Sugar-Free Brownies (Diabetic-Friendly)
By Carine Claudepierre
Published on 11/12/2023 - Last updated on 08/20/2024
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These Sugar-Free Brownies are a healthy diabetic brownie recipe with the most amazing chewy, gooey chocolate texture and only 8 grams of net carbs per serving.
My mum is a type 2 diabetic and she’s sometimes bored of keto brownies, or almond flour recipes. She’s after truly fudgy brownies, with real crackle on top, gooey you can’t get that without all-purpose flour
Obviously, all-purpose flour is higher in carbs than keto-friendly flour, but if used in small amounts in combination with sugar-free monk fruit sweetener, you can bake a diabetic brownie recipe with four times less carbs than regular brownies.
What Are Sugar-Free Brownies?
Sugar-free brownies are the healthier version of classic brownies. While the traditional brownie recipes are made with refined sugar and sugar-loaded chocolate, this sugar-free brownie recipe is a low-carb alternative.
It’s a great sugar-free dessert made with ingredients void of any added sugar, and they are therefore very low in carbs. This said, I am an expert at healthy brownie recipes, and this recipe is too high in carbs for you I have so many options for you like my coconut flour brownies, Greek Yogurt brownies, or date brownies.
Why You Will Love These Diabetic Brownies
- Easy and healthy
- Fudgy brownies
- Nut-free no almond flour needed
- Only 8 grams of net carbs per slice
- Ready in 20 minutes
Ingredients For Sugar-Free Brownies For Diabetics
It’s a very easy recipe, the batter is ready in 10 minutes, and all you need to make these sugar-free brownies are a few simple ingredients.
- All-Purpose Flour – You will be surprised that you can actually bake fudgy diabetic brownie recipes using all-purpose flour. You don’t have to use almond flour or coconut flour. It’s all about balance and keeping the carbs low and I have shown my expertise in using flour and delivering diabetes-friendly pancakes with my sugar-free pancakes!
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – The key ingredient for gooey chocolate brownies is cocoa powder.
- Baking Powder for just a little rise.
- Sugar-Free Crystal Sweetener – I like to use a combination of white erythritol Mon fruit blend with some brown erythritol that crackles the top of the brownie. I used erythritol but allulose or tagatose would also work. Check out my review of keto-friendly sweeteners to learn how to pick the best.
- Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips – Feel free to use milk or dark chocolate chips, I do prefer dark chocolate to enhance the chocolate brownie flavor. If you don’t have sugar-free chocolate chips, you can make my chocolate chip recipe.
- Large Eggs – Bring the eggs to room temperature 30 minutes before. Eggs are naturally low in carbohydrates and the binder of these healthy brownies.
- Melted Unsalted Butter – Cooled for 5 minutes but still a bit lukewarm so it melts the sugar-free sweetener.
- Salt to enhance the chocolate flavor
- Vanilla Extract for flavor
How To Make Sugar-Free Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8-inch x 8-inch brownie pan with parchment paper. Oil with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted lukewarm butter and sweetener.
- Whisk in eggs and vanilla extract until well incorporated.
- Fold in the unsweetened cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and sugar-free chocolate chips. Stir to combine nicely, into a thick, smooth brownie batter.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and bake them at 350°F (180°C) for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is dry, crackles and a toothpick inserted in the center of the diabetic brownies comes out with a bit of crumbs. Let the brownies cool down in the pan for 10 minutes, then take them out and let them cool on a cooling rack before slicing.
Baker Tips
- Store in the fridge for extra fudgy texture – the texture will get extremely rich, and fudgy when cold. Place the brownies in an airtight container in the fridge to increase their fudgy chocolate texture.
- Avoid cold eggs – the contact of lukewarm butter and cold eggs will clump the butter.
- Use a combination of white and brown sugar-free crystal sweetener – brown erythritol contains more moisture, it makes the brownies crackle on top and even fudgier.
- Don’t be afraid of flour – regular flour is higher in carbs but it’s the key ingredient to deliver a real brownie texture. In this recipe, only a small amount is used which keeps each slice of brownies to 8 grams of net carbs and no sugar added!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, flax eggs or egg replacer might work to make a vegan sugar-free brownie recipe.
