Here’s a simple skillet dessert giving you the ultimate brownie experience.
Have you tried my skillet chocolate chip cookie yet? Because this is identical, only in double chocolate brownie form. A rich, dense, fudgy brownie made completely from scratch and baked in a skillet. I love making brownies in skillets for many reasons including but not limited to:
- Rather than waiting for the brownie to cool before cutting, a skillet brownie is made for digging in right away. Warm gooey brownie goodness!
- You can eat it with a huge spoon straight from the skillet. No one’s judging.
- Did I mention the warm gooey brownie goodness?
Like I mention above, this brownie is made completely from scratch. I love making brownies from scratch—box mixes do NOT compare. Do you know how easy it is to make homemade brownies? I urge you to try it!
The skillet brownie recipe is adapted from my frosted brownies recipe. I use pure chocolate as well as cocoa powder for extreme chocolate flavor. The fudginess of this skillet brownie is partly due to the small amount of flour. More flour = a more cake-like brownie. Less flour = denser, fudgy brownie. Make sense? I use only 1/2 cup of flour for the entire skillet. Don’t leave out those chocolate chips! A giant handful of chocolate chips gives the skillet brownie even more chocolate flavor. How much chocolate can we pack into 1 skillet? Because we’re testing the limit here.
For finishing touches, top with vanilla ice cream (a must) and homemade whipped cream or even salted caramel!
Print
Ultimate Skillet Brownie
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Yield: serves 6-8
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Here’s a simple skillet dessert giving you the ultimate brownie experience.
Ingredients
- 10 Tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter
- 8 ounces (228g) quality semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped*
- 1 cup (200g) sifted granulated sugar*
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons (78g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 Tablespoons (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- optional: ice cream, chocolate sauce, maraschino cherries for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter and chopped chocolate in a medium saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Or melt in a medium microwave safe bowl in 20 second increments, stirring after each, in the microwave. Remove from the heat, pour into a large mixing bowl, and allow to slightly cool for 10 minutes.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly grease your oven-safe skillet.
- Whisk the sifted sugar into the cooled chocolate/butter mixture. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until smooth and combined. Gently fold in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Once combined, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into the prepared skillet and bake for 30-32 minutes or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake—the brownie will taste a little dry. Err on the side of underbaking, which gives you that gooey brownie center. All ovens and skillets are different, so keep an eye on it after 28 minutes and use the toothpick test to see when it’s finished.
- Allow the brownie to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and a cherry on top.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Medium Saucepan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Oven-Safe Skillet | Whisk | Rubber Spatula
- Chocolate: For best taste and texture, use quality pure chocolate—not chocolate chips (only use chocolate chips when stirring into the batter in step 3). I always use Ghirardelli or Baker’s brand chocolate.
- Sugar: Sifting the granulated sugar is key! I find the skillet brownie had a little bit of a grainy texture without sifting.
- Skillet: The most important part of this recipe is using an oven-safe skillet. You want anything from 9 to 12 inches in diameter. 10-inch is the best in my opinion. This size yields a thick, but not too thick skillet brownie. If using a different size than 10-inches, adjust the baking time. A larger skillet will take a little less time, a smaller skillet will take a little more time.
- Adapted from Chewy Fudgy Frosted Brownies.
Wow. I’ve never had success making a brownie in a number of attempts. I was able to do it with your recipe and the taste was incredible. It was exactly what I was looking for. My kids praised it and I will be making it for years to come. The only thing I changed was semi-sweet chips for chocolate chips and 30 minutes was the perfect baking time.
I made this in a cast-iron skillet. The middle of the brownie cooked slower than the outer parts. Could this be due to the type of skillet I used? Any tips you could give me?
Thanks! Monica
P.S. Everything I’ve tried from your site has been a hit!
Hi Sally! I would like to make this for Christmas dinner dessert. Is it possible to make the batter ahead and then put it in the oven while we’re eating dinner? If so, how far ahead and should I refrigerate the batter? Thank you!
Hi Jane! Brownie batter isn’t the best to make ahead of time because the raising agents activate as soon as the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together so the skillet brownie won’t rise as intended when baked. Best to stick with baking right away!
Really delicious! My guests loved it, especially with the salted caramel sauce (which is super easy to make and really impressive). I needed to make it ahead, so I prepared the batter and kept it in the fridge a few hours. Turned out well except the center was a bit undercooked. Tasted amazing and seemed more like a molten chocolate brownie which all my guests thought was on purpose, so maybe a happy accident. Think if I had cooked for longer, edges would have been overdone and dried out. Will see if that happens if I don’t refrigerate the batter and cook right away- maybe that was the difference?
Hi Nicole, so glad you and your guests enjoyed the brownies! It is best to bake brownies right away, but for next time, you can tent the edges of the pan with foil if you see them baking much faster than the middle. Although it is expected for the middles to be much softer than the chewier edges. Thanks again for giving this recipe a try!
Hi Sally,
Would you recommend any modifications for cooking this over the campfire?
