The 13 Best Boxed Brownie Mixes, Ranked
Baking mixes are a pantry staple for many, including myself. Even if you consider yourself to be a top-tier home baker who genuinely enjoys creating gravity-defying layer cakes, laminating sheets of buttery pastry, and trying recipes straight out of "The Great British Baking Show" tent, you can't deny the utility of this store-bought product. All you need to do is add the ingredients listed on the back of the box (like eggs, oil, and water), give it a stir, and pop it in your oven to bake. Not only does it save you the time of buying and measuring out dry ingredients, but many baking mix brands are so good that you won't be able to tell the difference between a store-bought variety and one you made from scratch.
One of the mixes I always have on hand is for brownies. While the photos on the exterior of brownie mix boxes suggest the companies have figured out the perfect ratio of ingredients for a crisp, crackly top and fudgy interior, I wanted to figure out if that was actually the case — and to see which brand does boxed brownies the best. So, I dove headfirst into the ultimate baking challenge: preparing as many brownie mixes as I could find to see which one made the best batch. I looked for brownies that were fudgy, soft, and easily distinguishable from cake in terms of their lacquered top and molten consistency, and ranked each of them from worst to best.
13. Bettergoods double chocolate brownie mix
Bettergoods is Walmart's newest private-label brand; it includes more plant-based options, innovative flavors, and "free-from" options than its other popular private label, Great Value. This fuchsia box of brownie mix was priced much higher than other brands I sampled, including name brands like Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker. But I would pay pretty much anything for a good brownie — so price is a moot point.
After baking these brownies, I can confidently say that they're not worth the price tag. The top has a subtle shine to it, though it's not as notable as other brands. The crumb structure itself is dense, but it's more in line with a good chocolate cake than a brownie. In that same vein, the texture of this brownie is a little too airy for my liking. It's soft, plush, and easily pulled away from the rest of the brownie when I broke off a piece, instead of sticking together like a fudgy brownie should. Another downside of this brand is its weird aftertaste, which I couldn't quite put my finger on. It was slightly metallic and persisted even after I finished eating it.
12. Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix
I'll admit that I haven't been too pleased with the Betty Crocker mixes I've tried over the years, but I put those personal feelings aside to rank its fudge brownie mix for this review. That said, I can confirm that after trying this product, my impression of the brand holds firm. When I was mixing it, everything was normal; I had no issues with its texture. However, when I went to bake it, I noticed that it took much longer than the other brands to bake. To avoid over-baking brownies, you should always look for cracks — and they should bake from the outside in. This one didn't set or crack, nor did it lose its gloss. Eventually, after baking it twice as long as the other brands, I pulled it from the oven to find it grossly over-baked.
While it puffed up well and was very moist, it wasn't really brownie-like. The picture on the package doesn't look at all like the 110% cakey brownie that came out of the oven. And since its label said "fudge brownie," that's what I was looking for. The flavor of this brownie itself isn't anything spectacular; it's not especially chocolatey, nor does it have any unique flavor notes that make it stand out.
11. Great Value fudge brownie mix
Great Value's products, which range from Alfredo sauce to chocolate chip cookies, can either be a swing or a miss. While Walmart's most well-known private label is competitively priced, I've found that its products are wildly inconsistent.
This brownie mix went into the oven very wet and gloopy — more so than any other brands that I sampled. But that moisture eventually evened out in the oven. The resulting brownie was definitely cake-like and lacked the fudginess that I was expecting. The only parts that were truly brownie-like were the edges, which had just the right amount of chewiness. Its chocolatiness wasn't particularly memorable, so I finished my bite feeling melancholy about it. It's a mediocre brownie, and there is no room for mediocrity on this list of the best brownie mix brands.
10. Ghirardelli chocolate supreme premium brownie mix
Ghirardelli knows how to do chocolate. It ranked high on our list of the best popular chocolate bars, but I can't say that its brownies had the same luck. I'm not convinced that these brownies are actually brownies — I think along the way there was a box of cake mix that got mislabeled. They're soft and plush in a way that a good chocolate cake can be, but they lack the chewiness and depth of flavor of a proper brownie mix. The crackle is almost nonexistent.
What I will say is that these brownies had a slightly more high-quality chocolate flavor than some of the other brands on this list, though it was not so delicious that I would immediately recognize it as coming from a premium chocolate brand like Ghirardelli. It's this chocolate flavor that spared it a spot at the bottom of this ranking.
9. Duncan Hines chewy fudge brownie mix
In Duncan Hines we trust! Seriously, it was the only brand of cake mix that my mom allowed our family to have in the house growing up. She swore that Duncan Hines made the best cake mix — but how would its brownies fare?
