Today I am sharing a healthy homemade alternative to the store-bought chocolate chips. Here is an amazing recipe for homemade chocolate chips.
I love making wholesome, allergy-friendly substitutes for many store bought items, including Homemade Taco Seasoning, Easiest Coconut Milk, White Chocolate Chips, and Dairy and Sugar-Free Condensed Milk. One of the first recipes that I posted, and also one of my most popular, is my recipe for Homemade Chocolate Chips.
We make these fairly frequently in my home, but honestly, they almost never make it into cookies.
Once they're made my kids regularly ask for carob chips ….and since they are made with wholesome ingredients, I typically say “yes.”
The reasons that I initially set out to make my own carob chips (we usually make them with carob so the kids (and I :-)) don't get overstimulated from too much chocolate), were several:
Basically, the reasons are the same as they are for all of my make your own processed substitutes like:
- Powdered Sugar Substitute
- Moroccan Vinaigrette (this dressing is really good. A new recipe should be coming soon!)
- Homemade Protein Bars
- Homemade Egg Replacer
1. Control over ingredients
A lot of folks are on special diets these days, so more and more of us need control over what goes into our mouths. Here's how this chocolate chip recipe can help:
– there's no dairy in these chips!
– you can make these sugar free. I use xylitol and stevia due to make a candida diet-friendly treat
– No trans fats in these chips (remember what those are? Partially or fully hydrogenated fat. Not good. Fake food)
– No artificial vanilla
– No soy
2. Cost savings: – I almost fall over in the grocery store or health food store aisle when I see the price tags on “wholesome” chocolate chips or carob chips. One bag of allergen-free chocolate chips that I saw the other day cost something like $4.59 for a 10 ounce bag….Whoa! That's $7.34 per pound!! Not on our budget!
3. Time Savings: Sort of.
Recently I've been having a kitchen-time epiphany of sorts.
I used to get really down about my messy kitchen (you might want to read my post about Surprising Help for Messy Moms) and how much time I spend in it. (Maybe someday some of my readers should come on over and see what my kitchen looks like when I'm trying to get a recipe “down.” Well, really it often looks like that.) But recently, I'm doing a little better about not getting down about the mess. A little.
Even if I spend a lot of time in the kitchen making whole foods, at least I'm not spending 1-3 hours in a grocery store with kids who bug me for stuff I don't want. (Really it's just my youngest who does most of that. He's a sucker for modern packaging.)
If you make your own everything (or lots of stuff….) you're saving time and money shopping. So you are probably going to buy less “impulse shopping” deals. Plus you get to save by not buying $3.79 / gallon gas, or whatever astronomical price it is in your neck of the woods.
4. Extra Bonus – Control over the Final Product: I personally like chips, but I really like chocolate chunks. You too? I figure it's a growing thing because now the stores are selling chocolate chunks. Well, guess what? It's a lot of work to make chocolate or carob chips, but with a knife and a cutting board, you can make chunks pretty easily.
The reasons I revised this recipe:
1. Better Taste. My kids would say now and then that the original Chocolate Chip recipe was good, but they really didn't like it as well as they could.
2. More “Cookie Friendly”. Like I said, the chips don't regularly make it into cookies, but when they have, mine have held together well. Like in my Chocolate Chunk Coconut Macadamia Cookies. (These are grain free, sugar free and great!!!)
A few readers have had trouble with this so I wanted to try another oil to see if they would do better.
And they did.
You can make these with cocoa butter. They taste great and hold together well in baking.
The smell of the cocoa butter while it was melting was a treat in and of itself and lends itself to a rich chocolatey flavor of the chips. My kids said that they were so good and tasted almost as, if not as good as, store-bought chocolate chips. (My kids haven't had many of those, but I really consider that to be a compliment.)
This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission.
Recipe Notes and Substitutions for Homemade Chocolate Chips
- Where to buy oils. I am looking for a good bulk source for cocoa butter that won't break the bank and will be fresh. I have some more work to do on this and will try to keep you updated. Most cocoa butter I found was $15/lb or more. This one works out to about $11 per pound and looks like a good source so I'd try that one for now.
- I use carob often. If you use cocoa powder, you may need to add a little more sweetener to the recipe, depending on your taste since carob has an inherent sweetness to it.
- Stevia extract seems really expensive, but it isn't! – what else would you consider paying more than $8 per ounce for??? Once you find you like it, you can purchase it in bulk. I purchase the 1-lb container and it lasts for a looooong time. You can find it for quite a bit less money on Iherb, one of my favorite places to shop.
