The Best Brownie Mixes

First and foremost, brownies should be chocolaty, and some brownies in our lineup were more chocolaty than others. They all contained cocoa powder, a common ingredient in chocolate desserts since it’s powdered and has a high proportion of flavorful cocoa solids. All but two brownie mixes included Dutched cocoa, which has been treated with an alkalizing agent that neutralizes the cocoa’s natural acid. Dutched cocoa is darker in color and provides deeper, earthier chocolate notes than nonalkalized cocoa (natural cocoa powder). One brownie mix containing only natural cocoa powder produced light-colored brownies that were a little lacking in chocolate flavor. The other had two additional ingredients, melted chocolate and coffee sprinkles, that helped it taste more chocolaty (more on that later).

Even some of the mixes that contained Dutched cocoa powder produced brownies that didn’t have enough chocolate flavor. Without strong chocolate flavor, these brownies tasted too sweet.

All our favorite brownie mixes got chocolaty boosts from an additional ingredient (or two), including chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, melted chocolate, a blend of cocoa powders, and even coffee sprinkles. These ingredients provided impressively strong, chocolate-forward flavor that our tasters loved.

In general, brownies range from cakey to fudgy in texture. Most of the brownies in our lineup were fudgy, and our tasters loved their moist, chewy textures. However, three of the brownies were disappointing. One was particularly “sticky,” like “taffy.” Another was a touch dry, and the last was almost too moist; tasters found it “a bit gummy.”

The tops of a few of the brownies were crackled, and we loved this textural contrast; the textures of other brownies were more uniform from top to bottom. Over the years we’ve developed many recipes for brownies, and we've learned that sugar, fat, and egg all play a role in achieving this crackled surface. Some of the manufacturers had clearly engineered a crackly, crispy top for their brownies, and we loved it when they did.

There’s one more thing to consider when buying brownie mixes: how convenient they are to make. The easiest mixes called for combining oil, sometimes water, and a cracked egg or two before whisking all the ingredients together by hand. Some other brownie mixes required a few steps such as melting butter and/or chocolate. One mix’s instructions called for using a stand mixer. Luckily, our tasters preferred the flavor and texture of the brownies that were easiest to mix.

In the end, we think two brownie mixes are worth a spot in your pantry. King Arthur All-American Brownie Mix, a mail-order mix, gave us simple, classic brownies with rich, intense chocolate flavor. Tasters liked their “crackly top” and “chewy,” “fudgy” texture. Our tasters also loved Ghirardelli Chocolate Supreme Brownies, a mix that’s widely available in supermarkets. It gave us brownies with “crackly tops and a fudgy middle.” Unlike any other mix in our lineup, it came with a packet of chocolate syrup that supercharged these brownies with intense chocolate flavor. Both of our favorite mixes contained a blend of Dutched and natural cocoa. Plus, they were easy and quick to make. We recommend keeping one (or both!) on hand so that you can have delicious, chocolaty brownies on the table just minutes after the mood strikes.