The best ever smooth, rich and decadent chocolate sauce that only takes 4 ingredients and 5 minutes to make! With an incredible chocolate flavour and luscious consistency, this could very well be the best chocolate sauce you’ve ever tasted!

This sauce gets its rich, chocolatey flavour straight from cocoa powder, so even if you don’t have any chocolate on hand you can still make this yummy topping!

This chocolate sauce can be served warm or cold, so apart from cheekily snacking a spoonful straight out of the jar (something I may have done once or twice), this sauce can also be used for topping ice-cream and as a drizzle or dip for cookies, waffles, pretzels, churros, fruit, pastries and other baked goods. :) Plus it can be utilised as a flavouring in beverages, like milkshakes and hot chocolate!

And there are 5 big reasons why homemade chocolate sauce is so much better than store-bought.

No nasty preservatives, unnecessary sugars, added colours or flavours.
Forget those unknown chemical components and mysterious numbers on ingredient labels. With good homemade recipes like these, you know you’re feeding yourself - and anybody else you may be sharing with - naturally delicious food, because rather than artificial flavours, this chocolate sauce is made with actual flavour!
It’s healthier
Even if you’re not into “healthy eating”, you can still make healthier choices. Even if they’re littles ones! This recipe contains sugar of course, but nowhere near the amount you’d most likely be consuming by grabbing an off the supermarket shelf alternative. No high fructose corn syrup or glucose syrups here either!
Homemade can be customised
When you’re making something yourself, you can add more of what you like and less of what you don’t like until you get the flavour juuust right. In my opinion, this recipe is absolutely perfect and I’m sure most of you will agree that the quantities are spot on, but everyone has their own preferences (looking at you 95% bitter dark chocolate lovers).
Too sweet? Pull back on the sugar. Not chocolatey enough? Add more cocoa powder. When you make it yourself, you’re in control. No need to settle for what’s in the bottle!
It’s quicker
If you find yourself in need of chocolate sauce but there’s none in the house, taking 5 minutes to make this recipe is way faster than dashing out to the store to buy some. Plus this recipe yields about 3 cups worth of chocolate sauce and can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. So depending on your level of self-control, one batch could last you up to a month!
It just tastes better
Homemade is always the best and the store-bought varieties just can’t compare. Because this chocolate sauce is made with cocoa powder you get a real chocolate taste, rather than an overly sweet syrup with only a hint of chocolate flavour. But don’t just take my word for it. Try this recipe and see for yourself how good it is!

CONTENTS OF THIS RECIPE POST

I always recommend reading the entire post to get the best understanding of the recipe, helpful tips, information about ingredients, storage advice etc. Here’s a quick look at what topics are included in this recipe post :)

THE SECRET INGREDIENT:

What is the secret ingredient to the absolute best homemade chocolate sauce?

Coconut oil!

The purpose of coconut oil in this recipe is to help the sauce thicken a bit more once it’s cooled and is the ingredient responsible for creating the gorgeous and luscious consistency of this chocolate sauce. Because of the coconut oil, this homemade chocolate sauce won’t thin out or run off all watery as some other homemade chocolate sauces tend to. And don’t worry, the coconut oil doesn’t impart any coconut flavour to the sauce. All you get is that beautiful chocolate taste and a perfectly smooth consistency!

WHAT INGREDIENTS GO INTO HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SAUCE?

Cocoa Powder
When making this recipe, I always opt for Dutch-processed, unsweetened cocoa powder. Please see the section “Be Chocolate Aware” in this recipe post for some important information about cocoa powder and chocolate.
Caster Sugar
Is needed to balance out the bitterness of the cocoa powder and add a touch of sweetness to the end product.
Water
I’ve listed this as a recipe with 4 ingredients. Water isn’t included in that count since I don’t really see water as an “ingredient”, but it is used in this recipe to help dissolve the sugar.
Thickened Cream a.k.a Heavy Cream
For best results, I definitely recommend using thickened cream in this recipe, but if you don’t happen to have any on hand, you could try using whole milk as a substitute.
Salt
Similar to the water, I don’t count this as one of the 4 ingredients but I like to add just a pinch of salt to this chocolate sauce.
OPTIONAL:
Vanilla Extract
When vanilla extract isn’t being used as the core flavour of a recipe, such as in vanilla cake or ice-cream, it is often added as an ingredient for the purpose of enhancing other flavours. In this recipe especially, the cocoa powder gives an intense chocolate flavour, with or without the vanilla extract incorporated, so it’s up to you whether you want to include it or not. If you’d like to add some you certainly can but you can still successfully make this recipe without it.

WHY COCOA POWDER AND NOT CHOCOLATE?

