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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:
- 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
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.
Recipe Video
Recipe 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.
Recipe Nutrition
**Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!**
Last Updated on April 29, 2023
I loved this sauce. I used it for a Chocolate Crumble Cake. It turned out amazing.
Thank you…
Great recipe but mine came out thin! How can I make it thicker? I will try adding more chocolate today!
Did you use fat free sweetened condensed milk? That will thin it. Adding more chocolate should help!
I’ve made this recipe twice now. Each time it simply tastes like melted chocolate chips. Very blah and not like fudge in anyway.
I was expecting it to be very sweet with the condensed milk but it was amazing that will be my go to fudge sauce from now on
This shouldn’t be called hot fudge sauce. Chocolate sauce, sure. It tastes like melted chocolate chips and nothing more. Not sure what I was expecting looking at the ingredients list but I was disappointed.
It was easy to make, and it worked for the recipe I needed, but it did not work like I hoped on ice cream. Once poured on, it just kind of solidifies. Have you ever had hot fudge sauce on vanilla ice cream, stir it up, and it becomes chocolate ice cream? That won’t work for this. I used it mainly for a layered dessert, and it was good for that.
To sweet, not enough fudgy chocolate
I found this recipe while looking for a quick hot fudge recipe. It was SOOO good! I came back on the website to print it out for future use. Thanks for sharing!
This hot fudge recipe is delicious!! I needed hot fudge sauce for a another recipe & it was a life saver. Definitely will be making this again!
The sauce is too thick. what can I put in it to thin it out?
You could add some heavy cream or half and half.
I was craving a hot fudge sundae. I followed your recipe with no substitutions. It was delicious and my children were over joyed. It taste amazing. I will be making this for years to come. Quick and simple.
I added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. I think it enhanced the flavor
Great tip!
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