Coca Cola Brownies Recipe

Swap out the eggs and fat for a can of cola and you'll end up with dark, chocolatey brownies that have a springy yet fudgy crumb.

A stack of brownies made with Coca-Cola in place of eggs and oil.

Serious Eats / Carrie Vasios Mullins

Why It Works

  • Increasing the dry ingredient proportions—including the cocoa—balances out the amount of liquid and means the brownies keep their rich, chocolatey flavor.
  • Stirring in the cola gradually prevents any bubbling-over and ensures all of the dry ingredients are properly incorporated.

It feels like something I could have seen on Bill Nye the Science Guy: making brownies with a can of Coke. I can see the beakers of smoking dry ice and the kids in their protective goggles watching carefully as Bill dramatically stirs the fizzing cola into the bowl of dry ingredients. Thirty minutes, or one commercial break, later: poof! Brownies made with Coca Cola.

I had heard whisperings of magic brownies—no, not that kind—and finally decided to give it a go. Most recipes call for starting with a boxed brownie mix, the idea being that you substitute the normal wet ingredients like eggs, butter, or vegetable oil, with a can of Coke. I decided to go one step further, starting with a from-scratch brownie recipe.

Well, my first attempt was a disaster. When you pour in the Coke it fizzes, a lot (yeah, I know, shoulda-realized-duh), making it hard to get the batter smooth. I also had too much liquid and my brownies baked up barely cohesive, with chunks of cocoa powder to boot. On the positive side? They did rise, and they did taste like brownie batter, if not quite chocolatey enough.

In the next attempt I seriously upped my dry ingredients and increased the proportion of cocoa powder, and it worked. The resulting brownies were still fudgey and damp, but that's how I like them. The biggest difference between these brownies and r-egg-ular brownies is that the crumb has a bit of spring—from the soda bubbles evaporating?—making them slightly reminiscent of fat-free chocolate cake from the 1990s. Again, a quality I don't mind.

So, there you go. A little bit of baking magic. Have fun trying this at home, kids.

March 2013

Recipe Details

Coca Cola Brownies Recipe

Active 10 mins
Total 40 mins
Serves 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

  • 1 2/3 cups (12 1/4 ounces) sugar

  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 can (12 ounces) Coca Cola

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Either grease baking pan with oil or line with tin foil.

  2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking powder until combined. Stir in Coca Cola, a little at a time because it will foam, until incorporated and batter forms. Pour batter into pan and bake until a tester inserted into the middle of the pan comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Top will be slightly sticky.

  3. Let cool completely in pan then cut into squares.

Special Equipment

9- by 13-inch baking pan

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
197 Calories
1g Fat
46g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 197
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 119mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 46g 17%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Total Sugars 32g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 14mg 1%
Iron 2mg 13%
Potassium 18mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)