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5-minute Hot Fudge Sauce has just three ingredients and is perfect to use all summer long! This simple recipe tastes like melted fudge and you can reheat leftovers to thin!

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Easy Hot Fudge Recipe
If there is one thing I want all summer long it’s ice cream!! I crave it in summer, probably because it’s so hot here in Sacramento. (Well…let’s be honest. I crave ice cream all the time because it’s so darn good!)
Recently Jordan had some friends over and they wanted ice cream sundaes. We had the ice cream covered but, to my dismay, we were out of chocolate sauce. Now, as a food blogger, I took this as a huge fail: I always have all the sauces on hand. I have chocolate sauce when I make pie and need a drizzle and caramel sauce for when I’m making something gooey. So how in the WORLD was I out of ALL OF THEM at once?! #momfail #bloggerfail
So I did what a good blogger does in these situations: I made my own hot fudge sauce. And, dare I say, it’s BETTER than the kind you buy?
5-minute hot fudge sauce has just 3 ingredients and is perfect for all your ice cream sundaes!

What’s the difference between hot fudge and chocolate sauce?
It’s so easy to buy hot fudge and chocolate sauce that making it homemade has to be easy or why bother, right? Well, I got you covered because this hot fudge recipe is the BEST.
Honestly, I’ve always wondered this! The main difference is the texture. Hot fudge is thicker and more rich while chocolate sauce is thinner and more pourable. Chocolate sauce stays sauce in the refrigerator, while hot fudge gets cold and thick…like fudge.
And, let me tell you, my hot fudge sauce recipe tastes like melted fudge! It’s PERFECT to put on top of your favorite O Organics ice cream!

3 Ingredients Needed
Some recipes are for hot fudge with cocoa powder, but this recipe uses sweetened condensed milk! There are only three total ingredients:
SAVE THIS RECIPE
- Chocolate Chips – use your favorite flavor, but use a good brand! We love Trader Joe’s, Guittard, and Guirradelli.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Butter – unsalted or salted. The butter might seem like an odd ingredient, but it’s necessary. Without it the hot fudge will seize and not act properly, so don’t skip it.

How to make hot fudge
- Add sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips to a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate chips are melted.
- Remove from heat and stir in butter. Stir until butter is melted.
- Place hot fudge in a jar. Use while hot.

Favorite Recipes using liquid fudge:
- Drizzle it on peanut butter dip
- Make Hula Pie with it
- Pour it over Peanut Butter Ice Cream Brownies
5-minute Hot Fudge Recipe

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Ingredients
- 1 (14 ounce) can (396g) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup (170g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips to a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate chips are melted.
- Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Stir until butter is melted.
- Place hot fudge in a jar. Use while hot.
- Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To reheat: place jar in microwave and heat in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until melted and smooth.
Notes
- This is a very thick sauce – the hotter it is the thinner, but it’s hot fudge, not chocolate sauce.
- You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- Leftovers – store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will thicken and harden as it cools so heat to thin.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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So easy! I like a strong chocolate flavor so used dark chocolate chips, and even some 100% cocoa powder. It cut the sweetness of the condensed milk really nicely. I’m not sure how it’ll re-heat, but fresh from a spoon it’s delicious! Thank you
I always appreciate when I don’t have to buy something that has 25 ingredients and is loaded with chemicals, preservatives and artificial colors.
Very runny. I would start by adding the condensed milk to the chips. I halved the condensed milk and added 2 cups chips and it was still runny.
Oh, I’ll bet you didnt use SWEETENED condenced milk. Mine is super thick and creamy.
It was easy but it left alot to be desired in the fudgy goodness department I did the recipe exactly as you said and it wasn’t even very chocolaty let alone fudgy
It was super easy. I loved that I had everything I needed in my pantry. It was just like hot fudge. 😋
Not a good recipe. I lost the original recipe I used for hot fudge sauce so I used this recipe in a pinch. I wish I hadn’t. It is not “fudgy,” but rather more of a dark chocolate. It’s just not sweet enough. After I finished making it, I could tell the color wasn’t even right. Just too dark. I would recommend using a recipe with cocoa rather than chocolate chips.
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