How to Melt Chocolate for Dipping: A Complete Guide

Chocolate is delicious as is.  But, unless you have bought it to snack on, you are probably going to have to melt it.  There are many different types of chocolate, and it’s important to learn all about each type, what they can be used for and how to melt them.  This complete guide on How to Melt Chocolate was created to help you out no matter what you plan to use it for.

How to Use Melted Chocolate: 3 Main Ways

Here are the 3 main reasons to melt chocolate and why you would choose each one:

1. To use as an ingredient in a recipe.  Whether you are making brownies, cookies, cakes, mousses or frostings, many recipes call for melted chocolate.
2. To use for dipping and coating.  You can purchase melting chocolate wafers that can be melted and used for dipping and coating candies, strawberries, cookies and more.
3. To temper for dipping and coating.  If you want whatever you dip to have a glossy shine, good snap and for it not to melt in your hands immediately, you will need to temper chocolate.

Each reason requires different types of chocolate and different methods which are all explained in detail in this guide.  Feel free to print or bookmark this page so that you can reference whenever you want to work with chocolate in the future!  We hope it comes in handy for years to come.

General Tips for Working with Chocolate

No matter what you are using chocolate for, or what technique you use to melt your chocolate, there are a few basic tips and rules to follow.

1. Keep water away!  Water and chocolate do not mix.  Be extra careful when you are melting using a double boiler than you do not accidentally drip water into the bowl of chocolate.  It causes chocolate to seize up.
2. Watch the heat.  It’s easy to burn chocolate and there isn’t a great way to fix it once you have gone a little too far.  Make sure that you always keep chocolate away from direct heat and stir very frequently.
3. Watch the cold.  Likewise, shocking chocolate by getting it too cold will make it seize up almost immediately.  If you are dipping, say, a frozen banana into the chocolate and that is your intention, that’s fine.  However, you want to avoid working in a super cold room, using a cold utensil to stir or setting directly onto a cold tabletop.
4. Stir, stir, stir.  Stirring the chocolate will help regulate the temperature, keep it from burning and keep it from setting up too quickly.  It’s a good idea to just keep a wooden spoon or rubber spatula in your bowl of chocolate at all times to keep it nice and loose and lump-free!

What to Dip in Chocolate

When it comes down to it, what can’t you dip into chocolate?  This list could be 100 times as long, but these are just a few ideas to get you started:

• Chocolate covered strawberries
• Chocolate Fondue
• Pretzels
• Cookies (Oreo cookies, fortune cookies, vanilla wafers, etc.)
• Homemade Cream Fondants
• Nutella Balls or Peanut Butter Balls
• Marshmallows
• Dipped Rice Krispy Treats
• Chocolate Covered Wafer Cookies
• Peanut brittle
• Brownie bites
• Caramels
• Granola bars
• Fresh fruit
• Dried fruit

What is the Best Chocolate for Dipping?

When choosing the chocolate to purchase for your homemade chocolates, the decision begins with whether you want to do it the “easy” way or the “hard” way.  

• The easy way is to buy a coating or dipping chocolate as you will only need to melt and dip.  The end result won’t have quite the same flavor and texture as tempered chocolate candies.  But, there is absolutely no shame in taking the easy road here!  If you don’t want to mess around with this more advanced technique, we recommend going this route.
• If you choose to temper your chocolate, you are going to need to buy a higher-quality chocolate couverture.  A couverture chocolate basically means that it has a higher percentage of cocoa butter solids, therefore making it possible to temper.  We have provided basic home tempering instructions below!

Methods for Melting Chocolate

Whether you are melting regular chocolate to add to a recipe, or melted chocolate for dipping, you can follow any of these four methods.  Keep in mind the following tips:

• Unless you are melting chocolate chips or small callets of chocolate, you will need to chop the chocolate into small, uniform pieces using a sharp knife.
• If you only need to melt a small amount (i.e. less than 1 cup), the microwave works great.
• If you need to melt a large amount (i.e. more than 1 pound), we recommend using either the stovetop or slow cooker method.
• No matter what, always keep water away from your chocolate!

How to Melt Chocolate in the Microwave

Even in the microwave, chocolate can easily burn.  In order to make sure your chocolate melts, but doesn’t get too hot, follow these simple steps:

1. Transfer your chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl or container.
2. Heat for 30 seconds at a time, stopping and stirring with a rubber spatula in between.
3. Once almost all of the chocolate has melted, remove from the microwave and stir, allowing the residual heat to do the rest of the melting.
4. Depending on how much chocolate you are melting at once, this can take anywhere from a total of 90 seconds to 4 minutes.  

How to Melt Chocolate on the Stovetop

Sometimes you may find it easier to melt chocolate on the stovetop.  This way, you don’t have to sit and wait to stir every 30 seconds by the microwave.  It’s also a good way to do it if you need to melt a lot at once.  Because this involves a pot with water, just be sure and keep all water out of your chocolate!

1. Put a small pot of water on the stovetop and bring to a low simmer.
2. Add your chocolate to a large metal or glass mixing bowl and place the bowl on top of the pot of simmering water.  Make sure the bowl isn’t actually touching the water at all (if it is, remove some of the water until it doesn’t touch).
3. Stir occasionally as the chocolate melts and keep a close eye on the heat level to make sure that none of the chocolate starts to burn.

