Whether you call it low carb hot fudge sauce or low carb chocolate sauce, this easy sugar-free ice cream topping is insanely delicious! And it only takes 4 ingredients to make. Pour it over your favourite keto ice cream recipe. Updated with a how-to video.
Here we are in the dead of winter and I am craving ice cream. Granted, it’s not as cold in Portland as it was in Boston; it typically stays well above freezing and is often in the mid-40s by the middle of the day. But it’s still not exactly ice cream weather. It’s often rainy and windy and that damp chill gets into your bones and makes you wish you were home by the fire sipping a hot drink. So that doesn’t account for my strange cravings for the creamy cold stuff. And no, I am not pregnant. I’ve got my three and am thoroughly overwhelmed as it is, so don’t even go there! So what the heck is up with me?
Best Low Carb Chocolate Sauce Recipe
Well, the way I see it, the source of my sudden passion for ice cream is two-fold. First of all, I came across a larger ice cream maker at a second-hand store the other day for a fraction of the normal cost. It looked virtually brand new and I made sure the store had tested it to see if it worked. I snapped it up and brought it home and now the freezer canister is in the freezer, waiting for me to really give it a test drive. Thrift store and second hand store shopping is big in Portland and I love it. I usually pop in to look for interesting props for my food photography, but when I come across a find like that, I just have to jump at it. I may give away my old, smaller ice cream maker…or I may keep them both, who knows? (My husband is NOT a fan of that idea, but we shall see).
The other, more significant factor in my desire for ice cream is that I have developed a gorgeous recipe for low carb hot fudge sauce. It really is gorgeous…thick and velvety and chocolatey, and it pours over that ice cream, melting it just slightly as it goes, making delicious creamy, chocolatey puddles in the bottom of your bowl. Have I convinced you yet that you need to make this? You really, really do. And the best part is that you can adapt it in so many ways for interesting flavors. Consider mint extract instead of vanilla. Or orange extract! Or coffee, or raspberry, or caramel, or…oh, oh, the possibilities are endless. Can you see why I am craving ice cream?
I also wanted to give a little shout-out to a new low carb ice cream I recently discovered called Halo Top. Although I prefer to make my own ice cream most of the time, it’s something that requires a little forethought. You have to make the custard and cool the custard and make sure your ice cream canister is frozen and ready to go. But when those ice cream cravings hit, you aren’t always prepared that way. Halo Top is a nice change from most low carb ice cream products because it’s mostly sweetened with erythritol, not sucralose (it does have a little cane sugar too). A serving is 12 g of carbs, 4 of which are fiber and 4 of which are erythritol, so the net carb count comes in at a nice 4 g. That’s definitely doable for me in a pinch! And with a good dollop of my low carb chocolate sauce, it’s pure low carb dessert heaven.
The Best Low Carb Hot Fudge Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ⅓ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 2 ½ ounces unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together whipping cream and sweetener until combined. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
- Add chopped chocolate and let sit 5 minutes, until chocolate is completely melted. Add vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- Drizzle over your favorite low carb ice cream or use as chocolate fondue.
Notes
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Angela says
I just used this to make chocolate covered strawberries! Amazing! Hasn’t hardened up quite like normal chocolate covered strawberries-its is still a little fudgy so far. But it is still awesome! Thank you so much!
Victoria says
Hello! This looks great! A couple of questions…would this work without the sweetener? I don’t like to use any low /no calorie sweetener and like the flavor of just the chocolate. I would really like to make and refrigerate to put a bit in my coffee – do you think it would refrigerate well? Thanks so much!
Amy says
Hi Carolyn,
I posted over on the caramel recipe and certainly had to come over here as well. I am insulin resistant and eat a low to moderated carb diet. I have to be very careful of my sugar intake and am about to enter into the world of homemade sugar free ice cream. I made this and your caramel sauce and both are just divine! I am usually pretty sensitive to the “cooling sensation” of Swerve but in these recipes I don’t really detect it. I followed the recipes to the letter with the ingredients provided, no substitutions. Next I will be trying out your ice creams to go with these delicious sauces! Thanks for working so hard on all of your recipes. I certainly appreciate it! Thank you!
Carolyn says
I am so glad you like them! Thanks for your feedback.
Lisa says
Thank you, Carolyn, for another great recipe! The sauce thickened up nicely. I made a double batch because I was serving eight people. Guess what you do when your entire recipe won’t fit into a container! Dip strawberries! Yum!
Thanks again for all you do!
Lisa
Cypriene DeCuir says
I was searching for a chocolate recipe, that was low carb and sugar free, to use in a fat bomb recipe. A lot of fat bombs have wayyy too much coconut oil and I wanted to find something different! This recipe worked so well! I used heavy whipping cream, 100% cocoa (Ghirardelli brand), and Splenda instead of Swerve. I followed all directions in your recipe, once it was finished I poured half into my silicone molds then added unsweetened coconut (just enough to cover chocolate) then put a whole salted, roasted almond on top and topped them off with remaining chocolate mixture. Froze for an hour and they were done! The carbs are higher because of the coconut and almond but not by much!! Also, I don’t know if these would really be considered fat bombs, more of a sugar free, low carb treat! So super delicious, you must try it!
Carolyn says
Sounds delicious!
patricia says
I have to be dairy free. What could I sub for the whipping cream? This just looks so delicious!
Carolyn says
Full fat coconut milk works well but it’s a bit thinner in the end.
Caitlin McGowan says
This is basically how one would make a traditional chocolate sauce, it’s nice to know that the 90% cocoa bars I have actually don’t taste bitter at all when making this!
