Chocolate-covered strawberries are one of the most beautiful desserts out there. They are fancy enough for a special occasion, but so easy to make at home. The trick is getting that perfectly smooth chocolate coating that actually sticks (because no one wants chocolate sliding right off!). Don’t worry, we’ve got all the secrets to make sure your strawberries turn out flawless every time, with no sweating, no slipping, just pure chocolatey goodness.
Why Our Recipe
- Learn to melt chocolate and white chocolate for a smooth coating that never fails.
- Get all the secrets to making sure the chocolate never slips off and doesn’t sweat.
- Decorate to your heart’s content with a sprinkle of chopped chocolate, crushed nuts, drizzles, and more.
Once you’ve got your beautifully dipped strawberries, it’s time to decorate. Sprinkle on some chopped chocolate, drizzle with more melted chocolate, or roll them in crushed nuts for a little crunch. Whether you’re making these for a party, a gift, or just for yourself (no judgment), they’re going to look amazing and taste even better.
Melting Chocolate Secrets
There are two things you need to pay close attention to when making chocolate-covered strawberries. 1) correctly melt your chocolate. 2) make sure your strawberries are super mega ultra dry. So how does one go about melting chocolate the correct way? There are several ways.
How to melt chocolate in the microwave
Cut it or break it up into small chunks. Place the chunks in a wide, shallow bowl and put it in the microwave. Heat the chocolate for about 30 seconds on medium-high. Remove and stir with a rubber spatula. Place back in the microwave and heat for 15-second intervals, stirring in between with your rubber spatula, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Melting Chocolate on the Stove
You can either use a “double boiler” which is essentially a bowl on top of a pot that is filled with a little water. The pot I mean, not the bowl. Bring the water to a boil and put the bowl which contains only chocolate chunks on top. It’s important that the bowl does not touch the water. The steam alone should be the source of heat. Keep the pot with bowl on top on the hot stove but reduce heat to low to maintain a bare simmer.
Stir the chocolate constantly. The stirring is important to avoid the chocolate from getting too hot in both cases, microwave and stove-top method. If the chocolate gets too hot it will curdle and there is no way to save it. DO NOT overheat and DO NOT stop stirring. It’s important that you don’t walk away and keep an eye on your chocolate at all times.
Pro Tip: Dry Your Strawberries
Chocolate hates water and will curdle if you add water to it. When making chocolate-covered strawberries it is super important that the strawberries are super mega ultra dry. Wash them, drain them, and then take a paper towel to dry each strawberry individually. I recommend leaving the green parts on the strawberries for easier dipping into the chocolate. Make sure the green leaves are patted dry too, otherwise, drops of water might run down the dry strawberries.
Make Ahead Instructions
The wonderful thing about chocolate-covered strawberries is they can be made up to a day ahead of time. It’s actually even advisable to prepare at least a couple of hours ahead of time to give the chocolate enough time to harden. Shortcuts with putting in the freezer are not a good idea. Make them the night before or in the morning for your romantic dinner and take the stress out of dinner time. Which takes us to the next question:
Storage Instructions
The best way to store them is on the same baking-paper-lined baking sheet you put them on to harden in the first place in the fridge. Leave them uncovered and in a single layer on a lined baking sheet to avoid sticking to the baking sheet. Don’t use aluminum foil because it can easily tear and then you end up with bits of foil on your strawberries. Use either baking paper, a silicone mat, or wax paper,r and store in the refrigerator!
They will last as long as the washed strawberries themselves would last. All berries get moldy quite fast (a couple of days) so don’t keep them too long. 1-2 days max. Especially considering, chocolate chocolate-covered strawberries taste best when choosing very ripe soft but not mushy strawberries. Basically the strawberries would go bad within 48 hours. Those are the best.
Freeze Warning
The chocolate-covered strawberries have to harden in the fridge, not the freezer. If you risk the strawberries to freeze they will be rock hard and you won’t be able to give them a bite. PLUS, once they thaw they get mushy and release all their water into the chocolate and that’s not a nice thing to look at and the taste suffers from it, too.
If for whatever reason you won’t be able to eat them all, mix them into this amazing fruit salad and enjoy them for breakfast tomorrow 🙂
Can you add vanilla extract for better flavor?
Adding regular vanilla extract directly to the chocolate isn’t a good idea, as the water content can cause the chocolate to seize. The best option is to use vanilla bean paste or an oil-based vanilla extract, which are designed to mix well with chocolate.
Love these and all of your recipes Rachel! I have been a fan of yours for years!!
I have two questions please.
1. Is there a way to sweeten whole strawberries? Doesn’t matter where or when I buy them seems they just aren’t as sweet as they used to be or like the ones from that Co. That sounds like Cherry but with an S?? 😁
Also, I found that if after I washed my berries black straw etc dried them with a paper towel then laid them flat on a clean tea or paper towel in front of a fan for a few hours they froze amazingly no frost when defrosted! Do you think it would be good way to dry for this recipe also?
If your strawberries aren’t as sweet as you’d like, you can macerate them (sprinkle with a little sugar and let them sit) or brush them with simple syrup, but that adds moisture, which isn’t great for dipping since chocolate sticks best to dry berries. A better option? Pick the ripest strawberries you can find, since they’re naturally sweeter which is what that company gets to do a lot more easily, especially when strawberries aren’t in season in your area. (Oh how I miss living in California near strawberry fields!) Another option is to just go with milk or white chocolate to balance things out with extra sweetness.
Your fan-drying trick is a smart way to cut down on moisture! It should work well here too—just don’t let them sit too long, or they might soften up. As long as they’re completely dry before dipping, your chocolate will go on smooth and stick perfectly. Maybe it can dry out simple syrup or natural juices too?
I always freeze mine for a short period of time and they turn out perfect every time
Doesv double dipped a simple matter of dipping them again?
Yes, dipping them again after the chocolate has started to harden gives you a second layer.
Will adding a small amnt of sweetened condensed milk while melting the chocolate in a double boiler be ok for coating the dry strawberries or will that be too thick once hardened?
The chocolate won’t harden properly