How to Melt Chocolate in the Slow Cooker

If you want to melt your chocolate nice and slow, without having to pay much attention to it, using the slow cooker is a great option.  Note that you should only use this method if you have quite a bit of chocolate to melt.

1. Place chocolate directly into the slow cooker.
2. Turn the heat to LOW and stir occasionally until it is completely melted.
3. Keep an eye on it to make sure the chocolate isn’t getting too hot.

How to Melt Chocolate in the Instant Pot

This method is quick and easy, if you own an Instant Pot.

1. Place chocolate in a large bowl big enough to go over the lip of the instant pot.  
2. In the bottom of the instant pot, add 2” of water and bring to a very low simmer.
3. Place the bowl of chocolate on top of the instant pot to create a double boiler.

How to Temper Chocolate

Why do you need to temper chocolate?

If you are simply using chocolate as an ingredient in a pastry or baked good, then there is no need to temper.  However, if you want your dipped chocolates to have that glossy finish and great “snap” once they are set, you will have to temper your chocolate.  You will never be able to achieve the same results by using melting chocolate, and unfortunately, you can not simply melt and cool chocolate and have it set back up the same as it was before.  

Keep in mind that this is not the easiest technique, so try not to get too frustrated if it doesn’t turn out perfectly right away!  Like everything worth doing, it takes practice.

Step-by-Step Instructions on Tempering Chocolate at Home 

1. Choose high-quality couverture chocolate (meaning it is real chocolate that contains cocoa butter, which you can confirm by looking at the ingredients).  Basically, if you see a percentage on the package, it’s the right kind. This won’t work with Hershey’s Bars!
2. If your chocolate is in a bar, chop it into small chunks using a large knife.  Otherwise, small callets or chopped chocolate pieces will work great.
3. Remove about 1/3 of the chocolate and set aside.
4. Take the other 2/3 and gently melt either over a double boiler or in the microwave (for about 30 seconds at a time).  You want to be sure none of the chocolate burns so keep an eye on it whichever method you choose!
5. For white and milk chocolate, you need to heat to 113 degrees F, and for dark chocolate, heat to 118 degrees F.  Stir the chocolate frequently until you have no lumps, then set aside off the heat.
6. Transfer melted chocolate to a new bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally while the temperature drops slightly.
7. Take the 1/3 chocolate that you had set aside and “seed” it into the warm melted chocolate.  Stir in about 1/3 of the remaining chocolate at a time, mixing until it has completely melted in.  You need to bring the chocolate down to 79 degrees F.  
8. Once your chocolate reaches 79 degrees F, you may still have a few lumps of unmelted chocolate.  That is ok, because you need to now warm it up to 86-90 degrees F.  You can set the bowl over the double boiler for a few seconds at a time, stirring on and off the heat.  Do NOT overheat or you will need to start all over!  You can also take a hair dryer on the warm setting and carefully heat just until the chunks are gone.  Just be sure NOT to overheat!  Keep checking the temperature and stirring until the chocolate reaches 90 degrees and all chunks are completely melted.
9. Once you think you have your chocolate properly tempered, stick a butter knife or a spoon into the chocolate and let it sit out at room temperature to see if it sets.  It should set up within at least 5-10 minutes (or faster) and be shiny with no streaks.
10. At this point, use immediately to dip your chocolates.

Where to Buy Chocolate for Tempering

So where can you find couverture chocolate?  Well, quite a few places actually.  In fact, your local grocery store probably carries it and you don’t even know it!  Have you noticed chocolate bars or bags of chocolate that have a percentage written on them?  Without getting too scientific, that percentage is referring to the amount of cacao mass (i.e. the cocoa liquor and the cocoa butter).  

At the grocery store, you are likely to find brands like Ghirardelli, Godiva, and Guittard.  Some stores, like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, carry their own store brand couverture.  You will also likely find various local chocolate companies that sell their chocolate bars at your local grocery stores.  

If you want to make a large number of chocolates, you can also find online shops where you can buy chocolate coins for tempering.  Worldwide Chocolate carries a huge line of professional chocolates that you can choose from, such as Felchlin, Cacao Barry, Valrhona, and Callebaut. 

Recipes Using Melted Chocolate 

• Unicorn Hot Chocolate Bombs
• Chocolate Fondue
• Chocolate Covered Strawberries
• Saltine Cracker Toffee
• Buttery English Toffee
• Crockpot Hot Chocolate

Here are some of our favorite recipes that use melted chocolate!

• Saltine Cracker Toffee
• White Chocolate Cinnamon Bear Marshmallow Popcorn
• Mint Chocolate Dipped Oreos
• White Chocolate Dipped Ornament Oreos
• Nilla Wafer Caramel Candy

If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you.  It helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest,  feel free to leave a comment and photo there too.  Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!

Struggling to melt chocolate without burning or clumps? We’ve got you covered! Follow this complete guide for silky, smooth chocolate perfect for dipping strawberries, pretzels, and more. Learn essential techniques for microwaving or stovetop melting. Avoid common mistakes and make your desserts irresistible. Start melting chocolate like a pro with these simple tricks!