Healthy One-Bowl Chocolate Chunk Brownies

 

 
In 8^th grade, my middle school’s concert bands planned a four-day field trip to Disneyland. Our band director scheduled a performance for us inside of the theme park, but for the remainder of our two days in Anaheim, we raced around Disneyland to fit in all of our favorite rides.  

For the eight-hour bus rides from our Northern California town and back, the chaperones packed plenty of VHS tapes to keep us occupied. Of course, knowing our destination… Most of those movies were Disney-themed, like “Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “The Lion King!”

During the last half hour of our Sunday drive, one chaperone popped in “The Lion King 1 ½.” Since my friends and I hadn’t seen it, we were bummed to miss the ending when the bus pulled into the middle school parking lot, so we decided to meet up at my house the next weekend to watch the rest.
 

 
That afternoon, my mom picked up pizzas from our favorite restaurant, and I whipped up a batch of boxed mix brownies (each of my friends had a sweet tooth as big as mine!). Before settling into the family room and pressing play, we grabbed paper plates to serve ourselves lunch.

Because I forgot to cut the pan of brownies, the first guy to reach them offered to help out. Mom handed him a knife, but… In his excitement over dessert, he sliced the most lopsided diagonal lines I’ve ever seen. Each brownie looked more like an uneven trapezoid or rhombus — not a single one was rectangular!

Since then, every time I cut a batch of brownies, I think about that funky geometric pan… And feel very tempted to pull out a ruler, especially if I’m planning on photographing them to share with you!
 

 
And yes, that happened with these Healthy One-Bowl Chocolate Chunk Brownies too! I think I did a decent enough job cutting them… Hopefully?? But regardless of how they look, they taste absolutely amazing! Rich, fudgy, decadent, chocolaty… Basically like squares of fudge with even more bits of chocolate sprinkled throughout.

Healthy, pretty, and positively delicious — that makes my chocoholic heart so happy! ♡
 

 

KEY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CHUNK BROWNIES

Before slicing them into perfect squares — with or without a ruler! — you’ll have to make the batter first… So let’s talk about the key ingredients that you’ll need to bake a batch of these healthy chocolate chunk brownies!

Unsweetened cocoa powder. This just might be the most important ingredient in the entire recipe! Unlike many traditional “from scratch” brownie recipes, you aren’t using any melted chocolate (aka they’re faster to whip up and result in fewer dishes to wash — hooray!), so cocoa powder provides all of that rich chocolate flavor in the batter.

You’ll need regular unsweetened cocoa powder to make these chocolate chunk brownies. Because you’re adding equal amounts of cocoa powder and flour (more on that momentarily!), your brownies end up tasting incredibly rich and decadent, even without any melted chocolate in the batter.

Tip: Do not substitute Dutched or special dark cocoa powder. These have a milder and more muted flavor, which makes these brownies taste bland. They also have a different acidity level, which can change the texture of your brownies.

Flour. To make these chocolate chunk brownies healthier, I opted for white whole wheat flour. No, as confusing as it may sound, it isn’t just a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and whole wheat flour!

Here in the US, white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, closer to that of all-purpose flour, which lets the richness and fudginess of these brownies truly shine!

Tip: If you’d like to make your healthy chocolate chunk brownies gluten-free, then see the Notes section of the recipe. I’ve included how to do so there!

Coconut oil or butter. Also unlike many traditional recipes that call for ½ cup of oil or butter, you need a mere 1 tablespoon to make these. That really helps keep your healthy chocolate chunk brownies low calorie and low fat! Yet they’re just unbelievably moist and fudgy, just like “regular” brownies, because of…
 

 
Greek yogurt. It’s one of my favorite healthy baking ingredients for a reason! In this brownie recipe, Greek yogurt adds the same moisture to the batter as extra oil or butter — but for a fraction of the calories. It also gives your chocolate chunk brownies a protein boost!

Egg whites. A common baking ingredient! Egg whites act like the glue that holds the rest of the ingredients together. (Similar to Greek yogurt, they also give your chocolate chunk brownies a protein boost!)

Sweetener. Instead of granulated sugar, you’ll sweeten these healthy chocolate chunk brownies with coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is exactly what it sounds like: an unrefined sweetener that comes from coconuts. However, it does NOT actually taste like coconuts! It’s sweet with nice caramel-like undertones, very similar to brown sugar, which adds to the rich and comforting flavor of these brownies.

