Classic Chocolate Mint Brownies
These are the best chocolate mint brownies with a fudgy brownie base, fluffy mint frosting, and rich chocolate ganache topping. Classic and delicious!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Another huge winner! Made and devoured by husband’s work and still getting thank you e-mails. -Rachel
Here’s Why I Love These Brownies
If you’ve had the epically popular chocolate mint brownies from BYU, you’ll know how exciting it is to have a homemade version. We’ve been making these classic brownies for over ten years. They are a huge favorite!
I love them because:
- The brownie base is rich, chocolate-y and deliciously thick and fudgy. They have the perfect texture!
- The fluffy mint frosting cuts the richness of the chocolate with sweet, bright mint flavor. The chocolate-mint combo is so good.
- These brownies are incredible served chilled. They’re also yummy served at room temperature.
- Because the brownies are plenty rich, they can be cut in small squares to feed a crowd.
Ingredients Notes
- Butter: I use salted butter. If using unsalted butter, increase the salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon. Additionally, melted butter is used in the frosting for a lusciously creamy texture.
- Cocoa powder: Use natural, unsweetened cocoa powder rather than Dutch-process cocoa powder.
- Granulated sugar
- Honey: Using honey in addition to the sugar adds a chewy texture and deeper flavor to the brownies.
- Eggs: Use large eggs. Out of shell, the eggs should weigh 200 grams total.
- Flour: All-purpose flour works best. Don’t sub in whole wheat, cake or bread flour.
- Baking powder: This ingredient gives the brownies a slightly fluffier texture than ultra-fudgy brownie recipes.
- Powdered sugar: Take care not to pack this ingredient into the measuring cup. If you have a scale, us that to measure.
- Peppermint extract: Use peppermint extract rather than mint extract for a lighter, better mint flavor. Mint extract can often end up tasting like toothpaste. This ingredient is used in the frosting and in the ganache.
- Green food coloring: This ingredient is optional. Gel or liquid food coloring can be used.
- Chocolate chips: Chocolate chips are used for the ganache topping. Semisweet chocolate chips give the best flavor without being overly sweet or overly dark.
- Heavy cream: This ingredient is heated with a bit of butter and poured over the chocolate chips to create the glossy ganache.
How to Assemble the Chocolate Mint Brownies
- Bake the brownies in a metal 9X13-inch pan.
- Let the brownies cool completely in the pan.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled brownies. Chill the brownies for 20 to 30 minutes so the frosting can set up a bit.
- Drizzle the ganache over the brownies and spread quickly so the frosting doesn’t melt.
- Chill the brownies in the fridge until the ganache has set up.
Cut these brownies into small or large squares and serve them chilled or at room temperature. They are incredible eaten chilled, just take my word for that.
A Few Additional Notes
- As noted in the recipe below, if you want a thicker mint frosting layer, 1 1/2 or double the frosting. Lots of readers over the years have done so with good results.
- The photos of the brownies in this post were made with a 1 1/2 batch of frosting – so you can see visually how much frosting that is with the brownies and ganache.
- If using a glass pan, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and add time, as needed.
- The pan can be lined with parchment for easy lifting out of the pan.
These classic chocolate mint brownies are easily Brian’s favorite brownie recipe in the whole world. For chocolate-mint lovers, they are the best dessert!
They stay fresh in the fridge for a dangerous amount of time and are always a hit, whether it’s serving them for St. Patrick’s Day, summer BBQs or potlucks, or just because! 💚
Classic Chocolate Mint Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies:
- 10 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup (43 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (85 g) honey
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (213 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Mint Frosting (see note):
- 2 cups (228 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (57 g) salted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 drops green food coloring (optional)
Chocolate Ganache:
- 1 cup (170 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. (If using a glass pan or dark-coated pan, decrease the baking temperature to 325 degrees F and increase baking time, as needed.)
- For the brownies, in a microwave-safe bowl, add the butter, cocoa powder, sugar, and honey. Microwave for 1-minute intervals, stirring in between, until the butter is melted and ingredients are well combined. Don't over heat.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature. Add the eggs and vanilla, and stir until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and stir until combined and no dry streaks remain.
- Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 22 to 25 minutes. Add time, if needed. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool the brownies completely in the pan.
- For the mint frosting, in a medium bowl, add the powdered sugar, butter, milk, mint extract and food coloring (if using). Stir together until the frosting is smooth and evenly combined.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the top of the cooled brownies. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes, until the frosting has set up a bit.
- For the ganache, place the chocolate chips in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream and butter until just barely simmering. Pour over the chocolate chips. Let the mixture sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir until glossy and smooth. Stir in the mint extract.
- Spread the ganache evenly over the mint layer. Refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes until the ganache has set up.
- Cut into squares and serve. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
Mint Layer: For a slightly thicker mint frosting layer, 1 1/2 or double the frosting ingredients (the photos in the recipe are with a 1 1/2 batch of frosting).
Serving: 1 Bar, Calories: 263kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 157mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 28g
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: brownie layer inspired by these classic BYU Mint Brownies (mint layer taken and adapted slightly from this old recipe)
Recipe originally posted June 2014; updated April 2026 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I have seriously been looking for a solid reliable brownie recipe for 10 years and I stumbled upon this one tonight! I love you, Mel, and all of your recipes and insight. I had just never thought to look here for brownies! They were a total hit. I did use a glass pan so I lowered the temp to 325F and I do think I ended up baking them for around 35 minutes. No biggie at all – I just kept an eye on them for the final 10 minutes. My husband is not impressed by anything, especially when it comes to food and recipes. But he told me he wouldn’t change a thing, and he didn’t want to share the pan of brownies with our neighbors. Definitely keeping this one in the rotation. Thank you Mel for sharing!!!
Thanks so much for commenting on this recipe and letting me know these brownies were such a hit, Katie! Thank you!!
Hi Mel! I love these brownies!! Do you recommend any other flavors that I could try?
Perfection for mint lover!
Just made these gluten free and they were perfection!!! Thank you Mel!
Hailey C., my neighbor, and I made this recipe because Hailey LOVES mint brownies. The last time she made them (not your recipe) she thought they tasted soapy. She was REALLY hoping these were better. Hailey says, “I like these 100 percent better.” We made them and they are fabulous. She thinks next time, we should make the bottom layer thinner. She also insisted on having her own copy of this recipe. It is a keeper for sure.
Thank you for sharing.
Oh man. These are SO good! I brought these to my Young Women class and everybody loved them! I have made these multiple times and I have always gotten positive comments on them when I ask for honest feed back. Thank you for this delicious recipe, Mel!
I really needed these and I don’t keep cream on hand, so googled to see if there was a substitute for cream in ganache and there is! I just needed to add an extra 2 TBSP of butter to simulate the fattiness of cream and the 2 TBSP for this recipe, so 1/4 cup total to 1/4 cup whole milk and proceed as directed. It made wonderful ganache Now I can’t stop making different versions. I made raspberry butter cream and was surprised how wonderful they are, then made a peanut butter version with milk chocolate ganache.
They also freeze wonderfully. Just cut, wrap in plastic wrap and pop in a Ziploc bag. When you want one, take it out and defrost on the counter for an hour or so.
Stop me before I weigh 729 lbs!
These mint brownies are better than any other brownie recipe I have tried! I will make these again!
Happy holidays Mel! First of all, I have been using and loving your recipes for a long time now. (It got me out of a major ‘what am I going to make for dinner’ slump.) You have increased my confidence in my cooking skills because your recipes are so well written and easy to follow. I love how your recipes use things I already have or are at least familiar with. Everything we have tried from your site we have loved! My family is willing to try new food, as long as I got the recipe from you! I refer everybody to your website! So a big “thank you” (from me AND my family) for all your hard work and time you put into your site and for sharing your amazing recipes!!!
Now for my question…I am almost positive I have made these brownies before, and loved them! But I don’t remember them calling for chocolate syrup. Am I all mixed up? (Which is totally possible.)
