Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe

This hot fudge sauce recipe is rich, fudgy and easy to make with evaporated milk, chocolate chips, sugar, butter and vanilla. It’s the best to drizzle on top of ice cream!

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Best Hot Fudge Sauce with Evaporated Milk

Ditch the store-bought toppings and try making your own hot fudge sauce, strawberry sauce, caramel sauce, butterscotch sauce and whipped cream at home!

The best part about this thick chocolate fudge sauce is that you can whip it up with 5 ingredients in 10 minutes. I like to keep a jar in my fridge at all times to make ice cream sandwich cake or drizzle on easy homemade ice cream.

Ingredients Needed

Find the full printable recipe with directions below.

• Chocolate chips: I prefer to use Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips. For best chocolate flavor, any high quality brand will work even baking chocolate.
• Sugar: We use a granulated sugar which adds the sweetness.
• Evaporated milk: This old fashioned ingredient withstands the test of time and adds the perfect creaminess to this fudge sauce. It can be replaced with half and half.
• Butter: I prefer to use salted butter, but if you’re using unsalted butter just add in a pinch of salt at the end.
• Vanilla: I like to use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.

How to Make Hot Fudge

This takes only 10 minutes from start to finish! While store bought may be convenient, the taste of making homemade hot fudge sauce is so good and just can’t be beat.

1. Melt. Add all ingredients (except vanilla) to a medium sauce pan and cook over medium-heat until melted, about 6 to 7 minutes.
2. Boil. Bring to light boil, stirring constantly. Once lightly boiling, remove from heat immediately. Then stir in vanilla.
3. Cool. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. It will thicken as it cools.

Expert Tips

• Stir in the vanilla after you’ve removed the pan from heat. This way the vanilla flavor stays strong and doesn’t evaporate. I picked up this tip when making my bread pudding sauce recipe!
• The sauce will thicken as it cools, so wait about 5 to 10 minutes to use it if you like a thicker sauce.
• For a thinner consistency, remove the mixture from the heat immediately after it melts and let cool (do not boil).
• This recipe makes about 3 cups of hot fudge sauce. You can cut it in half or double the recipe depending on how much you need.

Favorite Ways to Use Hot Fudge Sauce

• Drizzle over a banana split or a bowl of homemade ice cream.
• Serve as a topping over slow cooker chocolate cake or pizookie
• Drizzle over a warm cup of hot chocolate.
• Use it to make Oreo ice cream cake or this Mississippi mud pie!
• Layer it in this ice cream pie recipe!
• Drizzle over homemade brownies.

Storage

• Store: Store your hot fudge recipe in the refrigerator in an airtight container. I like to store it in a glass mason jar. The fudge will last up to 1 month in the fridge.
• Reheat: To reheat it, place in microwave and cook in 30 second intervals until warmed throughout. You can also reheat it in a saucepan until it is a thin and pourable consistency.