I’ll show you how to make fudgy pumpkin brownies with only 2 ingredients! A box of brownie mix and a can of pumpkin purée are all you need, and these brownies come out super moist and delicious. Perfect for a fall dessert table!
With fall arriving, you might also love these pumpkin cream cheese bars, chewy pumpkin cookies, and soft-baked pumpkin blondies. If you’re looking for an easy shortcut to chocolate brownies, check out my cake mix brownies recipe.
Sweater weather is around the corner, and it’s honestly the best for baking! I’m sharing my semi-homemade shortcut to extra fudgy brownies with today’s pumpkin brownies recipe. Like my cake mix pumpkin cookies, these brownies need only 2 ingredients, including a box of brownie mix and pumpkin purée. These brownies are full of rich, fudgy chocolate flavor and just the right touch of comforting pumpkin warmth.
The Magic of This Pumpkin Brownies Recipe
- 2 ingredients. This is the EASIEST brownie recipe ever. Of all time. Combine a box of brownie mix with a can of pumpkin, and bake!
- Ultra-moist and fudgy. Pumpkin adds loads of moisture to these bars. The flavor isn’t super pronounced, but the texture is unmatched. You can always spice them up with a pinch of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
- Make them your own. These pumpkin brownies are delicious as-is, and they’re even better frosted with creamy pumpkin spice frosting. I include the recipe below.
Grab These 2 Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need for these easy pumpkin brownies. Scroll to the printable recipe card for the full recipe amounts and details.
- Brownie Mix – You’ll need one family-sized (19.5-ounce) box of your favorite chocolate brownie mix. I use the Chocolate Fudge brownie mix from Pillsbury. You can use any brand you prefer.
- 100% Pumpkin Purée – Pumpkin makes these chocolate brownies all sorts of gooey and dense, in the best way. Not to mention the added flavor! Make sure you’re using pure canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling (they’re surprisingly easy to mix up, and pie filling will NOT work in this recipe).
Optional Pumpkin Spice Frosting
Before we continue, I’m not saying that you need to frost your brownies. But have you ever met a brownie that wasn’t improved by a thick layer of homemade frosting? To make a simple pumpkin spice frosting, you will need:
- Butter – To make the butter easier to mix, take it out of the fridge ahead of time so it softens to room temperature.
- Powdered Sugar – Also called confectioner’s sugar. If you have granulated white sugar but not powdered sugar in the pantry, add the sugar to a high-powered blender and blend to create a fine powder.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – This is a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves that you’ll find in pumpkin pie. Apple pie spice shares many of the same spices and is a good substitute in a pinch.
If you’d prefer, you could always slather these pumpkin brownies with chocolate cream cheese frosting or top them with my 2-ingredient chocolate frosting.
How to Make Pumpkin Brownies
I promised the easiest brownie recipe of all time, and I’m here to deliver. Here’s how to make the best pumpkin brownies in 3 quick steps.
- Prepare for baking. Preheat the oven to 350°F while you line a baking pan with foil. I recommend greasing the foil with cooking spray, too, for extra fuss-free removal.
- Mix the brownie batter. Add the dry brownie mix and pumpkin purée to a bowl, and mix until smooth.
- Bake! Pour the batter into your prepared pan and spread it around evenly. Bake at 350ºF for about 20-30 minutes. Once the center is set, take the brownies out and let them cool.
Frost the Brownies
If you’re frosting your pumpkin brownies, you’ll need to wait until they’re cooled completely. To make a quick pumpkin spice frosting:
- Cream together the butter and pumpkin spice, then add in the powdered sugar. Beat until the frosting is fluffy.
- Spread the frosting on top of the cooled brownies.
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Brownies
- Use real pumpkin purée. It’s very important to use 100% canned pumpkin purée. Pumpkin pie filling comes with thickeners and sweeteners already added, and doesn’t work in this recipe.
- Don’t overmix the brownie batter. These brownies are already denser than regular chocolate brownies, thanks to the pumpkin puree. Because of this, avoid overmixing the brownie ingredients! This ensures that your brownies still turn out soft and fudgy, and not overly chewy.
- These brownies are fudgy rather than cakey. Following the point above, if your brownies turn out cakey, this could be due to overmixing or overbaking. These pumpkin brownies are finished baking when a toothpick stuck into the center of the pan comes out clean.
Try These Variations
- Chocolate chip pumpkin brownies. Add a handful of semisweet, white, or dark chocolate chips.
- Pumpkin spice brownies. Spice up your chocolate pumpkin brownies with cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice.
- Add nuts. Fill these pumpkin brownies with pecans for crunch. Or, add 1/4 cup of your crushed nuts of choice to the batter. Walnuts and almonds are also good options.
- Top with caramel sauce. Add a generous drizzle of microwave caramel sauce or pumpkin spice caramel sauce.
- More mix-ins. Chop up your favorite candy bars (Snickers, Reese’s, Butterfingers, etc.), or add in M&Ms for a pop of color!
- Make them spooky. Make Halloween pumpkin brownies with frosting (colored orange and topped with sprinkles so it’s extra festive!).
