Oh hi there. Welcome to your weekly MUST BAKE recipe from Ambitious Kitchen aka whatever my preggo brain was craving.
Today’s delightful fudgy adventure comes to you in brownie form. Except these aren’t just your typical brownie. NOPE. These are my ridiculously scrumptious ALMOND BUTTER BROWNIES, and they just so happen to be flourless, fudgy AF and so good you’d think that they came straight from the Ghirardelli HQ.
I’m just going to say this right here so it’s out there: these almond butter brownies are legitimately the best gluten free + dairy free brownies you’ll ever, ever eat. In fact, they’re SO addictive that they might just be better than my internet famous tahini brownies, and that’s truly saying A LOT.
You’ll have to try them out for yourself though. You know, just to be sure.
What’s in these almond butter brownies?
Here’s the exciting news: you only need 8 ingredients to make these almond butter brownies! Not only do I love that these require ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, but I’m also obsessed with the fact that these brownies are both dairy and gluten free, which means they’re great for those with allergies. Here are the 8 ingredients you’ll need:
- All natural almond butter (only ingredient being roasted almonds + salt): it’s best to use almond butter in this recipe. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Trader Joe’s almond butter, but the 365 brand and Kirkland are also terrific. Bottom line is that we want this to be a creamy, drippy, natural almond butter.
- Eggs: see my notes section for substitutions.
- Pure maple syrup: the one and only!
- Brown sugar: you are welcome to sub coconut sugar, but brown sugar does really give them a nice crackly top and a true fudgy texture.
- Coconut oil: you’ll only need a tablespoon, but feel free to sub melted butter or vegan butter.
- Chocolate chips: feel free to use mini chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips or dairy free chocolate chips.
- Baking soda: there’s just a tiny bit in this recipe to keep the brownies perfectly fudgy.
- Salt: but we don’t count salt as an ingredient, right?
To be honest, when I first made these, I didn’t think they’d be as delicious as they were. I was simply trying to make a brownie version of my almond butter blondies. However, after sinking my teeth into a corner piece, I couldn’t stop saying, ‘OH MY GOODNESS,’ and ‘THESE ARE AMAZING — WOW.’
Later that night, I put them in the fridge to see if I’d love them even more cold.
My intuition was right. Straight cold from the fridge with a glass of almond milk is where it’s truly at.I love them. Tony loves them. My son in utero loves them. SO NOW YOU MUST MAKE THEM!
How to store almond butter brownies
I’d recommend leaving them on the counter for no more than a day or two, and then storing the brownies covered in the refrigerator. They’re especially delicious straight from the fridge anyway.
To freeze almond butter brownies: allow brownies to cool completely, then cut the brownies as directed. Wrap individual brownies in plastic wrap, then in foil or a reusable bag such as Stasher bags. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Optional brownie mix-ins (if you dare!)
I always loving making recipes a little more… ambitious. These flourless almond butter brownies are no different. Feel free to stir in any of the following to really make the brownies your own:
walnuts or pecans: chopped nuts in brownies? I’m all about it.
frosting + sprinkles on top: because cosmic brownies can be birthday cake too!
caramel + sea salt: stir in a few tablespoons of caramel and then sprinkle the brownies with sea salt when finished.
mint brownies: add 1/2 teaspoon mint or peppermint extract to the brownie batter, then bake up!
raspberry jam swirl: swirl in a tablespoon or two or raspberry jam — it’s kinda like a chocolate almond butter and jelly sandwich.
butterscotch chips: get crazy, you wild animal.
See how to make almond butter brownies:
I can’t wait to see what you come up with! If you make this recipe, be sure to rate the recipe below and leave a comment! You can also follow me on Instagram and tag #ambitiouskitchen. xo!
Fudgy Flourless Almond Butter Brownies (gluten free + dairy free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy, natural almond butter (only almonds + salt as the ingredients)
- ½ cup packed brown sugar (or sub coconut sugar)
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted and cooled (can also use melted butter or vegan butter)
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder (use a high-quality -- not Hershey’s)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chocolate chips, dairy free if desired
- For the topping:
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips, dairy free if desired
- ½ teaspoon coconut oil
- Fancy sea salt, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, mix together the almond butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and eggs until smooth and well combined. Next add melted coconut oil and mix again until smooth. Finally add in the cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix until well incorporated. Stir in ¼ cup chocolate chips. The batter should be THICK and that’s the way we want it.
