here! Thank you for trying the recipe 🙂
Hi wont the curd / yoghurt give them a tinge of sour taste ? Also curd needs to be fresh or a day or two days old is fine ?
Hi, there’s no sour taste, I would have mentioned if that was something to worry about and there’s also enough sugar to balance it. You can use two day old curd, not a problem.
Can I use Vanilla essence instead of Vanilla extract
You can, but that’s an imitation extract so if you bake regularly, I’d recommend having pure vanilla extract on hand for better flavour especially in plain vanilla batters etc
But I don’t have Vanilla extract
same
can i use normal sugar instead of castor sugar . secondly can i churn the normal sugar tn mixy slightlyand then use to make it
Caster sugar dissolves better, that’s why I recommend it but you can try grinding regular sugar as well
Thank you so much for this recipe.
I stumbled upon this accidentally. I’ve been trying so hard to replicate a good eggless FUDGY CHOCOLATEY brownie which I enjoyed eating a long time ago.
This turned out so so well! You are awesome! 🙂
You have no idea how happy I am to hear this Deepthi ! Thank you so much for trying this recipe 🙂
Hello Gayatri,
Hope you keeping well. Your journey and interest with food is most certainly so inspiring. I’ve been making your eggless fudge brownies for now over a year and each time they are always a hit with my friends and family.
Absolutely an amazing recipe.
Just recently I don’t know what’s the issue, I’ve been measuring the exact as instructed and using what I normally would but the brownies sometimes even after 25min plus of baking time still reamin a liquid texture and gooey.
I’ve attempted making them so many times I just can’t seem to get the cake fudge- finish like I normally use too.
Most of my friends have asked for the recipe and I’ve always sent your details. So, many have in the past commented how is it possible to make such yum brownies and that too eggless and with no baking powder – I’ve even had people who eat eggs prefer these brownies over the normal ones.
Yet for some stange reason I can’t get them to the perfection I use too. I was wondering if you could help.
Do you find flour is different even same brands we purchase sometimes? Could it be the butter?
I read if the oven is too hot sometimes they don’t cook property and stay liquid texture and that we shouldn’t put the oven on too earlier prior wanting to bake. So, I only start the oven 15-20min prior baking now but still similar issue.
They don’t rise much and also gooey rather than a cake ish texture which they normally use to be
If you could get me back to track I would be so greatful.
As your brownies here in Sydney where I live have become pretty famous.
I’m thinking – maybe the flour is the issue even though shifted and measured can change and I need to increase the quality. I measured 90g as stated on your recipe. You’ve mentioned 1 cup on your notes thought I think that was just to give the example of how flour can be measured right?
To be honest I’ve always used 90g as stated on the ingredient list – never been a issue.
I’ve sent you some pics on your email
Will look forward to possibly connecting with you and hearing back
Hi
Im making this recipe tomorrow but my tin is a 8×12 inch tray. Would you suggest to double up on ingredients?
Thanks
Hi Chloe, yes I’d probably double it and add a few minutes to the baking time, going by appearance rather than the time itself. Let me know how it goes !
Thank you so so much for your recipe ! It was easy to follow, fun to bake, and exciting to gobble up 😆 Even my dad who doesn’t eat too many sweet things absolutely loved it and asked for a second serving !
Yay! I’m so happy you and your dad enjoyed these brownies, Drishti!
Hello Gayatri! Absolute foolproof recipe I can say. However I had one doubt. If I have to make a small batch . Like half of the ingredients which tin should I be using? And can we do these brownies without yougurt or with condensed milk?
Hi Nancy! I don’t recommend skipping the yoghurt and haven’t tried condensed milk so I can’t really say. But you can halve the recipe and probably bake it in a standard 9*5 loaf tin!
I tried these brownies for the first time asn they turned out so amazing..I made them for a dinner party and the guests loved it so much. I was very skeptical about the brownies coming out dry but with your recipe , they were so gooey and so full of chocolate. Loved it.
Thank you Prachi ! I’m so glad you enjoyed these brownies 🙂
Hii. I am new to baking and wanted to try something safe for a beginner. The brownie turned out very good!! Thanks for posting the recipe. And thanks a lot for all the fine instructions that took me throught he process successfully!!
Thank you for letting me know, Chetana! I’m so pleased this recipe helped you 🙂
It’s an amazing recipe … I am so thankful to you. Have been baking since years but getting crinkle top was impossible in eggless brownie. U made it possible . Thank u so much 💗💗
Yay! I’m so happy you enjoyed these, thank you for letting me know 🙂
Hi!! I have been looking for an eggless brownie recipe for so long (they always come out too cakey) and this one seems to be very promising. One question, should I use the home made dahi or the store bought curd like the mother dairy ones?
Hi! Homemade is fine as long as it’s not very watery, it’s what I used as well. Hope you love the brownies 🙂
Thanks for the quick reply! I will make them in a day or two and share the results. I am sure they will taste absolutely amazing!
Hi, I tried this recipe and it came out absolutely delish!
Made a brownie for the first time and was very happy with the outcome, especially when i look at the perfect shiny crust!
Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you for letting me know Shasi! So glad you enjoyed these brownies 🙂
Hi! Can I use full fat Fage Greek yogurt (which is very thick) or do you recommend “regular” yogurt (like Stonyfield Farms organic lowfat yogurt)?
Hi! We don’t get Stoneyfield in India so I really can’t say which brand would be better but I’d go with full fat yoghurt over low fat. Hope you enjoy the brownies!
These turned out really amazing. It was my first time baking brownies and I followed the recipe exactly. Thanks a lot 😊
That’s great! Thank you for making these brownies 🙂
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Thank you so much for the recipe. My friend and I baked brownies for the first time today, and they turned out to be delicious and comforting. The straightforward recipe and measurements helped tremendously and made our experience hassle -free. Will definitely bake more using more of your recipes! Thank you 🙂
Thank you so much for trying it and for your kind words!
Did you get shiny crackle top?
Hey! Just wanted to ask what if I replace the caster sugar with brown sugar? I mean won’t it make the brownie more fudgy?
Rest I love your recipe.. Thank You♥️
Hi, I think you should replace half the white with brown first and see the result. Brown sugar adds a lot more moisture so the texture might change. Let me know!
My search for a perfect eggless brownie ends here.. I baked it yesterday for Father’s Day and everyone in the family loved it very much. I added a few walnuts as well for the crunch.. thank you so much for sharing this with us !!
So happy to hear that, Jinal! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
Hi. Wanted to know the shelf life of this recepie
Hi, details are in the recipe itself, last step
It’s just amazing to see the brownies come out so well! It’s sheer melt in the mouth and extremely fudgy!! ❤️❤️
So happy to hear that ! Thank you for making them 🙂
I tried this recipe… totally loved it! Just a small query… how to get that crisp layer on the top?
I’m glad you enjoyed this ! The crust forms automatically from the sugar and hot water combination. Did you change anything in the recipe ?
Can I use chocolate compound insted of dark chocolate
If that’s all you have then you can use it, but compound chocolate usually has some additives that could affect how it melts
Hi..m looking forward to trying this recipe..can u guide me..Incase I want to make this with wholewheat flour, what changes would I b reqd to make? Thnx in adv
Hi, you don’t really need to make any changes but keep in mind that wholewheat flour makes baked goods a little denser so the texture could be affected, I haven’t tried it myself so can’t say for certain
Hi. I have made brownie using this recipe and it tastes very nice. But I found that my brownie left a lot of butter at the end. What could have been wrong ?
I have tried this recipe.many times and I always use 50 gm of butter instead of 85gms.
Hi, some amount of fat does leak out in the absence of eggs that help emulsify the fat. This fat could be from the cocoa butter in chocolate as well, not just the regular butter. While you can reduce the butter, I find that by the next day, the brownies have absorbed any fat that may leak out, as I mentioned in the recipe as well. Hope that helps !
Thanks for the quick comments.
According to you this is expected sometimes. So this has happened with me first time. I have made brownies using your recipe plenty of times. And I love it.
Is it due to summer as well?
Hi …I just wanted to ask whether it would be ok if I don’t use either cornstarch or cornflour??
Hi, no the brownies didn’t hold together without it when I was testing the recipe so I recommend it !
Hi
I was wondering if I add choc chips to this recepie, will it become overly sweet?
Hi Konica, you can add a small amount to start with and see how you like the end result. I do think they’ll be a bit extra sweet with chocolate chips, unless you have bittersweet ones?
After a long time, my search for an eggless brownie recipe has ended. The brownies were absolutely yummy. As many other readers have said, my brownies were a bit. crumbly…so, I think I’ll bake them for 25 min instead of 30 next time. I also used Amul dark chocolate 55% instead of 70%, as that’s all I had.. I added a few tsp of instant coffee also. Thanks for this keeper recipe.
Yay! Thank you for letting me know 🙂 Baking time does vary a bit depending on the oven so yes, reducing it might help. Adding coffee sounds yum !!
I tried this recipe today and it was AWESOME. The only problem I had was that when it was done, and ready to get cut; the sides kind of crumbled when I put the knife in. But other than that it was amazinggg!!! Thank you for this recipe…
Thanks so much Saiyasha ! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 The brownies are a little fragile so some readers have chilled them before slicing as well which has helped with neater cuts, if you want to try that!
Hi,
I tried the recipe. I could not find 70% chocolate so I used 50% dark chocolate. But still my brownies came out to be bitter.
Any idea why this happened?
Hi, that’s quite strange, I’m not sure why they would be bitter. Did you make any other changes to the recipe?
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Hi,
Tried these brownie today.. absolutely yummm. The only trouble I faced is, the brownie seemed crumbly while cutting them. I let it cool down to room temperature before slicing. What could be the problem? I measured all the ingredients using kitchen scale
Hi , thanks for trying this recipe 🙂 Crumbly brownies could be because of slight over baking so you can try reducing the time when you try these next but overall, these are more fragile compared to brownies with eggs. Hope that helps !