How to Store Pumpkin Brownies
- Store airtight. Store these brownies airtight on the countertop for up to 4 days. They’ll be at their freshest within the first 1-2 days. You can also keep them in the fridge; however, this dries out the texture a little.
- Can I freeze pumpkin brownies? These pumpkin brownies freeze well for up to 3 months. Freeze the brownies in a freezer-safe container, freezer bag, or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. If you’re layering these when freezing, I do recommend placing a piece of parchment paper between layers. Thaw the brownies at room temperature, and enjoy.
More Brownie Recipes to Try
Pumpkin Brownies
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 25 brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Make fudgy, 2-ingredient pumpkin brownies with a box of brownie mix and a can of pumpkin purée. These easy brownies are perfect for a fall dessert table!
Ingredients
For the Brownies
- 1 “Family Size” box (19.5 oz) brownie mix
- 1 (15 oz) canned pumpkin puree
For the Frosting (optional)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a 9×9 pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
- In a bowl, mix the brownie mix and pumpkin until smooth.
- Spread batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until set.
- Let cool completely. Frost if desired.
Add the Frosting (Optional)
- Cream butter and pumpkin pie spice until smooth.
- Turn the mixer to low and add powdered sugar.
- Turn the mixer up to medium and beat until fluffy.
- Spread the frosting over the brownies, if desired.
I was skeptical on the whole pumpkin chocolate thing, but it was actually awesome! You know how pumpkin lattes are amazing, well it was that kind of delicious. SO GOOD!
this icing came out weird to me. it was difficult to spread, like it kept coming off of the top of the brownies and sticking to my spreader. and it was pretty greasy and way too sweet!! I was wondering if you sift the powdered sugar first? cuz I didn’t do that..but the bag said 10x sifted powdered sugar. or is there some other trick you use? do you use a specific kind of powdered sugar? or does it get too old at some point? I’m not exactly sure how long the bag had been in my pantry. I didn’t add any milk or anything else to it cuz I didn’t know to do that.
or it could be that I am so used to the canned frosting that I forgot what real frosting tasted like?
anyway I was just wondering if its something I did, or if you knew of any tricks to it that I’m not getting. but the brownies are awesome! my stepdaughter didn’t appreciate them..but I like them! plus they’re healthy..sort of. anyway..they’re really good! and I’m starting to use the canned pumpkin to make all sorts of baked goods!
I just got done making this with my 5 year old daughter. I wanted to make something with her that was very quick and easy, so when I came across this recipe, I figured it was worth a try since we had the ingredients on hand. I personally thought they were good, definitely a little on the gooey side despite adding more time to the cooking. They tasted better the cooler they got. My daughter, on the other hand, didn’t like them at all, but in all fairness, I think the sight of the pumpkin set her up to not like it (eww mommy, the pumpkin looks yuck) lol. I just wanted to say something to all the haters that are so rude in their comments. For starters, every oven is different, so cooking time is never set in stone. Buy some toothpicks people and learn how to check for doneness. Second of all, EVERYONE has different tastes. What one person loves, another will hate, so just because someone says they liked something, it doesn’t mean they are at fault when you in turn find it gross. Finally, to the downers who are complaining about the technicality of the phrase ‘two ingredients’, yes, it’s two ingredients. You open two packages and dump. Your arguments about the many components of the brownie mix are null and void. Since they aren’t packaged separately, rather they are all combined together in one mix, it is technically one ingredient…and as for those questioning her use of the word healthy, get a sense of humor and learn to understand sarcasm/joking. Her first term was semi-healthy-ish and the rest was clearly joking. You don’t have to rip her a new one just because it’s not something that is all natural, made from scratch, gluten free, nut free, casein free, PCB free…whatever fad you are currently following. This lovely lady found a quick and easy way to make a treat that she found tasty, and she wanted to share it with others in case they liked it too. End of story. Go hate on someone who deserves it. xoxo
Tried them. Exact mix and pumpkin. Horrible.
lol. how is this a two ingredient recipe? this might be a two container recipe but making brownies is so easy to begin with (and healthy, without added chemicals). only in ‘murica can this be a thing.
I can’t wait to try these tonight, I have those two things on hand. I think I might add a little cinnamon. I love Pumpkin.. Great Idea!
I modified these just a bit – used 3/4 can of pumpkin, three teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice (mmmm), one egg, and the tiniest splash of veg. oil and ghiradelli brownie mix. THEY TURNED OUT AMAZING!!! So dense… almost like a pumpkin chocolate bar, not really a brownie. Will definitely make again!
So do you make the brownie mix with eggs,oil etc. Or just mix brownie mix and pumpkin and thats it?!
Thanks 🙂
Just the brownie mix and pumpkin!
Hi Shelly
I just made these last night and they came out perfect 🙂 I used 2 packages of fudge brownie mix, which were 10.25 each and 1 can of pumpkin. I used an 8×11 dish so they weren’t as thick as I wanted but they were still great. I know others commented on how gooey they were in the center but I believe it just depends on your oven. I had to bake these for 55 to 60 minutes. Thank you 🙂
Not good at all! They were like rubber 🙁 tasted gross too an I followed the simple recipe….