Name: Best Hot Fudge Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 3 cups
Ingredients: 1/2 cup salted butter; 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips; 2 cups granulated sugar; 12 ounce can evaporated milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Jump to Recipe

The Best Hot Fudge Sauce is easy to make and beats store bought options. It turns out thick, gooey, fudgy and delicious—perfect every time!

If you have been frustrated trying to make your own hot fudge sauce in the past, let your mind be at ease. If you follow these simple instructions to the tee—you will be delighted with the sauce and yourself for mastering this simple recipe. This sauce is perfect as an ice cream topper, drizzled over a cake or pie, used to make chocolate milk, or even used as a fudge layer in other recipes. Once you learn how to make your own, you will never reach for store bought fudge sauce again!

You are going to love the delicious flavor and perfect texture of this recipe. Even though the ingredients are ones you probably already have on hand, the taste is like something you would find in a gourmet sweet shop! Although this recipe is quick and easy, the trick to achieving perfect, smooth texture is the cooking and the blending.

The cooking allows the sugar to bind with the other ingredients; too hot, and the sugar burns, too cool or too short, and the sugar could end up grainy or crystallized. The blending has to do with working air into the sauce, or aerating it. The smooth, creamy texture is a result of this blending, so be sure to blend for the full two minutes, even if it seems pretty well blended before that. Also, an immersion blender doesn’t work great for this step. Both the temperature and the time are key here, so be ready with your ingredients and a timer—you will love the result!

My Other Recipes

Will the sugar crystallize?
Crystallizing is pretty common when working with sugar, but by heating the sugar just right, you can avoid that crystallization. Be sure to follow the cooking and blending very closely.
Does hot fudge sauce need to be refrigerated?
We recommend storing the fudge sauce in the refrigerator. There is probably enough sugar in it to keep fine at room temperature, but it is always safer in the fridge and will keep fresher. Reheat in the microwave in small, 20-30 second increments of time.
How long will hot fudge sauce keep in the fridge?
This sauce can be used up to one month if kept in the refrigerator. If you bottle this to store it, using professional bottling techniques after you make it, it will last from 6-12 months, unopened, in the fridge.
Can I make this in the microwave?
There are recipes out there for microwave hot fudge, but the best results for homemade hot fudge sauce are achieved through cooking on a traditional stovetop. The heat in microwaves just isn’t as reliable. This recipe is best made on the stove top—it is still simple and quick to make.

DID YOU KNOW? Hot fudge sauce is considered low level candy making. Candy making is comprised of anything that has a main ingredient of sugar. It is a finicky science and small missteps can be disastrous. Don’t fret though, if you can follow instructions then you can make candy.

A common mistake in candy making is cooking the sugar too fast. When a candy recipe says “bring to a boil” you should warm it at low-medium heat until everything is melted, then turn the heat up to medium high until boiling begins. Then, always reduce the heat to medium to sustain a simmering boil. If you just flip the heat up to high, you risk burning or otherwise ruining your sugar. Doubling a candy recipe can be difficult as it effects the cooking time, pot size, and more. Substitutions are unpredictable in candy making because each ingredient has a very specific purpose. This is cooking chemistry. Unless you are an experienced candy maker, just stick to the recipe.

If you like this yummy hot fudge recipe, you may also be interested in these other fudgy delights:

Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.