Homemade chocolate syrup that’s sugar free and keto friendly – this stuff is pure chocolate bliss and it stays pourable! This easy keto chocolate sauce is the perfect dessert topper and takes only 15 minutes to make. Drizzle it over your favorite low carb ice cream, or stir into your favorite beverages for chocolate milk!
I’m so excited for this recipe, I am doing that happy dance. If only you could see me now, gloating and giggling madly about my homemade sugar free chocolate syrup. It’s a Hershey’s copycat recipe that tastes like the real thing with no junk!
And best of all, it doesn’t harden or recrystallize. It really stays pourable and perfect for as long as it lasts. Which, with my kiddos around, isn’t very long. They loved it and I’ve made promises to them that I will make it any time they ask.
It’s crazy easy to make, too, and whips up in about 15 minutes flat, using only 5 ingredients. So I won’t mind making batch after batch after batch. As long as it keeps the kids happy, right?
Let’s be honest, it keeps mama pretty happy too.
Keep in mind, this is not the same as my Low Carb Hot Fudge Sauce. That recipe is meant to be thick and fudgy, the sort of sauce that becomes almost chewy when it hits the cold ice cream. This keto chocolate syrup is cocoa bases, thinner and pourable. It really is like Hershey’s syrup, but a whole lot healthier!
Chocolate Syrup Inspiration
If it’s so easy to make, why hadn’t I tried before? Well, it all comes down to the different properties of low carb sweeteners. You know I love Swerve as my preferred sweetener for baking. But it just won’t work in a liquid application such as this. It re-crystallizes too much.
But lately I’ve been experimenting with other sweeteners such as allulose and Bocha Sweet. These are both very useful in their own right but they also have their limitations. I find that for baking, they have a tendency to make things too soft. I used half allulose in a cookie recipe a few weeks ago and they were very cake-y. Not the crisp chewy cookie I was going for!
And while Bocha Sweet has been a godsend, I tried it in meringues and they never EVER firmed up. They were like goo that we had to peel off the parchment paper.
What I’ve learned is that all low carb sweeteners have their advantages and disadvantages. What’s most important is to harness the advantages of one and play it off against the others. Sometimes that means mixing sweeteners to get the right consistency, and sometimes that means using one sweetener over another.
To create a true syrup that stays pourable, I knew I had to skip the Swerve, so I decided to try allulose. I found a good conventional recipe for copycat Hershey’s syrup and followed the method pretty closely, boiling the water, cocoa, and sweetener until it thickened.
And it worked perfectly!
Tips for Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup
Use the right sweetener: This is of the utmost importance to the outcome of the recipe. You need a sweetener that thickens and doesn’t recrystallize. Your options include allulose, Bocha Sweet, or xylitol. Erythritol based sweeteners won’t work.I’ve noticed for a long time that the more you heat erythritol in a liquid application, the MORE it tends to recrystallize.
If you want to save money and find the allulose or Bocha Sweet too expensive, you can cut it with some erythritol but I wouldn’t do more than half. Both allulose and Bocha Sweet stay so soft and liquid, they may help offset the recrystallization, although it may still happen a bit.
Use good quality cocoa powder: Don’t use raw cacao powder. It’s very hard to get it to whisk into liquids and it’s more bitter same as a good Dutched cocoa powder. For this recipe, I used Rodelle Organic, but I also recommend Ghirardelli or Guittard.
Don’t forget the salt! Salt helps enhance and intensify chocolate flavors, so don’t skip it. Don’t skip the vanilla either.
Let it boil: After it’s all whisked together, let it come to a boil and cook undisturbed for a bit to thicken. You do need to watch it carefully, turning down the heat if it’s in danger of boiling over. It should begin to bubble very thickly as it gets close to being done.
Let it cool: It will continue to thicken as it sits. Then you can store it in the fridge or even on the counter for a few days. There isn’t anything in it that will spoil and ours was fine for a week. Any longer than that and I’d say keep it in the refrigerator. You may need to gently re-warm it to help it be pourable.
How to Use Homemade Chocolate Syrup
It’s delicious drizzled over ice cream, cheesecake, or any kind of keto dessert! And it mixes in easily with milk, coffee and other beverages. It makes a spectacular mocha.
We did find that for something that wasn’t already sweetened, such milk or coffee, you needed to add a bit of additional sweetener to your taste. I don’t want to change the amount of sweetener in the actual recipe, since it was plenty sweet when drizzled over ice cream.
My youngest went wild for this and she loved making chocolate almond milk. We simply added a few drops of liquid stevia to get the sweetness right for her. She also tried it drizzled over a keto biscuit but that wasn’t hugely successful. Hey, I give her props for trying!
What will you do with your sugar free chocolate syrup?
My Favorite Easy Keto Chocolate Recipes
Keto No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake
Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup allulose (see recipes notes for substitutions)
- ⅔ cup good quality cocoa powder (I like Rodelle)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, whisk together water, sweetener, cocoa powder, and salt. Continue to whisk until well combined.
