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!
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
Brownie in a mug recipe video
Above – watch the video how to make a brownie in a mug
Brownie mug cake ingredients
For the 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.
For the fat: 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 haven’t tried a low fat version, many readers have written in to say they’ve had good results replacing the oil for applesauce or mashed banana. So you can try one of these fat free ideas if you want to experiment.
For a protein mug brownie: Simply substitute the tablespoon of cocoa powder with an equal amount of your favorite chocolate protein powder.
Flavor variations: Add a few drops of pure peppermint extract for a mint chocolate brownie in a mug.
Or add a drop or two of almond or maple extract or up to half a teaspoon of instant coffee powder.
You can even make a Nutella brownie mug cake by replacing the oil with a spoonful of 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 degrees Fahrenheit. 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
- 2 tsp Dutch cocoa powder or additional unsweetened
- 3 tbsp flour (spelt, white, or oat flour, or here’s a Keto Mug Cake Recipe)
- 2 tbsp sugar or xylitol for sugar free
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil or nut butter (some readers sub applesauce or banana)
- 3 tbsp milk of choice
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
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
OMG! I tried this after doing a search for chocolate mug cake. I love this recipe! It came together super quick and stood up to my substitutions and additions. I used oat flour. Cut sweetener a bit to 1 TBSP erithrytol and 1 tsp real sugar. Used unsweetened applesauce instead of oil. Subbed 1 tsp cocoa with 1 tsp peanut butter powder. Took a little longer in my micro, possibly due to extra liquid from applesauce. It came out amazing! I will make again for sure when craving something homemade, sweet, and a little healthy (?!?!?)!!! Thanks so much!
Thank you for trying it!
Katie, I put these ingredients together and decided not to bake it. I left out the baking powder, and instead, am enjoying it as edible brownie batter. I’ve refrigerated it, and it’s far better than any store bought edible brownie batter. I’m sure one could easily heat-treat the flour, but I didn’t do so. Anyway, I’ve done this a number of times with your other recipes, sometimes quartering cake recipes and enjoying the batter in an unbaked form. Maybe this makes me crazy, but I thought I’d let you know and say thank you for healthier edible cake and brownie batter recipes! –Lauren
Your version sounds amazing!
Thank you so much for your reply, and for always taking the time to read comments.
First off, I will be making this again! I used apple sauce instead of oil and kept everything else the same plus added chocolate chips. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed them! The only weird thing was that they took about 26 minutes to cook in the oven!!! I used smallish fiestaware mugs and placed them on a small baking sheet. I might try the microwave if I’m in a rush next time 😛 thanks for the delicious recipe!
absolutely brilliant, takes no time at all to measure out the ingredients in a cup using a tablespoon/teaspoon.
great activity for kids, and if you need a last minute dessert!
I cooked it in the microwave, a lovely soft moist brownie. just need some ice cream to go with it now!
❤❤
Oh my god, this is just amazing!! What I love about this recipe is that you can add anything to the brownie and it turns out perfect! One of my favorites is to add jam after filling halfway, top the brownie off, and then ice with peanut butter, like a chocolate PB&J sandwich!
HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER!
THAT IS GENIUS!
PB & J~CHOC BROWNIE IN A MUG!!!!
AMAAAZING GIRL!!
(Am on it!! making some jam right now!! outa froz strawberries, coconut sug & chia seeds in lil pot on stove top)
THANKYOUUUUUU
I followed the recipe to a T, used AP flour, but it wasn’t great, very dense and shiny on top, not like the gorgeous crackled one you made in the photo. The taste was missing something for me, but that may just because it didn’t turn out right… Any ideas as to where it went wrong ? Everyone here raves about it, i want to try it again !
When a recipe asks for dark cocoa, could cacao work? I tried it and it tasted really good on one of your mug recipes ! I’m left wondering though — what does dark cocoa taste like?
Really good! I would definitely 2X the recipe though since it’s only a small serving.
Brownies are my favorite dessert, but my husband doesn’t care for them—and we both need to be dieting. So being able to make just a serving at a time is wonderful! I mixed up two sets of dry ingredients just so it’s not so obnoxious to get everything out twice. Next time I will try Nutella instead of oil, and less salt: it came out salty for some reason. But rest assured, THERE WILL BE A NEXT TIME because this is GREAT!
Thank you so much for trying it!
I randomly stumbled across this recipe and I must say I’m impressed. I used oat flour and organic “wholesome” zero sugar. I was just missing the vanilla. I’m sure it would have tasted even better.
Recently had to change my diet to gf & df. What a dbl whammy. I happened across this recipe on Pinterest. I split this into 2 dishes as I’m also a member of WW and the 1 serving points was more than I cared to use.