What’s better than an ooey-gooey chocolate brownie fresh out of the oven? I’m thinking an ooey-gooey chocolate protein mug brownie with 100 calories and 13 grams of protein that’s ready in one minute!
Since I first published this recipe, it’s gone on to be one of my most popular recipes. And for good reason. It tastes amazing, has the texture of a real brownie, and is unbelievably easy to make.
Microwavable Protein Brownie Ingredients
Most readers love this protein brownie straight out of the box, but I’ll tackle some common ingredient questions below.
What can I use instead of pumpkin?
Another great thing about this protein brownie is that it’s highly customizable. If you don’t love pumpkin, there are lots of potential swaps:
- Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- Mashed Banana
- Light Butter (lower carb option)
- Avocado (lower carb option)
- Cooked and Mashed Sweet Potato (or any starchy carb puree)
I’ve included notes on using half pumpkin and half apple sauce in the recipe card’s notes section, as well as a peanut butter banana protein brownie variation.
Additional Sweeteners and Toppings
Depending on how sweet your sweet tooth is, you can add stevia or zero-calorie sweetener to either recipe, but I find it’s sweet enough without it.
As for toppings, fat-free whipped topping is a great way to trick your mind into thinking brownie with ice cream since the whipped topping melts a bit. Placing a few chocolate chips on top right out of the microwave will give a melted chocolate, extra gooey consistency without adding many calories. Just be sure not to go chocolate chip crazy here!
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t recommend using a half cup of a lower calorie ice cream like Edy’s Slow Churned Vanilla. Yum.
My Choice of Protein Powder
Nearly all my protein powder recipes use PEScience Select Whey and Casein. You can use my affiliate discount code ‘mason’ to save 15% on PEScience products.
How to Avoid A Tough or Dry Protein Brownie
Since there are a lot of moving parts in recipes with protein powder (different types of protein, volume differences in scoops, scooping vs weighing accuracy, etc.), there’s always a chance you’ll end up with a tough or dry finished product. I’ll include a few ideas to combat this below:
- Use whey concentrate or a blend of proteins that’s not super lean like whey isolate (the extra carbs/fat goes a long way)
- Slightly reduce the amount of protein powder used
- Increase fat sources or faux fat sources (i.e. pumpkin, mashed bananas, sweet potato, avocado, unsweetened apple sauce, coconut oil or processed coconut flakes, etc.)
- 14 grams of light butter only has 50 calories and changes lives
- Slightly increase liquid ingredients
- Reduce cook time
- Add moisture after cooking via whipped topping, ice cream, or fruit reductions
Life’s too short for dry protein treats. I hope this helps!
If you do like this breakdown, I recently did an even deeper dive to find the internet’s best healthy brownies.
Okay, that’s pretty much all ya need to know. As always, if you make this microwave protein brownie, tag me in your creation on Instagram. Enjoy!
One-Minute, 100-Calorie Protein Brownie
Ingredients
- 1/4 C 60g Canned Pumpkin*
- 1/2 scoop, 16g Vanilla Protein Powder
- 1 Tbsp 5g Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder
- 1-2 tsp Granulated Sugar Substitute, optional
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl or mug. If you'd like to easily remove the brownie from the mug after cooking, transfer the protein brownie batter to a second mug or bowl sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Microwave for 1-1.5 minutes for a single recipe or 2-2.5 minutes for a double recipe. Depending on the size of your bowl, watch for overflow.
Notes
Peanut Butter Banana Brownie Version
Mix the following in a small bowl or mug and microwave for 1.5-2 minutes:- 1 large (150g) Mashed Ripe Banana
- 1 scoop (31g) Vanilla Protein Powder
- 2 Tbsp (12g) PB2 or Powdered Peanut Butter
- 1 Tbsp (5g) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1-2 Tbsp Water or Milk, as needed
Nutrition
For Make Ahead Brownies
You can fill 4-ounce microwave safe jars with the brownie batter and refrigerate for 4-5 days. When you’re ready for a brownie, pop the jar in the microwave. You’ll likely need to play around with cook time as it will vary on the size of jar and amount of brownie batter you put inside the jar. (The 45-75 second range would be my guess.) I’ve not tried freezing them, but you could probably freeze and thaw overnight.
If you’re using smaller jars, you could use a piping bag or Ziploc bag with a corner cut off the get the batter in the jars.
Mason, I love this recipe but I was wondering if we could sub something in place of the protein powder to reduce the protein/calorie content of the recipe? I’ve tried 7g of coconut flour instead of the 15g of protein powder but it is simply does not work very well at all. Absorbs too much moisture from the applesauce/pumpkin and does not microwave very well at all. Any other suggestions?
Mason, I love this recipe but I was wondering if we could sub something in place of the protein powder to reduce the protein/calorie content of the recipe? I’ve tried 7g of coconut flour instead of the 15g of protein powder but it is simply does not work very well at all. Absorbs too much moisture from the applesauce/pumpkin and does not microwave very well at all. Any other suggestions?
Mason, I love this recipe but I was wondering if we could sub something in place of the protein powder to reduce the protein/calorie content of the recipe? I’ve tried 7g of coconut flour instead of the 15g of protein powder but it is simply does not work very well at all. Absorbs too much moisture from the applesauce/pumpkin and does not microwave very well at all. Any other suggestions?
Hey Ryan, I’m happy to hear you’re enjoying it! I’m thinking the coconut flour might work if you increase liquid ingredients. Maybe 2-3 Tbsp of almond milk or an additional 1-2 Tbsp of pumpkin or apple sauce to balance out its absorbency. Beyond the coconut flour, you could try an all purpose flour, though that may defeat the reducing calories goal. Looking at my birthday mug cake recipe (https://masonfit.com/high-protein-birthday-cake/), it looks like 1 Tbsp of coconut flour goes a long way there. So maybe you could try as little as 1-2 tsp of coconut flour in place of the protein here. Or even cut the protein powder in half and add 1 tsp coconut flour. Just some ideas – let me know how it goes!
Thank you Mason. I’ll give those ideas a shot.
This has been my breakfast for like … a month (?) and I’m still not getting bored of it! It’s unbelievably fluffy, extraordinarily fast and easy to do. I mean, this is literally the reason I wake up every single morning, I swear! 🙂
This has been my breakfast for like … a month (?) and I’m still not getting bored of it! It’s unbelievably fluffy, extraordinarily fast and easy to do. I mean, this is literally the reason I wake up every single morning, I swear! 🙂
Hands down the best brownie I ever had. I was skeptical about the pumpkin. But omg, it was amazing and cured my sweet tooth.
Hands down the best brownie I ever had. I was skeptical about the pumpkin. But omg, it was amazing and cured my sweet tooth.
my go to protein brownie recipe. pairs so good with some low cal ice cream like halotop
my go to protein brownie recipe. pairs so good with some low cal ice cream like halotop
Hey Mason! I absolutely love making this recipe and I probably make it 3-4 times a week for my night time snack. I love how convenient it is along with it being so low calorie compared to other brownies out there. I love following your two pages on Instagram and love trying different recipes. If anyone is reading this, I would definitely add this to your list to make. It is sooo good, trust me!!