How to make chocolate sauce with chocolate chips. This easy homemade chocolate sauce is a simple, five ingredient recipe great for drizzling over desserts like cheesecake, dipping for fruit, or topping ice cream!
About Chocolate Sauce with Chocolate Chips
If you've ever wondered how to make chocolate syrup without cocoa powder, look no further because I'm going to show you how to make an easy chocolate sauce from chocolate chips. It's so simple my niece could easily make it with very little help from me when she was 8 years old (see the video we filmed in 2018).
Everyone needs a good homemade chocolate sauce recipe, and this one is ever so simple. A few steps is all it takes to have a homemade sauce, and you only need five ingredients (and one of those is water)!
To be honest, the main reason I make this homemade chocolate sauce is to pour it on the easiest and best ice cream cake/pie thing ever. But it really goes well for everything that can be improved by chocolate... it can be a chocolate sauce for cheesecake or for drizzling over ice cream. You can use it for dipping fruit or cookies. The sky is the limit for this easy chocolate sauce!
The original recipe for the chocolate sauce came from my grandmother Nan (who inspires many of my favorite recipes like Good Luck Greens Soup and Lemon Herb Lamb Kebabs) via text message. It called for light Karo corn syrup, but I didn't want to buy corn syrup.
The good news is that Karo syrup was not a make or break ingredient, and stirring together the sugar and water was completely sufficient. You basically just need a sugary syrup which is why you make a simple syrup before adding the milk.
The other thing I changed regarding the original recipe is that I used milk instead of cream. I never have cream. Omitting the cream made this a little thinner, so know that this is a thinner chocolate sauce. You can easily use less milk to make it thicker though (and see the tips for more suggestions).
Ingredients
Sugar: Granulated sugar (regular old sugar) is what I use. You could use coconut sugar or brown sugar in a pinch if needed, but I haven't tested it. They might alter the flavor a little. Another option is to use light corn syrup or maple syrup and omit the water.
Water: The water is used to make a simple syrup. Use less water for a thicker syrup.
Milk: Any type of milk works in this sauce. I prefer whole milk or 2%, but coconut milk, unsweetened almond milk, oat milk, or soy milk would also work. It might be a little thinner with the almond milk or soy milk, so use 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup and add more if needed.
Chocolate chips: My preferred choice for chocolate chips in this chocolate sauce is semi-sweet. Mini or regular chocolate chips are fine. Chocolate chunks or even a chopped chocolate bar would also work. Use non-dairy chocolate chips if needed.
Flavor enhancers:
Vanilla extract: Whenever vanilla extract is involved, it's imperative you use real vanilla extract not imitation. Imitation will give your sauce a strange flavor. If you don't have any vanilla extract, it's ok if you have to omit it.
Salt: Salt is optional, and I usually don't use it. However, a tiny pinch of salt helps intensify the sweetness of this easy chocolate sauce and gives it a little more depth of flavor. But make sure not to use more than 1/16 teaspoon (or a pinch).
Cost of Recipe
- sugar 1/3 cup: $0.05
- water 1/3 cup: free
- milk 1 cup: $0.64
- chocolate chips 2 cups: $3.68
- vanilla extracts 1 teaspoon: $0.59
TOTAL COST: $4.96 (Based on San Diego Sprouts 2020) or $0.16/serving
How to Make Chocolate Sauce with Chocolate Chips
Time needed: 10 minutes.
- Heat sugar and water in a saucepan.
- Pour in milk. Simmer.
- Whisk in chocolate chips until smooth.
- Add vanilla extract.
- Stir until smooth.
- Use for everything because this stuff is magical.
Recipe Tips
The only main thing to stress about this homemade chocolate sauce is that this is more of a drizzling sauce and not very thick. However, if you serve it straight from the fridge, it is pretty thick and can hold up on a spoon (unlike most of the photos which show when the sauce was slightly warm or at room temperature). You can also cut back on the amount of liquid you use to make the sauce.
Variations
Ingredient Options
Milk: Any plain milk will work as long as it isn't fat free. If you are using a milk that has a thinner consistency than whole or 2% dairy milk, start by using 3/4 cup and increasing as needed.
Chocolate: Any type of chocolate chips will work. You can also use chunks or chop a chocolate bar. Milk chocolate will make this very sweet, so you might want to reduce the amount of sugar you use.
