This easy Homemade Chocolate Syrup Recipe is super smooth, perfectly sweet, and tastes so much better than the store-bought version. Use this chocolate sauce to make chocolate milk and hot chocolate, or drizzle over ice cream, brownies, and so much more.
Jump to:
Easy Homemade Chocolate Sauce
All you need to make this delicious Homemade Chocolate Sauce recipe is a handful of simple ingredients and just about 10 minutes. It tastes worlds better than Hershey’s, and it doesn’t have any high fructose corn syrup, xanthan gum, mono and diglycerides - you get the picture.
I like to make this recipe and store it in a glass jar in the fridge so that I can make hot chocolate or chocolate milk on a whim. Plus it’s great to have on hand to drizzle over a bowl of vanilla ice cream, or a warm brownie.
If you're looking for a thick chocolate sauce, check out our recipe for the Best Hot Fudge.
Uses for Homemade Chocolate Sauce
You can use this Homemade Chocolate Syrup anywhere you want to quickly and easily add a little chocolate flavor. Here are some of our favorite uses for this recipe:
- Make Homemade Hot Chocolate - stir your homemade chocolate sauce into warm milk to make hot chocolate.
- Make Homemade Chocolate Milk Syrup - for easy homemade chocolate milk syrup, stir 1-2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup into about 8 ounces of cold milk.
- Add to coffee. Need I say more?
- Serve over ice cream. Serve warm or at room temperature drizzled over vanilla ice cream. Top with whipped cream, chopped nuts and a cherry on top for a simple ice cream sundae.
- Drizzle over brownies or cheesecake. Drizzle chocolate syrup over these Chewy Fudge Brownies or Chocolate No-Bake Cheesecake Bars for a little upgrade.
- Recipes- This chocolate sauce recipe works great for recipes with chocolate syrup.
Ingredients
- Water is the liquid base for your sauce and can easily be replaced with milk if you want a richer syrup.
- Sugar - this recipe calls for white granulated sugar, although powdered sugar would work as well. For a slightly more complex flavor you could try adding half white sugar and half brown sugar.
- Cocoa Powder - if possible, find a high quality cocoa powder. It will give you the best flavor.
- Salt - sea salt or kosher salt will work great.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract works great. You could also substitute coffee extract.
How to Make Chocolate Syrup
- Bring ingredients to a boil. Add water, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a rapid boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Add vanilla extract. Remove the chocolate sauce from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Stir until the sauce is smooth.
- Serve. Serve with vanilla ice cream, cheesecake, brownies and more. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
As long as you store your recipe for chocolate syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it should last for up to 1 month. If you have a lot left over and would rather freeze it, transfer to freezer bags and store for up to 3 months.
That is up to you! This works great served as a hot fudge sauce over brownies and ice cream. It also works great served at room temperature - you may just need to thin it down slightly with a bit of water or milk.
Yes! If you prefer to make your chocolate sauce with chocolate rather than cocoa powder, we fully support you. Our suggestion would be to reduce the sugar to just ½ cup and replace the water with milk. Warm the milk, ½ cup of sugar and salt until it comes to a boil. Pour over a ⅓ cup of chocolate chips and the vanilla extract, then stir until completely smooth. Voila!
If you cook the Homemade Chocolate Syrup for too long it will become too thick to pour. Luckily, unless you actually burned the sauce, this is a super easy fix. Slowly add extra water or milk, stirring in about a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Remember that this sauce also thickens as it cools so if you plan to serve it at room temperature, you may need to add a splash of water.
Storing Chocolate Sauce
- Refrigerator: store your cooled chocolate syrup in an airtight container or glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 month.
- Freezer: store chocolate sauce in freezer bags, or another airtight container, for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- To reheat: transfer the sauce to a saucepan and add a splash of water. Gently reheat over medium-low, frequently stirring, until the sauce has thinned.
How to Use Homemade Chocolate Syrup
- Ice Cream Topping- Perfect for adding to a homemade chocolate Sunday or banana split.
- Chocolate Milk- Use just like you would Hershey's Syrup from the bottle. Add a couple of tablespoons to your favorite milk for a sweet chocolate milk treat!
- Cheesecake Topping- This works perfectly as a topping for your favorite Cheesecake Recipe. You can even boil it for a few extra minutes to make the chocolate sauce extra thick and rich.
Homemade Chocolate Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Water
- 1 ½ cups Sugar
- 1 cup Cocoa Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium high heat, add water, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring to a rapid boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the chocolate sauce from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Stir until sauce is smooth.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream, cheesecake, brownies and more. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More of the Best Sauces and Toppings for Desserts
- Macerated Strawberries
- Strawberry Sauce
- Best Hot Fudge
- Homemade Caramel Sauce
- Homemade Whipped Cream
- Lemon Curd
- More Dessert Recipes
- More Sauces and Condiments
To make this easy Homemade Chocolate Syrup, all you need is a few simple ingredients and about 10 minutes. It's sweet and smooth with amazing chocolate flavor that is so much better than the store bought version.
Joan
Are you able to can the chocolate syrup safely in a water bath? Thank you
Jill Baird
I don't know enough about canning to answer that. Sorry. I just make mine as needed and store it in the fridge for a few weeks at a time.