Simple Homemade Chocolate Syrup Recipe
This simple recipe for homemade chocolate syrup uses only four ingredients, takes around 5 minutes to make, and tastes amazing. There’s no reason to ever buy a bottle again!
This is sure to be another one of your favorite Quick Healthy Recipes.
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Believe it or not, chocolate syrup is a pantry basic in our house (meaning a staple you’ll always find in our fridge). Don’t hate me, but my husband makes us cappuccinos every morning and drizzles just a bit of syrup in them.
Yes, every morning for more than 20 years now. I’m sure you can imagine what a wonderful way that is to start the day. (You can see Brian’s step-by-step video on how to make awesome cappuccinos at home if you’d like – they are easy and save a ton of money vs. a coffee shop.)
There are lots of other ways to use chocolate syrup, though, and I know many of you also probably have a bottle in the fridge (if the huge, 2-bottle package they sell at Costco is any indication…).
We use it as an ice cream topping, for chocolate milk or mochas, and when I’m feeling fancy, I’ll drizzle some on the plates before I serve pieces of cake (it’s especially good drizzled over this Chocolate Chip Cheesecake).
All this is to say, I used to buy it regularly for these reasons – and then came the “curse” of reading labels.
Yuck. It’s like, 2 inches long- in fine print (I’ve enlarged this for you – I’m helpful like that).
What is all that? Shouldn’t it be mainly sugar and cocoa?
Ingredients
Well, yes it should. This is more like it – just four normal pantry ingredients.
- cocoa powder
- sugar
- vanilla
- salt
Ah…I’m already breathing easier, aren’t you?
Since this is all about the chocolate, I use a good quality organic cocoa powder as well as organic cane sugar and pure vanilla. You’ll want to get the best you can for simple recipes like this.
How to Make Homemade Chocolate Syrup
What about how long it takes to make?
How about 5-8 minutes – and that includes getting out your 4 ingredients.
Simply add sugar, cocoa, and a pinch of salt to a small saucepan.
I’m not sure why salt is included, it just always is in recipes like this. It probably adds depth of flavor or something.
Measure one cup of boiling water and pour about half into the cocoa mixture.
Whisk until a paste forms, getting out as many lumps as you can.
Add the remainder of the water, stirring until smooth and then bring to a low simmer over medium heat, stirring often for about 3 minutes.
TIP: “low simmer” means bubbles just breaking the surface – like the photo above.
Extra Tip: Don’t forget this on the stove – sadly, I’ve had to throw out batches that were burned badly on the bottom from my inattention!
Remove from heat, and add the vanilla. It will boil a bit when it hits, but just stir it in- I like to take a big whiff of it at this point because it’s heavenly.
Let it cool about an hour.
It’s most simple to leave it on the stove and give it a little stir once in a while (though I’m sure I’ve left it more than an hour at one time or another).
Find a jar to store it in.
We’ve uses old salad dressing bottles, Asian sauce bottles and whatever else we could find over the years. Lately we are loving this squeeze bottle that gives the perfect amount and the prettiest drizzle.
Ours probably lasts 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator, but like I said, we use it daily. I’m sure it would last longer if needed.
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Homemade Chocolate Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 to 1 cup sugar; lower amount makes "dark chocolate syrup"
- pinch salt
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Start the water boiling. Mix cocoa, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Stir in enough boiling water to form a smooth paste, then stir in the remaining water.
- Bring to a simmer over medium to medium-low heat, stirring often. Let simmer 2-3 minutes (I like the longer time as it makes the syrup a bit thicker), stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Let cool.
- Scrape it into a bottle or jar and store in the refrigerator 3-4 weeks (or longer?).
Notes
Nutrition
More Pantry Basics Recipes To Try:
Easy, honey-sweetened homemade ketchup
Frugal (aka, cheap) Homemade Pesto
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in March 2009.
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I wonder how it would taste with Stevia instead of sugar? It’s suppose to be much healthier.
No idea, Laurie, but if you try it, let us know! 🙂
I made this. My family says “thank you”.
🙂 Wonderful!
