This luscious Keto Chocolate Sauce is smooth and creamy and full of rich, fudgy flavor. Drizzle it over your favorite keto ice cream for an amazing dessert experience!
Here we are in the dead of winter and I am craving ice cream. A big bowl of keto ice cream topped with ribbons of this luscious keto hot fudge sauce. It’s one of my favorite things in all the world.
You know those people who are always complaining that they are cold? I am one of those people. And yet, I could eat ice cream with hot fudge sauce any time of year. It doesn’t matter if it’s high summer and broiling, or dead winter and freezing. A sugar-free dessert like this makes me happy!
But it’s not just for ice cream. This keto chocolate sauce is so darn good, you can drizzle it over keto brownies, spread it on some keto chocolate chip cookies, or spoon it over keto cheesecake. Or you could just eat it with a spoon!
Why you will love this recipe
I first created this hot fudge sauce way back in 2015, and it was delicious. But much has changed in the intervening years and I wanted to see if I could make it better. Do I even need to tell you that it was a success?
This sauce is just as thick and velvety and chocolatey as it ever was. It pours over that ice cream, melting it just slightly as it goes, and becoming more fudgy as it cools against the frosty dessert.
But I also made it a little bit lighter in calories, and it stays gooier and softer. I switched out the sweetener so it no longer recrystallizes as it cools. And it’s easier to reheat.
And the best part is that you can adapt it for interesting flavors. Consider mint extract instead of vanilla. Or orange extract! Or coffee, or raspberry, or caramel. Can you see why I am craving ice cream?
Reader Reviews
“Very good recipe. I made this tonight and served it on top of low-carb vanilla ice cream with toasted pecans. My teenage daughter and I both thought it was delish!” — Tanya P.
“THE. BEST. FUDGE. SAUCE. EVER! I frankly eat it like pudding.” — Sheila B.
“Oh my goodness, I have now me this over and over. I keep the leftovers in the refrigerator. Swirl this in some low carb ice cream (no matter the flavor) it is to die for! Thank you!!!!!” — Nancy
Ingredient Notes
- Heavy whipping cream: This is the creamy base of the hot fudge sauce. You could also use coconut cream.
- Water: I used a little water to help thin the sauce and reduce the calories and fat a bit. Your ice cream provides plenty of that anyway!
- Allulose sweetener: The sweetener you use determines the final consistency of the sauce. You can use erythritol, but it will solidify and recrystallize as it cools. Allulose makes it more fudgy, and it stays creamy (although it still firms up).
- Butter: This helps the sauce thicken and also adds creaminess.
- Unsweetened chocolate: Make sure to choose chocolate that is 100% cacao, with no sweeteners at all. It is lower in carbs and also helps the fudge thicken and set properly.
- Espresso powder: This is optional but it really brings out the chocolate flavor.
- Pantry staples: Vanilla extract and salt.
Step by Step Directions
1. Add the wet ingredients: Combine the cream and water together a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sweetener and butter.
2. Simmer the mixture: Bring to a simmer, whisking until the sweetener dissolves. Cook 5 minutes, whisking frequently. Do not let it boil.
3. Add the chocolate: Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate and let sit 3 minutes, to melt. Add the vanilla extract, espresso powder, and salt, and whisk until smooth.
4. Use as desired: Drizzle over your favorite low carb ice cream or use as chocolate fondue. It can also be used to glaze cakes or donuts.
5. To rewarm: Place the desired amount of sauce in a bowl and microwave on 50% power in 20 second increments. You can also add the sauce to a heat-safe bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring frequently.
Tips for Success
As mentioned above, the sweetener you use makes all the difference. Allulose keeps this keto chocolate sauce softer and it won’t recrystallize. You can use other sweeteners but the consistency won’t be quite the same.
I prefer unsweetened chocolate for recipes like this, so I can control the sweetness and the consistency. Many sugar-free chocolate brands contain erythritol, and that will change the outcome.
I often add espresso powder to chocolate recipes to deepen and enhance the chocolate flavor. It does not make the recipes taste like coffee or mocha in small quantities, but it does bring out the best notes of the chocolate.
Different brands of unsweetened chocolate can affect how thick the sauce is. If you find your sauce not thickening up as it cools, whisk in a little cocoa powder (1 to 2 teaspoons). Alternatively, if it’s too thick, return to low heat and whisk in some cream. Different brands of unsweetened chocolate can
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a very different recipe than my Sugar-Free Chocolate Syrup. That recipe is made with water and cocoa powder, and is a thinner syrup similar to Hershey’s. It’s great for beverages and cocktails, although it works as an ice cream topping too. This Keto Hot Fudge Sauce is cream based and made with real chocolate, so it has a richer flavor and a velvety consistency. Both are great recipes!
Store this sugar-free chocolate sauce in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week. It It will firm up and become more like soft fudge in the fridge. To use, gently warm until melty.
This keto hot fudge sauce recipe has 3.9g of carbs and 1.9g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.0g net carbs for 2 tablespoons.