I’ve made these twice and this time round I changed the coco powder for instant hot chocolate and it was still amazing. This recipes leaves plenty of room for any mistakes and makes the most amazing brownies anyway.
This is really great to hear ! Thank you for making this recipe and I’m glad you find it flexible !
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Hi! I just came across your recipe and wanted to know if I can use salted butter in this recipe!
Thanks!
Yup, you can, in fact I always use salted butter 🙂
hi, these look so good and i really want to make these but i don’t have an OTG. So, how would you suggest altering this recipie for convection mode in a microwave oven?
When I checked on these in the oven it was almost boiling. There were huge bubbles popping around the edges. It wasn’t done cooking so I did an extra ten minutes because I could see the center hadn’t set. But then the edges came out hard and the bottom is very chewy. Like I watched people trying to bite through the bottoms (I cut the edges off). It was almost like candy? Everyone liked them (I detest chocolate) but I was wondering what I should do in the future? Lower the oven temp? Shorten the time? Reduce the sugar?
Hi Michele, sorry to hear you had trouble! I’ve never had this issue where the mixture boils and I’m not sure what could have caused it. Did you change anything in the recipe ? Baking it for too long will cause it to become hard and chewy though since the brownies continue to cook as they cool down.
Hi I tried your receipie it was fun making it and my daughter was enjoying the melted chocolate Unfortunately I had the exact situation as Michele. I did you compound chocolate. Is there any other chocolate to you. I used the same amt of butter as per the receipie….I read the comments will reduce it. I used an oven with both coils on. I definitely wish to try this receipie again any other suggestions plz.
Hi Neelam, I would avoid compound chocolate as it has other additives too. Use a pure baking chocolate or a good quality bar of dark chocolate (I used Amul 75%). Feel free to reduce the butter if you prefer. Unfortunately I don’t know why the batter would be bubbling, but let me know if it happens when you try it again.
The same thing happened to me. My microwave oven didn’t have 175 degrees option so I baked it at 170 degrees and it was like a heated version of the Batter even after 25 minutes
This recipe is designed for a standard OTG, I’ve not tried it in a microwave so can’t really say what may have happened
Mine did they same. All of the butter was bubbling and made the brownie very chewy. So far it’s been on for 45 mins and still not cooked. Maybe too much butter?
Hi Rachel, I’m unfortunately not sure why this happened at all, I don’t think it’s the butter although you can try reducing it and see if it helps. I use a standard oven on the bake setting, not microwave or convection, which could produce different results, just in case you’re using any of these?
OMG. It came out extremely well. A bit fudgy but hey, I’m not complaining. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Yay! Thanks for making it! See the recipe notes about baking powder if you want them a little less fudgy the next time 🙂
How much baking powder do I add to this recipe to make the brownies a little less fudgy ?? And also since I want to add baking powder do I have to make any other changes ??
You can see the recipe I’ve linked in the notes for details. I’d say about 1/4th to 1/2 tsp depending on how cakey you want it, no other changes needed. You can also try adding 1/4 tsp baking soda since there’s yogurt in it and it will react to create an airier texture if you prefer that.
This is the best eggless fudgy chocolate brownie recipe I’ve come across on the internet. No one in my family eats eggs and I made these brownies for them last week, and they were instantly lapped up with sheer delight! I’ve never got this kind of reaction for chocolate brownies in the past. The curd and cornstarch work like magic for this recipe. So so glad I came across your recipe! I’m going to stick to it. Thanks!
That really makes me so happy ! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed these brownies 🙂
Absolutely perfect! I’ve been looking for a decent egg free brownie recipe for my little girl who has an egg allergy and these brownies are simply delicious! Thank you so much for posting!
That’s so good to hear, thank you !
I made these eggless brownies, I followed the recipe exactly and they came out absolutely perfect. They have a great fudgy consistency. I added extra chocolate chips. They were very rich so you only need a small piece to satisfy your brownie craving. Thank you 🙏
Thank you Pearl, that’s so nice to hear! They’re definitely and the addition of chocolate chips sounds yum 🙂
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I made these brownies. They turned out really good. Would definitely recommend to others. Just make sure you follow the recepie to the T.
Thanks so much !
Hey, I’ve made these brownies quite a times and absolutely love it but since the last few times I don’t know why but the crinkle too doesn’t form , any reason for it ?
I didn’t make any changes to the recipe as well.
Thank you !
Hi, if there were no changes to the recipe I’m not sure what went wrong honestly. It’s important to whisk the sugar and hot water well, that’s the only thing I can think of!
Please post recipes using metric measurements Thanks
I’m working on it and you can refer to the conversion chart I’ve shared with you earlier. In the meantime, this recipe is updated and I would also suggest reading the notes at the bottom of the recipe.
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One of the best eggless brownies recipe that I have come across so far. Thanks for sharing this. Will be my go to recipe from now on.
Sangeetha
Thank you Sangeetha! Makes me so happy to hear this 🙂
Hii, just wanted to know that the curd won’t make it sour? Have tried a curd version before so it tasted sour, pls guide
No there is enough sugar to keep it from tasting sour