Thank you so much, Brittany! So, so happy to hear you’ve been enjoying the recipes – love hearing that! As for these brownies, sorry about the mixup! I’ve been changing recipes over to a new format and another mint brownie recipe got copied in by mistake, but I’ve fixed it.
Have you tried making these in a sheet pan? Could I double the recipe, or 1 1/2 it?
I haven’t – I think they might be a bit too thick, but I’m not sure? Maybe a 1 1/2 batch would do the trick.
Can I substitute essential oil for extract? I have peppermint. Anyone here cook with essential oils? Also, can you suggest a site for cooking with essential oils? Much thanks for any ideas.
You could definitely experiment – I don’t know much about that so you might try googling or searching online for some good resources.
Marianne- I used DoTerra Brand peppermint oil (safe for ingestion) and had great results!! It only takes a couple drops instead of a full teaspoon… maybe take a little taste as you go to make sure it’s to your liking. ☺️
Is the butter supposed to be melted in the mint layer?
Yes
We live in Ghana so our ingredient options limit a lot of the “american” recipes we can make at home here. My daughter who usually will only eat ghanaian local food ( she’s ghanaian ) took one look at these and went oh WOW mama lets make those and sure enough we can!! <3 I cannot wait!
Love to hear this, Meghan! I’m actually traveling to Ghana in a few weeks – I’m excited to try the local food!
I LOVE these brownies. I made 4 batches to give to the teachers and staff at our elementary school for St. Patty’s Day. I’m so grateful I can always count on your recipes!
I had the same problem as Angela W. Glass pan at 325 (and my oven tends to run on the hot side) and after 20 minutes, they looked completely raw. Gave them another 5 minutes and then pulled out because the edges were looking too done. Maybe include a detail in the recipe about what they’re supposed to look like when done baking? They ended up a little gooey, but still edible. Not as good as when we’ve tried a BYU copycat recipe before. But, we’ll see if we change our mind once chilled.
Lovely brownies ! Easy to follow recipe, a hit in our house.
Hi Mel 🙂 I’m having a problem with the baking time for the glass pan version. I cook them at the 325 degrees for 25 min but when I pull them out and do the toothpick test it always comes out very gooey. So I will put them in for another 3 min and it’s still gooey so I put it in another 3 min and it’s still a little gooey but I stop baking them. Should I just always cook them in a 350 degree oven for a glass pan as well?
You might just try the 350 degrees. Usually for a glass pan you want to decrease the oven temp by 25 degrees so the edges and bottom don’t get burned but if they aren’t cooking through all the way, it might be ok to turn up the heat (otherwise it isn’t a problem to keep adding time, even as much as 10 minutes extra)
Do you really bake these for only 25 minutes? I have made BYU brownies many times and always have to bake them significantly longer, and my son had the same experience. Strange.
Very disappointed with these.. Baked as instructed, they even rose in the oven and when all was said and done with the exception of one inch around the brownies weren’t cooked through.. Mint was overwhelming. I love your recipes but I wouldn’t make this again.
Do you think it would be okay to skip the mint layer and make the ganache with mint chocolate chips?
I haven’t tried it this way but experimenting is always fun. The mint layer gives a softer/frosting-like texture between the brownie and the ganache.
Another huge winner! Made and devoured by husband’s work and still getting thank you e-mails. I messed up and made twice the amount of green/mint frosting as forgot I wasn’t doubling recipe- and used it all anyway- just a thicker layer of green and all stayed together perfectly- gorgeous and sooo fab.
I made these on the 4th, they are really yummy! They are so much better cold then at room temperature. The mint filling is so yummy, I think I would one and a half it so it’s a little thicker, it was pretty thin and barely spread to a 9 x 13.
I LOVE mint brownies. I really liked the ganache on top; it is so easy to spread. I have one recommendation for you. Use PEPPERMINT extract instead of mint extract. Try it and let me know if you like them even better 🙂 Mint extract tastes to similar to toothpaste.
Made this last week,my husband lovessss mint so I was thinking this will be perfect for him and yes he said it is the best brownies, I share your recipe to my friends and they even said fantastic
These look truly divine!! Can’t wait to try them!!
