Homemade Chocolate Syrup Recipe
Try this homemade chocolate syrup recipe instead of buying the chemical-filled stuff at the store!
I don’t know about you, but I think sometimes, life just calls for some really good chocolate syrup.
Whether you are topping ice cream or making chocolate milk for the kids, you can’t go wrong with having a little of the stuff in the fridge. The problem is, the stuff you buy at the store almost doesn’t qualify as real chocolate thanks to the laundry list of other added ingredients that don’t seem to even qualify as real food.
So in a desperate search for a clean chocolate syrup recipe (Mini Chef wanted chocolate milk for his birthday!) I came across a recipe (the site no longer exists) that was so obviously screaming for me to clean it up that I got right to work. The truth is, all I did was change the sweetener, adjust the measurements slightly and cut out the salt. And whaaaamo! Instant, healthy, chocolate syrup!
Homemade Chocolate Syrup Recipe
Clean Eating Chocolate Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sucanat OR coconut sugar, OR 3/4 cup honey
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together in a pot and bring to a soft boil, stirring constantly.
- Once the syrup thickens (about 5 minutes), remove from heat and transfer to a glass container. Store in the fridge.
What brand cocoa powder do you use? I am new to clean eating.
Jeannette – I get the Trader Joe’s organic stuff.
just made this and it was delicious! I’ve put it in my coffee and made chocolate milk for my pcky daughter and she liked it too. This is very dangerous for me because I could grab a spoon and eat the whole jar!
Steph – Ya, that’s why I only made it the one time. Dangerous stuff! LOL
Bummer! I’ve made my own chocolate sauce before, but was excited to try this one which would be even healthier (if sweetness and chocolate can be healthy 🙂 ). Alas, it turned out to be very bitter. I used Dutch full-fat cocoa powder from my local spice store and the 3/4 cup of honey. I tried adding in plain old refined sugar after my initial taste test, but that didn’t change it much either.
I think this will be a good sauce for grown-ups on ice cream or brownies, but I can’t imagine it will mix well to make kid-friendly chocolate milk.
On that note – how do you store this so you don’t have to heat the whole bottle every time?
I’m glad this recipe got me to your blog though… There are a lot of good looking recipes!!
Maggie J – It’s interesting. I’ve had most people say it turned out great, but a few do mention the bitterness. I wonder if it’s perhaps the type of cocoa powder used? Mine wasn’t bitter at all and was perfect for chocolate milk.
I kept mine in a glass jar and reheated the jar when I wanted some. But it remains scoopable when cold, so you could just scoop out a spoonful and warm that either on the stovetop or in a microwave.
We LOVE this recipe. It’s an absolute staple in our house. Tonight, we wanted to make chocolate milk shakes and had run out of this syrup and I said: Well, I can just run to the store and pick up a bottle of HFCS syrup and everyone, hands down, said they’d rather wait for me to make this clean eating recipe instead and use that in our shakes. I ONLY use Sucanat in mine, never honey (I think honey influences the flavor too much) and I wouldn’t say it’s bitter – I would say it’s very true to a real, dark chocolate flavor. I use it in chocolate milk for my toddler all the time. Our whole family thinks this is the best chocolate syrup there is, ever. THANKS!
Alicia – Wow! That’s high praise! Thank you! 😀
I’m new to clean eating as well and made this tonight. Mine was bitter too. I used Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder and coconut sugar as well as the vanilla and water. Perhaps it’s because I’m not a dark chocolate fan??? I prefer milk chocolate. Is there anything I could do to salvage it?
Kelley – How strange! I wonder what the issue is. You could certainly add more coconut sugar. Unless the box says “dark chocolate”, it most likely is not. So I’m not sure if that is the issue or not. Most of what Hershey’s sells is what you would use to get milk chocolate. At least that’s what I’ve seen in the stores. It could be that the chocolate flavor is simply too strong for you. I would definitely start with adding more sugar and see what you think. Let me know!
So, if I add more sugar, cooking it again (to melt the sugar) won’t be too much for the already cooked syrup? I’ll give it a try and see if that works. Incidentally, the original syrup does taste like the generic store bought chocolate syrup (which is too bitter for me) that I have for my nephew. I prefer the 50% less sugar (Hershey Lite syrup) syrup. It’s thinner than the regular syrup. Maybe the cup of cocoa powder was too much? I don’t have the box in front of me but I’m pretty sure it does not say “dark chocolate” we normally don’t buy dark chocolate, but, I’ll look when I get back home. Thanks for getting back to me!
Kelley – I would not bring the chocolate to a boil. Just warm it enough to mix the sugar in. You can also add a little more water (maybe 2-4 tbsp,) to make it a little less thick and more runny. If you are concerned, you could try it with a small amount first instead of committing the entire batch to the experiment. Let me know how it turns out.
