Cake mix brownies are a 30-minute, crowd-pleasing treat that effortlessly combines the best of both worlds: the richness of brownies and the convenience of cake mix. You only need your favorite boxed cake mix plus the ingredients on the box for this delicious treat!
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Pin RecipeDid you know you can use a cake mix to make brownies? We’ve all made brownies from a brownie mix, but you can also use a chocolate cake mix to bake up a pan of ooey, gooey, decadent brownies! With a few additions, outlined below, you can quickly whip up a delicious chocolate dessert everyone will enjoy.
If you love my S’mores Brownies, Peppermint Bark Brownies, and classic Homemade Brownies, you’ll love these brownie recipes, too!
Easy Cake Mix Brownies Recipe
Brownies will seriously make any day better. Is there anyone who doesn’t get excited when they see a slightly warm, super yummy brownie? If so, I haven’t met them yet! My kids love it when I have a freshly-baked batch of brownies ready on the counter when they come home from school, and I love having an easy-to-make treat for all of us.
When you use a store-bought cake mix to make brownies, your brownies will turn out a little bit more cake-like than with a brownie mix, something I personally love. I add extra vanilla and mini chocolate chips to really make these cake mix brownies stand out. They are great eaten plain or try out some of the serving suggestions I have listed below. Hope you enjoy these!
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Ingredients for Cake Mix Brownies
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Chocolate Cake Mix – You’ll need 1 box of your favorite chocolate cake mix for this recipe.
- Butter – You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Mini Chocolate Chips – Or use regular chocolate chips if you don’t have mini chocolate chips.
How to Make Cake Mix Brownies
- Prepare the pan: Preheat your oven to 350℉ and lightly grease an 8×8 square baking dish.
- Mix together the batter: Add the cake mix, melted butter, eggs and vanilla to a large mixing bowl and stir together to create a smooth, thick batter.
- Add the chocolate chips: Stir in the mini chocolate chips, then pour the batter into the baking dish.
- Bake: Bake the brownies for 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies will come out cleanly.
- Cool and cut brownies: Let the brownies cool in the pan completely before cutting.
Quick Tip
The brownies will cut nicely when cooled. If you try to cut them while still warm, they tend to crumble. So try to wait until they are at least mostly cool before cutting into them!
How to Store
Store brownies in an airtight container at room temperature on the counter or in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can serve the brownies cold or at room temperature.
You can also freeze brownies! Wrap each brownie in plastic wrap, place in a freezer-safe bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the brownies in the fridge or use the defrost setting on your microwave.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways to eat brownies! Here are a few of my favorite serving suggestions:
- With ice cream – Serve a brownie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Make it a sundae – Gently warm a brownie, then top it with ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, a cherry, and nuts!
- Add nuts to the batter – In addition to the chocolate chips or in place of them, nuts like walnuts add a wonderful crunch and flavor to a batch of cake mix brownies.
- Top with frosting. Try spreading my Easy Homemade Chocolate Frosting on top of the cooled brownies before you cut them.
FAQs
A cake mix will contain more leavener to make it rise, while a brownie mix has very little leavening agent. Brownie mixes also generally have more sugar and chocolate content than chocolate cake mixes.
To make your brownies taste richer, replace the water called for on the box with milk or heavy cream. Or add melted butter instead of oil. Add one extra egg to your mix to make your brownies more cake-like.
If you like fudgy brownies, they will have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakey ones. So add more fat—in this case, butter and chocolate. A cakey batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening.
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Cake Mix Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 (15 oz) box chocolate cake mix
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and lightly grease an 8×8 square baking dish.
- Add the cake mix, melted butter, eggs and vanilla to a large mixing bowl and stir together to create a smooth, thick batter.
- Stir in the mini chocolate chips then pour the batter into the baking dish.
- Bake the brownies for 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies will come out cleanly.
- Let the brownies cool in the pan completely before cutting. Then enjoy!