This stores nicely and tastes great by the spoonful straight out of the fridge. The texture when cold is almost like fudge, it’s amazing. Gently reheated and it’s a great chocolate pouring sauce again.
This is one blog I follow regularly and I like to comment when I make stuff! This recipe is great–tasty, simple, and basically no-fail.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Caitlin!
Jenessa says
This is soooo delicious. It does not last long in my fridge. I really do chow it with a spoon. (A spoonful of half peanut butter and half fudge? Sweet heaven.) Thank you so much!
Carolyn says
So glad you like it!
gillian says
another winner from your amazing kitchen. kids and us adults eat mostly Primal and this over some banana ice-cream was the bomb!!!! I think your recipes make everyone love me just a little bit more ha ha ha.
Carolyn says
<3
Stephanie Deal says
OH my goodness — I made this tonight and served it on top of the Halo Top vanilla bean ice cream! It is so luscious – I could just eat the chocolate sauce with a spoon!!! So rich and chocolate-y …… I just love this sauce so much AND dang, it was so easy to prepare!! Thanks again for another FAB recipe!!
Julina says
I agree with everyone. The best choc sauce, EVER!!! I always find both eryhtritol and stevia on it’s own has some form of aftertaste. But in combination, it’s magical.
Thanks again for yet another wonderful LCHF recipe?
bob paiva says
Please help me I’m looking for a way to make sugar free, low carb butter cream. Can you help
me?
Carolyn says
It’s pretty easy. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2013/11/vanilla-bean-coconut-flour-cupcakes-and-teaching-children-about-kindness.html
Vicki L says
Your recipe titled Best Low Carb Hot Fudge Sauce is truly the best. I made it today for the first time. It is wonderful, exactly like the ones I remember from my pre-diabetic days. The only change I made was to use THM Gentle Sweet. Thank you! I’m looking forward to trying the ice cream recipes next!
Carolyn says
Thanks, Vicki!
Sandra says
Your Hot Fudge Sauce recipe is excellent! I made ½ the recipe and used it as topping on 4 different deserts. My favorite was unsweetened strawberries and low carb vanilla ice cream. The richness of the chocolate sauce made it extraordinary and so satisfying. It is amazing one layer makes a dessert so special.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Farah says
omg i can’t wait to make this! you’re such an inspiration!! but i can’t find Swerve here in my country. can I substitute it with granular erythritol or liquid splenda instead? oh and when will it expire once we produce it- thinking of making them as gifts for my friends!! 😉
x
Carolyn says
Granular erythritol will work alright but you may get some recrystallization. This lasts a week or two in the fridge, as long as your cream is fresh when you make it.
Samara says
Is there s secret to thickening this sauce? I did a half recipe: 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/6 cup swerve, 1.25 oz 100%baking chocolate. Brought the swerve and cream to a simmer, took it off the heat, added the chocolate for 5 minutes, whisked in the 1/4 tsp vanilla. What I have is a (cooled) thick hot chocolate the texture of the cream. Definitely not fudge sauce. What is in this recipe to make it thicker than cream? Is the swerve supposed to caramelize? Thanks.
Carolyn says
No secret…usually when you add the chocolate and then it begins to cool, it gets very thick. Still pourable, but thick. I make this very often and mine is always much thicker than cream. If yours is too thin, I suppose you could add some cocoa powder.
Linda says
I’ve been doing low carb for 4 years now, and I crave chocolate at times. Made this recipe and it’s wonderful! I found that if I add just a little more chocolate, it gets thicker, almost like fudge when chilled. I keep a batch in the fridge and when the craving hits, I just eat a spoonful! So satisfying, I don’t need the ice cream! Thanks!
Carolyn says
You nailed it, actually. I’ve done fudge based on this very recipe! https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2014/11/easy-low-carb-chocolate-peanut-butter-cup-fudge.html
Molly says
Soooo I just had two bowls of ice cream….. :-/ dangerously delish indeed!!
Shirley says
We just tried your Perfect Low Carb Vanilla Ice Cream today and couldn’t believe how perfect the texture was! It was so smooth and creamy, even using regular Swerve! I had one of my senior moments and didn’t realize it said “powdered” Swerve until I was already well under way with the recipe. I put the ice cream in the freezer for about 2-3 hours before serving it, and it was perfectly scoopable with a nice, creamy texture! When making the Low Carb Sweetened Condensed Milk for this ice cream, you say to “simmer gently” for 1 1/2 hours to reduce mixture by half. I’m not sure if my heat was too low, but my mixture was only reduced by about 1/3 after close to 2 hours. I didn’t think the mixture should bubble, so I kept it below a boil the entire time. I went ahead and added that amount to the rest of the ice cream mixture, so it did make a really full batch that was right up to and slightly over the sides of the ice cream maker. I had planned to make your Hot Fudge Sauce today to go with it, but noticed that it also calls for the powdered Swerve. I didn’t want to push my luck, so will wait a few days to try it as I have some powdered Swerve ordered and it should be here any day. I was just wondering if you think this Hot Fudge Sauce could be used to turn your Perfect Vanilla Ice Cream into Fudge Ripple Ice Cream? I haven’t seen any low carb ice cream recipes for Fudge Ripple, and that was always one of my favorites. Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes and for sharing them with us!
Carolyn says
I think the fudge sauce would be perfect for a Fudge Ripple!
Karis says
You can probably powder your own erithritol in the VitaMix. I did that with xylitol. Similar product, so should work.
Lisa says
This is super easy and yummy. Today I made it a second time and decided to try it with coconut cream instead of whipping cream as I’m lactose intolerant. It turned out just as good. I poured it over your slow cooker chocolate cake for a lava cake taste! Enjoyed every healthy bite!
Carolyn says
Sounds delicious!