Flavor Substitutions
Flavor enhancers: You can add a little peppermint extract (use 1/8 teaspoon and increase as desired) to make this a peppermint chocolate sauce. Another option is to add almond extract (use 1/8 teaspoon). A pinch of salt also gives this a more intense sweet flavor.
How To Make Chocolate Sauce with Chocolate Chips in the Microwave
You can prepare this in the microwave. Caution that it can be a little finicky, so be careful not to let it overflow or burn. Use a very large bowl, and keep watch the whole time.
- Heat water in a microwave safe dish for 1 minutes on 100% power until very hot. Stir in sugar. Heat for another 30 seconds then stir until sugar completely dissolves.
- Whisk in milk and heat for 30 seconds. Let rest for 2 minutes then heat for another 45 seconds.
- Stir in chocolate chips until completely smooth.
- Add in vanilla extract, and enjoy!
How to Make Allergy Friendly
This is already gluten free, egg free, soy free, and nut free (depending on the type of milk you use). You can easily make the chocolate sauce dairy free by using dairy free chocolate chips and a non dairy milk like coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk or soy milk. The sauce might be a little bit thinner, so start by using a little less and add more if needed.
How to Fix a Mistake
Too thin: If your sauce is too thin, you can try cooking it for a little longer to evaporate some of the liquid. Or add additional chocolate chips. Also, when it's kept in the refrigerator, it thickens more.
Too thick: Add a little extra milk or water in one tablespoon increments and whisk completely until the sauce has your desired consistency.
Make Ahead Ideas
This is great for making ahead of time. No need to do anything special to make this ahead of time. Prepare as directed then transfer to a container, and refrigerate or freeze.
Storage Suggestions
This chocolate sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 10 days or in the freezer for 2 months. Transfer to an air-tight container, and refrigerate or freeze.
If you are freezing this, I recommend freezing it in smaller portions so you don't have to defrost the entire batch to get some of this chocolate sauce in your life. Nan always has this in her freezer because it's so easy to heat up and serve with ice cream or cookies for an effortless yet lovely dessert that everyone loves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chocolate Sauce Nutrition
Let's be real. There aren't many nutrition benefits to a chocolate sauce. But what it lacks in nutrition, it makes up for in taste and fun. And sometimes we need fun foods in our life. So enjoy this chocolate sauce made with chocolate chips without guilt because guilt is not welcome around food 😉
How to serve this chocolate sauce
This is a fabulous chocolate sauce for cheesecake or drizzled over ice cream, apple slices, brownies, cookies, anything! You can even use it to drizzle in glasses for the homemade bushwacker recipe or top your bushwacker with the chocolate sauce.
But in my opinion, the most important thing to serve with this chocolate sauce is this Easy Ice Cream Pie. If you make the chocolate sauce and you don't make that ice cream cake, you are severely missing out!
Another idea is to make s'mores using this sauce. Here's how:
- Spread the chocolate sauce (right from the fridge so it's thicker) onto the inside of half of a graham cracker and set aside.
- On the other half of a graham cracker, place a large marshmallow.
- Microwave for 10-30 seconds -- depending on your microwave -- until it puffs up.
- Remove from the microwave and smash the chocolate covered graham cracker on top. Enjoy!
You can also make apple nachos with it by drizzling the warm chocolate sauce over sliced apples. Sprinkle with chopped nuts for a little extra protein, and enjoy!
Final thoughts:
If you've ever wondered how to make chocolate sauce with chocolate chips, now ya know! It's definitely more saucy than it is thick, so take that into consideration when you are preparing this.
You can eat this homemade chocolate sauce over ice cream or cheesecake, with strawberries or apple slices for dipping, spoon over apple slices, or whatever. I love making apple nachos with sliced apples, this chocolate sauce, and some chopped nuts (like in the photo).
MORE CHOCOLATE RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE:
- Chocolate Coconut Chia Bars
- German Chocolate Brownies
- Mayan Hot Chocolate
- Peanut Butter, Caramel, Chocolate Dip
- Chocolate and Raspberry Tartlets
Easy Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 cup milk whole, 2%, or non-dairy milk
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips one 12 oz. bag
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Stir together the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and heat over medium.
- After 2 minutes, add in milk. Bring to a simmer.
- Add in chocolate chips, and remove from heat. Stir until chocolate chips are completely incorporated.
- Add vanilla extract, and stir until smooth.
- Serve warm or cold. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks (or freeze for a month or so).
