Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Name: Homemade Chocolate Syrup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 58 min
Ingredients: 1 cup cocoa powder; 2 cups sugar; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 cup water; 1 Tablespoon vanilla

Homemade chocolate syrup is a delicious treat that tastes great drizzled over pancakes or as a topping for ice cream. It’s also a healthier option than store-bought chocolate syrup because it is made with all-natural simple ingredients and contains no artificial ingredients or preservatives. Making homemade chocolate syrup is simple, inexpensive, and easy to make.

Chocolate syrup has long been a favorite dessert topping. The sweet, thick liquid is often served alongside desserts such as ice cream, cakes, pies, and cookies. It can be used to make chocolate milk, chocolate milkshakes, chocolate lattes, and hot chocolate, too.

While chocolate may be the nectar of the gods, don’t confuse this sweet syrup concoction for a drink. While you might want to drink it by the gallon, it is not a drink – it’s chocolate syrup.

Glass jar with chocolate syrup on a white table.

Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Syrup Recipe

You’ll save money by making it yourself.
It’s easy to make with basic kitchen equipment.
It’s delicious and versatile – use it on ice cream, cake, cookies, waffles, pancakes, French toast, etc.
It’s dairy-free and vegan-friendly. (It makes delicious chocolate almond milk!)

This stuff is really good. I don’t make it often, because it is really good. (I have to practice moderation, you know?) What is great about it is that there are no weird chemicals in this homemade version of chocolate syrup. No binders, no emulsifiers, no HCF – that’s high fructose corn syrup.

How To Make Chocolate Syrup

Cocoa powder is a natural food additive that gives baked goods their distinctive flavor. Cocoa powder is also known for its health benefits. It contains antioxidants and other nutrients that promote heart health, brain function, and energy levels.

Let’s take a quick look at all of the ingredients in this recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup cold water
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

To make the syrup, whisk 1 cup cocoa powder (the regular variety, not Dutch-processed cocoa) with 2 cups of sugar and ¼ teaspoon of salt in a medium saucepan.

I use a nifty little whisk that I picked up from the Pampered Chef years ago. Use whatever works best for you. You want to make sure that there are no lumps.

Dry Ingredients for making chocolate syrup

Once you have all of the dry ingredients mixed well, add 1 cup of water and stir

Once you have all of the dry ingredients mixed well, add 1 cup of water and stir well. Turn the stove on medium-high heat and stir occasionally.

After about 10 minutes, the mixture will start to boil and will rise. Keep a very close eye on the chocolate mixture. You may need to turn the heat down a bit to keep it from boiling over. Keep stirring and let it gently boil for about 2 minutes, turn off the heat, and remove the saucepan from the burner.

Allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Stir it well and then let the syrup cool for about an hour before bottling and refrigerating it.

The longer the syrup boils, the thicker it will end up being. It will also thicken some after it has been refrigerated.

What’s the difference between chocolate syrup and fudge sauce?

Chocolate syrup is made by cooking cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in water. Hot fudge sauce is made using dairy products such as heavy cream, evaporated milk, and/or butter. Both sauces are delicious!

My syrup is too thick. What am I doing wrong?

It’s most likely that the syrup was cooked too long. If that has happened, whisk in a little water to help thin the consistency.

How do I store chocolate syrup?

Place this syrup in an airtight container/glass jar and store in the refrigerator. There are no eggs or dairy products in this recipe so it should be safe in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.