So a few weeks back, I was making the old version on your mint brownie. I was making a double batch to put in the freezer for my missionaries homecoming and farewells. I was on the filling part and opened my cupboard to add the mint and I didn’t have any. It was nearly dinner time and that was behind schedule and I didn’t have time to put it aside until I could get more. What to do? So I looked at my extract options and decided to go with orange. I added a little orange coloring and a few drops at a time of orange to get it right. (I believe it ended up being very similar to the amount of mint.) They ended up tasting very delicious and similar to the chocolate oranges you get at Christmas time. It was such a happy, happy accident that I can’t wait to make them again! Thanks for the updated recipe!
Made these tonight. loved them, but I think next time I will double the mint frosting, because I think you can never have enough frosting 🙂 Delicious! Thanks Mel!
I want one of those right now! Oh Yum!!
Ooh these look fantastic! My husband loves mint – will have to give it a go!
And I agree with Elisabeth. If I need a recipe for visiting friends or a very special occasion, I can always trust you, Mel, to give me the best. And I love how you compare the results of using different types of chocolate or butter — your experiments tickle me but they are very helpful. My all-time favorite recipe is the simple cheesy quinoa bites that have become a go-to treat for friends and gatherings. Everyone expects me to bring those yummy little bites to share — and we like them with homemade ranch dipping dressing. Thanks, again, for all you do.
Thank you for a beautiful recipe! It is my turn to make dessert for a work potluck and these look perfect!! I want to thank you for your blog!! When I need a recipe that I can count on I always turn to you. I know that whatever you recommend will turn out correctly and I have step-by-step instructions to make it and be confident that it won’t be a waste of time and ingredients. Again, much praise for your inspiration and ability to gently nudge the rest of us into trying things we never would otherwise!!
Thanks, Elisabeth – your comment is so kind! I hope you love these brownies if you try them!
Those brownies look so good. I would love to make some. But as an empty nester, there aren’t enough people in this house to share them with. I’ll definitely be making some for Christmas, and maybe I’ll find an excuse to make them sooner.
I am not much of a brownie eater or maker. But it looks like you are from previous posts. I will tell you that you got me with these mint ones. I love chocolate and mint together. Plus the stripe of green coloring makes it an eye grabber.
Ah, BYU mint brownies! These are my hubby’s fav too. We usually make them at Christmas to put them on our cookie plates. So yum!
What’s a BYU brownie? Just curious — second time it was mentioned. I suspect it’s a brownie from college days, but thought I’d check.
BYU makes brownies like these that are to.die.for. Great college days memories
Hi Leslie – thanks for your sweet comment. So kind! A BYU brownie is referring to the famous (and delectable) chocolate mint brownies at Brigham Young University (BYU) where I completed my undergrad.
I love mint brownies and make them a lot. I prefer using peppermint extract because I don’t really like the spearmint flavor. Not all extracts are created equal so be sure to use one you like. I made the magical layer brownies recently and they are the bomb.
These look great Mel! Love the fresh mint coming through!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
I just want to reach through and cram that brownie in my face! Oh how I adore chocolate mint brownies. Alas, chocolate does horrible things to sweet baby boy’s tummy. Which means no chocolate for this mommy. Tho I will say sometimes ill open up the bag of chocolate chips and have a good whiff. Hubby thinks I’m a quack! Some men just don’t understand. Totally pinning for that future day when I’m done nursing and chocolate and I have a huge, awesome, reunion party!
Yum! I think these might be worth blowing my diet for! I make that other mint brownie recipe all the time, but just make my own “canned hershey chocolate” by googling the recipe. Its pretty quick and easy
Yum! Is it bad that I want one of these mint brownies for breakfast? 😉
BYU mint brownies are one of my favorite things in the world – I’m so excited to try this recipe out!
Yes, Mel, please do a copycat of the BYU ones that have frosting on top of frosting instead of ganache-yum!! These ones I used to make, um, way too often and got tired of ganache but I will never tire of brownies and frosting!!