Making sugar-free chocolate chips is surprisingly easy and takes only simple 5 ingredients. Make these homemade chocolate chips for a great low carb and dairy-free option! Great in all your keto cookies, cakes, and sweet treats. Instructional video included.
If you think you might have seen these before, you have. I’ve done homemade sugar-free chocolate chips before, but this version is better and holds up to all of your low carb baking. They hold their shape perfectly and they have a deep rich semi-sweet chocolate flavor. And they honestly take only a few minutes to whip up.
While there are several good brands of sugar-free chocolate chips on the market, they can be prohibitively expensive. I love Lily’s chocolate chips but I find myself balking at $7.49 a bag. They also aren’t dairy-free and they contain a little soy, which many people don’t like. As a reader recently asked me about whether I had a decent homemade alternative, I decided I had to take matters into my own hands. I can honestly say that I have made vast strides in low carb cooking and baking in the past few years and very often my experiments lead me to new discoveries about how certain ingredients behave. I find myself storing up these little tidbits in my brain for future use. And when the time is right, a whole new idea takes shape in my brain and I can hardly wait to test it out.
How to Make Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips
The last time I made chocolate chips, I made them with butter. They were good, to be sure, but definitely a little on the soft side and they needed to be stored in the fridge and then added to the recipe just prior to baking. And although delicious, they didn’t quite live up to that true chocolate-chip flavour I had in my mind. Still, they were a good approximation and I was satisfied. But since that time, I have been playing around with other ingredients in some recipes, including cocoa butter. Unlike butter or coconut oil, cocoa butter stays solid at room temperature and it takes a fair bit of work to make it melt. For a bar of chocolate or a chocolate chip, this is an excellent quality indeed.
I also made sure to thoroughly sift both the powdered Swerve and cocoa powder before adding it to the melted chocolate mixture. This made a significant difference to the end result and the chips were much less grainy. To really sift out all the lumps, simply set a bowl below a fine mesh sieve. Measure your sweetener or cocoa powder into the bowl and use a spoon to stir it around and scrape it through the holes in the sieve.
And now that someone has come along and invented chocolate chip molds, we can even make them chocolate chip shaped! Wooohooo! Heretofore, I had always simply poured the chocolate mixture into chocolate bar molds and then chopped them, making them into low carb chocolate chunks rather than chips. I have also use these honeycomb silicon trivets, which work well and give them a very distinct shape. You can even simply pour the whole mixture into a parchment lined pan and chop them up from there. But obviously the chip mold is fun to have and they look just like the real thing.
Any way you make them, these sugar-free chocolate chips were a huge success. They blew my original attempts out of the water. First, they firmed up perfectly and I found that they didn’t need to be refrigerated after the initial chilling to stay firm. Secondly, they tasted like REAL chocolate. And why shouldn’t they? REAL chocolate is made with cocoa butter and is part of what gives it the deep, intense chocolate flavour. I had a hard time saving any of my first batch for baking with, because I just kept eating a little handful here and a little handful there as I passed through the kitchen.
And these homemade sugar free chocolate chips bake well too, I am pleased to say. I added them to some brownies, and I also baked them up in my Keto Double Chocolate Muffins. They held their shape nicely and didn’t totally liquify and run all over the pan, as I feared they might. They certainly held up about as well as any bar of chopped dark chocolate I’ve ever used.
The low carb chocolate chips melt perfectly into sugar free desserts like my keto chocolate chip cookies and Chocolate Chip Cloud Cookies, and I bet they would be delicious in Kalyn’s flourless low sugar peanut butter chocolate cookies too.
Tips for homemade chocolate chips
- Melt the cocoa butter and unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler. If they are over direct heat, they are more likely to seize.
- Use quality unsweetened chocolate such as Ghirardelli or Scharffenberger. Cheap bakers chocolate tends to seize more and will have a grittier texture.
- Sift your powdered sweetener and your cocoa powder to get out all the lumps.
- Use chocolate chip molds, silicone trivets, or any chocolate mold to shape your chocolate. Be sure to refrigerate until completely firm. After that, they won’t need to stay in the freezer or the fridge.
Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- 3 oz cocoa butter
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate chopped
- ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener sifted
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt the cocoa butter and chocolate together until smooth.
- Stir in the sifted powdered erythritol, then stir in the cocoa powder, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
- Pour into chocolate molds or spread in an 8x8 pan lined with parchment paper.
- Refrigerate until set, then remove from the molds or chop into small chunks.
Video
Cici says
I’ve made these before & they’re great. Do you have a white chocolate chip recipe? I have been unable to source Lilly’s butterscotch chips for your magic bars & I wanted to try to make my own.
Carolyn says
They won’t hold up in baking at all so I don’t recommend. No matter how hard I have tried, they also don’t really taste like white chocolate.
Anna says
I’ve been baking Keto dessert recipes for the past three years and this is hands down the best brownie recipe I’ve tried, and believe me, I’ve tried lots. I didn’t even make a frosting for them nor did I add the chocolate chips. I just took them out of the oven at 15 minutes and let them cool. You’re right, the gelatin is certainly responsible for the great crumb. For the sweetener, I used 3/4 cup allulose and 1/4 cup Swerve by the way. Fabulous! Thank you.
Mila says
Hello! I cannot get unsweetened baking chocolate anywhere, we only have sweetened. Was wondering can I use cocoa mass/ chocolate liquor instead?