Tiffany, I have to say you have helped me out so much! I recently developed post procedure pancreatitis and have to follow a pretty strict diet. Although I am normally a healthy, very active person I do enjoy my “sweets”. Your recipes all seem easy (I have tried a few and came out delicious)
I am definitely going to try this chocolate syrup
Amy – I’m so happy I could help in some way! I hope you enjoy the syrup. 😀
I have been into clean eating and calorie look out for the past year. Lost track last 2 weeks due to a lot of stress. Been looking for clean recipes as I prefer doing it on my own to make sure I know the ingredients of the food that I will eat. I hope I can get more recipes from you. 🙂 I will definitely try this at home. I love cocoa and I drink a cup every morning. I’m sure i will love this and my kids as well. Hope you can send me your website so I can do more of your recipes. Thanks. 🙂
Iris – I’m not sure what you mean by “send me your website”. Do you mean a subscription? If so, there is a pink box in the right hand column. If you enter your email address in there you will get automatic emails each time I post something on my blog. Enjoy the chocolate syrup! 🙂
I just made this and it is delish! Can’t wait to try it on my apple nachos!
Veronica – Oh yum! 🙂
I made this again tonight..I have made it many time and love it. I accidentally found a easier way to make it. I used hot water (I have a hot water dispenser…it is very hot, but not boiling, but you could boil water or heat in microwave) I added hot water so it would thicken faster and found that I did not need to heat it at all. I hated standing there stirring it. I put in in a sauce pan added the hot water and whisked till the lumps were gone. The syrup was a little thin but thickened up as it cooled in the fridge. Makes it so much easier to make. My favorite way to sweeten it is half coconut sugar and half steiva (measured according to what kind you use). I use a little more vanilla also. I have used all stevia and I like it but the family does not. I keep a jar or two of this in the fridge all the time (sometimes I make one with all stevia and one with all coconut sugar)…it keeps for a long time. I store it in a mason jar. one hint…I find the syrup tastes a little bitter unlike the store bought kind..but once added to milk is sweet and yummy..also good over ice cream.
Jackie – Thanks for the feedback! I love the detailed description. I’ll have to try it that way next time! 😀
That’s good. No, really. And it’s so nice that it’s simple. And did I mention it’s also good? After looking at lots of recipes I decided to try this one since I’ve tried other recipes from your blog with good results. I’m a type 1 diabetic and gluten-free, too, so it’s a challenge to find tasty options sometimes! Since I’m diabetic I used Swerve for the sweetener (which is supposed to be natural). I know artificial sweeteners aren’t considered “clean” but this is about as good as I can find that tastes good and works with my dietary restrictions. My first taste was slightly bitter but I think I got some undissolved cocoa so kept stirring and tried a couple dashes of sea salt like another reviewer suggested. I also had to remember this is not chocolate frosting but rather a concentrated chocolate meant for mixing/diluting so its supposed to be strong tasting. It was terrific in almond milk and I look forward to mixing it in with other stuff. Thank you for sharing!
Lita – Thank you so much for the feedback! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I haven’t tried it in almond milk yet, but that sounds too good to pass up. Yum! 🙂
Just made this. Holy cow. This is so good I don’t even know how to function! Immediately mixed it with some milk and pb and threw it in my zoku popsicle maker. It’s freezing as we speak!
I’m working on cleaning up my diet and attempting macro counting (ah!) so I measured everything to get the macro count for it all and am pretty happy with it. My hubby and I are also doing our best to stick to low GI foods, so this is the PERFECT alternative. He’s at work now, but I’ve sent him about 100 pictures of it.
Seriously. Thank you. This is amazing.
(Can you tell I’m already in love with it??)
Ariel – LOL!! So happy you’re enjoying it!! I really need to make another batch….
I love this recipe. I’ve tried a few over the years and I like the thickness of this one. We use pure cocoa and honey. After years of being a serious chocoholic ( full of yucky bad stuff). The pure cocoa was a bit of a shock to the system, that would most likely be why.people are saying its bitter, some cinamon takes the edge off that without effecting underlying taste these days we don’t need the cinamon any more.
Delldgm – Great tip! Thank you! 😀
I made this and liked the idea of it for some vegan brownies I made that turned out to be bland but I found this bitter and not very sweet. So I ended up adding icing sugar like probably half a cup to a cup! Much better!
Rachel – The cocoa powder does make it a bit more bitter. Gives it more of a dark chocolate taste. A little more of any of the mentioned sweeteners would have worked as well. Glad you enjoyed it though!
can you use monk fruit sugar instead of coconut sugar?
Staci – I’ve never used it before. But if it is granular and dissolves, then it should work. The only thing I can’t tell you is if the level of sweetness will be the same. You may have to adjust the amount you use, to taste. Hope that helps!