Homemade Chocolate Chips (Dairy-Free with Sugar-Free Option)
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These homemade chocolate chips are easy to make from scratch and are dairy-free with a sugar-free/low-carb option for healthier baking. If you love chocolate but want to avoid refined sugar, this recipe gives you rich, melty chocolate chips you can feel good about using in cookies, cakes, muffins, pancakes, or just eating plain.
Yes, I’m talking about delightful little morsels of chocolaty goodness—without any problematic sugar. These homemade sugar-free chocolate chips satisfy cravings without the sugar hangover, and will save you a ton of money over buying specialty chocolate chips online or at the store.
Not only that, but I've got not just one, but three ways for you to make your own homemade chocolatey morsels, and one of them is frugal beyond belief.
There's simply no need to spend a fortune on healthy chocolate chips when, with just a few basic ingredients you can have a stash of delicious sugar-free chocolate chips for using in your favorite recipes or enjoyed straight out of the bag.
Why Make Homemade Chocolate Chips?
Control Over Ingredients: You want to avoid dairy or sugar or artificial additives that are in store-bought chocolate chips.
Save Money: Let's face it—specialty chocolate chips are not cheap. I've seen them cost $7 for only 9 ounces (that's $13 a pound!) or even more!
Last Minute Substitute: If you've run out of chips when baking, save yourself a trip to the store and make these instead.
3 Versions for Homemade Chocolate Chips
Main Cocoa Butter Recipe
The main recipe that we use almost all the time for homemade chocolate chips uses cocoa butter, cocoa, sweeteners, and a few more special ingredients. They taste amazing. In fact, I've been told by a friend that this is the best chocolate she's ever had and others have commented about how good it is.
They hold up better in baked goods if you freeze them first, but either way, they work much better than the coconut oil version that's popular on many healthy food blogs.
There are times, however, when you might want to try another version depending on what you have on hand and what you want to use them for.
Coconut Oil Chocolate Chips for No Bake Treats
This is a super easy recipe, but it's best for snacking and making no-bake treats.
These chocolate chips do not hold their shape when baking. Some say you can freeze coconut oil-based chocolate chips before baking to help them hold up, and it worked once for me, but I've tried it numerous times since, and it's never worked since.
In fact, if you use a baking stone, here's the melted mess you'll end up with, in addition to melted burnt chocolate chips all over the bottom of your oven.
2 Ingredient Shortcut Method
Another super easy recipe using just unsweetened chocolate and a little bit of sweetener. Perfect for all your homemade keto baked goods.
Ingredients & Equipment
Here is some information on some of the ingredients for all 3 versions. For the amounts, scroll down to the Recipe Card.
- Coconut Oil: (or any solid healthy fat. I really like Nutiva brand.)
- Cocoa Butter
- Cocoa: Use carob (I prefer toasted) for AIP. The Rodele Cocoa I link to is our favorite; you'll definitely want to stock up when they have it at Costco. They also have an organic version on Amazon. If you use carob, you'll want to reduce the sweetener some because carob has some inherent sweetness.
- Sweetener: Both liquid and granulated work fine, but you should powder granulated sweetener for these recipes. Options include stevia extract (for AIP), xylitol, and erythritol, or coconut sugar. You can even use maple syrup or honey. Anything goes!
- Vanilla Extract
- If using stevia extract, these measuring spoons are a must-have.
- Molds: You'll need chocolate chip molds unless you're making chunks.
How To Use Homemade Chocolate Chips
You can use these keto-friendly chocolate chips for baking and in any kind of regular or keto recipe where you'd use chocolate chips. Just choose the right version for whatever you're making.
Use these in:
- chocolate chip cookies
- as a topping or layered in with frosting for on cake or cupcakes
- as an ice cream mix-in or topper
- in or on puddings like keto chocolate chia pudding
- mixed in or on top of regular or no-bake brownies
- in a trail mix or crunchy granola
- in edible chocolate chip cookie dough
- in muffins
- in pancakes
- melted to make a dark chocolate bark, a chocolate drizzle on cookies (as seen on these no-bake coconut cookies), or other chocolate treats
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
- Pretty much any healthy sweetener can be used for these recipes. Low-carb sweetener options include organic erythritol, allulose, stevia extract, or xylitol to taste. Use honey, maple syrup, or sucanat or coconut sugar. If you use a liquid sweetener, note that honey and maple syrup are sweeter, so you'll want to use a quarter to one-third less.
- For AIP (or to avoid the stimulating effect of cocoa), use carob instead of cocoa. If you do use carob, you'll want to reduce the sweetener by about 1/4 to 1/3, since carob is sweeter.
Molds for Making Homemade Chocolate Chips
Most of the time I make Homemade Chocolate Chunks instead of chips, since it's sooo easy. Here's what they look like.
However, if you want to make cute Homemade Chips like those in the main photos of this post, get these molds!
Or these:
Webake 202 Cavity Chocolate Chip Mold (2 pack)
Make Homemade Chocolate Chips (and more) with these great flexible, easy release, easy clean chocolate chip molds. You get 2 molds in each pack so you can make lots of chips at once!
Oven, freezer, microwave, and dishwasher safe. You can also use these molds to make all kinds of flavors of chips, homemade gummy canies, as well as homemade pet food and more.
