Delicious and Fudgy Lunchbox Brownies Recipe

These fudgy lunchbox brownies are easy to make and freeze amazingly well to have as a future school lunch dessert!  The brownies are made in one bowl, making this simple recipe an easy treat any day of the week. These fudgy chocolate brownies have been a huge hit every single time I’ve made them, so I know you and your kids will love them too!

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What are Lunchbox Brownies?

These Lunchbox Brownies, while not only made specifically for school lunches, are the perfect old-fashioned brownies for the whole family!  Now, I went to a public elementary school, so I was never able to experience these delicious lunch lady brownies that I often hear of when kids visit the school cafeteria.  I’m jealous, I’ll be honest haha!  

But technically, being a mom to my 3 school-aged kiddos, I’m now technically those infamous ‘lunch ladies’!  I wanted to make something that we could have as a dessert at home, but also something to make as easy treats to stick in my kids’ lunchboxes that weren’t store-bought. 

These old fashioned brownies are chewy, have lovely moist crumbs, and are loaded with yummy chocolate! These are the best brownies that you’ll want to make all of the time. So I present to you, my lunch lady brownie recipe lol!

The Players for Lunchbox Brownies

Using these simple ingredients that are in most pantries, you’ll be able to whip up these moist brownies in no time!

Ingredients:

• Butter – We’ll be melting down two sticks of butter for this homemade brownie recipe, so no need to bring the butter to room temperature. 
• Sugar – White granulated sugar is best for this recipe.
• Cocoa Powder – Using unsweetened cocoa powder will make the ultimate fudgy brownie.
• Eggs – Allow your eggs to sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before making your brownie batter.
• Vanilla Extract – Adding vanilla extract to these delicious brownies will help bring out the chocolate flavor!
• Flour – Plain all-purpose flour is what you’ll need.
• Baking Powder – Using a leavening agent will help the brownies rise. 
• Salt – I like to use kosher salt in both cooking and baking. 
• Chocolate Chips – While this ingredient is optional, I highly recommend adding these guys to the brownies. They add more texture to the brownie, while also bringing more sweetness!

Tools:

• Baking Dish – You’ll need a 13″ x 9″ baking dish for these lunchbox brownies. I personally love to use glass baking dishes like these Pyrex dishes.
• Spatula – To get all of that fudgy brownie batter out of the saucepan, you’ll need a rubber spatula to get all of that chocolatey goodness into the baking dish.

How to make Lunchbox Brownies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 13″x 9″ inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. 

In a large saucepan over medium heat, begin to melt your butter.  Once the butter has melted, allow it to cool off of the stove for 5 minutes before adding the other ingredients.

Into the same saucepan, whisk in your sugar and cocoa powder until thoroughly combined.

Add in your room-temperature eggs.  Make sure that the melted butter has cooled significantly because we don’t want our eggs to scramble. Whisk for a couple of minutes until the eggs are well incorporated.

To the brownie batter, pour in your vanilla extract and whisk one more time.  

For this next part, you can use a medium bowl to whisk together your dry ingredients if you’d like. But because I’m kind of a lazy baker and I don’t want to dirty extra dishes, I prefer to dump all of my dry ingredients right into the batter.  Add in your flour, baking powder, and salt and stir using a wooden spoon.

If using chocolate chips, now is the time to add them and stir them into the brownie batter until well combined. 

Using a rubber spatula, begin to pour batter into your prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Check your brownies at the 30-minute mark, by inserting a toothpick into the center of the brownies.  If the toothpick comes out clean, they are done.

How to Store and Freeze These Brownies

To store your lunchbox brownies, place them in an airtight container and keep them on the counter for 3 to 4 days.  To freeze your brownies, cut your brownies into ‘lunchbox’ sized pieces and wrap them in plastic wrap or parchment paper and place them into freezer bags. These lunchbox brownies will last up to 3 months in the freezer.

Cutting and Storing for Future School Lunches

If you watch my Kids Lunchbox Dessert Ideas, you’ll see that I like to cut my brownies into rectangles that will fit inside their lunchbox containers. I like to wrap three lunchbox brownie rectangles in plastic wrap twice, then store in freezer bags. The reason I use three is because I have three kids, but wrap as many brownies together as you’d like.

When I go to make their lunches the night before, I will pull out a ‘sleeve’ of 3 brownies and place them into their lunchbox. They will defrost by the time they eat lunch at school!

Pin it for Later

If you end up making these easy Lunchbox Brownies, leave me a comment, I’d love to chat with you!

Looking for other dessert ideas?  Check out these wonderful recipes next!

• Lunchbox Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Homemade Lunchbox Mini Funfetti Cupcakes
• Easy Mini Frosted Pop Tart Bites Recipe
• Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins (Little Bites Copycat!)
• Easy Homemade Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake Recipe
• Arkansas Possum Pie Recipe
• Starbucks Copycat Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
• The Best M&M Monster Cookies with Peanut Butter
• One-Bowl Fudgy Espresso Brownies (Starbucks Copycat)
• Cherry and Almond Thumbprint Cookies
• Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Scone Recipe
• The Best Fresh Berry Summer Cobbler
• Starbucks Iced Lemon Loaf Copycat Recipe
• A Classic, Homemade Blueberry Pie Recipe
• Starbucks Dupe Pumpkin Loaf Recipe

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