This single serving chocolate brownie in a mug recipe is the perfect choice for any time you’re craving a simple gooey chocolate fudge brownie dessert!
Chocolate brownie in a mug
Say hello to a rich, moist, and delicious chocolate treat, ready in under five minutes.
For any true chocolate lover, this dangerously easy chocolate mug brownie for one might become your new favorite recipe, because you can whip it up almost instantly, as soon as a chocolate craving hits.
There’s no need to even heat up an oven!
I’ve made the recipe at least a dozen times over the past month, with no plans to stop. It’s warm, comforting, and so decadent.
You may also like these Black Bean Brownies
The best brownie mug cake
Single serving and easy to make, this decadent chocolate recipe can also be high protein, gluten free, sugar free, and vegan, with no eggs required.
And do you want to know the best part? Unlike many other chocolate brownie mug cake recipes, this one calls for absolutely no box brownie mix!
Feel free to add chocolate chips, or top with Coconut Ice Cream or Keto Ice Cream.
The gooey brownie in a mug was adapted from my healthy chocolate mug cake, which is one of the reader favorite recipes on my site.
To turn it into a single serving brownie, I played around with the ingredient ratios and also added some Dutch cocoa to give it that ultra rich, deep and chocolatey classic brownie flavor.
Also be sure to try this Healthy Banana Bread
Step by step recipe video
Brownie mug cake ingredients
Cocoa powder – The recipe calls for both regular unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder and Dutch process cocoa powder.
If you can only find regular cocoa, it still works without Dutch. The brownie mug cake will just not have as much of a rich traditional brownie flavor.
What type of flour? You can use white all purpose flour, whole grain spelt flour, or oat flour. There is also a keto option included in the recipe.
I have not tried almond flour, coconut flour, or whole wheat flour here and therefore cannot recommend those.
Oil or applesauce – The video uses coconut oil, but you can substitute any neutral oil or your favorite healthy nut butter of choice, such as peanut butter or almond butter.
While I prefer using oil instead of a low fat version, many readers have written in to say they love the results when replacing the fat for applesauce or mashed banana. So you can try one of these fat free ideas if you want to experiment.
Flavor variations
Protein Mug Brownie. Simply substitute the tablespoon of cocoa powder with an equal amount of your favorite chocolate protein powder.
Mint Chocolate. Add a few drops of pure peppermint extract (up to 1/4 teaspoon) along with the wet ingredients.
Mocha Brownie. Stir half a teaspoon of instant coffee powder in with the cocoa powder. Or use espresso in place of the milk.
Nutella Mug Brownie. Replace all of the oil with a heaping spoonful of jarred chocolate hazelnut butter or this Homemade Nutella Recipe.
How to make the recipe
To whip up the chocolate dessert, simply stir together the cocoa powder, flour, sugar or sugar free sweetener, baking powder, salt, oil or nut butter, milk of choice, and pure vanilla extract in a in a coffee mug or heat safe dish.
The brownie can be made in a microwave or a conventional oven. Be sure to grease the mug first if you want to remove the cake before eating it.
If you are baking the mug brownie in an oven, preheat it to 350° Fahrenheit or 176 °Celsius. Once it reaches the set temperature, bake the mug cake dessert for fourteen minutes on the center rack of the oven, then let it cool.
Or if you prefer a microwave brownie, place the dish or coffee cup in your microwave and cook until done. Time will depend on your microwave’s wattage.
I cooked my fudgy mug brownie for a minute, followed by two ten-second increments, so the mug dessert will be ready in about eighty or ninety seconds total.
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Wait, what leftovers?
Here’s a vanilla version: Vanilla Mug Cake
Brownie In A Mug
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (5g)
- 2 tsp Dutch cocoa powder or additional unsweetened cocoa powder (4g)
- 3 tbsp flour (22g) (spelt, white, or oat flour, or here’s a Keto Mug Cake Recipe)
- 2 tbsp sugar or xylitol for sugar free (24g)
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil or nut butter (12g) (some readers sub applesauce or banana)
- 3 tbsp milk of choice (45g)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (3g)
Instructions
- *If you want to remove the brownie mug cake before eating it, be sure to grease the mug before starting. If you can’t find Dutch cocoa, subbing additional regular will still work; it will just have less of a brownie flavor. I haven’t tried subbing applesauce or banana for the fat and therefore can’t vouch for the taste of that substitution.If baking the brownie in a mug, preheat your oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients in a mug or 1-cup dish (or two 1/2-cup dishes). Either bake around 14 minutes, OR microwave until set. Microwave times will vary depending on wattage and if using one or two dishes – I cooked mine for 1 minute, followed by two 10-second increments. If you try the recipe, be sure to leave a comment or rate it below!View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Healthy Chocolate Recipes
Chocolate Truffles – 3 ingredients
People complaining of it taking a long time must be slow bakers, must have a huge kitchen, or must just want something to complain about. I made it and from start to finish, it was 5 minutes. I used dark chocolate almond milk in mine, and drizzled it with melted peanut butter and it was AMAZING.