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Add the brownie batter to the prepared pan and evenly spread out using a rubber spatula or you may need to your hands to evenly push the batter towards the edges. Bake for 15-20 minutes until tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. It’s best to underbake these brownies. Allow the brownies to cool in the pan for at least 20-30 minutes before removing or cutting; they will be super fudgy and you want them to completely set first. This will be a true testament of willpower 🙂
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To top the brownies: add chocolate chips and coconut oil to a small microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until chocolate is smooth and melted. Drizzle over brownies, then top with fancy sea salt. Cut into 16 squares and enjoy! These brownies are delicious straight from the fridge. They’re fudgy and perfect if you want to store them in there.
Recipe Notes
To freeze almond butter brownies: allow brownies to cool completely, then cut the brownies as directed. Wrap individual brownies in plastic wrap, then in foil or a reusable bag such as Stasher bags. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To make brownies vegan: You can try using two flax eggs instead of regular eggs. Please know that I have not tested this option myself.
If you'd like to lower the sugar in these brownies: I suggest cutting the brown sugar to 1/3 cup and leaving out the chocolate chips in the brownies. I've tried it and it was still delish -- however, I do recommend keeping the chocolate drizzle on top.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
89 comments
Monique that drizzle is just beautiful!! I absolutely love how fluffy and thick they came out! Beautifully done 🙂
Thanks girl! They texture on these is incredible – you’ll have to give them a try!
hello, what can I use to replace the two eggs?
I have these in front of me (even before I got na e-mail notification 😉) Brownies are super delicious, my 18 months old son saying „mniam mniam” which means yummy yummy 😁😃😍🤩
Amazing!! So happy you both love them 🙂
Can I sub natural peanut butter for almond?? I’m just not a fan of the taste of almond butter!!
Hi Savanna — peanut butter doesn’t really have the same consistency or flavor so I would not recommend. You could probably try cashew butter — or I suggest my tahini brownies.
Can you substitute honey for the maple syrup?
Hi there! This recipe is best with pure maple syrup for flavor. I feel that honey tends to overpower the chocolate, however if you want to try it, feel free to! Let us know how it goes 🙂
What brand of cocoa powder do you recommended? I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi Joyce! I love Ghirardelli, Divine or Guittard! You can also use cacao powder if you’d like. Basically anything decent quality that isn’t hershey’s!
How much vanilla extract do you recommend?
Hi! There actually isn’t vanilla extract in this recipe — just my error within the post oops! all fixed now 🙂 If you want to add vanilla, a teaspoon will work!
These are delicious! I used one egg and one flax egg as well as a teaspoon of vanilla. Thanks, Monique!
Perfect! So glad the flax egg worked out well in here.
Love this recipe made it last night for the first time except mine are actually pretty thin. What is your trick for getting them so thick?
Glad you liked them! Did you bake them in the correct size pan and follow the instructions/correct ingredients? If made correctly (and using fresh baking soda) the brownies will not be thin. Be sure to check out the video too!
These came out so amazing!!! I added a dulce de leche swirl and Maldon salt on top- the only brownies I will make from now on.
That sounds delicious!! Glad you loved them 🙂
So, I read all the comments and made these anyway with super thick peanut butter (Eliot’s Espresso Nib) and they are AMAZING! I love that you don’t use too much sugar in your recipes; normally I reduce sugar by almost half but with your recipes I don’t have to.
Perfect! Espresso Nib PB sounds delicious. So happy you’re finding treats you love here Jenny!
These look great, but could you sub out the coconut oil for sunflower or would it affect the consistency? I wanna make these for my cousin who is allergic to SO MANY things, including coconut.
Thanks
You can use melted butter or vegan melted butter. Olive oil would probably also work well!
Made these last night abs an anniversary treat for my husband (and me ) they are soooo soooo good !!! Thanks for an awesome recipe
Perfect!! So glad you both loved them.
Just made these and they are the best brownies ever. SO GOOD! Thanks for another awesome recipe!
