Dark chocolate brownies with walnuts and fudgy cocoa powder — it's so easy to make old fashioned brownies with walnuts! This is, hands down, the best walnut brownie recipe out there! This one's for the chocolate lovers! If you're a fan of my chocolate sour cream pound cake, my chocolate olive oil cake, my Keto chocolate mousse, or my raspberry chocolate brownies, you'll love these walnut fudge brownies!
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Chocolate Walnut Brownies with Cocoa Powder
These brownies are SO fudgy, and they're filled with crunchy chopped walnut pieces and chocolate chunks. They're a simplified version of my triple chocolate brownies recipe, with all the gooey, fudgy, chocolateyness you love about those brownies but in a more traditional, easy recipe! I grew up eating chocolate chunk walnut brownies and I always loved how classic they were. They remind me of elementary school bake sales and after school Girl Scouts meetings. With this walnut fudge brownies recipe, I hope you can capture some of that delicious nostalgia as well!
How do you make walnut brownies from scratch?
No need for that box mix! These chocolate walnut brownies are so simple to make and they're even better than your favorite box mix! They're fudgier with more chocolate chunks, and so irresistible! And the best part is that this is a simple, one-bowl recipe. You won't need any special tools or techniques to make these chocolate walnut brownies! Let's take a look at what you'll need:
Should brownies have walnuts?
In my humble opinion, yes! Brownies should have walnuts, or pecans, or almonds or any other kind of nut to add flavor and texture. In these chocolate fudge walnut brownies, the walnuts give you a soft, buttery crunch that goes so perfectly with the fudge brownies and pools of melted dark chocolate. If you really don't like walnuts, you can leave them out, but I just want to go on the record that I think that's a bad idea.
Ingredients
- melted salted butter - I just popped mine into the microwave to melt so it was super easy! I like to use salted butter to ensure the most flavor in my baked goods. We'll still add a bit of sea salt, so if you use unsalted butter just add a little extra salt.
- eggs - make sure your eggs are room temperature to help them mix well into the other ingredients and allow the brownies to bake evenly.
- vanilla extract - always grab a good-quality pure vanilla extract. Or better yet, check out my post on how to make vanilla extract at home with just 2 ingredients!
- sea salt - this is to cut the sweetness a bit more and bring out those chocolatey flavors.
- light brown sugar and granulated sugar - this combination of sugars adds the right amount of sweetness and chewy richness to these chocolate walnut brownies!
- all-purpose flour - you'll need 1 cup of flour for this recipe, measured out to 128 grams by weight or one cup using the spoon and level method.
- unsweetened cocoa powder - this is what gives these chocolate walnut brownies their fudgy flavor and texture! I like the Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, but use whatever variety you prefer.
- chopped dark chocolate - I used a Ghirardelli Bittersweet Baking Bar, but you can use your favorite dark or bittersweet baking chocolate or chocolate chips! You'll need about ⅔ cup of chocolate.
- chopped walnuts - you can either buy a bag of chopped walnuts or chop up your own whole walnut halves. Feel free to add more or fewer walnuts according to your preference!
Equipment
This chocolate walnut brownies recipe is so simple! You won't need any specialized tools to make it, but here are a few tools I'd recommend:
Tips and F.A.Q.
Fudgy brownies are usually made with more cocoa powder, less flour, and more fat, like butter or oil. And to make sure you get that fudgy, gooey texture you want for these chocolate walnut brownies, check your brownies a little before the baking time is up! For gooey brownies, take them out when the center is just set and no longer jiggles.
Any nuts you like! I love brownies with pecans like in my triple chocolate brownies, and macadamia nuts and hazelnuts would be lovely too! For these chocolate walnut brownies, we're going with chopped walnuts. I like to just grab a bag of store-bought chopped walnuts from the baking aisle, but you can also use whole shelled walnuts and chop them yourself.