Serve this sugar free hot fudge sauce over:
Keto Chocolate Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup allulose sweetener
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder optional
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Whisk the cream and water together in a measuring cup. Pour into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sweetener and butter.
- Bring to a simmer, whisking until the sweetener dissolves. Cook 5 minutes, whisking frequently. Do not let it boil.
- Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate and let sit 3 minutes, to melt. Add the vanilla extract, espresso powder, and salt and whisk until smooth.
- Drizzle over your favorite low carb ice cream or use as chocolate fondue. It can also be used to glaze cakes or donuts.
Vicky says
I’ve made this with great success several times and enjoyed it YUM. This time however, the oil separated out and while it was still tasty, it was oily and goopy. Any ideas on what went wrong?
Carolyn says
Did you use the same brand of chocolate? Lower quality chocolate can do that. Also too much heat can cause that issue as well.
ilyse says
THIS IS SO GOOD! Seriously easy and unbelievably delicious! I have already had it on low carb ice cream, on strawberries, and with your cream cheese pancakes…yummm and thank you!
ilyse says
oh, and yes, off the spoon too…
Adele says
Best dark chocolate I have found is Lindt 90%. In Portland it is available at Fred’s, also Target, and most other markets.
Annette says
Carolyn could use use raw cacao powder or a mix of both. I have the unsweetened chocolate and also some totally awesome cacao powder fro tru vibe. Thanks in advance.
Carolyn says
I am not sure about the cacao powder but I’d say it’s worth a try.
Alli says
I made this tonight with raw cacao powder and cacao butter (1:1)- it was SPECTACULAR! I melted the cacao butter, whisked in the sweetener and cacao, and then whisked in the cream. Heaven. I froze the leftovers in muffin papers- I am hoping in the morning I will have milk chocolate cups!
Donna says
Do you ever make this ahead and store it in the fridge like Hershey’s topping? I am a big make-ahead cook! 🙂
Carolyn says
YES! But you do have to reheat it gently.
Lynn says
Reheat it in a double boiler? Could it be reheated in the microwave?
Carolyn says
It does not do that well in the microwave, it seizes easily. If you choose to do that, do it VERY gently, 10 seconds at a time, stirring in between.
Lori in PDX says
I came for the hot fudge sauce, but now I’m going to race off to New Seasons to find the Halo Top low carb ice cream!!! 😀
Karis says
Freddy’s has it too!
Donna says
Has anyone used this to make chocolate milk? Along that same line, has anyone made a lower carb “milk” by mixing half and half with some water? I saw this suggested on a FB page.
jacque says
I used the fudge sauce to make hot chocolate, added it to non-dairy milk and probably a splash of heavy cream and some strong instant coffee. I don’t know how much I used–started small and stopped when the taste was right. It didn’t take much, and it was sooo good. I don’t buy half & half, but I’ve combined heavy cream and water before–you might experiment with that.
Btw, the sauce is terrific with peanut butter swirled in for a super-quick Reese’s cup!!
Heidi says
I can’t wait to make this sauce. Your Low carb caramel sauce was a hit at my house this year over the holidays and it freezes well. I need a good low carb recipe for ice cream. I have tired several and my husband doesn’t mind the ice cream the first time (if it doesn’t have the cooling effect) but after it completely freezes it is normally so hard and icy when we want another scoop, another day. Any thoughts? I haven’t made any now for awhile becuase I feel like it just waste ingredients i.e. MONEY in the end for a product he won’t eat. The pictures always look amazing but they never seem to turn out quite the same as the pictures look.
Jill says
Heidi – this is my recipe and it stays scoopable for several days in my freezer. If it gets too hard 30 seconds on medium in the microwave will soften it just a bit. Hope this helps.
Soft Scoop Vanilla Ice Cream.
500 ml double cream (heavy cream)
4 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons Sukrin (erythritol)
1 tsp vanilla paste + 1tbsp vanilla essence
Whisk all together and bring to preboil in saucepan stirring all the time. As soon as it begins to thicken, remove from heat and plunge saucepan into 2″ cold water in sink. Stir as mix cools to prevent skinning. Whisk in 1/8 tsp Xanthan gum, 2 tbs Vodka and 1 tbs Glycerin.
Churn and Freeze.
Jen and Emily @ Layers of Happiness says
You are not alone – I have been craving ice cream lately too! Not just any ice cream – homemade ice cream! But I don’t have an ice cream maker. 🙁 I guess I’ll just have to go hunt around to score a deal like you did! This chocolate sauce looks delish! Pinned 🙂
Vicky says
Delucious! I made a half recipe last night, followed the recipe exactly (rather an achievement for me) and it came out perfectly. I certainly could not stop at just one serving! The Swerve cooling didn’t even bother me on this recipe. Love it! Oh, now that I think of it, I did add a few drops of chocolate extract in addition to the vanilla extract for fun. This could easily be flavored with any other extract– orange, hazelnut, mint… How I wish I could just eat all day long 🙂
Carolyn says
I know, it could be rather dangerous!
