This vegan hot fudge sauce is rich, chocolaty, and cooks up in minutes with just a handful of ingredients. It's the perfect topping for dairy-free ice cream, but no judgement if you're inclined to eat it by the spoonful!
I don't know about you, but the dairy-free ice cream section of my supermarket is just about the best thing ever. I mean, it's kind of mind blowing to me that a decade or so ago you'd have to go to a health food store just to find any vegan ice cream, whereas now there are a million and one options, taking up a substantial portion of the frozen treat section of most stores!
But something has been missing! There's nothing quite like a good hot fudge sundae or banana split. I needed some vegan hot fudge sauce in my life. It's out there, but not nearly as easy to find as ice cream.
Since I'm a big time chocolate lover, I decided to see how whipping up a batch of homemade vegan hot fudge would work out. I certainly succeeded with vegan caramel sauce and vegan chocolate ganache. Hot fudge sauce couldn't be that difficult!
And indeed, it wasn't. In fact, it was so easy! This stuff takes all of ten minutest to make, and you only need eight ingredients. And the sweet chocolate taste and rich texture are nothing short of amazing.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Coconut milk. We're using full-fat coconut milk (the canned variety) for maximum richness. I can't guarantee results if you choose to substitute light coconut milk or another non-dairy milk.
- Maple syrup. Got another vegan liquid sweetener like agave or coconut nectar on hand? I haven't tried either, but I think they would work fine.
- Granulated sugar. Make sure to use organic sugar. Conventional white sugar is often processed using animal bone char, so it may not be vegan.
- Vegan chocolate chips. I used Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels, which are available at many supermarkets.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Salt.
- Vegan butter. Most supermarkets sell this in the refrigerated section, right next to the regular butter.
- Vanilla extract.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by placing your coconut milk, maple syrup, sugar, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and salt into a small saucepan. Place it over medium heat.
Slowly heat the ingredients while whisking constantly. First the chocolate chips will melt, then the mixture will come to a boil.
Lower the heat as soon as the sauce boils. Let it cook at a simmer for three minutes, continuing to whisk the mixture the entire time. Take the pot off of heat when three minutes is up.
Now whisk in the butter and vanilla. Keep whisking until the butter melts and is completely incorporated into the sauce. It should look smooth and glossy.
Let your vegan hot fudge sauce cool for a bit before you serve it. It's called hot fudge, but really it's best as warm fudge. It'll also thicken up as it cools.
Tip: Give the sauce a whisk from time to time as it cools. This will help to prevent a skin from forming.
Storage and Reheating
Vegan hot fudge sauce will keep for about a week in an airtight container in the fridge. It will get very thick in the fridge, but will loosen up when you reheat it.
To reheat your fudge sauce, you can either place it in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking frequently, or heat it in the microwave by zapping it in fifteen second intervals in a microwave safe bowl, stirring in between.
More Vegan Chocolate Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce
Ingredients
- â…” cup full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup organic granulated sugar
- 6 ounces vegan chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- â…› teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the coconut milk, maple syrup, sugar, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and salt into a small saucepan and set it over medium heat.
- Heat the mixture while whisking, until it comes to a boil.
- Lower the heat and let the mixture cook at a simmer for 3 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Remove the pot from heat, then whisk in the butter and vanilla.
- Allow the mixture to cool for a bit before serving, whisking it every so often to prevent a skin from forming.
- Serve the sauce immediately (while warm), or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. Reheat it in a small saucepan on the stove, whisking frequently, or by microwaving in fifteen second intervals in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring or whisking between zaps.
Notes
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The most amazing hot fudge sauce! The texture was perfect, flavour was amazing. I halved the recipe & used Cacao instead of Cocoa powder & loved the richness.
This looks like a great recipe; thanks for sharing it! One question: could I substitute more cocoa and more vegan butter instead of the vegan chocolate chips? (Those chips are just so expensive at present.) Thanks for any guidance!
Possibly, but it might take a little bit of trial and error to get the amounts right. I would add more sweetener as well, and I'm thinking a vegan granulated sugar would work best. Sorry I can't give exact amounts without having successfully tried this version myself! I'd love to hear how it works out if you try it!
This recipe is so so good. Wow! Amazing!! Just had it with some vanilla ice cream. And the good thing is that it’s a lot. So i have enough for the time being. :)
This recipe is fantastic and comes together very easy. Works great on ice cream or cake
This recipe is simple and AMAZING. I usually just use store bought chocolate sauce, but made this for the ice cream cake recipe where it was linked. It is so rich and decadent and easy to make with things I always have on hand. I put it in a glass jar and microwave it for about 45 seconds on 80% and it loosens up enough to pour (not hot enough to melt the ice cream). I’ve done this several times and the remaining fudge has not been compromised at all. Super easy recipe that will remain in the rotation