Top your favorite dairy free ice cream with our easy homemade hot fudge! Our recipe is dairy free and vegan, as well as gluten free. Our fudge sauce is delicious drizzled warm over ice cream, waffles, and more.
Summer is the perfect time for ice cream and hot fudge sundaes, and if you haven’t been able to have hot fudge due to food allergies, we’ve got you covered with our latest recipe!
We used a version of our easy caramel sauce recipe as a base for this dairy-free fudge sauce, so it’s thick, fudgy, and similar to a chocolate caramel sauce.
Since I can’t have dairy, I haven’t had actual hot fudge for a long time (probably 20 years!) until I made this recipe. Our version of fudge sauce is thick and delicious!
Why we love this recipe
This recipe is super easy to make and uses mostly staple ingredients you likely already have in your pantry and fridge.
Our fudge sauce doesn’t call for chocolate chips or sweetened condensed milk either, so if you can’t get your hands on allergy-friendly versions of those, you can still enjoy dairy free and vegan hot fudge.
How to make easy dairy free hot fudge sauce
Our vegan hot fudge recipe is based on our easy caramel sauce recipe and is a bit like a chocolate caramel sauce (pretty delicious!).
Let’s jump into the steps to make it! The full recipe is at the end of the post below.
- In a small heavy-bottom saucepan, melt a stick of dairy free butter over medium-low to medium heat (we used the Country Crock dairy free homestyle butter in our recipe).
- Once the butter has melted, whisk in the sugar, coconut milk, and the corn syrup. The corn syrup in this recipe helps prevent the sugars from recrystallizing once it cools.
- Lower the heat to low to medium-low and allow everything to simmer and simmer this for 5 minutes, whisking regularly.
- Once 5 minutes are done, remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and the vanilla extract.
- This will seem thin at first, but it will thicken once it cools completely. If you want to serve this warm off the stove for ice cream, make sure to allow it to cool for 30 to 60 minutes at least, since this sauce will be very hot and can cause burns.
- Once cooled, stir thoroughly and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- To warm up fudge sauce for ice cream, remove some of the hot fudge from the container or jar into a heat-resistant dish and warm it up in the microwave for about 20 seconds. It won’t take much time at all to warm this up, and you don’t want to microwave it too long, or it can scorch.
Once this cools, it will be quite thick, especially once it’s stored in the fridge. The photos of our fudge sauce were taken when the sauce was at room temperature or warmed up (for the ice cream photos).
If you’d like to be able to drizzle this fudge sauce over ice cream while it’s chilled or room temperature, you can thin it out a little bit once it’s cooled with a splash of additional coconut milk to adjust the thickness.
Check out our dairy free frozen dessert recipes, including our huckleberry ice cream!
Easy Dairy Free Hot Fudge Recipe (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- ½ cup Country Crock Homestyle Dairy Free Butter (1 stick)
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- ½ cup canned coconut milk
- 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Equipment
- Small heavy bottom saucepan
Instructions
- Melt the dairy free butter in the in a small heavy-bottom saucepan over medium/low heat.½ cup Country Crock Homestyle Dairy Free Butter
- Once the butter is melted (which only takes a minute or 2), whisk in the sugar, canned coconut milk, and corn syrup.
- Whisk together until mixed and bring to a low boil over medium/low heat, then reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 5 minutes. This is a base that's similar to our caramel sauce recipe.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and the vanilla. The sauce will not be super thick first, but it will thicken quite a bit as it cools completely.1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ cup cocoa powder
- Pour into a jar or other heat-resistant storage container and let it cool completely. You can serve this warm, but it still needs to cool for a while (at least 30 to 60 minutes) before serving, since this is still extremely hot.
- This caramel sauce will get thick and fudgy once it has cooled completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Warm up portions for ice cream as needed, vs heating up the entire jar of sauce. Warm up servings of fudge sauce for about 15 to 20 seconds in the microwave, being careful not to heat it too long, or it can scorch.
- If you want a slightly less thick sauce, you can whisk in a teaspoon or tablespoon of coconut milk into the warm fudge sauce to make it a little less thick if you desire.
Nutrition
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Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie which she founded in 2011. Sarah is based in Wyoming and has been managing food allergies for herself and her 2 children for over 20 years. Sarah was also a certified personal trainer for 12 years, as well as a group fitness instructor, health coach, running coach, and fitness nutrition specialist.