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 chips
- 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
Heather says
This was perfect for the chocolate brownie ice cream that I made. I put all of the batter in a small rectangular Pyrex dish and microwaved it for about 90 seconds. Instead of the chopped dark chocolate I used some Choc Zero chocolate chips. I also replaced one of the tablespoons of almond flour with unflavored collagen powder to reduce the carbs a bit and add chewiness. Amazing!
Nadine says
Had a terrible chocolate craving that I didn’t think would ever go away… made these mug cakes and ate one with a scoop of low carb vanilla ice cream… Wow! I’m sated! Thank you!
Renee Raison says
Thank you for your recipe!! Delicious!
SHARON LEPLER-ACEVEDO says
This recipe is great and satisfies my sweet tooth. I’ve tried a few others but they were too ‘eggey’. I used Lilys chips as a short cut. Even a friend of mine, not on keto, loved it.
nimakokaaz says
i have made this doubling up on the cocoa and replacing the coconut flour entirely with 100% fibre psyllium husk powder.
even the base recipe is amazing, but if dark chocolate really does it for you, the switch out i did is worth the extra carbs from the cocoa, and losing them from the coconut flour.
like even if i went back to carbs (HAHA, NEVER, I FEEL AMAZING) i would be keeping this recipe. this is a GOOD RECIPE.
thank you, thank you!
Dee says
Thanks for your idea of using psyllium husk powder in place of coconut flour. These brownies came out fantastic!
Jessica says
I tried this last night because I was having a big chocolate craving and this hit the spot…sooooo good!!!
Lisa says
OMG this is absolutely delish!!!!
Jax hida says
Best mug cake I’ve tried. The right amount of decadence, sweetness, and portion size. Got it from highfallutin low carbs comparison video. This one is a keeper for sure
Patty says
I tried this today and I found that it tasted just like devil food cake. I used the recipe for 1x but still put it in two mugs per the instructions. Don’t know if I was suppose to put it in just one mug. Please let me know if I should have put it in one mug although the size of the cake was still a nice portion dividing it between two mugs. I am so tired of recipes where you only taste the egg. This had no egg taste at all. I also saw this on Hi Falutin Low Carb and he was right this is good!
Alison says
I would like to purchase some ramekins for these mug cakes. Can you tell me what size works best?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Probably a four inch would be best.
Barbie Starr says
Yum! I’m new to low carb – about 5 weeks now. This is the second mug cake recipe I’ve tried. (The first reminded me of an eggy bread pudding. Not great.) Your recipe is just what a mug cake should be. The texture was lovely. Very much like warm, moist cake right out of the oven. Fairly light, and spongy. I will certainly be making this again. Maybe for supper. ;) Thank you for this delightfully tasty low carb dessert recipe.
Mellissa Sevigny says
It’s been literally years since I’ve made this Barbie – your comment made me want to run to the kitchen and make it STAT! So happy you enjoyed it!
Amy says
I’ve made this a couple of times recently and it is perfect. I mix the chocolate bits with the cocoa powder so that they don’t sink to the bottom. And I make this in a small dessert bowl, so that I can turn it out like a sticky toffee pudding.
Scoop a bit of coconut cream over the top (some SCKC habits are here for good) and WOW.
Decadence.