If you're one of the many, many folks who chose the keto diet to help you lose weight, I'd be willing to bet that the last thing you need tempting you is a big sheet pan of keto brownies with undefined portions. After baking and waiting for your heavenly dessert to cool down, the only thing stopping you from diving face first into an 8x11-inch sized brownie is sheer willpower. Sure, some of us can cut off just a small piece, but it's way too easy to fudge serving sizes and underestimate how much you've actually eaten. My solution? Keto brownie bites.
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What are keto brownie bites?
Keto brownie bites are super delicious keto brownies with built-in portion control. If you're going to indulge in a decadent dessert while you're dieting, portion control is super important.
It's a lot easier to identify how much you're eating if things are measured out with predetermined sizes. That's why meal prep is such a widespread practice, and those portion control containers are flying off the shelf. It takes the guesswork out of your intake; how much you think you're eating and how much you're actually eating finally match up.
Of course, the most effective thing would be not to eat desserts and sweet treats in the first place. Lots of people do that! But I don't think there's anything inherently "wrong" with desserts as long as you are smart about it. I totally eat sweets on special occasions, I'm not a robot. Understand that just because something is low carb or keto, doesn't necessarily mean you can eat unlimited amounts without it catching up to you. Calories are still a very real thing.
Keto brownies?! How is that even a thing?
These keto brownies are low in carbs thanks to a few specialty ingredients that I subbed in place of traditional brownie ingredients. After being divvied out into 16 mini-muffin sized brownies and subtracting both fiber and sugar alcohols, each little keto brownie bite only has 1 gram net carb! That gives you room to add toppings if you like, but it's entirely optional.
Instead of regular white flour, I used super-fine almond flour. This one substitution dramatically reduces the carb content. For a quick comparison, white flour has approximately 67 grams of net carbs in 100 grams while the almond flour used has only 28 grams of net carbohydrates in the same amount.
I also used a low carb sweetener instead of regular white sugar. There are a ton of different options out there, but I have been digging the monkfruit/erythritol blends. Both monkfruit and erythritol have zero glycemic impact, and this sweetener just so happens to be zero calories as well. Plus it doesn't have that weird aftertaste most sweeteners seem to have, which makes me happy dance like nobody's business. LOVE! ?
The Keto Brownies Recipe
To make the keto brownie bites, you're going to need a silicone mini-muffin pan. The ones I use have 24-wells and measure about ¾-inch across the top, ½-inch across the bottom, and about ½-inch deep, for reference. Using silicone bakeware gives you a non-stick surface. Each little brownie pops right out without having to grease the pan or use liners.
To prepare the batter, melt butter and let it cool down a little bit, then whisk it together with the monkfruit sweetener, cocoa powder, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt. The batter will be runny and smooth after whisking. Now slowly incorporate the almond flour little by little until it is just combined. No need to overmix the flour in, the mixture will thicken right up as it is added.
Using a spoon, fill the wells of the mini-muffin pan; this recipe will fill 16 wells. The silicone pan is a little flimsy, so you'll want to place it on a sturdy baking sheet to prevent the batter from spilling out during transfer to the oven. Pop it into your oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake to your liking. On the low end, this will be around 14 minutes for fudgy keto brownies, but a cake-like texture will require more time (approximately 17 to 18 minutes total). Use the toothpick test to perfect your bake time! If the toothpick comes out wet, bake it longer. Crumbs on the toothpick are a good sign for the fudge-like brownie texture, and an entirely clean toothpick indicates more of a cakey brownie.
Let them cool off for a few minutes, then pop each one out onto a wire rack to completely cool. You can top them with a low carb chocolate ganache, a keto chocolate sauce (I used coconut oil and cocoa powder here in the photos), coconut flakes, hemp seeds, chopped nuts, or powdered erythritol sweetener (tastes just like powdered sugar!). The choice of toppings is entirely up to you and if it fits your macros. Enjoy!
Ingredients
The Keto Brownies
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted (or sub with ghee)
- ¾ cup monkfruit sweetener
- ½ cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup almond flour super fine
Optional Toppings
- low carb chocolate glaze
- chopped walnuts
- powdered erythritol
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sweetener, cocoa powder, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir in almond flour until just combined; do not overmix.