I noticed some oddities in this Duncan Hines mix. For one, it calls for a little more oil than some of the others on this list: ⅔ of a cup versus ⅓ or ½. Another important thing was that the dry ingredients in this batter were noticeably coarse and did not distribute well into the batter.
The baked tray of brownies was much more squat and less well-risen than both Betty Crocker's fudge brownies — which isn't a bad thing. The top also had a more noticeable crust, though it lacked the proper crackle that my top-ranked brand offered. While the crust was firm and offered a textural contrast to the soft crumb underneath, it didn't do much for the visual appeal of the bake. The texture was still cake-like and soft, which isn't what I want from a "chewy fudge" mix.
8. Betty Crocker Delights supreme original brownie mix
This Betty Crocker Delights brownie mix comes with a silver packet of fudge, which should be added to the batter along with the rest of the ingredients. When I sliced it open, I couldn't help but notice it had the texture of caramel syrup; it wasn't the rich, fudgy spread I was anticipating.
The Delights had some of the same structure issues as the lower-ranked Betty Crocker fudgy brownies. The brownies rose way too much in the oven and came out borderline over-baked, despite the batter not giving any visual cues that it was ready to be pulled from the oven. Its flavor also lacks any sort of chocolatey pop or boldness — I doubt the extra "fudge" packet did anything to improve the taste. What I did find the packet offered, though, was a slightly chewier texture — one that the original Betty Crocker brownies didn't have. Don't get me wrong, they're definitely in no way fudgy brownies, but they had a more satisfying toothsome pull that ranked them slightly higher in this roundup than some of the other brands. Cost-wise, they're not bad, but I think there are better mixes that yield tastier brownies.
7. Krusteaz gluten-free double chocolate brownie mix
Krusteaz was one of two gluten-free brownie mixes that I tried for this ranking. The brand is well-known for its pancake mixes, but also carries a vast selection of gluten-free products. At first glance, you might think that this is a really good brownie. It has a better sheen than some of the higher-ranked brands on this list, and it's delectably thin. However, looks can be deceiving, as I've found out all too well with this brownie mix.
Heed my warning: Take a toothpick to this brownie batter before you pull it out of the oven. Otherwise, you may be left with a batter that's set on the outside, but entirely raw on the inside. Even the brownie that was fully baked through did not entirely set, and I think that the lack of gluten had something to do with that. After I made sure it was fully baked, it was still wobbly and didn't hold together well. I had to use a spatula to remove it from the tray after it was finished baking. It may also help to let the batter sit and hydrate for a while before you bake it. As I expected with a gluten-free mix, it had a gritty, rice-flour-like texture. But it still ranked relatively high because it was more fudge brownie-esque than many of the lower-ranked brands on this list.
6. King Arthur Baking Company gluten-free ultimate fudge brownie mix
King Arthur is one of the brands I trust the most — for both baking advice and baking mixes. And I can proudly say that its gluten-free brownie mix doesn't disappoint. At first, I was sad to see that the crackle on the top was minimal, especially compared to my top-ranked brand. However, if you're after a sublime and high-quality chocolate flavor, this is the brand that you're going to want to choose.
The recipe calls for a stick of melted butter, and I assume that's why these brownies are so rich, heavy, and delectable. I also assume that's why they taste like I bit into a stick of chocolate-flavored butter. They are relatively condensed and don't rise as much as Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, and the mouthfeel is delectably fudgy. While the fat content probably has a lot to do with this consistency, I think it's also because these brownies are gluten-free. They have a slightly gritty, rice-flour-like texture on the palate, which distracts from the overall flavor (and may not appeal to all eaters). That, and the heavy buttery flavor, pushed them lower in my ranking.
5. Duncan Hines Dolly Parton's fabulously double fudge brownie mix
You can't help but laugh when you see a sketch of what's supposed to look like Dolly Parton (but really looks nothing like her) on the outside of this brownie mix. This Duncan Hines product, which is in some way endorsed by the Queen of Country herself, is about as extra as Dolly is. Rather than requiring the standard addition of eggs, water, and oil, it calls for milk, melted butter, and eggs. In short, it pays to read the back of the box before you add it to your cart, otherwise you'll be left scrambling on a last-minute trip to the grocery store (like me).
This brownie mix, even unbaked, is noticeably darker than the other mixes because it contains a ton of extra fat and grease from the milk and the melted butter. While butter is supposedly the secret ingredient that makes boxed brownies taste homemade, I think that it can impart a greasy and overtly buttery flavor to the brownies — which was the case with this mix. The extra fat also makes them difficult to spread; it was almost like making a batch of homemade fudge.
