Chocolate Syrup

Have you ever looked at the list of ingredients on a bottle of regular chocolate syrup? It’s mostly high fructose corn syrup, water, and cocoa, with a few artificial ingredients added as preservatives and flavor enhancement. We can do better than that! I think you’ll be surprised to know just how easy it is to make your own chocolate syrup.

This recipe is for chocolate syrup, similar to the familiar brown bottle of Hershey’s chocolate syrup. It’s thinner in consistency than hot fudge and is usually served right from the bottle, and not heated up.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

No artificial anything. This DIY chocolate syrup is made with only five simple ingredients: cocoa, sugar, salt, vanilla, and water. That’s it! Nothing artificial, no corn syrup, preservatives, or artificial flavor. It’s dairy-free, gluten-free, and pretty much fat-free, too, with only 62 calories per serving.

Superior flavor. When you take out the highly processed ingredients of commercial products, you’re left with simple, good-tasting chocolate. You can use a higher quality cocoa powder, if you want, but really, this chocolate syrup tastes great no matter which brand you choose. It’s liquid chocolate and you can’t go too wrong with that.

Super easy to make. All you’ll need is a saucepan and something to store the syrup in. You can make this chocolate syrup in less than fifteen minutes! It keeps well so you can make it ahead and keep it on hand, just like the store-bought chocolate syrup.

Ingredient Notes

• Cocoa Powder: Use unsweetened cocoa powder that’s found in the baking aisle. There are different brands and you can choose your favorite. I love Ghirardelli’s which is a bit darker but Hershey’s cocoa is perfectly fine, too.
• Sugar: Granulated white sugar provides the sweetness in this syrup.
• Salt: A pinch of salt balances the flavor of the chocolate syrup. It won’t taste salty but without it, the syrup would taste flat.
• Vanilla: Always use pure vanilla extract. It’s made from real vanilla beans and the flavor is so much better than imitation vanilla.
• Water: Plain tap water or drinking water is fine.

How to Make Chocolate Syrup

Mix dry ingredients. In a small saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt until combined. If your cocoa powder has hard little lumps, press it through a fine mesh strainer.

Boil. Add water, stirring well, and heat over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Stir it frequently as it heats up. Once the syrup is beginning to boil, turn the heat down, and continue to simmer it for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is beginning to thicken. It will become thicker as it cools, and even thicker when it’s refrigerated.

Cool and store. Let the chocolate syrup cool slightly before transferring it to a storage container. Once it’s at room temperature, refrigerate the syrup until you’re ready to use it.

Serving Ideas

Breakfast: Drizzle chocolate syrup over buttermilk pancakes, or even better, chocolate pancakes. It’s super good on banana pancakes, too. Top homemade French toast with chocolate syrup instead of maple syrup. Chocolate syrup can add a little wow! to your morning oatmeal. Add a few sliced bananas, too, or a spoonful of creamy peanut butter.

Desserts: One of my favorite easy desserts is vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate syrup. My kids love it; it’s always their first choice (along with other fun toppings like crushed Oreo cookies, sliced bananas, and chocolate chips). Chocolate syrup is an easy way to dress up pound cake or brownies, too.

Beverages: Stirring chocolate syrup into a glass of cold milk makes the best chocolate milk (way better than powdered mixes!). You can make hot chocolate the same way. Make your own chocolate milkshake with ice cream and chocolate syrup. Add chocolate syrup to iced coffee, lattes, or cocktails like mudslides or chocolate martinis.

Recipe Variations

• Add cinnamon. I love to add cinnamon to the chocolate syrup. It’s such a fun variation. Stir a teaspoon of cinnamon into the dry ingredients. Other ground spices could be added, too, if you have another favorite.
• Make it mocha. Add a teaspoon or so of espresso powder (found in the coffee aisle).
• Stir in flavor extracts. Add a few drops of peppermint mint extract to make chocolate mint syrup (be sparing, mint is quite strong). Other possibilities are almond extract for an amaretto flavor, hazelnut extract, and so on.
• Looking for hot fudge? Try my hot fudge recipe (with 3 delicious variations!).

Storage

Although homemade chocolate syrup doesn’t keep for quite as long as commercial products, it will stay fresh for up to three months in the refrigerator. Cool it to room temperature; store in a covered container, glass jar with lid, or a squeeze bottle.