- Using a silicone mini muffin pan, divide the brownie mixture between 16 wells. Place the silicone pan on top of a sturdier baking sheet, then place both in the oven on the center rack.
- Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, depending on how you prefer the texture and doneness of your brownies. Use the toothpick test to determine doneness and adjust the baking time accordingly. Stick a toothpick in the center of the brownie and if it is covered in wet better when removed, bake longer. For fudge-like brownies, the toothpick will have crumbs attached once removed. For cake-like brownies, the toothpick will be completely clean once removed.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I'm Tasha–nutritionist, recipe developer, and multi-published cookbook author.
Hey there Tasha,
I will make sure to try out this delicious desert. Btw nice recipes and blog you've got here.
Cheers,
Laura
Is there a substitute for the type of sweetener you used?
R
I’d like to know this too.
I haven't tested the recipe with a different type of sweetener, but I think an Erythritol/Stevia blend would work (like Swerve) or even just swapping for granulated Erythritol might do the trick. You might have to play with the measurements depending on your personal taste when swapping the sweeteners. You can get monkfruit sweetener from amazon in the link I included above or Lakanto has a good blend that I've seen in health food stores locally (and online). Hope that helps!
And of course, if anyone does test it out with a different sweetener, please be sure to drop a comment on what, how much, and how it worked out. Baking is such a trial and error process, the feedback will be super helpful! 🙌
I am making. them with stevia tofay. I used the same measurements. Will let you know. I think i am allergic to monkfruit. My mouth burns when i have too much and salivate like crazy during the burning.
Kerianne Williams
Thanks again for leaving feedback on the recipe with the stevia alteration! <3
I just pulled these out of the oven. I forced myself to let them cool for a bit. What a treat! And so easy to make! Thank you for quenching my chocolate craving!
Awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for the positive feedback! <3
Made them with stevia. They turned out great. Used the same amount as monk fruit measurements.
Thank you for sharing! Sometimes the sweetener swaps can be a little tricky, I'm glad it turned out great with stevia. Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback, it is really helpful for everyone who reads the recipes!
Hi there! So excited to try these! Do you know how much coconut flour I would use instead of the almond flour?
Thanks! Love your website!
Thanks Alexa!
Coconut flour is quite a bit more absorbent than almond flour, so if you are subbing in coconut flour you'd either need to add in extra moisture (maybe an extra egg or butter) or reduce the amount of flour. It doesn't usually swap out with a clean 1:1 ratio. I always find coconut flour to be a little tricky when baking, so I haven't tested the recipe with it.
I'd love to know if someone tries it out with coconut flour and how they adapted the recipe to make it work. Would be super helpful for the folks with allergies or just making use of what's already in the pantry! 😊
I've been trying different keto friendly recipes (cakes, breads, etc) for the last few weeks. This recipe is by far the best one that I've tried to date. Texture and taste are the same as a full sugar brownie!
Very impressed with this recipe - thank you so much for sharing! After the many unsatisfying lemon breads, coconut cakes, and cookies this is a nice treat 🙂
Irene,
Thank you so much for the positive feedback! Keto baking can certainly be a challenge, I'm so glad the recipe was a success for you.
Tasha
Great recipe! I modified it a little bit and got super tasty rich chocolately tasting brownies. Maybe it's because I haven't had flour or real sugar in a while but I would put these right up against traditional brownies in terms of taste.
For a 1.5 size recipe I found the following works really well:
6 tbsp melted unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp monkfruit/erythritol blend sweetener
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch (1/8-1/4) tsp espresso powder
Wet ingredients together first then sifted dry ingredients in and mixed. Found the batter was super dry so we added the almond milk to make it more of a traditional brownie batter thickness.
Thanks for the recipe!
These look so delicious! Can't wait to try them!
These look delicious but I'm confused about the carb count you've given each brownie. The way I'm figuring it, the sweetner alone, with 4 grams per teaspoon, would be more than 8 grams per brownie. What am I missing? I'd really love to make these!
