This Keto Chocolate Mug Cake is a quick & easy low carb treat with a brownie texture and rich chocolate flavor. Gluten-free and with built in portion control – it will satisfy your chocolate craving without blowing your carb budget!
This keto chocolate brownie mug cake recipe has been popular here on IBIH for quite a few years now. I decided to dust it off and update the post a bit for those of you that haven’t come across it yet.
The thing I love about keto mug cakes is that they are so easy (and fast!) to make, and that you aren’t committed to an entire bowl or pan of something. Portion control is so much easier when you are only making one or two servings of keto dessert at a time, instead of an entire chocolate cake!
I knew I wanted to do a keto chocolate mug cake, and definitely wanted it to have a brownie-like texture.
It took some experimenting (oh the things I do for you), but I finally hit on the right combination to get both the taste and texture that I wanted. Not too dry, with just the right amount of gooeyness! You could almost call these keto chocolate mug brownies – and you wouldn’t be wrong.
This keto chocolate mug cake was warm and comforting, and perfect with some whipped cream or sugar free vanilla ice cream on top.
In fact you almost need something creamy to break up the richness of the brownie. I used Rebel Natural Vanilla (not sponsored, I just like the brand) for this photo shoot and the results were delicious.
I added walnuts to mine because nuts are a must in brownies as far as I’m concerned. I’m listing them as optional though, because some crazy people out there don’t like nuts in brownies. Oh the humanity!
Keto Mug Cake FAQs and Variations
How do you bake a keto mug cake?
Typically, since mug cakes are all about convenience, they are cooked a microwave oven rather than a traditional bake oven. That being said, you can absolutely bake a mug cake in your regular oven. To do so I recommend a ramekin instead of a mug, a bake temperature of about 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and about 10-12 minutes of baking time.
If using a microwave as this keto mug cake recipe (and many others) call for, please be aware that microwave strengths and mugs vary – I found this out the hard way when testing this keto mug cake recipe out.
I had been using the same microwave-safe mug for several tries with great results, then I made the last one with a thinner walled mug and it was WAY overdone. So I’m giving you the shortest likely time, and if it’s too gooey just throw it back in for another 30 seconds until it’s the consistency you want.
Once you go over it’s trashed, so err on the conservative side if your microwave is really strong, or your mugs are really thin walled.
Same goes on the other side of the coin, if your mugs are really thick or your microwave oven is whimpy, you might need to add a little time to cook them all the way through.
I divided this keto chocolate brownie mug cake into two portions – but you could just as easily make it in one large mug or small bowl and microwave it for a minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
What ingredients are in a keto mug cake?
The ingredients used in a keto mug cake will vary based on the flavor, but typically they are made with almond flour, coconut flour, a sugar free sweetener like erythritol or xylitol, coconut oil or butter for the fat to make it tender, and baking powder to help it rise.
This particular chocolate mug cake also contains vanilla extract, a good quality cocoa powder, sugar free chocolate chips, and either pecans or walnuts.
How many net carbs are in this keto chocolate mug cake recipe?
This keto mug cake contains only 2 grams of net carbs, but a whopping 6 grams of protein. So it’s basically health food – especially if you throw a few berries on there. You’re welcome.
Can this chocolate mug cake be made dairy free and Paleo?
Yes! The only dairy in this mug cake recipe is the butter, so you can replace that with ghee (which is free of milk solids) or coconut oil with great results. To sweeten it, you can replace the erythritol (which is a natural sweetener but highly processed) with either honey or maple syrup for Paleo diets.
Keto Chocolate Brownie Mug Cake – Low Carb – Gluten Free
- Total Time: 6 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Warm and comforting, this keto chocolate mug cake is the quickest way to low carb brownie bliss there is! Gluten free too!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons superfine blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar substitute
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar free chocolate chipsÂ
- 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small microwave safe bowl (about 30 seconds in microwave).
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined.
- Pour batter into 2 small greased mugs or ramekins.
- Microwave for 1 minute. (add another 30 seconds if necessary).