Thanks!
Hi Sam, how fun! We haven’t tried that so can’t offer any advice. Let us know if you give it a try!
Thèse are ultimate but just a bit sweet if you use milk chocolate, would definitely make again everybody loved it, thank you
This is a delicious, easy and quick dessert. If you’re a chocaholic, you’ve got to try it. If you’re not, try it anyway – you’ll love it! It’s particularly decadent served with a scoop (or two!) of premium french vanilla ice cream. Enjoy -:)
Hello. I made these for my daughter and her family recently and they were a huge hit!!! Thank you. Totally enjoy your site.
My son was looking for a dessert he would want to eat again and again and we found it! My kids made this for our family tonight and it was delicious served with vanilla ice cream. It was easy to make but its delicious flavor will leave anyone impressed. A new family favorite!
I am going to someone house and was wondering if I could mix the batter and put it in the fridge in a bowl. Then when I get to their house, pour it in the skillet and bake. Will the chilling/resting change the consistency or be unsafe? Someone asked something similar, but not quite the same. I know you said you could reheat it, but I am afraid that would dry it. If you think there is any risk to the former method, I will do the reheat method and then just wonder what temperature and about how long it would take to reheat. Thank you for the delicious recipe and thank you for your help!
Hi Kelsey, preparing the batter, covering, and refrigerating it until ready to bake shouldn’t be a problem as long as you bake it within a few hours.
Hi,
I am a little new to baking. I love your recipes. Could you please tell me if i need to reduce the recipe to cook in an 8inch skillet ?
Thank you!
Hi Gunjan, Without reducing the batter your brownie will be very thick and the bake time will be longer. See recipe notes.
I made this for my grandpa’s 83rd birthday tonight and it was a huge hit! He’s a sucker for anything chocolate and anything made in a cast iron skillet! We served it with strawberry ice cream ( in honor of my daughter’s calendar stating it’s national strawberry ice cream day) and it was perfect! Thanks for another wonderful treat!!
I made this today with my boyfriend and it was perfect! I used a 10″ skillet and cooked it for 30 minutes and loved how thick and gooey it was (Kinda undercooked in the middle, which we did on purpose). The only changes I made were substituting margarine for the butter and Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips for semi-sweet because I can’t have dairy. Served it with Ben and Jerry’s non-dairy chocolate fudge brownie ice cream… My boyfriend loved it but towards the end of his massive slice he stated that it was almost TOO much chocolate– which I think is ridiculous, because no amount of chocolate is too much 🙂 thanks for making our day extra special!Â
Love that you made this together! And no, there isn’t such thing as too much chocolate but you can always give him some vanilla ice cream with it next time 😉
First time making brownies from scratch and these were SO amazing, especially with French vanilla ice cream!!! My teenage brother asked me to leave them out so he could “try a bite” and when I checked back 1/4 of the pan was gone…hmmm…. 🙂 thanks for the foolproof recipes, Sally! Everything I’ve made from your blog has turned out delicious.
Just to clarify, I love your blog and all your recipes. You are my go to girl!
Hey Sally! Made this brownie yesterday and tried some. It was bitter! Do you have any fixes or tips to solve this? Less chocolate, more vanilla, etc.???
Bitter, as in dark dark chocolate? What kind of chocolate did you use? Try using milk chocolate and you can always increase the sugar 🙂
Made this last weekend for my mom and sister for post dinner dessert! Â I added caramel in between layers of batter and course sea salt on top before baking. Â Yum! Love all your recipes!Â
Hi Sally, how do u do it? I mean “Perfect recipes” every time?
Just made it and I love everything about it. Thank you soo much !!!
Hi Sally, I want to ask if it’s necessary to use the skilletÂ
Daniela, a 9-inch square baking pan works too. You can bake it a little longer if you do not want that gooey center.
I made this yesterday, and it is SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!! I’ve never made a skillet brownie before–thank you Sally!!!!!!!
This looks amazing! Â Silly question for you. Â It turns out My oven-safe skillets are too small or too big. Â Can I use my Le Creuset Dutch Oven? Â It’s 11″, and I’m wondering how the high sides might affect this recipe. Â Thanks so much!
Yes, a dutch oven will work just fine Kirsten.
Made this tonight for a weekend treat and everyone was happy. It turned out perfectly. That extra egg makes such a difference! Highly recommend this and wouldn’t change a thing! Next month we will try the skillet cookie. Treats like this have to be spaced out!! In between we do your healthier recipes-my girls love your muffins 🙂
Hello, Sally! I’m planning making the Ultimate Skillet Brownies this week, which happens to be my favorite dessert EVER!!! I have a question for you. Is it possible that I can walnuts or pecans to the brownies, and if so, how much? Thank you!!! 🙂
Definitely! I’d say around 3/4 – 1 cup.
I cut the recipe in thirds and baked them in three ramekins…..they were amazing!!!!! Brownie sundaes are my favorite! Ill be using this recipe again! Thanks!