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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!

hot fudge sauce with spoon dripping


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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!

hot fudge sauce on ice cream

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!

Ice cream cartons stacked with a jar full of chocolate sauce

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.
hot fudge sauce in jar

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.

Storing homemade hot fudge sauce

As much as I’d like to use 2 cups of hot fudge all at once, there’s no way I can do that. The great thing about this recipe is that you can chill and reheat it whenever you need to. Simply store it, covered, in the refrigerator, then microwave or heat in a small saucepan until it’s thin enough to pour. Hot fudge whenever you want it!

hot fudge sauce with spoon dripping

Favorite Recipes using liquid fudge:

hot fudge sauce in jar

5-minute Hot Fudge Recipe

4.90 from 442 votes
Easy 5-minute Hot Fudge sauce is the perfect ice cream sundae topping. Just 3 ingredients and you have an easy chocolate sauce recipe!
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Yield 2 cups
Serving Size 1 jar
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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
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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

Serving: 1jar | Calories: 1258kcal | Carbohydrates: 155g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 63g | Saturated Fat: 38g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 263mg | Potassium: 1247mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 141g | Vitamin A: 925IU | Vitamin C: 5.2mg | Calcium: 619mg | Iron: 6.1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

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hot fudge collage


Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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4.90 from 442 votes (342 ratings without comment)

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215 Comments

  2. It was definitely quick and easy, but disappointing compared to the homemade hot fudge of my childhood – the cocoa and sugar recipe. Like other reviewers, the chocolate flavor was lacking. I used Toll House chips. Once poured over ice cream, it cooled immediately and was thick, sticky and chewy. Had to be forcefully scraped from the bottom of the bowl and had to soak the spoon in my mouth to get all the chocolate off. Wasn’t a fan. I didn’t even finish my serving.

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  3. I was in a hurry and decided to try this recipe as a shortcut. It wasn’t very chocolatey and was super thick and almost chewy. Next time I’ll go back to my original recipe with unsweetened cocoa, butter, milk, and sugar.

    Reply