- Serve with whipped cream or sugar free vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Approximate net carbs per serving = 2g
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Category: Keto desserts
- Method: microwave
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mug cake
- Calories: 216
- Fat: 22g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 6g
Rosalyn says
You always come through….another wonderful recipe. ..I am eating…jo loving it right now. ..thanks…one of my favorite so far!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Rosalyn! This is still one of my faves, so glad you’re enjoying it! :)
Daniel says
I’m telling you now ….. This mug cake is the King of low carb chocolate mug cakes , I’ve made this mug cake so many times and I love that it makes two servings but I myself just cook in the same bowl and halve into two for my partner and I, or I really indulge and eat all to myself it’s fabulous , fabulous fabulous
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Daniel, this means a lot to me because there are a LOT of low carb mug cake recipes out there! Good to know that you’ve tested it over and over and always with good results – I appreciate the feedback! :) My second favorite is the Coconut, Pecan and White Chocolate Mug cake – if you haven’t tried it I highly recommend it! And be sure to let me know how it stands up to this one if you do!
Chantelle says
Just started a low-carb diet and needed a chocolate fix. You are my new favorite person.
Mellissa Sevigny says
I totally get it – you’re welcome! :)
Lorri says
By far THE BEST MIM EVER! I just love this recipe. More like cake (than some MIMs). Moist. Delicious. I melt my chocolate in the hot butter (at the beginning of the recipe), add 1 T of almond butter to that AND a some HWC. Light hand with the flour. It’s is delicious and moist every time. I do it all in one large, soup mug. 1 minute in the microwave. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Marcy says
This was fantastic! All of your recipes look wonderful. I can’t wait to try more. Thank you! :)
S M says
I found this recipe as a link from the All Day I Dream About Food blog and had to make it as soon as I saw it. I didn’t have Lindt chocolate and used a tbsp of sugar-free chocolate chips instead. It turned out incredibly well and tasted so good! My husband topped his off with some chocolate syrup to his while I added some whipped cream. The only problem is that I want more!
Nicole B says
Love this recipe – even my carb munching bf loves it. have made it a few times but was really craving mint matchmakers tonight, decided to try leaving out the nuts and subbing the vanilla with peppermint flavouring – oh yeah that definitely hit the craving :)
Gayle says
I saw that the carbs were net. I don’t do net, and was wondering if I can get the total carb count per serving. Thank you for coming up with this recipe.
Mellissa Sevigny says
I’m afraid I don’t have time to calculate those all over again. You can enter the ingredients into an app like my fitness pal and get a complete nutritional breakdown of any of the recipes that you need more info on. Enjoy!
Ann says
Yum! I cooked it too long, but it still tasted fabulous! Can’t wait to make it again!
Lummox JR says
Tried this tonight with my wife. No nuts, no 90% Lindt (we didn’t have it), but otherwise the same. We used Truvia as the sweetener (she can’t have Splenda), two packets of which are nearly equivalent to 1 1/2 tbsp. of sugar.
The sweetener was very inadequate for both of us; I’d at least double it the next time around. Although the result was a nice sponge cake texture, my wife was hoping for something more like a chewy brownie. Also the almond flour was much too noticeable in the result for us. We used Bob’s Red Mill, and I’ve found it has a really coarse grain and therefore unpleasant texture (I was hoping it wouldn’t be a problem here), but the flavor was also much too strong.
For the next try I’d rather switch to all coconut flour, which as I understand it means it will also need a hefty amount of liquid to compensate. I might skip the baking powder next time to get a chewier consistency. Any tips on how to switch from the almond-coconut mix to strictly coconut?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Almost everything would have to be changed to make this with strictly coconut flour, but you can probably find recipes already done for you by searching coconut flour mug cakes. The Bob’s Red Mill is very course, you’ll have much better results with a finer ground almond flour like Wellbee or Honeyville. Also, if you make it with the chopped chocolate next time, that contributes to the moisture and gooey texture. Lastly, if you cook it too long it gets spongy, to have it more brownie-like, try cooking it for a shorter time and you’ll be amazed at the difference!
Debra says
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks SO MUCH!