Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe (3 Ingredients)
Hot fudge sauce is rich and decadent and the perfect topping for all your desserts. Spoon it over ice cream, cheesecake, or use it as a fruit dip!
Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
Dessert is where it’s at in my house. No matter what delicious dinner I make, I always need a bite or two of something sweet before I head to bed.
The struggle is real, ya’ll!
My favorite thing to eat is cheesecake but I tend to over indulge with this. You can’t have part of a slice, you have to eat the whole slice!
So, when I have no will power, I turn to ice cream. I can put one scoop in a dish, top it with a little chocolate sauce, and have the perfect amount.
Also, makes the ice cream pint last longer…
I always have hot fudge sauce or magic shell on hand because I love chocolate, but don’t want leave out all the delicious ice cream flavors out there by only buying chocolate ice cream.
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Are you currently buying your hot fudge sauce at the store? Well STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!
This hot fudge sauce recipe is so much better than store bought which is full of extra preservatives to make it shelf stable. You don’t need that crap in your life.
What is the difference between hot fudge and chocolate sauce?
They are really the same thing with with two different textures. Chocolate sauce is thinner and stays liquidy when cold in the fridge.
Think chocolate syrup that you pour into milk to make chocolate milk.
Hot fudge sauce is much thicker and needs to be slightly warmed to pour over vanilla ice cream.
What is Hot Fudge made of?
Most recipes will use heavy cream, sugar, and cocoa powder. Some even use evaporated milk and corn syrup.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for all that nonsense.
As you have heard before “Keep it simple!” That’s true in this sense!
Ingredients Needed
- chocolate chips
- butter
- sweetened condensed milk
I prefer to use dark chocolate chips to get the richest flavor I can get.
How to Make Hot Fudge Sauce from Scratch
First: In a heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter. Add in the sweetened condensed milk, heat and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer.
Second: Slowly stir in your choice of chocolate chips. I prefer dark, but that’s just me:)
Third: Once the chocolate starts to melt, remove from the heat. Spend a couple minutes stirring and letting it cool slightly.
Fourth: Serve immediately over your fave dessert or store it in a jar or container with lid in the refrigerator.
For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
How long does it last?
It will keep in your refrigerator, tightly closed, for up to a month if you don’t eat it all before then.
How do I reheat it?
Place the jar, or a microwave safe bowl, in the microwave and heat at 20-30 second intervals until warmed through.
Be sure to stir in between heatings!
Tapas Tips & Tricks
- stir in vanilla extract for another level of flavor.
- toss in a few peanut butter chips for a great flavor combo.
- add in some extra salt to make a salted chocolate sauce.
- store in small jars and give as gifts!
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please write a five-star review in the comment section below (or on Pinterest with the “tried it” button – you can now add pictures into reviews, too!), and be sure to help me share on facebook!
This easy recipe for homemade hot fudge sauce is just what you need to round out your dessert plans! Think ice cream sundae bar, dessert treat board like this one, or just eating by the spoonful!
Hot Fudge Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup chocolate chips milk, semi sweet, or dark
- 1 can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Slowly stir in the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips until the chocolate is all melted and has a smooth consistency.
- Remove from the heat. Stir and let cool.
- Pour into a glass jar or other container with a lid.
- Serve immediately with your favorite treat.
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Notes
- Stir in vanilla extract for another level of flavor.
- Toss in a few peanut butter chips for a great flavor combo.
- Add in some extra salt to make a salted chocolate sauce.
- Store in small jars and give as gifts!
Nutrition
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Does this get chewy once it gets cold from the ice cream?
It can depending on how cold the ice cream is. But not to where it’s like a hard caramel or anything.
This was very good and easy. I added a pinch of salt and 2 tsp vanilla. Def needed the vanilla. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I love the addition of salt! It really balances it out:)
I’ve made this twice. First batch I used margarine because I didn’t have butter. It was perfect. Second time,I had the unsalted butter and it was very thick when it cooled making it difficult to get out of the jar and, after heated, was still too thick to pour. Regardless, it was delicious & I will try again.
Very easy and quick! And very good. Why buy up in the store when you can make it❤️
Can this be frozen?
I have not tried to freeze it only because we use it up so fast I haven’t had the chance to. But, when freezing it, chocolate tends to crystalize and separate. It’s possible they will return when warming it again but I am not 100% sure.
This sauce is going to get me in trouble. Absolutely delicious! Just had it over rocky road ice cream. To die for.
I am so glad you like it!!
My husband just made this sauce and it is delicious. Super fast and we had all of the ingredients on hand.
I am so glad that you like it!
Currently living in small town in Central Mexico, fudge sauce is difficult to find and expensive when you do. This recipe is simple and absolutely delicious! Thank you!!