Melissa B says
Made this tonight – DELICIOUS! I only used a little on some SF icecream to test it out, so I’m trying to figure out what to make w the rest. Thank you for a great recipe!
Carolyn says
I’m so happy to hear that!
Donna says
Looks amazing! Love your blogs, and I share your recipes all the time! 🙂
1. How does that ice cream compare to Breyer’s Carb whatever….in taste? How about compared to Edy’s sugar free?
2. Do you think this will work with half and half? I have lots of extra half and half left from holiday baking! 🙂
Thanks!
Carolyn says
I’v only ever had Breyer’s Carb Smart and I personally could taste the sucralose. I am just not a fan of that.
I think half and half might make it to thin, but you could try it and maybe add 3 ounces chopped chocolate to help thicken.
Jan says
First of all, welcome to the NW, Carolyn! I have followed your blog for months now and thought it was so cool when you said you were moving this way. Hope you are adjusting well.
This chocolate sauce looks AHmazing! Anything chocolate and I’m all over it. I will make some soon when I have something yummy to pour it on!
Or maybe I should just make a hot chocolate from it? Now there’s a thought…
Amanda says
I could just drink this! Amazing!!!
Judith says
Hi Carolyn. Nice, simple recipe. Just what I like. I will be interested to hear about the ice cream maker….Several years ago, I found two new Krups machines in a thrift store..bigger than my current Cuisinart. I froze the canister in our deep freezer for days but it never really completely made ice cream but milk shake consistency. I had friends that had a small farm who had a Kitchen Aid canister who had the same problem. They left the canister in the freezer (I do that, as well), so lack of freezer time was not the issue.
I donated the machine back to the thrift store.
It seems that this problem has been solved since my IC21 makes perfect ice cream so it may depend on when your machine was made.
Keep us posted.
Pamela says
I made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly. My sauce is not nearly as dark or as thick as yours. It’s the color of milk chocolate and is thin enough to drizzle through a bottle with a small hole. I used Scharffen Berger 70% dark chunks. Any ideas why mine is not thick and dark like yours?
Carolyn says
Well, given that 70% chocolate is not the same as 100% unsweetened chocolate, I’d say that’s probably the culprit. Remember that anything that is not 100% cacao is going to have fillers and other things that change its consistency and its behaviour when melted.
Pamela says
Ah, Carolyn, thank you! I did not see that you used unsweetened chocolate. How dumb of me! So, I did not follow the recipe exactly, after all! I think I will melt some unsweetened chocolate and add it to it and I think I’ll like the taste better, too, as it’s a little too sweet for me, as it is, also. Thank you for kindly pointing out my mistake, Carolyn. Once again, I appreciate you so much!
Carolyn says
You can always add some cocoa powder to thicken it, that might offset the runniness and lightness. Make sure to sift your cocoa powder first, so it doesn’t clump in the sauce.
Steph says
Im having the same issue with runniness but i used 100% unsweetened chocoalte. Ideas?
Carolyn says
I guess the brand could be an issue but I’ve made this with a few different brands and it always thickens up. What sweetener are you using?
Arleen says
I had the same issue. I used 90% lindt chocolate. Mine was runny like milk and grey….
Carolyn says
Right, and that’s because you did not use unsweetened chocolate, as directed in the recipe.
Arleen Skidmore says
Ty Carolyn. For some reason I thought I could use it. Normally I use unsweetened baking chocolate. Not sure where this lindt came from…
Carolyn says
The best way I can explain it is…unsweetened chocolate, being pure cacao, has more fiber and so makes a thicker (and more chocolatey) sauce.
Zlatka says
What a simple and excellent recipe! Does it taste like milk or dark chocolate? Thanks!
Carolyn says
More like dark chocolate. Truly like hot fudge sauce.
Margeaux Vittoria says
I have some whipping cream that I need to use up – perfect!
Lynda says
What brand of unsweetened chocolate do you normally use?
Carolyn says
Ghirardelli.
Jan says
Ghiradelli is the best!! Amazing chocolate taste !! I make a chocolate ganache with bittersweet Ghiradelli and cream that is amazing.
jacque says
This recipe couldn’t be any simpler–makes me wonder why I couldn’t have thought of it! You constantly amaze me. I can’t wait to make this and spoon it over my plain Fage tonight.
I have semi-sweet choc chips left over from Christmas baking for my non-carb husband. I’m guessing I can make him some fudge sauce for his ice cream by using those and reducing the added sweetener/sugar. He’ll love it.
Carolyn says
I am sure the semi sweet chocolate will work, since I developed this recipe based off of some regular carb recipes!
KalynsKitchen says
Great photos, and this sounds amazing.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Kalyn!
Richard says
Please put more advertising on your site it’s almost too easy to scroll through.
Carolyn says
Please understand that this is my livelihood and as such, I am entitled to make a living. Thanks!
Kristi says
Hi Carolyn, What is the best way to store leftovers? (Assuming there are any!) Thanks for all you do!
Carolyn says
The fridge is best but warm it REALLLY gently up again as it has a tendency to seize.