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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I have just been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. This recipe is yummy! Hope it isn’t too bad for me.
Hello ! If you follow the recipe using the ingredients listed, it will create a delicious low carb sugar free treat that should not impact your blood sugar level very much. I had pre diabetes and I was treating myself with a slice of this once in a while and I was fine. Enjoy the recipe and again, always check with a doctor if you have got any doubt on a recipe regarding your particular health condition. We are all different and I am not a medical professional, I wouldn’t give a bad advice to you. Have a great time baking those. XOXO Carine.
Caribe, I am unfamiliar with solid coconut oil, can I use unsalted butter?
Yes sure, butter is ok, solid coconut oil is simply coconut oil at room temperature – it is solid in the jar at room temperature and melt around 40C. Let me know how it goes with butter! Happy low carb baking my friend. XOXO Carine.
Do you think I could use all almond meal? As i dont have coconut flour
Hello! No it is a coconut flour brownie recipe. Coconut flour contains 10 times more fibre than almond flour, it means that it is a very water absorbent flour. If you swap for almond meal it won’t hold together at all. However, I have got an almond meal low carb brownie recipe (100% sugar free too) that you may like check it out here. Enjoy ! XOXO Carine.
Hi Carine
Thank you so much for such a great blog site. I have just tried baking these for my friends baby shower tomorrow. She has gestational diabetes. I think the flavour is delicious but the texture sort of firm/oily/springy and just wondered if I had used too much oil? I melted coconut oil first then measured out 80grams (1/3 cup). Should I have measured 1/3 cup out before melting? Any help would be great. I may have to make a second batch at speed in the morning. Thanks!
Hi! I am happy you enjoy the flavor of this sugar free brownie. I sent you a private email with more tips but I think you may have over bake your brownie, that is how I would explain the firm texture. I also measure my coconut oil solid, the melt it in the microwave. So it won’t come from the oil. I would recommend you to check the cooking after 15 minutes, if it st on sides and top removed from the oven and cool down 10 minutes in the pan before un mold. It should keep the brownie moist and not firm. I hope your diabetic friend enjoy the recipe, thanks for following the blog. XOXO Carine.
Hi. This recipe looks delicious! Can i use all purpose flour? I know it will effect the carb count, but will it effect the taste?
Honestly, I did not try the recipe with regular flour as it contains too much carbs. I would recommend to replace only the coconut flour by all purpose flour and to keep the almond meal to make the brownie lighter in texture. Enjoy ! Carine.
I absolutely ADORE this recipe! I can read that some people have issues with the texture. I think it is because they are not used to bake with coconut flour. As you said, Carine, this is challenging!!! It has to be measure carefully. It is always great to mix it with almond meal to have a lovely texture. Thanks for that yummy brownie recipe.
Thanks Clara! It took a while to get used to coconut flour indeed! It is such a versatile flour, very absorbent but also a great low carb flour ! That is why I love using it. xoxo Carine.
Thank you for this recipe. I tried this with a stevia/erythritol product called Pyure. I used 4 TBSP. It still wasn’t very sweet, but good enough. This is the best sugar-free dessert I’ve made so far. Too bad it gave me the start of a migraine. 😛
Hi Michelle, oh no! migraine are horrible, maybe the cocoa overload ?! try to try some coffee it helps ! I am so glad that you love the recipe and if you love sugar free recipes you should find even more on the blog. I love sugar free anything a I have to watch my blood sugar level. Take care Michelle, talk to you soon, xoxo Carine.
Hi Leanne, It is a super easy brownie recipe for everyone on a low carb diet. I always used olive oil in this recipe but I am sure virgin coconut oil will work well too. My only concern is that coconut oil solidify when cooling down. I am not sure how it will impact the brownie texture. If you try let me know! Carine.
Thanks for your reply Carline…..will try and let you know 🙂
Great ! thanks for following the blog 🙂
I tried them with Buckwheat flour instead of oat flour and coconut flour and don’t think they really worked with that combination unfortunately. They came out really dense and pretty dry even though I added in some coconut milk to try and loosen up the mixture as the coconut flour just sucked up all the moisture. Maybe I should have gone with the ground almond, coconut flour mix! Doh!
Have these in the oven….sounds yummy….but bake only at180 degrees? Also the ingredients say coconut flour…but instructions say almond flour…i relly hope they are delicious, as i would make them every week!!
WINNER!!! I’m in love with this recipe. I used 1/2 cup Pyure, didn’t put the choc chips in and I let me batter sit for 15 minutes before baking. The brownies came out like cake brownies and not gooey. They taste amazing; no bitter after taste at all. Could easily be used as a cake recipe. Yes I prefer gooey brownies but I didn’t have sugar free morsels so this is a great alternative. Going to try the recipe with avocado oil or butter as well to see if it makes a difference.
That is amazing ! Thanks for reporting back and for sharing your ideas! Love Pyure too. Enjoy the sugar free recipes on the blog, XOXO Carine.
Hi Rosalyn, That is true and I correct the instruction. I actually did the recipe with both options. I prefer the combo of coconut flour and almond meal but coconut flour and oat flour works too for people with nuts allergy.
Thanks…they came out great…like a real brownie. ..love them!
great! I am so happy for you Rosalyn 🙂 see you soon on the blog!