This Chocolate Simple Syrup is made with just 3 simple ingredients in less than 10 minutes. It requires no cooking and it has a ton of uses. Forget store-bought syrups and make your own chocolate syrup to use in lattes, coffee, and cocktails, or you can drizzle it over pancakes or ice cream as a rich chocolate sauce!
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Why This Recipe Works
Better than store-bought - Nothing beats making your own homemade chocolate syrup! It's made with simple natural ingredients and yields the best chocolate flavor. Forget any grocery store syrups packed with artificial flavors and high fructose corn syrup. Make your own homemade version in just 10 minutes!
Delicious in coffee - Make your favorite mocha from your local coffee shop (hello Starbucks lattes!) in the comfort of your own home! It's cheaper, just as delicious, and so easy.
No cooking - The only cooking you'll do here is boiling some water. Pouring hot water over granulated sugar and cacao powder dissolves the sugar and makes everything really easy to mix. No need to simmer the syrup. If you boiled it, you could risk burning the chocolate. This way is totally foolproof and yields delicious creamy chocolate syrup every time!
Doubles as chocolate sauce - Depending on how much water you add to the syrup, it will be thicker or looser. I promise you it's just as delicious as any store-bought sauce!
Lots of uses - You can add it to coffee, lattes, cocktails, and more! You can also drizzle it over ice cream, desserts, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, or anything else. My favorite way to use it is to mix it with chia seeds and yogurt to make chocolate chia pudding!
Ingredients
Cane sugar - I like cane sugar here because it has a neutral flavor that doesn't overpower the chocolate. You can use any sweetener you prefer but keep in mind the flavor of the syrup might change based on what you use.
Cacao powder - Both raw cacao powder and regular cocoa powder can be used. I prefer the flavor of unroasted cacao but you can you whichever one you have on hand. Use a high-quality cocoa powder (or cacao) for the best chocolatey flavor. Make sure you're using unsweetened cocoa powder to avoid any extra sugar.
Water - You can use anywhere from ½ cup to 1 cup of hot water to make the syrup. If you use less, you can use it as a chocolate sauce. If you add more, it will be more similar to a store-bought chocolate syrup like Monin.
Sea salt - I highly recommend adding a pinch of salt to the syrup. It balances out the sweetness and brings out all the flavors. Avoid using table salt if possible. Sea salt contains more minerals which makes it the healthier option.
Flavorings - I like adding a touch of vanilla extract and a pinch of cinnamon but you can skip those if you prefer. Vanilla rounds out the chocolate flavor really nicely.
Variations and Substitutions
Different sugar - If you don't have or don't want to use cane sugar, you can use brown sugar, maple syrup, or a sugar replacement of your choice to make the syrup sugar-free.
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Extra chocolatey - Add more cacao or dark cocoa powder to make the syrup less sweet and darker (similar to 85% or 90% chocolate). The higher the cacao percentage, the less sweet and deeper the flavor will be. Add more hot water if needed.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add the cane sugar, cacao powder, and sea salt to a bowl or a glass jar and stir together.
- Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan.
- Once it's hot, pour the water over the cacao and sugar mixture.
- Use a handheld milk frother to mix everything together. The sugar dissolves easily in hot water and blends well with the cacao powder.
- Once it’s well blended and smooth, stir in the vanilla extract. You can add more hot water until you reach the right consistency. Keep it thicker as a sauce or runnier as a syrup.
- Transfer to an airtight glass bottle or a mason jar and store in the fridge. Wait for the syrup to cool completely before closing the jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Serving Suggestions
- Coffee - Whether it's hot or iced, espresso, cold brew, a latte, or any other kind of coffee drink, you can add this chocolate syrup to make it into a mocha! Try it in this Iced Peppermint Mocha or this Iced Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso.
- Cocktails - Add it to any coffee-based cocktails instead of simple syrup like this Tequila Espresso Martini or this Chai White Russian.
- Hot chocolate - You can make hot or frozen hot chocolate with this chocolate sauce. It makes the process super easy and straightforward. Try it in this Christmas Spiced Hot Chocolate or this Vegan Peppermint Hot Chocolate.
- Chocolate milk - You can make your own chocolate milk with this syrup! Just whisk or stir the syrup with regular or non-dairy milk and enjoy!
- Chocolate sauce - Aside from adding it to drinks, you can use this syrup as you would chocolate sauce. Drizzle it over ice cream, fresh fruits, berries, pancakes, waffles, french toast, or oatmeal. Try it on these fluffy Greek Yogurt Pancakes or these fall favorite Chocolate Chip Apple Cider Pancakes with Stewed Apples.
Storing
Fridge: You can store the syrup in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 weeks. It will get slightly thicker as it sits but it will stay fresh for 2 weeks when stored properly. Always make sure to use a clean spoon to avoid it going bad.
Freezer: If you won't be able to use all of it in time, you can freeze any leftovers in an ice cube tray and defrost as needed.
If you're making iced coffee, you can brew your espresso right over the frozen cube of syrup to defrost it quickly and cool the espresso at the same time.
FAQs
You can use a sugar replacement that can be used in a 1:1 ratio instead of cane sugar. Keep in mind that a different sweetener might change the overall flavor of the syrup.
Add more cacao. The more cacao there is, the darker and less sweet the syrup will be just like when you buy an 85% or 90% chocolate bar. Add more hot water until you reach your desired consistency.
More Homemade Syrups
If you're looking for even more homemade syrup recipes, check out the four below! I highly recommend trying this chocolate syrup and the raspberry syrup together, it's so good! To see more syrups and the latest ones, head over to the Flavored Syrups category.
Print📖 Recipe
Chocolate Simple Syrup
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 2 mins
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 1 ½ cup 1x
- Category: Flavored Syrup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Chocolate Simple Syrup is made with just 3 simple ingredients in less than 10 minutes. Use it in coffee, lattes, and cocktails, or drizzle over ice cream!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cane sugar
- ½ cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½-1 cup water (depending on how thick you want the syrup to be)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the cane sugar, cacao powder, and sea salt to a bowl or a large jar and stir together.
- Bring the water to a boil and pour over the chocolate sugar mixture.
- Use a handheld milk frother to mix everything together. The hot water will melt the sugar and blend well with the cacao powder.
- Once it’s well blended and smooth, stir in the vanilla extract.
- Transfer to an airtight jar or container and store in the fridge. Wait for the syrup to cool completely before closing the jar with a lid.
Notes
Storing: The syrup will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 weeks.
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Natalie says
No store-bought syrup compares to this one! So simple but such delicious, real chocolate flavor.
CrankyOldCow says
"This Chocolate Simple Syrup is made with just 3 simple ingredients...."
There are 5 ingredients.
What is gaining by lying about the amount of ingredients?
Veronika Sykorova says
I don't mean to be lying. Most people don't count water and salt when talking about something having x amount of ingredients because they're used for practically everything so it can be assumed you have them at home and don't have to worry about having to buy them for the specific recipe.
The paragraph explaining each ingredient in the blog post mentions that you can skip the vanilla extract and that salt is recommended but it won't ruin it if you skip it. So technically, you only really need 3 ingredients (sugar, cacao, and water) to make this.