Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce

Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce –  You’d never guess this gorgeous chocolate sauce is dairy free! It’s exactly what you want on an ice cream sundae–thick, chocolatey, and perfectly sweet. 

For his birthday this year, Michael requested brownie sundaes. It had been YEARS since I’d had one, and I knew that while I have an amazing brownie recipe, and know all about great dairy free ice cream options (see my notes below), I really needed a good hot fudge sauce recipe.

But…we needed one that was dairy free.

So after some delicious trial and error, we perfected the recipe. This vegan hot fudge? Totally amazing. It’s gooey, rich, chocolatey, and close-your-eyes-while-you-eat-it good. Here’s what makes it special…

First off, it has that amazing almost “chewy” quality that’s what makes hot fudge so gloriously different than a hard magic shell topping. It’s the kind of sauce that’ll slowly drip down the sides of your ice cream, so that when you take a bite, you get delicious warm brownies, cold creamy ice cream, and thick, gooey hot fudge sauce that’ll make you want to shout amens and hallelujahs.

Second, I was able to make it without using corn syrup (which is how many recipes achieve that gloriously decadent texture). I swapped it out for brown rice syrup, which is literally just made from boiling down brown rice to make a syrup. It’s more mildly sweet and has caramel-y notes I just love. We also use it to make our homemade granola bars and homemade scotcheroos. It helps make the sauce nice and thick (it won’t be completely solid, even in the fridge).

Chocolate chips finish the job, by adding a final layer of chocolate-y goodness. It’s easier and easier to find dairy free chocolate chips these days. (I love the Guittard dark chocolate chips and Enjoy Life brands). They’re absolutely lovely here, and you can use whatever chocolate you prefer–I like semi-sweet or dark.

Related: The Perfect Gluten Free Brownies

I hope when you try this, you’re as happy with it as we are. It’s a mega favorite here, drizzled over ice cream, brownies, or even over fresh fruit. (It’s INCREDIBLE with strawberries, raspberries, and bananas!)

Notes on this Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce:

My Favorite Dairy Free Ice Cream – I REALLY need to do a full post about different dairy free ice creams, but one brand I consistently recommend is NadaMoo. The texture is really lovely. It’s soft and scoop-able, when many other dairy free ice creams can be hard and icy. They have LOTS of yummy flavors–I find it at Sprouts or Whole Foods.

Can I substitute…? I’ve tested this a lot, and here’s what you can and can’t substitute:

• Milk – you can use just about any dairy free milk. Coconut milk will give you a thicker result and the coconut flavor will come through taste-wise. I prefer using almond or cashew since they’re more neutral. I recommend unsweetened.
• Brown Rice Syrup – the only substitute you could swap here is corn syrup. It’ll give you that almost “chewy” texture that store-bought or traditional sauces have, but I really don’t use it any more. Do know, it will be VERY sweet if you use corn syrup. You can’t use honey, maple syrup, or agave. The end result will be too sweet and too thin.
• Coconut Sugar– any granulated sweetener you like will work. Brown sugar gives a really nice flavor, or you can always use white sugar or maple sugar. I haven’t tested this with stevia or erythritol, etc.
• Coconut oil – My husband didn’t notice a strong coconut flavor in this, but if you’re allergic or don’t love coconut oil, you can swap in vegan butter. (Don’t be tempted to skip it all together–If you skip the oil/vegan butter, your sauce will be too thin.)

How to Store & Reheat – This makes about 2 cups of sauce, which is PLENTY. It’ll keep in the fridge at least a week. You can reheat it all together in the jar or container you’re storing it in, or you can pull out a few tablespoons at a time. To microwave, go slowly, microwaving 20 seconds at a time, stirring regularly to avoid scorching. To heat on the stovetop, simply reheat over low heat in a saucepan.

Need a Vegan Brownie Recipe? I haven’t tried them, but these gluten free & vegan brownie cups look perfect!

Loving This? You’d Probably Love…

• Vegan Chocolate Pudding (THE BEST! Paleo approved, too!)
• Vegan Chocolate Birthday Frosting
• Chocolate Cherry Smoothies (Paleo or Vegan)
• Healthy Snickers Shake (Paleo or Vegan)
• Healthy Homemade Fudgecicles (Paleo or Vegan)

Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce

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• Author: Emily
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 2 cups
• Category: dessert
• Method: stovetop

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Description

You’d never guess this gooey chocolate sauce is dairy free! Rich, chocolatey, and delicious, it’s everything hot fudge sauce should be! 

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Ingredients

• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• pinch salt (about 1/8 tsp)
• 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
• 1/3-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk–see notes!)
• 1 cup dairy free chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

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Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine coconut oil, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, salt, brown rice syrup, and 1/3 cup almond milk.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer 3-5 minutes to thicken, whisking regularly.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla. Whisk to dissolve chocolate and continue whisking until glossy, thick, and smooth. Taste and add additional salt, as desired.
5. Cool 10-15 minutes before serving. Note: sauce WILL THICKEN more as it cools.
6. If your sauce seems thicker than you like, add a few more tablespoons of almond milk to thin it out.
7. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator about 1 week. (See notes about reheating leftovers)

Notes

Can I substitute…? I’ve tested this a lot, and here’s what you can and can’t substitute:

• Milk – you can use just about any dairy free milk. Coconut milk will give you a thicker result and the coconut flavor will come through taste-wise. I prefer using almond or cashew since they’re more neutral. I recommend unsweetened.
• Brown Rice Syrup – the only substitute you could swap here is corn syrup. It’ll give you that almost “chewy” texture that store-bought or traditional sauces have, but I really don’t use it any more. Do know, it will be VERY sweet if you use corn syrup. You can’t use honey, maple syrup, or agave. The end result will be too sweet and too thin.
• Coconut Sugar– any granulated sweetener you like will work. Brown sugar gives a really nice flavor, or you can always use white sugar or maple sugar. I haven’t tested this with stevia or erythritol, etc.
• Coconut oil – My husband didn’t notice a strong coconut flavor in this, but if you’re allergic or don’t love coconut oil, you can swap in vegan butter. (Don’t be tempted to skip it all together–If you skip the oil/vegan butter, your sauce will be too thin.)

How to Store & Reheat –

This makes about 2 cups of sauce, which is PLENTY. It’ll keep in the fridge at least a week. You can reheat it all together in the jar or container you’re storing it in, or you can pull out a few tablespoons at a time. To microwave, go slowly, microwaving 20 seconds at a time, stirring regularly to avoid scorching. To heat on the stovetop, simply reheat over low heat in a saucepan.