These brownies from cake mix are rich, fudgy, chewy and impossibly easy to make. What makes this the best cake mix brownies recipe is that you only need 5 ingredients, one bowl and 5 minutes to mix them up. With a 20-25 minute baking time, you can enjoy a warm, decadent chocolate filled brownie in about half an hour.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe?
Cake mix is such an under appreaciated pantry basic. You make can almost any baked good from cake mix, like my Brownie Cake, Strawberry Crunch Cake, Strawberry Brownies, Lemon Cake Mix Cookies, Peach Cobbler from Cake Mix, Apple Cobbler from Cake Mix or these incredibly delicous Pumpkin Muffins from Cake Mix These cake mix brownies are another amazingly delicious addition to my cake mix recipes. They are the perfect quick and easy dessert to throw together at the last minute. It’s just one of a few reasons I know you’ll love this recipe.
- Only 5 ingredients: You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make a batch of quick and easy fudgy brownies.
- One bowl brownies: This cake mix brownie batter comes together in one bowl. Easy peasey!
- Rich, Fudgy, Chewy, Chocolate Brownies: If being super quick and easy to make wasn’t reason enough, these chocolate cake brownies boast the same delightful flavors and textures of homemade brownies.
Ingredients
Before I show you how to make brownies from cake mix, make sure you have these 5 simple ingredients ready to go!
Gather your preferred chocolate cake mix, oil (canola, olive or vegetable oil), eggs, chocolate chips and espresso powder.
Substitutions
Making brownies with a cake mix is super simple. Here are my recommended substitutions to make these brownies.
- Chocolate Cake Mix: Any brand or type of chocolate cake mix works perfectly in this recipe. I personally love to use Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker Fudgy Chocolate Cake.
- Oil: Any type of neutral tasting oil will work well in this cake mix brownie recipe.
- Chocolate Chips: This is an optional add - in. I personally love using semi sweet chocolate chips in my brownies. You could also toss in some chopped nuts or peanut butter cups for the perfect complement to the chewy brownies.
- Ground Espresso Powder: This is my secret ingredient to make my chocolate desserts taste more chocolate-y. Add a teaspoon or two into the wet ingredients to help the flavor "bloom."
- Eggs: This is an essential ingredient for moisture and binding. For this recipe, you will need to replace two eggs. If needed, replace each egg with:
| Egg Substitue | Amount for One Egg |
| Flaxeseed | 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoon water |
| Banana | ½ a medium banana, mashed |
| Applesauce | ¼ cup (59 ml) |
| Yogurt (Regular or Vegan) | ¼ cup (59 ml) |
| Buttermilk | ¼ cup (59 ml) |
How To Make
Ready to learn how to make chewy brownies from cake mix in a few easy steps? Perfect, let’s go!
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs, oil and espresso powder until smooth and well combined.
- Pour the cake mix into the eggs, oil and espresso mixture. Stir until thick, smooth and well combined.
- Stir in one cup of semi sweet chocolate chips. Mix until all the chocolate chips are combined into the cake mix brownie batter.
- Evenly scoop the brownie batter into an 8x8 pan.
- Bake the brownies for about 20-25 minutes. Cool the brownies in the pan for 30 minutes.
- Slice and enjoy with a scoop of cold and creamy vanilla ice cream.
How To Serve, Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Serve these box chocolate cake mix brownies with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream and berries. You can also just enjoy these decadent treats straight from the pan.
- To store leftover chocolate cake brownies: Once the brownies have cooled completely to room temperature, place them in an airtight container for up to 3 - 4 days.
- To freeze chocolate cake mix brownies: Make sure the brownies are completely cooled to room temperature. Cut the brownie into your preferred amount of pieces. Individually wrap each fudgy brownie in plastic wrap and place in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- To thaw the brownies: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw your brownies from cake mix is to let it sit out at room temperature for at least two hours or overnight in the fridge. Enjoy at room temperature or microwave it for 20 -30 seconds for that “fresh from the oven” taste.
M's Expert Tips
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature: This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in deliciously chewy brownies.
- Use an 8x8 pan metal pan. This recipe was created using an 8x8 aluminum baking pan. If you are using a glass baking dish, you may need to add a few more minutes to the baking time. Double the recipe to bake in a 9x13 baking pan.
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper. This helps to release the brownies from the pan more easily. You can also lightly grease the pan if you prefer not to line it with parchment paper.
- Lightly spray a spatula to help spread the brownie batter into the pan. The batter will be super thick. Lightly greasing a spatula will help in pressing the brownies into the prepared pan.
- Fully cool the brownies: You may be very tempted to slice into these cake mix brownies, but a little cooling time makes them even more amazing.
- For perfectly sliced brownies, fully cool them to room temperature. Use a sharp knife and clean the knife between cuts.
- Look for the signs the brownie is done. Use the baking time as a guide rather than a strict rule. Signs a brownie is finished baking are a set center with baked edges that have slightly pulled away from the edge of the pan.
- Make the brownie even more fudgy by adding ¼ cup (59 ml) milk to the brownie batter.
FAQ's
This cake mix brownie recipe calls for 2 total eggs. This can be a little confusing since the chocolate cake mix also lists ingredients on the box. Think of the boxed cake mix as the “dry ingredients” and the other ingredients in the recipe as the “wet ingredients.”
These two box mixes are very similar. The difference between the two is in the amount of leavener used in the mix. A cake mix will have more while a brownie mix will contain very little or none at all.
Yes! But the end result won’t be chocolate brownies. You can use yellow cake mix to make a more blondie style cookie bar or a red velvet cake mix with white chocolate chips to make red velvet brownies. Although they aren’t chocolate brownies, you can even use strawberry cake mix to make strawberry cake mix brownies! Simply swap the cake mix and add-ins and follow the recipe as written.
If you have a sugar free or gluten free cake mix you use and love, it’s definitely worth trying to make brownies out of cake mix.
To make more cake like brownies, more like a brownie cake, simply omit the chocolate chips and add one more egg (for a total of three eggs in the recipe) and follow the recipe as written.
Other Brownie Recipes to Try
- Oreo Brownies
- Almond Flour Brownies
- Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Espresso Brownies
- Red Wine Brownies
- Fudgy Maple Brownies
- No Bake Brownies
If you try this Brownies from Cake Mix recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking- M.
Brownies from Cake Mix Recipe
Equipment
- 1 8x8 baking pan
- parchment paper
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 spoon or flexible spatula
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, room temperature US large
- ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable or canola oil
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder optional for flavor
- 1 15.25 oz chocolate cake mix
- 1 cup (6oz., 170g) semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease and line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper along the bottom and two sides.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together the eggs, oil and espresso powder until well combined.
- Mix in the dry chocolate cake mix until smooth and well combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips until well combined into the cake mix brownie batter.
- Drop even scoops of brownie batter into the prepared pan. Spread the brownie batter so it evenly fills the pan.
- Bake the cake mix brownies for 20-25 minutes.
- Cool the brownies in the pan for 20-30 minutes. Remove the brownies from the pan using the parchment paper, slice and enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Karen Hilliard says
This recipe is totally delicious, I only had peanut oil, so I added mayo as my oil. I also used Reese's PB chips instead of chocolate chips.
Highly recommend and so nice and easy to make, which I loved. I always appreciate an easy recipe and the time it saves. I put chocolate frosting on it this time, but I normally don't frosting brownies. I won't do it again though, they don't need it!
Megan says
Hi Karen,
Thanks for making the recipe. I am so happy to read that you could adapt the recipe using what you have on hand! I will definitely have to try them.