Some chocolate sauce recipes use melted chocolate as an ingredient rather than cocoa powder. There are 2 reasons why I prefer to use cocoa powder:

The most obvious is that you might not actually have any chocolate on hand when you want to make chocolate sauce. Let’s face it, if there’s one ingredient that tends to disappear quickly in households, it’d be chocolate! So if you find yourself craving a chocolate hit but with no chocolate block or chips in sight, you can still make this delicious chocolate sauce.
Chocolate is actually comprised of 2 main ingredients. The first one, usually displayed on the front of the packet as a percentage, is cocoa. Whether it be 50%, 75% or even 90%. But what makes up majority of the remainder?
You guessed it…sugar!
It’s the combination of cocoa and sugar that makes beautifully irresistible chocolate flavour, with the sugar need to balance out the bitterness of the cocoa powder and add a touch of sweetness to the end product. That’s why you’ll notice sweeter, less intense varieties of chocolate - like milk chocolate - have a lower percentage of cocoa and a higher percentage of sugar. Whereas dark chocolate, with its much stronger and sometimes bitter chocolate flavour, has a higher ratio of cocoa to sugar - generally falling anywhere between 55% to 95% cocoa.
So by combining cocoa powder and sugar as is done in this recipe, you already have the two key components of chocolate in your saucepan!
Then, once you add the other ingredients you end up with the most delicious chocolate sauce. And the best part is, you can control and customise the flavour profile to your liking, adding more or less sugar as you please. I’ve tried and tested multiple times and find this recipe perfectly balances deep chocolate taste and subtle sweetness, giving an intense flavour without any bitterness. :)

BE CHOCOLATE AWARE:

I found out only recently through reading several media articles which were trending, that many brands of chocolate and cocoa powder allegedly contain very high levels of heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, for example. According to these articles, some were even in much higher quantities than those recommended by government health organisations as safe for human consumption. As I am not an authority on this subject and am not qualified to give proper advice on this matter, I am simply sharing what I have come across through personal research, and I highly recommend that you do your own research with verified sources to better understand this matter. The reason I am sharing this note is because I wished I would’ve known sooner that one of my favourite snacks and ingredients, could be potentially dangerous to human health. From what I understand, consumption of these heavy metals in higher than safe amounts can be even more harmful to children than adults. So I thought it incredibly important to share a message spreading awareness on any recipe posts containing chocolate or cocoa powder as an ingredient, so that my readers can look into this matter and understand what the risks may be. Since finding out, I have tried finding a cocoa powder and chocolate brand that is lower in heavy metals than the recommended safe threshold, cut back on chocolate and cocoa powder consumption, and am making more dessert and snack recipes based on alternate flavours - like this vanilla ice cream, berry jelly, peach sorbet, watermelon sorbet and frozen yoghurt bark just to name a few. If you like, subscribe to my email list or follow my social media as I will be posting some more chocolate free but still delicious dessert recipes in the coming weeks :)

Please also keep mind, I am not an authority on this subject nor am I qualified to provide advice on this topic. If you need correct information, you must do your own research with verified sources to establish a proper understanding of this issue.

EQUIPMENT

For this recipe you only need a saucepan and a utensil for stirring and combining the mixture. That could be a metal or wooden spoon, a heatproof spatula or a whisk. Any will do, but I recommend using a whisk as I find it best for combining ingredients quickly and creating a smooth consistency.

Since this recipe makes around 3 cups of chocolate sauce you’ll most likely have leftovers to store in the fridge. In this case, you’ll also need an airtight glass jar or airtight container to store the sauce in.

WHAT CAN YOU USE CHOCOLATE SAUCE FOR?

Chocolate sauce is such a versatile ingredient to have stocked in your fridge and can be used in countless yummy snacks and desserts in the following ways.

Flavour Beverages
Make chocolate milk, hot chocolate, chocolate milkshakes or iced chocolate.
Use it as a dip
Use this chocolate sauce as a delectable dip for biscuits, strawberries and other fruits, pretzels, churros and more.
Drizzle
This chocolate sauce is perfect for drizzling over crepes, ice cream, cake, waffles, pies, brownies, sundaes, tarts, cookies, parfaits and more.

HOW DO YOU STORE HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SAUCE AND HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?

This homemade chocolate sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in a glass airtight jar or airtight container in the fridge for up to one month. It can be gently reheated again before serving or served straight out of the refrigerator, as you choose.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

1 cup dutch-processed, unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup water
1 cup thickened cream
1/2 cup hardened coconut oil (1/4 cup, if liquid)
Pinch of salt
OPTIONAL
1-2 tsp(s) vanilla extract, to taste

METHOD

Whisk cocoa powder and sugar together in a medium saucepan to combine and remove any clumps.
Place saucepan over medium heat and add water, gently whisking until combined and the mixture becomes liquid.
Add thickened cream and whisk until fully incorporated. Stir occasionally until the mixture just begins to bubble around the edges.
Remove saucepan from the heat and add salt, vanilla extract (if using) and coconut oil, stirring with whisk until thoroughly incorporated and the mixture is smooth and silky.
If desired hot, serve immediately or set aside to thicken and cool for approximately 2 minutes before serving.

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RECIPE NOTE:

The chocolate sauce may seem a little thin when first taken off the heat but it will thicken as it begins to cool :)

STORAGE:

If you have leftovers or are looking to make this recipe in advance, this chocolate sauce will keep up to a month stored in the refrigerator in a sealed glass jar or airtight container.

It’s best to allow the chocolate sauce to cool before adding it to your glass jar(s) or container for storage.

When serving, the chocolate sauce can either be gently reheated or served straight out of the fridge, depending on your preference.