Trying out the cheapest brownie mix , Betty Crocker’s Fudge brownie

With so many store bought brownie mixes to choose from, where do you even start? A lot of people will pick based on price so today I picked up the cheapest brownie mix I could find at my local Walmart and it was Betty Crocker’s Fudge Brownie. I did notice that it is now in a bag rather than a carboard box with a bag inside which likely made the product cheaper to produce and is less packaging so I am all for it. This mix for me was $1.08 which was cheaper than the great value brand at Walmart which tends to be the cheapest option in all departments. I believe this same mix can be found at the dollar store as well making it an easily accessible mix so I wanted to give it a try to see how fudgey this so called “fudge brownie” actually is.

It is a simple straight forward box mix. As you would expect you add egg, oil, and water. Then you mix it up. Something I find interesting is that the packaging states “stir with spoon about 50 times” which seems to be oddly specific. I must admit to you, I did not count the amount of times I stirred this mixture. It also specified a recipe modification you can make for a more cakelike brownie which is definitely not what I was going for but some may prefer this.

This mixture tasted exactly like store-bought brownie mix. If you’ve tried one, you know exactly what I am talking about. It has a distinct taste that you can tell isn’t homemade but definitely not bad. I poured the batter into an 8×8 square pan and it was thin across the pan. I kept checking on the brownies while they were baking but ultimately baked them for 25 minutes.

The package has a tip stating “for easy cutting cool brownies for at least 1 hour and use a plastic knife” which I had never noticed before. I typically go in and cut a hot brownie smooshing it and accepting that as the price to pay for a warm brownie. I did let the brownies cool before cutting, not the full hour, and then I cut with a flat spatula, not a plastic knife unlike Betty’s suggestion, since I did not have one on hand. I cut this pan into 16 brownies.

The brownies had a nice flakey layer on top but once I cut into them I could tell they were too thin. I feel this mix should have been put in a smaller pan, such as a 6x6inch for a better size. The middle was so thin while the edges were taller. The middle was a fudgey chewy consistency which was nice but the edges were hard and crunchy. I really feel that if this mix was evenly distributed across the pan, it would have made for a better brownie.

The brownie had a good flavor and despite the drastic difference in consistency between the middle and edges it was still a good brownie. If you are on a budget and craving dessert, this will absolutely hit the spot for a fudgey brownie. I don’t feel this was the perfect brownie however. I think a homemade brownie would be even better and in comparison you could tell this was a budget brownie.

This mixture was a total of 1880 calories with 15 grams of protein. If cut into 16 brownies each is 117 calories and under 1 gram of protein in each.  

Here are the links to products used today:
Measuring Cup – https://amzn.to/4bDJIoV
Rubber Spatulas – https://amzn.to/3JWDtAA
Tablespoon set – https://amzn.to/4agFQsK  
Oven Mitts – https://amzn.to/3JYq5Mg
8×8 baking pan – https://amzn.to/4dyO2Yb
*These are affiliate links meaning if you click on the link and buy the product, I will earn a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more.