- Bring to a boil and let cook, not stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes, until it's thickened. Watch it carefully so it doesn't boil over. It will bubble very thickly when it's ready.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla. Whisk to combine. Let cool half an hour before transferring to a jar or bottle.
- Pour over ice cream or stir into your favorite low carb milk. If adding to milk, you may need to add a bit more sweetener to taste.
Notes
Terry Long says
Easy to make a very good!
Cherri Allen says
Carolina you did it again! This recipe is so easy and tastes amazing! Can wait to put it on your vanilla ice cream recipe.
Teresa says
OMG thank you thank you thank you thank you . . .
Diane says
This is the best! And I always add more sweetener. I eat it right off the spoon and I love it because it’s intensely chocolate, low calorie and low fat. Thank you!
Carolyn says
Glad you enjoy it!
Patti Grunberg says
Hi Carolyn, are you referring to the liquid allulose in this recipe or the granular? Thanks!
Carolyn says
Granular. Always assume granular unless otherwise specified.
VICTORIA K GAYTON says
Hi, there. First, I’m grateful for all the marvelous recipes and insights into the low-carb/keto way of eating that you provide! Pretty much everything I bake–and a lot of what I cook–comes from you, so big thanks for sharing your expertise and creativity.
I’m hoping you might be able to suggest a replacement for Karo syrup. (I’m trying to revise my high-carb chocolate raspberry brownies with chocolate ganache recipe, and the ganache calls for 2 T. Karo syrup. It makes a huge difference, else I’d just sub it out for your ganache.)
I thought I was set until I saw that ChocZero doesn’t make vanilla syrup anymore. So I’m stuck for a good alternative unless I make it myself–which I’ll do if I have to, but it would be great if something with Karo’s consistency is already around. I haven’t had much luck on Netrition or any other site, so maybe a fool’s errand. If your time permits and you know of a viable alternative for Karo syrup, I’d be grateful to know.
Carolyn says
ChocZero has other syrups, though! Or you could try liquid allulose.
VICTORIA K GAYTON says
Thank you so much, Carolyn; I love ChocZero syrups, but none of them are right flavor-wise for the ganache. I will give the liquid allulose a try!
Tami says
HELP!!! I read through the older reviews and saw a few other people were also having trouble with their chocolate syrup burning. My first attempt ended up burning to the bottom of the pan. I used a very heavy pan and a gas stove. But I don’t want to give up on this recipe. So my second attempt I turned the heat down to low rather than medium. Same results. I have a question…. do you think maybe it’s the cocoa powder I used? I use Ghirardelli Majestic premium cocoa powder. The recipe thickened up very quickly once it heated. And I think cooking it the additional 4 minutes may have just been too long? Mine didn’t bubble up very much at all. I had no worries about it boiling over the saucepan. Perhaps mine just needs less time cooking. Any ideas or experience working with this cocoa powder?
Carolyn says
Maybe? I’ve never heard of that particular variation of Ghirardelli. But if it thickened up that quickly, then yes, it needs less cook time.
Tami says
I wasn’t giving up on making this. It is indeed that particular brand of cocoa powder that caused me all the problems. After doing some checking, Ghirardelli Majestic has 20-22% cocoa butter . Perhaps that was the problem. I tried this recipe with just a regular dark chocolate cocoa powder that I bought from my local bulk food store. It did not burn. It bubbled up when I cooked it for the 4-5 minutes. It was absolutely perfect! And it clings to a glass to make fancy swirls for a cocktail or smoothie too. I tried it in a cup of coffee for a mocha flavor and it was so good. Love this recipe. I can’t wait to see what else I will use this for.
Carolyn says
Well thank you for experimenting and for reporting back. That is EXCELLENT information!
Josephine says
Hello! Do you think this syrup would work for making chocolate peppermint martinis?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not!
Tami says
That sounds absolutely fantastic. Did you try it?
Kenny says
Doesn’t xylitol recrystallize? At least I thought it did, Allulose is so expansive in Canada, bocha sweet as well. Xylitol isn’t to bad but will it work?
Carolyn says
Xylitol should work, but I can’t guarantee it.
Theresa says
Can I freeze and unthaw when needed?
Carolyn says
I honestly haven’t tried!
GEORGENE HARKNESS says
I have made this recipe enough times that I am VERY confident in saying that this is the BEST sugar-free chocolate syrup recipe I have EVER made, over a period of years. I keep it in my fridge for everything. If I can’t think of anything to use it for on any particular day, I do some recipe searching so I don’t miss out on my favorite chocolate syrup (just like in the bad old days when I’d take the “real” Hershey’s syrup bottle and pour it on anything and everything). In times of REAL desperation, I’ve been known to resort to pouring some on a spoon and eating it nekkid. 🙂
Good stuff! Literally CANNOT beat it.
Debbie says
I made this yesterday. wow!! This taste like BOSCO chocolate syrup!!! .. but without the carbs and sugar. Its so good. The only 2 things I did differently was add 2 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate and 1/4 tsp of xatham gum. I wanted my syrup to be a little bit thick. It came out PERFECT. Thank you so much for a WONDERFUL RECIPE!!!