I’m so glad you like it! I lived in a small rural town for a while so I know what it’s like to not be able to find stuff:)
Very very good!! Wanted to just eat it right out of the pan. Thank you for sharing.
So glad you like it!! It’s on of my favorites with ice cream and fresh fruit.
Just made it for a Memorial Day treat and it’s TERRIFIC! Didn’t change anything! My hubby is quite pleased!
So glad you like it!
I made this today and my husband and I both thought mine is much better. The only difference is I use Hershey’s dark chocolate cocoa instead of chocolate chips, and cook it a little longer and then add vanilla. The chocolate chips just didn’t make it nearly as good. I melt the butter, add a few large spoons of the cocoa and stir while cooking until smooth. Then I add the sweetened condensed milk and cook till it starts to thicken. Take off stove and add about a teaspoon of vanilla. It is not only great on ice cream, but great drizzled on cake instead of icing. Of course, after it’s refrigerated, it is heaven by the spoonful.
To each their own.
Wonderful tasting recipe. I did deviate just a little. I added 1/2 of half & half to make it thinner so it would go further. Also added a splash of vanilla. Better than ANY store bought hot fudge topping. Thanks bunches
great tips! So glad you liked it!!
Delish and super easy!
3 ingredients…so easy and quick! Love it! Will be making it again! Used salted butter without issue
I actually have a question.
Are you able to can this sauce? Will it be shelf stable?
I have not actually tried to can it.
@Georgia, usually something like this is too dense to can but you can go to USDA canning book online(free) to see if there is a recipe there
I only had milk chocolate chips, still yummy on cheesecake. Will try the dark chips next time.
Can you use heavy cream instead of evap milk?
I have made it with heavy cream before and turned out.
Hi! I adore this recipe and have made it many times without issues. I always double this recipe and add about 3/4 tsp of salt, nearly 1 Tbl of vanilla, and 2 Tbl of rum extract (just a preference of mine). Even a double batch usually doesn’t last for a week! Thank you for the great recipe!
So glad you like it!! It’s one of our favorites too!
I made this and it is wonderful I used a Double boiler everything went fine thx for the recipe
so glad you liked it!
I made this recipe and after it cooked it was grainy. Do you know why that happened? There’s no sugar granules used so I don’t understand why it’s grainy. It tasted good but just grainy..?
I can think of two possibilities… 1. The quality of the chips could have led to that. I have had this happen with a batch or two of chocolate chips that weren’t great and it ruined the batch. 2. There might have been a little water that gotten into mixture somehow and caused some of the chocolate to seize up.
Oh my goodness! So good!!!
How much salt and vanilla would you add?
@MKA, I don’t measure but it was probably a couple of teaspoons of vanilla and 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons of salt.
I have made this several times. I always add vanilla and salt. It is the best- the only recipe I will use and I have tried quite a few! Highly recommend! It never lasts in our house more than a week.
This makes my heart so happy!! I am definitely going to add vanilla and salt when I make it this weekend!
I made the hot fudge sauce a few days ago for a friend of mine and I had to sample before taking it to her. Delicious !!! And so easy to make. Definitely I’ll make it again. Perfect for ice cream, brownies and other desserts. Thank u for a great recipe
Thank you so much!
How do you heat up the refrigerated leftovers?
I microwave at half power in 15 second intervals until smooth again.
Fantastic recipe! It got me out of a jam. Only takes a few minutes and tastes great. Thanks so much
So glad it worked out!
I can’t wait to try this. I’ve used just the Condensed milk and 1-1/2 C of chocolate chips and it is missing something. The butter and a little vanilla should work perfect. Thank you for posting.
Oh, my! What wonderful Hot Fudge sauce. I’m making it for Christmas gifts and the recipients are going to love it! So easy and yet so delicious!! I would give you 10 stars if I could!
This is a super easy and delicious fudge sauce. I’ve made it before with just condensed milk and chocolate. The butter makes it smooth and creamier. I also added vanilla. Perfect over ice cream and by the spoonful. Definitely something to keep on hand.
Awesome sauce!!!
Well chocolate chips never melted It was even brought to a boil for a good five to seven minutes then I took electric mixer and mixed it for another 5 minutes I still didn’t melt they were just Hershey chocolate chips
@denise828@yahoo.com,
If the milk & butter mixture was too hot when you added the choc chips, the chocolate will cook & never melt. I’ve learned this myself the hard way. I hope this helps.
Great tip! Thanks!
This was fabulous!!! Definitely 5 stars. Will be using this recipe for now on. Thank you
I did make the hot fudge recipe and it was delish. It was also very easy to make. I used semi-sweet chips and liked it a lot. But I think next time I’ll try dark chocolate chips. It lends itself to experimenting which I also love. Maybe some salt. Definitely five stars!
Thanks.
Thank you so much! I am glad you liked it. Dark chocolate is my fave!