Carolyn says
There is a way to sub cocoa powder and oil (preferably cocoa butter). I think you can google that ratio. Not sure it will make the best chips, though.
Teresa A Powell says
If a recipe calls for melted chocolate chips, can I do that with these?
Carolyn says
Yes but melt them with care as they can seize more easily. Double boiler style is best.
Baker Judy says
I can’t thank you enough, Carolyn! Although the Lily’s is considered vegan, the package certification says it’s dairy. See the U with a circle around it near the recipe on the back. that’s the certification of the Orthodox Union. They have a D next to it, which means dairy.
I need a dairy free, sugar free kosher chocolate chip. Which is why I was so dissappointed that I couldn’t make a chocolate chip dessert last week. I will make these chips.
We loved eating the Swerve brownies at a recent Sabbath dinner, but can’t spend $14 a mix. So I’m on the hunt for a chocolate replacement.
Baker Judy says
Still working on this. I called Baker’s unsweetened chocolate. That label says it may have milk. Definitely why the dairy certification. I called the kosher certifying agency.
I checked the Lily’s label more closely. It’s labeled dairy because it’s made on machinery that may have had dairy products made on it. I need to consider this.
Part of the reason I checked back here is because I wanted to see if I called the kosher certifying organization for Lily’s. Maybe I didn’t.
I’ve made quite an investment in cocoa butter and the molds, so I hope to make this!
Thank you for all your great recipes.
Elizabeth L. says
I forgot to mention in my earlier rave review of this recipe that I used good old-fashioned Baker’s chocolate and it turned out perfectly! Just remember to melt your chocolates using a double boiler. For me that means a glass bowl over pot of boiling water. So easy!
Elizabeth L. says
Thank you! This recipe is a game-changer! I can make almost the same amount of chocolate for less than half the price of Lily’s chocolate chips! The first time I made this I forgot to use the double boiler so my chocolate seized but it was still pretty good. Just very thick. The second time was almost perfect but I forgot to sift my powdered sweetener. The texture and taste were spot-on, just a little bit gritty due to my lack of sifting the sweetener. So incredibly creamy! The third time should literally be the charm, haha! My non-keto husband loves the recipes of yours that I make because they are indistinguishable from sugar-sweetened recipes. You truly have a gift for sugar-free baking! Thank you again!
Denise Freitas says
I made a recipe of these tonight and am absolutely delighted. I don’t eat a lot of Keto treats, but I will make a recipe of chocolate chip cookie dough to freeze and bake as needed. These were easy and so much less than purchasing them from the store. I got 9 1/8 oz out of the recipe. I found the molds on sale at Amazon and will use them for years to come. Thanks!
Joanne says
What can I use to replace unsweetened chocolate? They don’t sell that here in my country..
Carolyn says
I’m sorry… this recipe requires it.
Beth says
Hi, I am hoping to try this recipe as I cannot get good choclate chips where I live here in Peru, much less sugar free ones! I also cannot get cocoa butter – could you tell me how you used butter instead? I can get good unsweetened 100% cacao bars to use, and cocoa powder. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Sorry but cocoa butter is vital to this recipe because it’s solid at room temperature, whereas butter is not.
Vivian says
What would be the difference if I used dark chocolate cocoa instead of regular?
Vivian says
Can I use dark cocoa instead of regular?
Sarah says
Are the ounces in this recipe volume or weight?
Thanks!
Sharon says
Is it possible to use just cocoa butter and bar baking chocolate instead of adding the powdered chocolate as well?
Carolyn says
It doesn’t thicken enough.
Leslie says
I LOVE these! I swap the cocoa and swerve amounts so they are less bitter and more sweet. (1/2 cup cocoa and 2/3 cup powdered swerve). I roll them thin between parchment paper. After being in the frig for 10 minutes i score/cut them into tiny squares. Back into the frig for 20 minutes. They are then very manageable to break up and store. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!
Nancy Gray says
I’m so happy!!
Lily’s chips DO NOT agree with my GI track and I thought I’d have to give up chocolate. Joy! Joy!
Jin B says
This may be a dumb question, but you list 3 oz. cocoa butter and 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped. Are these amounts by weight or by volume?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
Weight.
shannon says
Hi, a couple of questions… Why cocoa butter and cocoa powder AND unsweetened chocolate? I’m no expert but that seems a little redundant.
Also, do these turn out just like Lilys? I find Lilys don’t have quite the same texture as regular chocolate chips. They are a bit crunchier and go back to that state when they are cooled after baking (not quite as crunchy but more so than regular ones.
I was thinking of trying allulose and swerve combined. I wonder if that might solve the texture issue.
Carolyn says
Why? Because it works. I experimented a lot on this. No, it’s not redundant, it simply works. They are darker than Lily’s in flavour and colour.
Dee Gee says
My husband, who is not low carb, says your sugar free chocolate beats the pants off Lilly’s
Carolyn says
That’s a lovely compliment!
Mary says
Thanks for the recipe: I’ve been trying to make chocolate bars with unsweetened chocolate and can’t get the bitter taste out of it. I can’t use any of the alcohol sweeteners, because they just don’t agree with me. so I tried just straight monk fruit powder and stevia, no matter how much I kept adding I could not get rid of the bitterness, lessened it somewhat, but not quite enough for my taste. I’ll try it using the cocoa butter and powder in this recipe. I usually keep reg chocolate cookies on hand for my friend but when I get a craving for chocolate I cheat. lol not too often. However, even once makes me feel guilty.