Delicious Flavor Variations
These homemade low-carb chocolate chips are so delicious as is, but you can make your own sugar-free flavored chips too. Here are some options:
- Mint – Add a few drops of peppermint oil or extract
- Coconut – Add a few drops of coconut extract
- Spicy – Toss in a few drops of Tabasco or chili powder or chili flakes as desired
- Peanut Butter – Add some peanut butter powder to the chips
- Berry – Add in some berry powder or ground freeze-dried berries
- Almond – Add a few drops of almond extract
- Orange – Add a few drops of orange extract
- Milk Chocolate – Add about 1 tablespoon of powdered milk to the melted chocolate, stirring gently
How to Store
You can store these easy homemade chocolate chips in several ways, depending on what version you make. The coconut oil version will need to be stored in the fridge or freeze if your home is over 73°F. The other two versions can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge or freezer.
Homemade Chocolate Chips (Dairy-Free with Sugar-Free Option)
Ingredients
Homemade Chocolate Chips Main Recipe
- 1 cup cocoa butter (about 6 2/3 ounces)
- 1 cup cocoa
- 1/4 cup powdered sweetener or alternative
- 1/16 teaspoon stevia extract powder or alternative equivalent to 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chocolate extract (optional but recommended)
- 1/2 tablespoon granulated instant coffee (optional but recommended)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional but highly recommended)
Coconut Oil Version for No Bake Recipes
- 1 cup coconut oil (or any solid healthy fat)
- 1 cup cocoa
- 3 tablespoons sweetener
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional but recommended)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional but recommended)
Shortcut 2 Ingredient Method
- 2 ounces quality unsweetened dark chocolate
- 2 tablespoons powdered sweetener
Instructions
Main Recipe
- Melt cocoa butter over very low heat in a medium pan.
- Transfer cocoa butter to a medium bowl. Let cool for a minute or two.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix well. I've used my Bamix immersion blender with great success. You could also put the mixture in a blender, but clean up will be messier.
- Blend with an immersion blender. if you have one, to insure that the mixture is blended well.
- Make chunks or chips as desired. See Recipe Notes for more details.
Coconut Oil Version
- Melt coconut oil over a very low heat. Remove from heat.
- Stir in cocoa, sweetener, and vanilla. (If you heat over too high of a heat or don't remove from the heat, the coconut oil will separate from the cocoa when cooling. You can still eat it, but it won't be as smooth.)
- Make chips or chunks as desired. More information is in the Recipe Notes.
Shortcut 2 Ingredient Version
- Melt unsweetened chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water or over very low heat.
- Add sweetener and blend to combine. An immersion blender works well for this.
- Make chips or chunks as desired. See Recipe Notes for detailed instructions
Notes
- Let the chocolate cool for a bit before adding extracts to prevent seizing.
- Pretty much any healthy sweetener can be used for these forgiving recipes. Low-carb options besides xylitol include organic erythritol, allulose, or stevia extract, to taste. For AIP, use honey, maple syrup (read Choosing Maple Syrup), or sucanat or coconut sugar. A liquid sweetener should work too, but honey and maple syrup are sweeter, so you will want to use 1/4 to 1/3 less.
- Pour mixture into an 8×8 baking pan or other size depending on how thick or thin you want your chunks to be.
- Use a knife or spatula to break large pieces out of the pan. Chop on cutting board to desired size with a sharp knife.
To Make Chips
- Pour into a chocolate chip mold or put in pastry icing bag. Let the mixture chill a bit and then pipe onto parchment paper.
- Let sit to solidify, or chill in fridge or freezer.
- Store in freezer bag or air tight container in fridge or freezer until ready to use. The 2 Ingredient version may be stored at room temperature. The main version is best stored in the fridge but it's not necessary. The coconut oil version should not be stored at room temperature if your home is over 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
How would you use these homemade chocolate chips?
I’m sorry – I forgot to ask in my previous question… is the nutritional value (for method 1) for 1 cup? It says 1 Tablespoon, but I can’t believe that 1 T would have that many calories, etc. I see your article above the actual recipes says the recipe makes approximately 3 cups, so I just wanted to confirm. Thank you!!
Hi again, Sue! Yes, you’re correct. Yikes! Over the years I’ve had various people help with some things on my site and of course I can make mistakes too, but this was an error that I don’t think was mine :). I fixed it now. And yes, not 699 calories for 1 tablespoon. That would be a lot for sure! Thanks again!
I’ve never made homemade chocolate, but I would very much like to try the 1st method. I’ve always been told, and have read on many google tidbits, that adding liquid extract will cause the cocao butter/chocolate mixture to sieze. Have you ever had that happen, or when do you add the vanilla to keep it from seizing?
Hi Sue! Yes, thanks for a good question. I just updated the post to reflect that. I haven’t had an issue with this because usually the chocolate has cooled a bit just naturally, but I added that to the instructions just now. Thanks and I hope it works well for you!
Have you tried using carob powder instead of cocoa?
Hi Ariel – yes and in fact we used to do that all the time. I just added a section for you–thanks for the good question! I spent a lot of time redoing this post and didn’t expand on the carob option. Hope you enjoy them! I’ll try to get a dedicated post about carob chips up soon, in fact!
I just tried the recipe using 1/2 the amount of Carob powder but used maple syrup. Its okay, but think i will melt in some almond butter. When using manufactured sweetened Carob chips, i will melt the carob with the almond butter to give it a more creamy taste and add walnuts and make a Bark of sorts. People like that really well.
Hi Val. Interesting about the carob and maple syrup. When you add the almond butter you’re going for a softer bark, I guess, and nothing that will hold up? Or are you just adding a little bit?
I don’t add a lot of almond butter, about a tablespoon to 1 cup of carob chips, just enough to give it a little creaminess.
So nice! I’ll have to try this!
How do you get the drop. Shapes for the carob drops. .
.
Cheers denise
Hi there! I just updated the post w/ the molds – thanks for reading and hope you love them as much as we do – the revised recipe will hold together better – I’ll combine them soon most likely!