Video
Notes
Meme
This post was originally published May 29, 2013. Text, recipe, and photos have been updated.
Doesn't this recipe look good?! You should probably share it:
LOOKATALLTHOSECHICKENS68 says
Hi im making peanut butter cookies with half of the side dipped in. Will this chocolate sauce harden as a half and half cookie?
Meme says
Hmm... I don't know that it would. This is more of a drizzling sauce. It could possibly harden if you are keeping the cookies in the fridge.
Janice says
Im looking for a chocolate sauce for chocolate milk that doesnt use cocoa powder. Will this work?
Meme says
Hi Janice! I think it might thicken a little too much when it gets cold. This drizzles when it's warm, but it thickens a lot when it's cold because of the chocolate chips (that are solid when cold or at room temperature).
You could always try it out though! The chocolate sauce keeps well in the freezer if it ends up not working out for making chocolate milk!
Kthorne says
Very good!!
Meme says
WOOHOOOOO!!! So glad you game back to share -- thank you! 🙂
Kimberly A Spurgeon says
Delicious! I made this to pour over my Easter Keto Cheesecake, but it's so delicious I might just skip the cheesecake! Thanks for sharing. Happy Easter!
Meme says
Yessssssss!! SO SO SO excited you liked it!! Happy Easter 🙂
BB says
Just what I was looking for. Used only 3 T of water and it stays thick. Added a pinch of salt and only 1/2 t vanilla b/c I really wanted to taste the good Ghiiridelli chocolate chip flavor. This is a keeper!!
Meme says
YAYYYYY!!! I love that you used less liquid to make it thick. Thanks for coming back to share! xo
Meghan says
Thank you for this recipe. I prefer to use semi-sweet chocolate as recommended but only had milk chocolate on hand. I thought that it might be a little too sweet for my liking so I added some cayenne pepper to it. It was delicious. I really loved the consistency and how well it kept. I stored it in a glass jar. I used this sauce over a dark chocolate cake and over some banana bread that was starting to go a little stale.
Meme says
What a good idea!! I need to try that next time. Thanks for sharing!!
xo
Michelle says
Absolutely love this recipe using simple staple and pantry items you have on hand.
I needed a chocolate topping for a fat-free vanilla pudding pie that I had made. The chocolate topping I made for that pie turn to water! I followed this recipe making the following changes. I use milk chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate I substituted stevia baking mix for sugar and I only had low fat milk to which I added some butter. the sauce cooked up in but I cooked it longer and it thickened up just fine. I'm so happy to find this simple recipe. Appreciate all the hints that are provided. But I do not like having to scroll through tons of paragraphs to get to a recipe.
Meme says
So happy you were able to adjust this to what you had in your kitchen!! Thanks for coming back to share 🙂
And you can always click the "jump to recipe" or "print recipe" to skip over all the hints
Cyndi says
I added a bit of Kahlua. Just about 2 Tbsp. Could have added more. Great recipe. Thanks
Meme says
Ooooh I bet that made it even better! Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Anon says
This recipe is great! I used 92% cacao chips instead of semi sweet and only used 1 1/2 cups and it still turned out great! A question though, would this work for a café mocha, or is it more of a topping? This is the only recipe I’ve found so far that doesn’t use cacao powder, and I’d love to mix it in my coffee instead of a premade syrup.
Meme says
YAY!! I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
That's a good question... I haven't tried stirring it into coffee, but because the coffee is warm, I think it would work well. If the coffee was iced, it might thicken too much. Let me know if you try it out 🙂
Sue says
I am hoping to make this sauce using mint flavoured chocolate chips, so I assume I should leave out the vanilla. I want to serve it over peppermint ice cream but not as a hot fudge sauce. If I refrigerate it, will it still be pourable?
Meme says
All good questions! I haven't tried using flavored chocolate chips, but that sounds tasty! Honestly, I think adding the vanilla will make it even tastier because it'll just give it more depth of flavor. Vanilla usually isn't too strong so it shouldn't overpower the mint flavor. However, you can make it without then taste and see if you want to add it after everything is combined.
For consistency, this will be pretty thick when it is refrigerated. However, you can reheat it out of the fridge then let it cool to room temperature and it should still be pourable. Another option is to add a little more milk when making the sauce, but I have not tried this, so I cannot confirm the results you're looking for.
Hope you try and enjoy it!! It's one of my most popular recipes for a reason 🙂 It's deeeeelish! (And super easy to make yay!)