Ooh-la-la, let’s make a classic, easy Chocolate Fondue recipe! Grab a few bars of chocolate and your favorite dippers—it’s going to be a good night.
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Let’s make chocolate fondue your new tradition.
Whether for a sweetheart’s birthday, New Year’s, a kid’s party, or Valentine’s Day, chocolate fondue is a special-occasion sort of treat that will find its way to a memorable tradition.
Fondue makes it altogether acceptable, and even romantic, to eat an entire bowl of chocolate dipped with even MORE dessert. You have to love that, right?!
Chocolate fondue is not just a dessert; it’s an experience. There is an entire restaurant dedicated to the fondue experience, in fact. Maybe you know it?
With this easy chocolate fondue recipe, you can stay cozy at home and share velvety, rich fondue with your favorite company.
5 Star Review
“YUM! This chocolate fondue is a dream come true. The perfect way to end a dinner party and impress my guests.”
— Nancy —
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Half-and-Half. The just-right balance of creaminess. You could also use heavy cream if you want it ultra decadent (or use half heavy cream and half whole milk if that’s what you have on hand; those two essentially make half-and-half).
- Chocolate. I recommend using a chocolate bar, but you can also use semi-sweet chocolate chips and bittersweet chocolate chips. This should go without saying, but, the better the chocolate, the better the fondue. Splurge for the good stuff; it makes all the difference.
- Vanilla. Makes every sweet taste better and ups the homemade factor.
- Espresso Powder. Instant coffee granules may also be used. This is a baker’s trick to intensifying anything chocolate, like One Bowl Brownies, applies to chocolate fondue.
- Liqueur. Grand Marnier, Chambord, cherry brandy, Kahlua, or Cassis add a fun spike if you like.
How to Make Chocolate Fondue
Chop the Chocolate. While you can use chocolate chips, bars melt better!
Warm the Half-and-Half. Heat it over LOW heat until it just begins to simmer. Don’t be tempted to do medium heat or high to speed it along or you’re likely to scorch it.
Add the Chocolate. As soon as the half-and-half is hot, you will make the rest of the recipe OFF of the heat. Gently stir in the chopped chocolate and continue stirring until completely it’s melted. (Keep in mind, the consistency is adjustable! If your fondue is too thick or starts to get grainy, stir more half-and-half into the mixture.)
Add Some Flavor. Stir in the espresso powder, vanilla extract, and liqueur.
Keep Warm. Fondue pots are helpful for keeping the chocolate warm, but you don’t need one. You can transfer the fondue to a small slow cooker like this one and keep on WARM or just serve it from the pan. (Do not keep it over the heat as the chocolate will burn. If you need to reheat, do so very gently on low.)
Serve. Serve your chocolate fondue with dippers and ENJOY!
Chocolate Fondue Variations
- S’Mores. Add a big plop of marshmallow creme on top of the hot fondue, and give it one gentle stir. Dip with graham crackers.
- Peanut Butter. Partially stir in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter into the hot fondue.
- Peppermint Chocolate. Add 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract along with the vanilla extract.
- Toffee. Stir in 1/4 cup toffee bits along with the chocolate to add delightful, crunchy toffee bits to your fondue.
- Milk Chocolate Fondue. Swap the bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate for chopped milk chocolate bars. You’ll use two and a half 4-ounce bars (so half a bar leftover for snacking, score!).
- White Chocolate Fondue. Use 10 ounces of—as Ina always says—GOOD, white chocolate.
Chocolate Fondue Dippers
You can dip just about anything in chocolate fondue. (Could we have a solution to get kids to eat their broccoli??…I jest.)
- Cookies. Bake a batch of Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies or Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies. Oreos, Nutter Butters, biscotti, vanilla wafer cookies, and Milanos are of course good store-bought options.
- Cakes. Plain cake donut holes, angel food cake, and pound cake cut into cubes.
- Other Treats. Rice Krispies Treats, graham crackers, and large marshmallows.
- Fruit. Fresh fruits: strawberries, blackberries, pears, kiwi, raspberries, bananas, and pineapple. Dried fruits: apricots and oranges.
- Salty Things. Potato chips and pretzels. Pair the salt with the sweet!
Leftover Ideas
I know you won’t let a drop of this chocolate fondue recipe go to waste! If you want to repurpose any extra chocolate fondue, you can use it as a base for hot chocolate, warm it up and pour it over ice cream, or use it like ganache. (It’s also good cold straight out of the fridge—grab a spoon!)
Chocolate Fondue Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Chocolate Fondue:
- ⅔ cup half-and-half plus a few teaspoons if needed
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped into small pieces (or 1-cup high quality chocolate chips—see recipe note*)
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate 55% to 65%, chopped into small pieces (or 3/4-cup high quality chocolate chips—see recipe note*)—or use more semi-sweet chocolate
- ½ teaspoon instant coffee granules or espresso powder for a more intense chocolate taste, optional
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons liqueur of choice such as Grand Marnier, Chambord, or Cassis, optional
Dippers of Choice:
- Fruit: strawberries banana, pineapple
- Baked treats: plain cake donut holes crispy squares, poundcake, vanilla wafer cookies, graham crackers
- Salty things: Mini pretzels potato chips
Instructions
- BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Make sure anything that will touch the fondue is very dry, as water can cause chocolate to seize. Prep all of your dippers: cut fruit, poundcake, and crispy treats into bite-sized pieces (no need to cut items that are easy to dip whole, such as mini-pretzels and marshmallows). Arrange on a serving platter (if you have a larger group, divide them between two platters, then place one on each side of the pot for easy access).
- In a small saucepan, heat the half-and-half over medium-high heat, until it is just beginning to gently simmer and bubbles have formed around the edges (do not bring to a full boil). Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Let sit undisturbed for 1 minute.
- With a rubber spatula, slowly and gently stir the chocolate until the warm half-and-half melts it completely. The fondue should look smooth and glossy. If at any point it begins to look gritty, add more half-and-half 1 teaspoon at a time to smooth it out. As long as you’ve chopped the chocolate small, it should all melt within a minute or two of stirring. If it doesn’t, place the sauce pan over very LOW heat and SLOWLY warm the chocolate, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat as soon as it is nearly melted (chocolate can burn easily, and once it does there is no going back).
- Off the heat, stir in the espresso powder, vanilla extract, and liqueur. Immediately transfer to a fondue pot. Enjoy warm with dippers.
Video
Notes
- TO STORE: Chocolate fondue store well! Save in refrigerator for 3-4 days in an airtight storage container.
- TO REHEAT: Remelt chilled chocolate fondue gently over low heat (in a bowl over a pot of simmering water is ideal), or in a slow cooker on LOW.
- TO FREEZE: This chocolate fondue recipe can be frozen for up to one month in a freezer-safe, airtight storage container. Let thaw in refrigerator overnight before rewarming.
Nutrition
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YUM! This chocolate fondue is a dream come true. The perfect way to end a dinner party and impress my guests.
Hi Nancy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!