To make a low-sugar brownie recipe, you can replace the sugar with a crystal sweetener like erythritol, allulose, or tagatose.
Don’t use artificial sweeteners like sucralose, acesulphame K, or Aspartame. Sugar in brownies doesn’t only add sweetness but also texture and artificial sweeteners can’t bring that.
Yes, these sugar-free brownies are very low-GI desserts and are suitable for diabetics.
More Sugar-Free Brownies Recipes
If you’ve enjoyed this sugar-free treat, you’ll love my grain-free, gluten-free brownie recipes below!
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Sugar-Free Brownies
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 2 large Eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup Unsalted Melted Butter lukewarm
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Dry ingredients
- ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
- ½ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 cup Sugar-free Crystal Sweetener I used 1/2 cup white erythritol and 1/2 cup brown erythritol
- ½ cup Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips or chopped pecans or a mix of both
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Cover a 8-inch brownie square pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla essence. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk melted, lukewarm butter and sugar-free Monk fruit erythritol blend.
- Whisk in eggs, and vanilla extract until incorporated.
- Fold in cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and sugar-free chocolate chips. Use a silicone spatula to stir and incorporate gently until no more flour can be seen.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared brownie pan and spread the brownie batter evenly with the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until the top crackles, the center should not be wet, but a toothpick inserted should come out with just a few bits of crumb.
- Cool down in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift out the parchment paper to release the brownie from the pan and transfer onto a cooling rack.
Notes
Tools
Getting Started What Is Keto? Macro Calculator Sweetener Converter Intermittent Fasting Keto Fruits Keto Vegetables Keto Flours Fighting Keto Flu Healthy SweetenersWant My Kitchen Equipment?
Nutrition
About The Author
Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook, and founder of Sweet As Honey.
I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I'm passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I'm also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.
I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet
Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!
All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.
Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.
I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!
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Disclaimer
The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. You must consult with your doctor before starting on a keto or low-carb diet. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only.
The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates. As an example, a recipe with 10 grams of Carbs per 100 grams that contains 3 grams of erythritol and 5 grams of fiber will have a net carbs content of 2 grams. Some sweeteners are excluded because they are not metabolized.
You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.
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Hello,
Is it possible to substitute the sugar with coconut sugar or maple sugar? Or maple?
Yes, any granulated sugar works!
Hi!looks like a great recipe.
I would like to make them dairy free.
Is there an oil that you recommend that I could use to substitute for the butter?
I like to bake with melted coconut oil or avocado oil
These look wonderful for a newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic. But, I am confused as your preliminary information says equipment includes a 9-inch square pan, but the directions say to cover a(an?) 8-inch brownie square pan. A bit confusing, I think. Please advise. Thanks. Looking forward to making them soon.
This recipe works better on an 8-inch pan, but you can use a 9-inch pan if you have one, it’ll just be a bit less thick.
Hi,
I don’t take eggs. What can I substitute with.
Thank you
Priya
Eggs can’t be replaced in this recipe, but I have many other brownie recipes without eggs you can try!
This recipe sounds great and I would love to try. Can I substitute the coconut oil with vegetable oil or butter? Can the coconut flour be substituted with more of the almond flour? I’m just wanting to make them with what I have in my pantry. Would like to make them for my Mom today! Thanks!
For the batter, you can use butter and for the chocolate drizzle, you can use vegetable oil.
Coconut flour can’t be replaced in this recipe as it’s more absorbent than other flours. If you use just almond flour, it might struggle to come together.
It might work by adding a touch of ground flaxseeds, but I can’t guarantee that.
I followed this recipe exactly, and it is literally my favorite brownie recipe that I’ve ever made, and the recipe is so simple.
Can I substitute monk fruit sweetener for the Erythritol or erythritol or xylitol?
Sure!
Sooo excited to try this recipe! I don’t have vanilla essence can vanilla extract work ?
Sure, Enjoy the brownies, XOXO Carine
These look so delicious, but unfortunately I don’t have almond flour and have oat flour. Will it still be okay if I use oat flour as a substitute?