I agree. I just made these and if we’re doing 16 servings it’s almost 9g net carbs per serving! What’s up with that?! Am I doing something wrong?! Do I not eat them?!?!?!
Interesting...i wondered the same
The sugar alcohol sweeteners like erythritol will have a carb count on the nutritional label, but it does not count in the net carbs because they do not affect your blood glucose or insulin levels. Some artificial sweeteners do affect the insulin levels and need to be partially counted - you can read online in detail about which do this. Hope this is helpful
She's using no carb sweetener. Sugar alcohol does not count in net carb count nor does fiber.
Hi Tasha,
I made these today with powdered Swerve brand erythritol. They are very tasty but quite dense. The batter was very thick and a bit dry, making it impossible to pour, and I had to scoop it into the muffin tray and try my best to smooth it down. Again, they were really yummy, but the texture was a little lacking. I’m wondering if anyone has any suggestions to make the batter a little more smooth, while still using the Swerve sweetener.
Thanks for the recipe! I just got some cricket flour today and had to try it out, so substituted 1/4 cup of the almond flour for cricket flour. The batter was thick, maybe because my almond flour came from the freezer? I might add an extra egg or butter next time. I’ll definitely make these again! They taste great and have a decadent, fudgy texture!
My batter was thick too but I had regular almond flour that I sifted. Does that make a difference?
This looks amazing, I can't wait to try it!
Wanted to share that I just tried this recipe subbing Truvia for the monkfruit sweetener. I used 1/2 cup granulated Truvia, and upped the almond flour to a full cup to keep the total amount of dry ingredients the same. Worked like a charm! Thanks for the recipe, these came out super yummy 🙂
Becky, thank you for this! I just made a batch with 1 for 1 sub erythritol and - hoo! - it was way too sweet. Good to know that you had some luck with the reduced sweetener & increased nut flour.
Extremely easy to make and just as tasty and satisfying as conventional ones. I'm going to try adding some almond butter to the next batch.
6 tbsp melted unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp monkfruit/erythritol blend sweetener
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch (1/8-1/4) tsp espresso powder
So I first tried your original recipe, amazing taste but the texture was a little off , so I tried this version I found in the comments , I also added 1/2 tablespoon of baking powder , and 14g of Finley chopped bakers unsweetened dark chocolate to the batter ! OMG ! Amazing ! My whole family wanted more ! Amazing blog keep it up can’t wait for more recipes !!!!
These are wonderful! They are my daughter-in-law's favorite treat. She requests them often for herself and her friends. I make it just as written. I love monk fruit sweetener. It has the granular crunch of sugar.
These were amazing. Beyond my expectations. I didn’t have vanilla extract, so I substituted banana flavor. I also added a splash each of half & half and white chocolate coffee syrup. Baked until toothpick came out clean. They are moist, perfectly sweet and just perfection!! Thank you for recipe!!!!
I didn't have a mini muffin pan, so I lined an 8x8 pan with nonstick foil and spread the batter over the bottom. I did add 1/2 tsp of baking powder. The batter tasted delicious (licked the spoon), even though the only cocoa powder I had on hand was "special dark". Those disclaimers aside, I pulled them out of the oven and tried a tiny piece, and I'm *VERY* happy with the results. They're going to the office tomorrow to celebrate my boss's birthday, and then I'm baking a batch for myself when I get more almond flour and monkfruit! (also, did you know about the ChocZero monkfruit chocolates? I just discovered them.)
I saw in the adjusted recipe it says 1 tbsp vanilla extract and I’m wondering if you meant 1 tsp vanilla. This message is for Drew. Thank you.
Made these many times. Today I added peanuts I had left over from making molé sauce. WOW--even more addicting!
Looks delicious and can't wait to try. Quick question on storing these : Can they be stored in the pantry at room temperature or do they need to be refrigerated? And if yes for either, what is their shelf life ?
Thank you!
AB
Turned out amazing. I cut them in half and filled them with cream cheese frosting and tsp of sugar free jam.
Made little sandwiches .