Stevia is pretty hard to measure, but these stainless steel mini measuring spoons from Amazon are super duper handy. The 2nd smallest is the size of 1/32 of a teaspoon so you can easily measure your stevia powder.
Need to substitute for the stevia? Here is my handy dandy post on this fabulous sweetener.
- Sweeteners: I recommend powdering the healthiest granulated sweetener you can have. I used xylitol. This brand is quite reasonable and is made in the USA. For a low-glycemic option for sweetener use 1/4 c xylitol or 1/3 c organic erythritol. Approx. 2 Tbsp Homemade Truvia® would work well too.
- Parchment: You will have an easier time getting the chocolate / carob mixture out of the baking pan if you line it with parchment. I just choose not to do so because I'm
cheapfrugal. - Variations: For a yummy variation, add some extract like in Mint Chocolate | Carob Chips.
- Cocoa Butter: You can use organic palm shortening or organic palm oil instead of cocoa butter.
- Carob: You can use organic carob powder instead of cocoa, but cocoa is a better low-carb option.
- Coffee Substitute: You can use a coffee substitute instead of coffee. Here's a link to a homemade version.
Homemade Chocolate or Carob Chips ~ {Improved} (dairy, soy, and sugar free)
Ingredients
- 6 2/3 ounces organic cocoa butter
- 1 cup cocoa
- 1/4 cup sweetener (your choice)
- 1/16 tsp stevia extract powder (or 2 scoops; see Recipe Notes above for more info on stevia scoops)
- 1/2 tsp organic chocolate extract (optional but extra yummy)
- 1/2 Tbsp granulated instant coffee (optional, but extra nice)
- 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
Instructions
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Melt oil over very low heat in a medium pan.
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Transfer oil to a medium bowl.
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Add remaining ingredients and mix well. I have used my Bamix immersion blender with great success. You could also put the mixture in a blender, but it will be messier to deal with :-).
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Pour mixture into an 8x8 baking pan (other pans will work as well, but your chunks will be thinner or thicker, depending on the size you use.)
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Chill in fridge or freezer.
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Use a knife or spatula to break large pieces out of the pan. Chop on cutting board to desired size with a sharp knife.
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Store in a cool place such as the fridge until ready to use.
How can you use these Homemade Chocolate Chips?
- Of course, in cookies and bars
- Eat them “as is” – like eating chocolate chips out of the bag
- Break into bigger pieces and use as a rough-shaped chocolate or carob bar
- Pour into candy molds like I did in my Healthy “Almost Reese's” Candy post and make candies any time of year. I purchased star-shaped silicone molds like these to use on the Fourth of July.
- Add into homemade ice cream like in Chocolate Almond Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream or Mint Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream. With temperatures the way they've been around here, I will definitely be bringing out the ice cream maker soon!
- After melting, drizzle on top of fruit or dip fruit or other things for a special treat. How about chocolate covered strawberries? bananas? nut clusters? Endless possibilities.
- Drizzle on cake – this would be fabulous on a cheesecake. Take a look at these fabulous Dairy-Free Cheesecake Tarts from my friend, Ricki Heller. Instead of apricot, drizzle melted chocolate or carob chips on top – Yum!
Coming soon — a recipe for White Chocolate Chips. And maybe–a few will make their way into some cookies!
Hope you love these as much as we do.
How will you use these Homemade Chocolate Chips?
Kelly says
Hey! Are there any nutritional facts for these?? I can’t wait to make them!! Thanks!
Adrienne says
Hi there! We have been hoping to have that functionality on the site but we had a big mess w/ our recipe system. We’re working on it! You can use an online one for now — we just made 4 batches this past week :). EnjoyY
Christine says
Hi,
What is “6 2/3 ounces organic cocoa butter”. “6 2/3 ounces”?
It’s probably me but that doesn’t make sense. 🙂
Thank you,
Chris
Adrienne says
Hi there. It means 6 oz and 2/3 of an ounce. Does that help?
Christine says
Yes, thank you.
Rose Brennan says
Hi ADRIENNE,
I found a website that tells you how to make your own cocoa butter:
(site deleted by blog owner)
Thanks
Rose Brennan
Adrienne says
Hi Rose! I checked out that link and it doesn’t show how to make cocoa butter–it simply talks about cocoa butter nutrition. I deleted it b/c I didn’t want to confuse other readers. Hope that makes sense – thanks for reading and for commenting!
