Keto Chocolate Brownie Mug Cake – Low Carb

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.

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