Actually, no -- the high fat content in walnuts means they toast much faster when baking, so if you toast them beforehand they may burn. This is great for this chocolate walnut brownies recipe, because it saves us a step! Just toss the raw walnuts into your brownie batter!
Absolutely! First you'll want to let your brownies cool completely. If they've already been cut into individual brownies, then wrap each one in plastic wrap and place in the freezer to freeze solid. Once they're frozen, place them in a freezer bag for up to two months. If they haven't been cut yet, then wrap the entire 9x9 block of brownies in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. You can also place it in a gallon-size freezer bag -- if you baked your brownies in a 9x9 pan, it should fit. Again, they should stay fresh in the freezer for up to two months. Let them thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature before serving.
This brownies with walnuts recipe is definitely an indulgence -- each brownie has about 313 calories. You can see the full nutrition information in the recipe card below!
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Chocolate Walnut Brownies
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Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter - melted and slightly cooled
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup brown sugar - packed
- ¾ cup cocoa powder - (75g)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour - (128g)
- 4 oz bittersweet baking chocolate - chopped
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9" baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang over the sides to allow for easy removal of the brownies.
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and sea salt until smooth.
- Add in sugars and mix well.
- Sift cocoa powder and flour into the bowl and fold with rubber spatula until well combined.
- Fold in chopped chocolate and walnuts.
- Add batter to prepared pan and smooth to the edges.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until center is set. (see note)
- Cool in pan for 20 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Beverly Goldston
If you double the recipe and cook it in a 9 x 13, how long is the cooking time?
Chenée Lewis
I would think it'd be about the same -- I would suggest checking them after 25 minutes.
Stacey Russon
If I did the 3x option how big would the dish have to be to fit the tripled mixture into? Or of you tripled it would you just still do them in 3 seperate 9x9 dishes?
Chenée Lewis
For that option I'd divide the batter into a 9x13 pan and a 9x9 pan. Hope that helps! 🙂
Jazz
LOVE the bittersweet baking chocolate in these. They were nice and balanced--perfectly fudgy and not overly sweet!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you! I love using bittersweet chocolate. It adds all the chocolatey depth without too much sweetness!
Capri
These brownies are so perfect and fudgy! I used gluten-free all-purpose flour instead of regular flour and they turned out great!
Chenée Lewis
Awesome! I love that they worked with the gluten free flour! 🙂
Eric & Shanna Jones
Great is an understatement! These brownies are some of the best we've ever made. So moist and the hidden surprises of chocolate (from the chips) sealed the deal!
Chenée Lewis
I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you so much!
Kaluhi
I loooooved these so so much!! I enjoyed the nuttiness and the deep chocolate together. I used macadamia and it turned out well
Chenée Lewis
Macadamia sounds so good in these!! What a great idea!
Tamara
I have had many many brownies, but these were by far the best I've ever had! Super fudgy, and so delicious! I cannot wait to make them again.
Chenée Lewis
Wow thanks!! I'm so glad!!
Carita
I've been eyeing these brownies for a while! Finally here to grab the recipe. I already know they are delicious as I've tried several of your recipes. Can't wait to make these!
Chenée Lewis
Awesome! Thank you so much -- I hope you enjoy!
Cat William
I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate, but these brownies .... sooo darn delish!
Chenée Lewis
Haha glad I could convert you to a chocolate lover!!
Robin Sparks
I am of the opinion chocolate is not complete without nuts, so these brownies were pure perfection.
Chenée Lewis
I agree completely! Brownies are always better with nuts! 🙂
Kate
Many thanks for sharing this brownie recipe. I cannot imagine anyone not loving them. I can't wait to try them myself.
Chenée Lewis
Thank you! They are always a crowd favorite!
Marta
Your recipes have a way of drawing me in and turning my world upside down. I don't know that it's just how delicious they are but the way you make the recipe so approachable. These chocolate walnut brownies were exactly what I wanted: fudgy, decadent, and moist.
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much!! I try to make all my recipes approachable and these brownies are definitely that! So glad you enjoyed them 🙂