Oat flour will work, same amount but it’s not a keto friendly flour. A better swap will be sesame flour or sunflower seed flour, both are keto approved. Enjoy, XOXO Carine
This is very good! Whoever I only baked it for 15 min and it was close to being too dry so I think I’ll check it at 13-14min. Next time. Also it is more like cake but still delicious. I have a few ideas to make it more brownie like if they down work I’ll try you other brownie recipes. 💗. I drizzled Lily’s white and dark chocolate on top. Yum! I’m actually excited it turned out more like cake because I’ve tried to make keto cakes with countless fails but I think this will work perfectly for cupcakes and cakes. Thank you!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My partner is diabetic and I am interested in finding some healthy recipes for him and myself. I am not diabetic but I could lose a few pounds.
So I am really trying to keep both of us eating healthy.
Haven’t tasted yet. Question- do you drizzle after one hour in the fridge or before placing in the fridge for one hour?
You can do both, if you drizzle before, the chocolate wil set and gets crunchy in the fridge. If you do it after, it will stay liquid. It depends on taste, I like it cold and crunchy 🙂 Enjoy he treat, XOXO Carine
I am really struggling finding really easy recipes
Look forward to seei f yours
I can’t wait to read your first comment on my recipes! Enjoy ! XOXO Carine
So since starting keto over a year ago I’ve been looking for a brownie recipe….and I’ve found it! I’ve used this recipe more than once and its my favorite dessert! It comes out perfect each time…fudgy and delicious! If you haven’t tried this recipe yet you’re missing out! THANK YOU for coming up with such a delicious brownie! ????
This is such a beautiful comment to read! Thanks so much for joining my keto blog. Enjoy the sweet treat around here. XOXO Carine.
Hi, how can I replace de 1/2 cup of sweetener? I only have liquid or Zucra ( sucralose ) in envelopes… Thanks
I am not familiar with sucralose at all so unfortunately I can’t recommend on something I did not try. Enjoy the blog recipes. XOXO Carine.
Hi Carine,
My sister has type 1 diabetes and does not like coconut, can I just use more of the almond flour or do you have any recommendations as to what flour I could replace it with.
Thanks Carine.
I did not try the recipe without coconut flour so I dont know how much more almond flour you will need. Usually you need way more almond flour to replace coconut flour, could be up to 4 times more. Otherwise you can try my almond flour avocado brownies, 100% type 1 diabetes-friendly. Enjoy the recipes on the blog. Have a Merry Christmas, XOXO Carine.
Hi
Can they be frozen? If yes, how do you defrost?
Thanks
Maria
I did not try to freeze those as they keep well for few days in the panry in a cookie jar. I think they should freeze as well as regular brownie. I would defrost the day before on a cookie rack at room temperature. Enjoy. XOXO Carine.
Can you sub the eggs with egg beaters? Thanks!
Do you means eggs that you beat with a beater before adding into the brownie batter? if so, yes it won’t change the recipe. You can beat the eggs and add them beaten as soon as you don’t change the amount of eggs used. Enjoy the brownie, XOXO Carine.
Egg beaters are a product that does not contain cholesterol as it does not have egg yolks included in it. It is sold in the dairy section of a store. People use it in place of regular eggs in recipes when they are watching their cholesterol intake.
Thanks for this lovely addition! Very helpful. Enjoy the blog, XOXO. Carine
Can i replace the eggs with chia eggs to make it completely vegan?
Hi! It won’t be appropriate in this recipe because it is using lots of coconut flour – a very absorbent flour that won’t work with chia eggs. Chia eggs don’t add enough liquid as eggs do to make this recipe work. If you love vegan brownies, I will recommend my vegan brownie sweetened with dates (no other sweetener added, 100% naturally sweetened). Enjoy the vegan desserts! XOXO Carine.
I followed the recipe and even pulled the brownies 5 minutes early, and still found them too “cakey” for my taste. But I think cutting back a few more minutes and maybe upping the fat will help.
Thanks for the recipe!
I am sorry this wasn’t to your taste Liz. I have got a fudgier low carb brownie recipe to try if you prefer fudge brownies. It is here. That is a recipe using a bit more fat – healthy one from avocado – and you should prefer this texture if you are not too much into coconut flour brownies. Enjoy the blog and recipes. Thanks for taking a minute to shre your valuable feedback ! XOXO Carine.