YAY!! I do wish that you would have posted this two weeks earlier. I went to Belize and found an organic chocolate shop that sold chocolate sauce with these ing. I bought the sauce then got to the hotel and said “wait, I can’t bring this home, I’m not checking a bag!” So I gave it to my sister. She had no complaints:) They did sell their organic cocoa brick and that I should have bought bc it would have made this so AMAZING!! I can’t wait to try it with the cocoa I have though. Thanks for posting this.
You are going to feel so awesome when you make this at home with ingredients you’ve chosen, Jennifer. 🙂
This is still my go to recipe for Chocolate Syrup. I just use sugar in mine for the sweetener & only about a generous 1/2 cup, I am a dark chocolate person. When I make it for the kids I use the full cup of sugar & cut the cocoa back to 1/4 cup, that makes it much more like the store bought stuff. Thanks for the great recipe Jami!
Yep, I’m like you, Jackie – I’ll make it with just 3/4 cup of sugar most of the time, but if I’m serving it to guests, I’ll make it with the full cup. 🙂
I mispelled your name. I’m sorrie 🙂
Ha!
Brilliant!
Thanks for the recipe Jamie!
Thanks, Jackie!
I to make this when I first started cooking, about fifty years ago, but had forgotten the basic instructions. I found your recipe and it seems to be the way I used to make it, however I did not use it for milk or ice cream. It was a breakfast treat. It may sound strange but it was delicious poured hot over biscuits with lots of butter on them. I hear my second childhood calling for me to make this treat again. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi! Is this syrup pourable straight out of the fridge? Love my hot fudge but looking for a recipe that doesn’t need to be heated up every time. =)
Yes, it is Lindsey, just like Hershey’s chocolate syrup. 🙂 It does need to be shook when you use it, as the some of the chocolate tends to settle over time, but that’s about it.
Thanks for the recipe, rather link to Marshmallows without corn syrup! 😀 I have lost a cookbook I have from 1945 that has a similar recipe. I love your site and the emails I get.
I love your chocolate syrup (and well just about everything else on your blog). I have been making it for years now and decided to try and revamp it to be a little more diabetic friendly. I wrote about it here http://www.gratefullynourished.com/gratefully-nourished/2013/10/4/low-carb-less-sugar-chocolate-syrup.html (giving you all honor and glory for the original of course). Thank you.
I used 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup raw honey and 1/4 tsp nustevia powder…deliscious!
Lynda- Thanks for the tip on sucanat! That’s good to know, ’cause most of the time I’d prefer the flavor to be milder in order to let the dish’s flavor come through, you know what I mean? 🙂
I did this with sucanat and it turned out great. Thank you for the recipe! Have been in need and you came up in a search. (a tip on sucanat: some brands, like the Now brand, tend to have a very strong molasses flavor, wouldn’t recommend for this, but there are plenty that don’t)
~Lynda
Just needed a guide, and your was fun to read, so I used it! Thank you
For what it’s worth, when I toured the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory, they said the little bit of salt they add “fools the tongue” to cover any bitter taste in the chocolate.
Ah-ha! Knew there had to be some good reason…
I love this recipe! I will never buy Hershey’s Syrup again 🙂
Love this- I doubled it and with half of it I added about a cup ( maybe some more) of fresh raspberries juice. Turned out WONDERFUL. Thank you so much for this. The none Raspberries half turned out wonderful too.
I love this recipe. Also for Rachael, you can take cocoa and just whisk it into real maple syrup. Oh my its good.
Jeanne- I just made it yesterday again, too, and I reduced the sugar to 3/4 c. and used 1/2 sucanat and 1/2 white. I let it boil a bit longer (too much multi-tasking!) and it was so thick it wouldn’t pour out of the bottle without adding a bit of water! It’s a stronger chocolate flavor, and that’s about all the difference, besides the thickness.
Just wanted to let you know that I have been making this syrup for a few months now. We eat alot of homemade icecream and have iced mochas for after school snacks.
Today I made it with turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw). Also I added about 1/2 tbsp. of cornstarch to make a thicker syrup.
It turned out well.