LT says
hi, can I replace:
• 6 2/3 ounces organic cocoa butter with almond butter?
• 1 cup cocoa = 1 cup carob ? I have carob.
Adrienne says
Hi there. No for the first (they have many different properties and you will not end up with chips), but yes for the 2nd :).
Raye says
Thanks for a great recipe! I’ve made it several times now, each with good results. The first time I followed the recipe exactly… yum! The second time, I used ground coconut sugar, liquid vanilla stevia and skipped the chocolate extract and coffee. Still yum. Third time, I also added 1-1/2 Tbsp tapioca starch which resulted in a firmer bar. I’ve also tried it with coconut oil (melts very easily but is great when making brownies that call for melting the chocolate first), and maple syrup. Using maple syrup is a little tricky. I had a batch seize up on me, then I tried mixing the cocoa powder and tapioca starch into the cocoa butter first (in a bowl with a whisk), then mixing the maple syrup (at room temp) all at once along with the stevia. That worked well, but resulted in a softer bar. We still ate it and it was still yummy.
Adrienne says
Oooh what an interesting idea about the starch!! Firmer at room temp or just firmer overall? We don’t use the choc extract or coffee often either and we still love it! Thanks much!
Noreen says
Can I use honey/maple syrup and coconut sugar instead of the stevia and xylitol or erythritol?
Adrienne says
I think it will work but I haven’t done a liquid sweetener with these yet. Maybe try a small batch first.
Estelle Vucemillo says
Could I use normal sugar for this?
I’m just trying to find a dairy free option…
Adrienne says
Yes, sure! I recommend blending it first, however. Enjoy!
Treva says
HI Adrienne,
I was really excited when I see your recipe until I saw that you added Xylitol as the sweetener. For those of us trying to be corn-free (which by the way is SO MUCH harder than being gluten-free), Xylitol is made from corn. So bummed!! I’ll keep looking. Just wanted people to know. Thank you.
Adrienne says
Hi Treva. Thanks for reading! If you click on the link in the recipe you will notice that I use birch xylitol so no worries there :)! Enjoy!
Ellen Mullis says
I know it is not as healthy as cocoa butter, or the palm oil, but I wonder if vegetable shortening would make them even more stable to bake with? Plus it’s less expensive and easier to find in my area. Thanks!
Adrienne says
I don’t know. I do know that cocoa butter is more solid at room temp than shortening but might be worth a try – you can get organic palm shortening.
z says
Hi! Is it, use 1/4 cup And 2scoops, or 1/4 cup OR 2 scoops? Can I use stevia alone, without that 1/4 cup other stuff?
Adrienne says
Hi there. It’s both and. You could of course substitute but I prefer blending alternative sweeteners for a more natural taste. You can see the info re: that in this post: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/how-to-like-stevia/
Melanie Brueggeman says
I must be doing something wrong. I have to triple the xylitol and quadruple the stevia extract to get it even remotely sweet enough to balance out the bitterness of the cocoa powder.
Any suggestions? I made it twice now, once with rum extract and once with raspberry. The raspberry chocolate was even less sweet with more xylitol.
Adrienne says
Hi Melanie,
I’m really not sure what to say. I just made a double batch yesterday, and while they are not sweet chips, they are sweeter than Lily’s semisweet sugar free chips. What kind of cocoa are you using–maybe that could be it. I have never tried upping the amts of sweeteners that much but I think that they should be fine for sure. I have noticed that different cocoas behave differently but still that’s a lot of sweetener. Were you hoping for a milk chocolate sweetness?
Eric says
Question for you: Cocoa butter is super hard to find where I live but it happens I was able to find palm oil. Thing is, the stuff is partially liquid (it kind of looks like it’s got bits of solid floating in the liquid). Is this stuff going to work okay in this recipe? Thanks.
Adrienne says
Hi there. Palm shortening might work but it’s a softer solid at room temp typically so it won’t be that great. It will work in a way but isn’t the best choice.
shannon says
just put coconut milk into a high speed blender and it turns to butter. simple as that 🙂
Adrienne says
Do you mean the part on top?
April says
I have read that granular stevia not liquid has hidden carbs, is powdered stevia the same as granular and would it have hidden carbs? I always use erythritol.
Adrienne says
Stevia extract has no hidden carbs. If you have a stevia that is more than just stevia it can. Granular isn’t powdered. Granular would be grains. Hope that helps!