The flavor is like 75% chocolate, 25% butter. If you can get past that, you can probably appreciate these brownies. The crackle is decent, though it's not evenly distributed across the entire tray. But, they are attractive and fudgy enough to still be considered good brownies — just not the best brownies.
4. Specially Selected double chocolate premium brownie mix
It's amazing what a big difference there is between the two Aldi-branded brownie mixes on this list. The Specially Selected mix has a higher price tag, but price doesn't correlate to quality. There is a decent enough crust on the top and corners of the brownies, and the chocolate flavor is passable, but the crumb structure itself is not especially brownie-like.
While some of the other selections on this list had a toothsome pull or chewiness, this brownie's texture was very airy and light. That chocolatey flavor didn't linger on my taste buds like some of the other brands on this list. The only time I got a more decadent brownie mouthfeel was when I got a bite studded with chocolate chips. Brownies are often associated with an I-ate-a-single-bite-and-now-I-need-a-nap feeling, but this one made me feel like I could eat the entire tray and still be as light as a feather.
I ranked it higher than more decadent brands, like King Arthur, because I didn't feel like I was eating a stick of butter. However, I would have liked to see a fudgier texture and flavor from this brand.
3. Pillsbury chocolate fudge brownie mix
Pillsbury is a well-known name in the baking world. Besides a variety of cake mixes and frostings, it also makes several types of brownie mixes, including the chocolate fudge variety I sampled for this review. There was nothing unique or notable about this mix from start to finish. It mixed well, baked fine, and had about the same rise as both of Betty Crocker's brownie mixes. However, Pillsbury was able to more deftly toe the line between being fudgy and cakey. While the top of the brownies didn't develop as deep a crackle as some of the other brands on this list, including my top-ranked selection, the center and top of the brownies had a little bit of a tackier (in a good way) mouthfeel. This factor pushed it into brownie territory, rather than normal cake territory.
The flavor of these brownies is average — it's not particularly chocolatey, but it's not gritty and cheap-tasting either. They would probably be better served with a scoop of ice cream to make them more exciting, or studded with candy add-ins.
2. White Lily chocolate fudge brownie mix
White Lily's packaging gives off Southern baking vibes, so I was hopeful that its brownies would taste like something my grandma used to make. And honestly, these brownies could have probably could have put hers to shame.
When I took a whiff of this tray of freshly-baked brownies, it was almost like the sweetness and chocolatiness caressed my nostrils and embraced them in a big bear hug. Although the height of these brownies suggests that their texture is going to be cake-like, they were probably the chewiest brownies on this entire list. Each bite was perfectly toothsome and brownie-like, and they were almost like they were begging me to top them with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of hot fudge. I finished my bite feeling far more satisfied than I did with any of the other cakey "brownies" on the list.
Don't get me wrong, these brownies are quite sweet — more so than any of the other brands that I sampled for this ranking. However, they have an almost addictive quality to them that kept me coming back for nibble after nibble. If they had a more pronounced crackle on top, like the image on the box suggested they would, I would have easily ranked them as my first-place mix.
1. Baker's Corner chewy fudge brownie mix
Baker's Corner is one of the two Aldi brownie mixes on this list. It was one of the most budget-friendly mixes I tried, and it turns out that the discount grocer knows how to make a darn good brownie. If I were to see a tray of them in a bake shop, I would immediately recognize them as brownies. The crackle on top is perfect and well-distributed all the way to the edges, while the interior of the brownie is perfectly fudgy, soft, and delicious. While other brands on this list teetered on the edge of being dense cakes, this one walked the walk and talked the talk.
Although this brownie looks divine, its flavor still isn't perfect. Even though I made sure it was fully baked when I pulled it out of the oven, it had a somewhat raw taste to it and the chocolate flavor could have been developed even more. While I do think there is enough chocolate flavor for this brownie to get by, I don't think there's enough to convince me that it was made with high-quality chocolate. That said, if you're looking for a bargain buy, this is the brand to go with. It's reliable, tasty enough, and will probably satisfy brownie lovers of all ages.
Methodology
I prepared each of the brownie mixes on this list according to the package directions. In order to help ensure a fair bake for every brand, I made sure to follow proper baking techniques, including preheating the oven, not over-mixing the batter (which is all too common with brownie mixes), and letting each tray cool before slicing. I also baked each batch in a glass 9x13-inch baking pan.
Once the brownies had cooled, I tasted each one. The biggest factor I considered in this review was texture. Everyone has a side in the cakey versus fudgy debate, but I wanted a brownie that set itself apart from a chocolate cake. It needed to be molten, decadent, moist, and intensely chocolatey. It also had to be sweet — but not too sweet — and slice cleanly.