Thank you so much for trying it 🙂
haha yeah. i love the person up top who said it took her under 5 mins
and that included EATING IT as well! lol
Delicious I did make a mistake and added baking soda instead of powder so it turned out more cakey but that’s on my part
Thank you for trying it 🙂
OMG Yum. Made mine a little less sweet, and used about half the oil in the recipe and a little extra plant-based milk to keep the liquid volume the same. With less oil it’s more like a dense cake, still quite lovely. Wish I had some raspberries!
I’ll start by saying that I’ve tried a looooot of mug brownies. I’m currently going through a phase of trying them all haha. This one isn’t particularly my very favorite, but it IS going in the “make again” folder! It was a little more cakey than I prefer (vs. batter-y), but the flavors were still good! I used 1/2 monkfruit and 1/2 sugar. Oat flour. Avocado oil. Almond milk. 3 Tbsp regular cocoa.
Thank you!
Best Brownie Mug cake recipe I’ve ran across so far! I doubled the recipe and used self-rising flour and left out the salt. We enjoyed it.👍🏻
Thank you so much for trying it!
Delicious. I used peanut butter and all regular cocoa powder. It turned out great. At first I thought it may have been a bit dry but it literally melted in my mouth.
Quick fix for my chocolate craving! Quite yummy and will definitely make again. Took me altogether 4 mins, if that, to prepare and cook.
it’s a good little base cake. i don’t think i would’ve liked it as much if i didn’t add mini choc chips and a scoop of ice cream because the cake itself was lacking a bit. if you’re just going to eat the cake, definitely add another tbs of sugar and that should help. good recipe! helped my craving 😛
I mixed this up with ease and at the last minute mixed an egg and put 1 Tb in it. (I know: I shd mix as it is written THEN change it up). Great texture and flavor! Easy to make- I microwaved. Yum! I will make it again!
Mine exploded in the microwave, but it was amazing. Best brownie I’ve ever eaten! I don’t feel stuffed at all either. So good!!!!!
I just made the mug brownie and it’s so so good. I love it. Very easy and love that it’s gluten-free made with oat flour. Thank you for the recipe. I will be making it often 🥰
I don’t know about the person who was complaining about how much time it took, but for a fudgy, yummy treat, it certainly doesn’t take that long if you do it in the microwave. I’ve made it twice so far when I was in the more for a chocolatey treat and it hit the spot. I will be making this a lot more for a quick delicious bite! Thanks for the recipe Katie!
This is a filling brownie! I used all dutch cocoa and all-purpose flour. I honestly enjoyed eating the batter more than the brownie itself! The batter has a nice consistency with lots of sweetness. Once microwaved, the cocoa overpowered any sweetness in the brownie, and it left me dreaming about eating the batter again haha! Overall a nice moist cakey consistency in the brownie.
Hi Katie,
I recently started an elimination diet based on a food sensitivity test I took that indicates I have “leaky gut” and I am having the hardest time finding recipes that eliminate almost everything. I found this recipe and I have tried it several times. I finally found the right combination and it makes a fantastic alternative brownie to fill this girl’s sweet tooth thanks to your base! I used all the same ratios, but substituted cassava flour, coconut oil, coconut sugar, baker’s 100 cacao, and unsweetened coconut milk (added a tiny bit more milk because I also added a half scoop of my unflavored collagen protein). I wanted to let you know this combination makes a great brownie for alternative grain folks/vegans and thank you again for helping me get through this crazy diet!
Just made this in the microwave and it was great! Super easy to make, added icecream and caramel sauce on top and it was delicious.
Thank you so much for trying it 🙂
One word review – DANGEROUS!
I used 1 T. peanut butter that was very dense, so the batter needed 1 T. of unsweetened applesauce.
80 seconds in microwave was perfect.