Easy Vegan Chocolate Sauce

Name: Easy Vegan Chocolate Sauce
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 13.5 oz can coconut milk (see note 1); ⅓ cup cocoa powder or chocolate chips OR BOTH (see note 2); 1 cup organic cane sugar (or sub coconut sugar) (see note 3); ¼ teaspoon sea salt; 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch; ¼ cup non-dairy milk of choice

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Decadent and ridiculously easy, this rich Vegan Chocolate Sauce is the perfect topping for ice cream and cakes or even as dip for fruit. Made with just a few pantry ingredients and in just a few minutes, you’ll want to keep a jar of this sauce in your fridge at all times.

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Why This Recipe Works
Ingredients and Substitutions
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Sauce
Frequently Asked Questions
More Recipes Like This
Easy Vegan Chocolate Sauce

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Hey Internet, who doesn’t love chocolate? Well, I guess there are some people who don’t love chocolate, and some people who shouldn’t have chocolate (like my Grandmother, though that never stopped her) or actually can’t have it… but I’m assuming if you’re on this blog post, you’re a pretty big fan of chocolate.

Me? I’m a chocolate fiend, so I had to develop a vegan chocolate sauce for my vegan ice cream addiction.

I already have a bunch of chocolate-heavy recipes on my site, like my vegan flourless chocolate cake, vegan double chocolate cookies, vegan chocolate pudding, vegan mug brownie, vegan smores bake… etc.

This one is super easy to make, and it can be made in one pot with mostly pantry ingredients. It’s so rich and delicious, I’m sure you’ll love it.

P.S. If you're into easy desserts, try my list of 50+ No Bake Vegan Desserts!

Why This Recipe Works

I needed a vegan chocolate sauce that was easy, and didn’t harden. If you want a chocolate sauce that hardens, check out the magic shell I made for my vegan ice cream cake.

This one is so easy, all you need to do is three simple steps.

Simply add the ingredients to a small pot with the exception of the non-dairy milk and the thickener.

After heating the ingredients, you can whisk together the liquid and powder, pour it into the pot and mix.

Then you can just cook it in a saucepan on the stove for a few minutes and it’s ready to go.

Enjoy it warm like hot fudge on vegan ice cream, or chill it and dip fruit in it later.

Alright, let’s get chocolat-ing? Is that a word? Let’s pretend it is.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Canned coconut milk: This is pretty important to the recipe, as it makes the sauce creamy and luscious. Can’t have coconut? Use any carton of non-dairy milk with a smidge more thickener. You could always add a bit of neutral oil to make it a bit richer.
Cocoa powder or chocolate chips: This recipe tastes plenty good with either option! Cocoa powder is cheap and easy to use, but the chocolate chips make this vegan chocolate sauce much more decadent, so you choose. For an extra rich and thick sauce, use both! An equal amount of cocoa powder and chocolate chips (I’d do ⅓ cup of each!) is really delicious in this sauce. If you want to REALLY punch up the chocolate flavor, add a half teaspoon of espresso powder.
Sugar: You’ll need some kind of sweetener, so use your preferred option here. I used organic cane sugar (organic because some cane sugars are filtered through animal bone char) for simplicity, but if you want this to be refined sugar-free you could use pure maple syrup, coconut sugar, or date syrup instead.
Sea salt: Use any kind of salt you like, but a touch of salt really brings out the chocolate flavor here. If you’re avoiding salt, you could try a ½ teaspoon of espresso powder instead.
Arrowroot powder or cornstarch: I like to use arrowroot powder to thicken this sauce slightly, but cornstarch will work just as well.
Non-dairy milk: Use the non-dairy milk of your choice, this is just for dissolving the arrowroot powder or cornstarch in before adding it to the sauce. In a pinch, water will work.

How to Make Vegan Chocolate Sauce

To a small nonstick saucepan, add the canned coconut milk, cocoa powder and/or chocolate chips, sugar, and salt (and espresso powder, if using). Heat over medium heat and whisk frequently until the sugar has dissolved, about 2-3 minutes.
If melting chocolate chips instead of using cocoa powder, add them to the pan and melt them with the coconut milk and stir until completely melted. Then add the sugar and salt.
Whisk the arrowroot powder or cornstarch with the non-dairy milk until it dissolves, then add it to the pot. Whisk until incorporated, then cook for about 3-6 minutes, stirring frequently until the mixture has thickened.
Pour into a jar and let cool for 15-20 minutes before using or storing.
Refrigerate the mixture in an airtight container for up to a week.
If the mixture thickens too much in the fridge, mix in a bit of non-dairy milk and shake or whisk until loosened. Heat can also help this process.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of chocolate should I use?

You can use any kind. This recipe works with plain old cocoa powder, but also with just about any chocolate chips you’d like to use. Or chocolate chunks, or even a chopped up chocolate bar! Use dark chocolate, semi sweet chocolate, or a vegan milk chocolate if you can find it. Check out the ingredients on the back of the package to make sure your chocolate is vegan. I don’t have too much of a problem finding vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips at most of the grocery stores near me.

How to store vegan chocolate sauce

I recommend storing the sauce in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Wait 15-20 minutes before putting on the lid and storing the hot sauce in the fridge.

How long does it last?

This recipe lasts 5-7 days in the refrigerator. It may thicken some, so if you need to loosen it, heat it gently and stir in a little non-dairy milk or water. Or eat it like pudding, yum.

More Recipes Like This

Sauces are so important for vegan folks. Learning to make my own sauces is one of the major things that helped me transition to being vegan, since you can throw them on just about anything and it’s a meal (grains, pasta, potatoes, etc.).

You’d be surprised how many sauces have animal products in them, or even just a lot of sugar, oil, and preservatives. Here’s some of my favorite homemade sauces.

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<3 Liz

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