How to make chocolate sauce with chocolate chips. This easy homemade chocolate sauce is a simple, five ingredient recipe great for drizzling over cheesecake, dipping for fruit, or topping ice cream!
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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 chocolate sauce recipe, and this one is ever so simple. A few steps is all it takes to have a homemade chocolate 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 ever ice cream pie.
But it really goes well for everything that can be improved by chocolate!
As a chocolate sauce for cheesecake or for drizzling over ice cream. For dipping fruit or cookies. The sky's the limit for this easy chocolate sauce!
Reader Review
"This is excellent. My search was for sauce recipe using milk, can't believe this worked so well. Thank you!"
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The original recipe for the chocolate sauce came from my grandmother Nan, and it called for corn syrup.
However, I don't always have that, so all you have to do is make a simple syrup before adding the milk.
The other thing I changed regarding the original recipe is using milk instead of cream (which is another ingredient I never have).
Using milk gives you a slightly thinner sauce than if you use cream, so it's great for drizzling.
You can easily use less milk to make it thicker though (and see the recipe card 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 easy chocolate 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 ยพ 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.
Ingredient Tip
If you're using a non-dairy milk alternative, start with ยพ cup and add more only if you want a thinner consistency.
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).
Recipe Cost
- sugar โ cup: $0.08
- water โ cup: $0
- milk 1 cup: $0.24
- chocolate chips 2 cups: $2.44
- vanilla extract 1 teaspoon: $0.60
TOTAL COST: $3.36 or $0.11/serving (Based on San Diego grocery stores 2024)
Note that this is not the recipe; it's simply to show the cost breakdown of ingredients. Scroll down to the full recipe to see the specific ingredients and directions.
How to Make Chocolate Sauce with Chocolate Chips
- Step 1: Heat sugar and water in a saucepan.
- Step 2: Pour in milk. Simmer.
- Step 3: Add chocolate chips.
- Step 4: Whisk until smooth.
- Step 5: Add vanilla extract.
- Step 6: Stir until smooth.
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. For a thicker sauce, start with about โ cup of milk. Add more if you want a thinner sauce.
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
Transfer this easy chocolate sauce to an airtight container, and refrigerate or freeze.
It keeps in the fridge for up to 14 days or in the freezer for 2 months.
If you are freezing this chocolate sauce made with chocolate chips, I recommend freezing it in smaller portions.
That way, you don't have to defrost the entire batch to get some of this chocolate sauce in your life.
To reheat:
In the microwave: Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl, and heat in 30 second intervals at 100% power. Stir and repeat until warm.
In a saucepan: Pour the sauce into a saucepan, and heat over medium-low, stirring often, until warm.
Variations
Ingredient Substitutions
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 ยพ 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 enhancers: You can add a little peppermint extract (use โ teaspoon and increase as desired) to make this a peppermint chocolate sauce. Another option is to add almond extract (use โ teaspoon). A pinch of salt also gives this a more intense sweet flavor.
How to Make Allergy-Friendly
This is naturally 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 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 milk and add more if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can make chocolate sauce using milk. And any kind of milk will work in this recipe.
It's best for warm milk for hot chocolate. Otherwise, the chocolate sauce has a slightly more challenging time mixing into the milk completely.
No, but they can sometimes be used interchangeably.
Chocolate sauce is usually made with milk, cream, or butter. Chocolate syrup usually has a thinner consistency and less richness.
Dessert Tip
Nan always kept this chocolate sauce in her freezer to heat up and serve with ice cream or cookies for an effortless yet lovely dessert that everyone loves.
Nutrition Benefits
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.
Nutrition Tip
We need tasty food in our life, even if it's not full of vitamins and minerals. Remember to enjoy a variety of foods, including treats, that you have access to.
What to Serve with Easy Chocolate Sauce
This is a fabulous chocolate sauce for cheesecake, or you can drizzle it over ice cream, apple slices, brownies, cookies, anything!
You can even use it in homemade bushwacker recipe or top Tia Maria cocktails.
But in my opinion, the most important thing to serve with this chocolate sauce is Easy Ice Cream Pie. If you make the chocolate sauce and you don't make that, you are severely missing out!
Serving Tip
Not only is this a great chocolate sauce for ice cream and cheesecake, it's also excellent for dipping graham crackers, marshmallows, or fruit.
Final thoughts:
You will want to keep this recipe for how to make chocolate sauce with chocolate chips because it's so simple and delicious.
It's definitely more saucy than it is thick, so take that into consideration when you are serving this.
Enjoy this homemade chocolate sauce over ice cream or cheesecake, with strawberries or apple wedges for dipping, and drizzle over apple slices. You can even make apple nachos with sliced apples, this chocolate sauce, and chopped nuts.
MORE CHOCOLATE RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE:
Easy Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
- โ cup granulated sugar
- โ 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 on May 29, 2013. Text, recipe, and photos have been updated.
lele
Looks great and super simple. I am going to make this tomorrow. Thanks for posting!
Meme
Thanks! It is addicting
Keri
This sauce is delicious!! I was looking for a recipe for chocolate sauce that didn't use corn syrup or half & half. This was super easy and came out awesome. Thank you!
Meme
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Keri! It's one of my favorites and it's so easy ๐
Kristen
We tried it last night. Delicious! Thank you!
Meme
Awesome!! I'm so glad y'all enjoyed it! I love this chocolate sauce ๐
Thanks for coming back to comment! xo
tthe4taylorz
very easy to make recipe. I made with Hershey's Special dark baking chips and it has a great flavor. I was hoping it would be a bit thicker but it is similar in consistency to the bottled Hershey's syrup. I will try boiling the sugar water a bit longer next time to see if that will thicken it up more. Overall a great recipe if you want a syrup type sauce. Thanks for posting it !
Meme
Yay!!! Thanks for coming back to share ๐
I will make a note in the post that it is thinner, so people aren't confused. It definitely is a drizzling type of sauce.
xo
Randy
I was looking for a chocolate syrup recipe in a craving moment when I came across your recipe. Thank you! Unfortunately I was out of sugar (how the hell did that happen?) so ended up using honey (adjusting the milk amount by 1/3). Worked great, thankfully. Appreciate you posting this!
Meme
That is awesome to know!! Thanks for coming back to comment, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
ML
I missed the part about drizzle thin sauce...any suggestion to thicken now that it's made? Thx!
Meme
I think you could try stirring together some cold sauce and a little cornstarch. Add it to the saucepan and heat it until it thickens a little. Cooling it again will help it thicken up as well.
Amanda
Added a pinch of sea salt. SO good.
Meme
Yay!! Glad you enjoyed it! Love the idea to add sea salt
Suzanne
I wish I could sign up for recipes etc into my inbox!
It keeps saying something has gone wrong.
Meme
Hi Suzanne! I checked and it looks like you are signed up -- you just need to confirm you subscription. You do this by clicking the link to confirm the subscription in the email you should have received with the subject 'Important: confirm your subscription'. Check your spam folder if it's not in your email inbox ๐
Dianne
This sauce is amazing!! I made it for the ice cream cake, and thankfully have a lot leftover. Super easy to prepare!
Meme
Yayyyyy!! Isnโt it SO GOOD?! Thanks for coming back to share! xoxo
Holly Marie Pelton
I LOVE anything chocolate so this dip is perfect for everything!!!