I’m so glad you loved them!
I just tried this recipe and it was DEEE-LISH..
Note: My daughter is super keen on the smell of coconut oil. Rather than substitute for butter, I used MCT oil since it has no odor and she didn’t notice a thing. The brownies had the gooey soft consistency I would expect.
I’m going to try with less sugar next time to see if I can cut down on that and will let you know how it goes.
So happy to hear that! Let me know how it goes with less sugar, too.
I just tried making these with PEANUT BUTTER because I ran out of almond – NOT THE SAME. The peanut smell is strong which is fine if you like a peanut butter cookie. It was crispier not gooey.
I did also try making the original recipe as cupcakes and baked for only 15 minutes and they were a hit! I would bake for 13 minutes next time. I didn’t over cook these at 15 minutes but it didn’t have that fudge-like consistency I was hoping for.
The peanut butter can tend to bake up differently! Great idea baking as little cupcakes – yum.
So happy to hear that you’re loving them!! One of my all time favs. Glad I can provide 90% of your meals, too 🙂
So good and so easy to make
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed.
Can you use Nutella in this recipe?
sure you could add a swirl of nutella in, however these are fairly sweet as is and I would definitely not replace the almond butter for nutella.
Saw this and inspired to make so ran full steam into kitchen! They came out SO good!! I only had sunflower butter on hand and still worked! Mine did not have salt added so doubled salt in recipe – worked beautifully and no salt detected so I recommend to double if your nut or seed butter is sans salt. I also subbed avocado oil. I used brown coconut sugar but did not increase. They are just as pictured….fluffy, fudgy, gooey!! For me, the perfect sweetness. For others, maybe not sweet enough so consider increasing if using coconut sugar as recommended in comments. I opted for not as sweet as old-fashioned brownies but make no mistake… These are AMAZING!! Thx for test recipe!!
Perfect! So glad those little swaps worked out, and great tip with adding a bit of salt. Enjoy!!
I’ve got to say, I’m a serious gluten free skeptic and these seriously rocked my world. Everyone I gave them to loved them, and no one had any idea they were gluten free. Major major win — thank you!
Love that! These are one of my favorites (gluten free & non!)
I’m also not a huge fan of almond butter but tried these with almond butter and loved them! You really can’t taste the ab. The next time I made them, I used natural peanut butter and they still turned out great! They were a little more dense than with the almond butter and definitely tasted like peanut butter. Just thought I’d share .
Glad you loved these! The peanut butter swap in these does tend to be a little more dense.
I made these last night and they were great! You can taste the almond butter but it is not overpowering and they truly taste like very fudge-y, rich brownies. The recipe is so easy without any crazy ingredients. Thank you for a gluten free, dairy free brownie recipe that is actually palatable.
Absolutely! The almond butter just adds that delicious fudgy texture. So glad you loved these!
Can I use cashew butter instead ?
Yes that should work!
What happens if you do use Hershey’s cocoa powder? I got everything needed at the store except a different brand of cocoa powder, so I’m now curious!
You can feel free to use Hershey’s! The flavor won’t be as fudgy and delicious but it will still work.
Ah-may-zing! I made them as directed except I didn’t haven’t maple syrup so I added 1/4 cup more brown sugar. My non df/gf friend loved them and asked for the recipe!!
Glad that swap worked out well! The perfect treat 🙂
awesome!!! i have been making recipes off your site and i can not tell you how grateful i am that they are tested and i have never wasted nor flapped any of them!! on another note i made the great brownies, the only thing i did different was cut a dark chocolate bar in pieces to make it fudgier and less sugary, i was concerned the sugar/maple syrup was going to make it too sweet, but it came out perfect. thanks again!
I’m so glad you’re loving the recipes here! Great idea with the dark chocolate bar, too 🙂 yum!
I’m one of the skeptical folks when it comes to baking that isn’t “conventional”, but only because I’ve had a good amount of experience with paleo, keto, etc, baking…it’s too often not as good. But…these brownies? Yum. They’re not as fudgy as I was hoping for – more like halfway between cakey and fudgy, and so, so good…deeply chocolately. In my book, a good brownie can stand on its own – no frosting necessary. These are those brownies. Going immediately in my file of favorites. Thank you, and congrats on your beautiful boy!
