This easy recipe for Gluten Free Rocky Road Brownies makes brownies with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips on top. These gluten free chewy fudgy brownies with cocoa powder are the perfect treat for every chocolate lover.
Jump to:
When you’re looking for a treat to satisfy your sweet tooth, a good gluten free chocolate brownie is hard to beat. Add toasted marshmallows, pecans, and chocolate chips on top, and you won’t be able to eat just one.
If you’re not a fan of nuts and chocolate, you’ll want to try my Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Cake or Gluten Free Banana Cake. Both of these recipes will satisfy your sweet tooth and are free of nuts and chocolate.
The batter for these brownies comes together quickly and makes enough to fill a 9-inch square baking pan. You can easily double the recipe and make them in a 9 x 13-inch pan. Doubling the recipe will give you enough to share and still satisfy your own sweet tooth.
Why this Recipe Works
- Using melted butter and cocoa powder gives these brownies a rich chocolate taste.
- Topping the brownies with marshmallows, chocolate, and nuts gives them the classic rocky road flavor.
- Cutting the brownie squares into triangles makes it easy to have “just a taste” or several servings if you choose.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Gluten free flour blend - I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour which contains xanthan gum. If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum, try adding ¼ teaspoon to the recipe.
- Baking powder - The baking powder gives lift to the brownie batter. Always check the expiration date to make sure your baking powder is still fresh.
- Salt - Table salt.
- Butter - I use unsalted butter in my baking so I can control the amount of salt in the recipe.
- Cocoa - Unsweetened cocoa powder. I use Hershey’s cocoa powder.
- Sugar - White granulated sugar.
- Vanilla - pure vanilla extract.
- Eggs - Large eggs at room temperature.
- Marshmallows - Mini marshmallows.
- Pecans - Toasted chopped pecans. I toast the nuts to bring out more flavor, but toasting is optional.
- Chocolate - Semi-sweet chocolate chips are what I use in this brownie recipe.
How to Make Rocky Road Brownies from Scratch
(For ingredient amounts see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift out the finished brownies.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Place cocoa powder and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.
Stir in the vanilla and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and use a rubber spatula to smooth the batter into the corners.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges of the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and scatter the marshmallows, pecans, and chocolate chips all over the top of the brownies.
Place the brownies under the broiler, set to low, for about 2 minutes or until the marshmallows turn a light brown color.
Remove the brownies from the oven and let them cool for 20 minutes.
Refrigerate the brownies until chilled (at least 30 minutes) before serving.
Cut the brownies into 16 squares, then cut each square on the diagonal to end up with 32 triangles. If you like a bigger portion, you can leave the brownies square.
Gluten Free Flour Blend
Make sure to use a good quality all-purpose gluten free flour when making these brownies. I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 which contains xanthan gum.
Xanthan gum helps to hold the brownies together. In traditional baking, gluten in all-purpose flour acts as the binding agent for the baked good. Gluten free baking requires a replacement for the binding agent and that’s where xanthan gum comes in.
Your results may vary depending on the gluten free flour you use. I haven’t tried using almond flour or coconut flour with this brownie recipe.
Remember to use the “spoon and level” method when measuring your gluten free flour. Simply use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and then use the back of a table knife to level off the top. Using the measuring cup to scoop the flour directly from the canister or bag can give you more flour than needed in the recipe.
Love Brownies?
Try one of these great recipes.
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Brownies
- Easy Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownies
- Gluten Free Double Chocolate Brownies
- Easy Gluten Free Zucchini Brownies
Recipe Tips & FAQs
- Line your pan with enough parchment paper so the edges hang over the sides. This will make it easy to remove the brownies from the pan. (Make sure your parchment paper is safe to use under a broiler. If not, you can leave the greased pan unlined.)
- Use room temperature eggs. Room temperature eggs combine more easily and completely than eggs straight from the fridge.
- Use a 9-inch square baking pan with straight sides, instead of rounded sides, to give the brownies a clean, crisp edge.
- When cutting the brownies, spray the knife with non-stick cooking spray. The cookie spray keeps the marshmallows from sticking to the knife.
The brownies will stay fresh, stored in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.
Yes. The brownies can be frozen for up to 2 months. Cool the brownies completely, then wrap the brownie squares individually in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe bag.
Brownies that are fudgy in texture are my preference, but I’m not going to turn down a cake-like brownie either. When you add marshmallows, toasted pecans, and chocolate chips on top of the brownie, then you have pure bliss.
If you’re looking for an easy, homemade, brownie recipe, give these rocky road brownies a try! The brownies are rich, sweet, chocolaty, and best of all gluten free. Enjoy!
More Gluten Free Brownie Recipes to Try
Find more tasty recipes in the Recipe Index.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, don't forget to leave a star rating and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I really enjoy hearing from you!
You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more of the delicious food I'm making!
Recipe
Gluten Free Rocky Road Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- ½ cup chopped pecans, toasted
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Place cocoa and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.
- Stir in the vanilla and sugar.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and use a rubber spatula to smooth the batter into the corners.
- Bake 20-25 minutes until the edges of the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Remove from oven and scatter the marshmallows, pecans, and chocolate chips all over the top of the brownies.
- Place the brownies under the broiler, set to low, for about 2 minutes or until the marshmallows turn a light brown color.
- Take the brownies out of the oven and allow to cool about 20 minutes before refrigerating. Chill about 30 minutes before serving.
- Cut the brownies into 16 squares, then cut each square on the diagonal to end up with 32 triangles.
Notes
- Line your pan with enough parchment paper so the edges hang over the sides. This will make it easy to remove the brownies from the pan. (Make sure your parchment paper is safe to use under a broiler. If not, you can leave the greased pan unlined.)
- Use room temperature eggs. Room temperature eggs combine more easily and completely than eggs straight from the fridge.
- Use a 9-inch square baking pan with straight sides, instead of rounded sides, to give the brownies a clean, crisp edge.
- When cutting the brownies, spray the knife with non-stick cooking spray. The cookie spray keeps the marshmallows from sticking to the knife.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information provided is an estimate and will vary based on products and brands you use. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the ingredients you are using with your preferred nutrition calculator.
This post was originally published in 2017. It was updated in 2023 with updated images, additional text and FAQs.
Gaye Rebar says
What a neat treat!