Chocolate Fondue Recipe
Posted Dec 28, 2022, Updated Feb 10, 2025
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This simple and decadent chocolate fondue recipe is made with 6 ingredients in 10 minutes. Serve it as a special dessert with your favorite chocolate fondue dippers!
This chocolate fondue recipe is one of our family’s favorite special desserts.
We love making fondue and slowly enjoying it together after a delicious dinner. It’s the perfect treat for a fun family date night (or romantic date night for those without little ones). You can even make my cheese fondue and have an entire fondue meal!
This chocolate fondue recipe is easy to make with six ingredients in ten minutes. It also stores and reheats well.
Chocolate Fondue Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Whole milk. Technically 2% milk would work in this recipe. However, I recommend using whole milk for the creamiest texture. For a dairy-free version you can use full-fat coconut milk or cream.
- Heavy cream. Half and half is an acceptable substitute for heavy cream.
- Granulated sugar. white sugar, organic cane sugar, coconut sugar and honey all work well in this recipe.
- Semisweet chocolate. I use chocolate chips to make this recipe easy to make. You can chop your favorite chocolate bars, just be sure to use 10 oz. Any chocolate variety works well – milk, semisweet, dark, or even white chocolate!
- Vanilla extract. vanilla bean paste or the seeds from one vanilla bean are good substitutes.
Note: If you’re looking for a dairy-free, refined-sugar free etc. version try this vegan chocolate fondue, or this chocolate peanut butter fondue!
Best Chocolate for Fondue
High-quality chocolate is a must for this recipe. You can use milk, semisweet, or dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli is my favorite brand of chips) you can use chocolate discs or chopped chocolate bars as well.
How to Make Chocolate Fondue
Let’s walk through how to make chocolate fondue step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by adding milk, cream, sugar and cocoa powder to a medium saucepan. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
Then, warm the ingredients over medium heat until it just begins to boil (but does not come to a full boil).
Once the mixture is just beginning to boil, add the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Continue cooking over medium heat until it just begins to boil again.
Then, remove the fondue from the heat and stir in the vanilla and a pinch of sea salt.
Let it cool slightly before serving (it thickens as it cools).
Serve
Serve warm with your favorite chocolate fondue dippers. Here are some suggestions:
Chocolate Fondue Dippers
There really is no limit to what you can dip into this recipe. However, to help spur on your creativity, here is a list of my favorite dippers.
- Fresh fruit: Strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, raspberries, blackberries, etc.
- Salty dippers: pretzels, potato chips, bacon (gasp).
- Brownies/cookies. fudgy brownies, cookies (chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, etc.), Oreos, or your favorite store-bought cookies.
- Cake: angel food cake, pound cake, chocolate cake, vanilla cake, banana cake, etc.
- Candy. caramel, marshmallows, cinnamon bears, etc.
- Nuts. peanuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, etc.
Store
Store leftovers in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over low heat until warm and smooth. You may need to add a splash of milk or cream to thin it out as it warms up.
Chocolate Fondue Recipe FAQs
Yes, absolutely, this recipe is easily doubled.
You can use an electric fondue pot to keep the fondue warm.
What foods are good for chocolate fondue?
Here is a list of foods that are perfect to dip in chocolate fondue:
Fresh fruit: Strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, raspberries, blackberries, etc.
Salty dippers: pretzels, potato chips, bacon (gasp).
Brownies/cookies. fudgy brownies, cookies (chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, etc.), Oreos, or your favorite store-bought cookies.
Cake: angel food cake, pound cake, chocolate cake, vanilla cake, banana cake, etc.
Candy. caramel, marshmallows, cinnamon bears, etc.
Nuts. peanuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, etc.
Use a high-quality chocolate to make the best fondue. You can use milk, semisweet, or dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli is my favorite brand of chips) you can use chocolate discs or chopped chocolate bars as well.
In this recipe, the chocolate is melted into the heavy cream mixture.
I don’t prefer to use baker’s chocolate because I grab a higher quality variety to make this recipe, but it does work! If you choose the 100% bakers chocolate you will need to add more sugar.
The cooking method thickens this fondue recipe – by allowing the mixture to almost come to a boil twice, it cooks off some of the liquid and thickens the mixture. Plus, the chocolate in the mixture causes it to thicken as it cools slightly.
Yes! Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over low heat until warm and smooth. You may need to add a splash of milk or cream to thin it out as it warms up.
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Chocolate Fondue Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
- 10 oz semisweet chocolate (1 ½ cups)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
- Add milk, cream, sugar and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan on the stovetop. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Warm over medium heat until it just begins to boil (but does not come to a full boil).
- Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Then continue cooking over medium heat until it just begins to boil again.
- Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and a pinch of sea salt.
- Let cool slightly before serving (it thickens as it cools).
Video
Notes
- Whole milk. Technically 2% milk would work in this recipe. However, I recommend using whole.
- Heavy cream. Half and half is an acceptable substitute for heavy cream.
- Granulated sugar. white sugar, organic cane sugar and honey all work well in this chocolate fondue recipe.
- Semisweet chocolate. I use chocolate chips to make this recipe easy to make. You can chop your favorite chocolate bars, just be sure to use 10 oz. Any chocolate variety works well – milk, semisweet, dark, or even white chocolate!
- Vanilla extract. vanilla bean paste or the seeds from one vanilla bean are good substitutes.
- Fresh fruit: Strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, raspberries, blackberries, etc.
- Salty dippers: pretzels, potato chips, bacon (gasp).
- Brownies/cookies. fudgy brownies, cookies (chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, etc.), Oreos, or your favorite store-bought cookies.
- Cake: angel food cake, pound cake, chocolate cake, vanilla cake, banana cake, etc.
- Candy. caramel, marshmallows, cinnamon bears, etc.
- Nuts. peanuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, etc.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can we keep the chocolate fondue warm in a crock pot?
I am planing to make this recipe to “Father and Daughter” dance at my daughter elementary school. What it will be the quantity of the ingredients (approximate) for 300 strawberries 🍓.
Can u make this recipe and then add to an electric chocolate fountain?
I don’t think so. Those fountains require a significant amount of oil to keep the fondue flowing. I’d stick with the instructions on the fountain packaging.