I should add, for those of you asking about cutting the amount of sweeteners in this: I cut the coconut sugar down to a scant third of a cup, and the maple syrup down to 2 T…I also swirled in a bit of hazelnut spread and then finished with maldon sea salt…pure heaven…flavor and texture are winners!
I’m glad you loved these, Moe! And that those adjustments worked out well for you. One of my all time fav brownies (gluten free or not!)
I’m on an Ambitious Kitchen role this weekend and made these brownies, your BBQ chicken burgers, and almond flour banana bread- all EXCEPTIONAL. These brownies are my new favorite treat everrrrrrr. I followed the recipe exactly as written but my brownies had to bake for closer to 30 minutes. They are SO fudgy and perfect. I love them straight from the fridge, too! The chocolate drizzle and flaky sea salt take these to another level. My kids now think I’m a brilliant brownie maker, so THANK YOU. Thumbs way up from the pickiest boys on the planet!
Amazing! Sounds like a delicious weekend 🙂 glad you loved these!
These are amazing!! My whole family loved them. We are almost the entire batch. Perfect texture, and flavor was just right. We loved the chocolate drizzle on top! No pic , ate too fast
So happy everyone loved these! Such a great treat.
Love these! Cashew butter is also a great option.
Absolutely! Such a great treat.
Loved these, will def make again! Soo good!!
So happy to hear that!
so yummy!!
One of my favs! 🙂
wow these are amazing!
I subbed with the two flax eggs and the recipe was perfect. Fudgey, gooey, and delicious!!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Amazing! I’m glad the flax eggs worked out well. One of my fav desserts!
These brownies are delicious! I added melted dark chocolate (since that’s what I’m used to when making brownies) in addition to a bit of cocoa powder and it still turned out great.
Delicious! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
These are gooey and delicious! No crazy ingredients, and super easy to make. They took almost twice as long to bake as the directions, but we were so so impressed with the results!
Hmm not sure why they would’ve taken so long to bake but I’m glad you liked them!
These brownies are delicious! I made them for a group of girlfriends and everyone loved them. Will def make them again.
So happy to hear that!
Yep. Girl.. you did the dang thing with this recipe!! I just made these for a Super Bowl Party today and of course I had to try a corner before offering them to others and they are so fudgy and chocolaty and just pure brownie perfection!! I followed the recipe 100%.. the batter was super thick and hard to spread in the pan.. had to use my hands.. but the end product was so divine I don’t even care about that part lol.. I have also made your tahini brownies and those are such a Yummy decadent treat as well but these are officially my all time favorite brownie recipe!!! Thank you!
Amazing! So happy you loved these!
Best brownies ever!!!!!!!!
Glad you love them!!
Have you ever made these with 1 T of coconut flour like you do in your Tahini Brownies? I made these yesterday and they were a bit too wet even after baking for 25 minutes. I’m wondering if the addition of the flour would help. Thanks!
I haven’t had that issue but it could be due to the brand of almond butter or cocoa powder you are using. Next time I would suggest eliminating the coconut oil! 🙂
I used two flax eggs to make the recipe vegan. They weren’t quite the same texture, but still delicious!
The flax eggs will create a slightly different texture, but I’m glad you enjoyed regardless!
I completely forgot the brown sugar in these and they still turned out fantastic! Can’t wait to try again.. lol and try the tahini ones as well
I’m glad they still worked out! One of my fav treats. Hope you love the tahini ones, too!
I haven’t tasted them yet; but they look & smell delicious! How should they be stored please?
Hope you’re loving them! I actually have storage instructions within the post 🙂 I’d recommend leaving them on the counter for no more than a day or two, and then storing the brownies covered in the refrigerator. They’re especially delicious straight from the fridge anyway!
This is my absolute favorite brownie recipe. It’s so much easier and less fussy than others on the internet, and it’s made with slightly better ingredients than some other brownies. My whole family loves this recipe, and I do too!!
I’m so glad you love these!
We don’t have maple syrup due to quarantine. Any subs?
I would probably recommend upping the brown sugar to 3/4 cup total! I haven’t tested but it should work ok!