Milk. Almost any type will work, so you’re welcome to mix in whatever kind you already have stashed in your fridge. I typically bake these healthy chocolate chunk brownies with nonfat milk or unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and both perform equally well.

Dark chocolate. After the cocoa powder, this is the second most important ingredient… It’s impossible to make chocolate chunk brownies without the chocolate chunks!

For the best results, grab a bar of dark chocolate and chop it into chunks yourself. I reach for Ghirardelli and Lindt the most! I aim to cut them about the same size as miniature chocolate chips. This ensures every bite of brownie has a chunk of chocolate!

Hint: Bars of dark chocolate will actually melt in the oven, as opposed to chocolate chips, which often contain a stabilizer that prevents them from fully melting. If you like perfectly melty chocolate and extra fudgy brownies (I certainly do!), then it’s 100% worth the time to chop a bar yourself!
 

 

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY ONE-BOWL CHOCOLATE CHUNK BROWNIES

Now that you’ve gathered the ingredients, let’s quickly go over how to make the best healthy chocolate chunk brownies. Like I promised earlier, this recipe is easy to make — and I also have some tips to ensure your batch turns out perfectly!

Measure correctly. You may have heard this once or twice… But it’s absolutely essential, so I’m going to repeat it again.

It’s extremely important to measure the flour and cocoa powder correctly. Use this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Do NOT scoop either one directly from its container! That can result in adding 1 ½ times as much as called for in the recipe.

Too much of either of these ingredients will throw off the ratio of wet and dry ingredients, and it’ll make your brownies cakey and dry, rather than moist and fudgy. Too much cocoa powder will also make your brownies taste bitter, instead of rich and chocolaty.

So for the best flavor and texture, take the time to measure properly. I promise these chocolate chunk brownies are worth it!

Follow the instructions exactly. Just like we were taught back in math class… Order of operations matters — especially in a one-bowl recipe!

For a few examples, certain ingredients need to be mixed together and fully dissolved before you add others to the bowl. The baking powder needs to wait until almost the very end (to avoid activating it too soon) and be sprinkled (to avoid clumps and ensure the best fudgy texture). The chopped chocolate goes last for even distribution and to help prevent it from sinking to the bottom of the bowl.

Therefore… Add when you’re supposed to add, sprinkle when you’re supposed to sprinkle, and stir when you’re supposed to stir. And that leads us to…
 

 
Mix by hand. Put away your stand mixer and hand-held mixer! Those tend to overmix low fat batters, like this one. Overmixing often leads to a tough, gummy, or rubbery texture — rather than the moist and fudgy brownie consistency that we want.

To make the best chocolate chunk brownies imaginable, whisk when explicitly instructed, and use a fork for everything else. Yup, a fork! It’s my not-so-secret trick. You can see it in my photo above! The open spaces between the tines let the ingredients pass through and mix more efficiently (compared to the flat sides of spoons and spatulas), which also helps guard against overmixing.

Bake. You’ll bake these brownies at a lower temperature, only 300°F, to ensure they’re supremely fudgy without the edges drying out. The brownies will be ready to come out of the oven when the edges look fully baked through but the center still looks glossy and underdone. The residual heat from the pan will cook the center all the way through while your brownies cool on the counter.

Hint: If the brownie edges pull away from the rim of the pan within 10 minutes of pulling them out of the oven, you baked them long enough!

Cool + rest. Yup, both. Cool and rest. I know it feels almost impossible to wait for your brownies to rest for at least 8 hours after they’ve reached room temperature… But I promise that results in the fudgiest texture! If you cut into them sooner, they’ll have a more cakey texture instead. Leaving the pan untouched and alone allows the brownies time to work their magic and yields an amazingly moist and fudgy consistency. (I’m definitely “Team Fudgy” when it comes to brownies!)

Tip: Once your brownies have reached room temperature, you can pop the pan in the fridge for a couple of hours to speed up the resting and setting process!
 

 
That stack… Pure chocolate heaven! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy one-bowl chocolate chunk brownies!

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  Healthy Vegan One-Bowl Fudgy Brownies
♡  Healthy Slow Cooker Fudgy Dark Chocolate Brownies
♡  Healthy Fudgy Nut Brownies
♡  Healthy Fudgy Cheesecake Swirled Brownies
♡  Healthy Small Batch Fudgy Dark Chocolate Brownies
♡  Healthy Flourless Chocolate Chunk Brownie Bites
♡  Healthy One-Bowl Flourless Chocolate Cake
♡  Healthy One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy brownie recipes and healthy chocolate recipes!