Easy Hot Fudge Sauce

This easy hot fudge sauce requires only 3 ingredients and comes together in about 5 minutes! It was a staple at my house growing up, and we especially loved it during the holiday season over peppermint ice cream. You could also use it as a fondue to dip apple slices, strawberries etc.

Hot fudge sauce over ice cream

Ingredients Needed

  • Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • Butter
  • Chocolate – because the sweetened condensed milk is already sweet, you’ll want to use a darker chocolate. Semisweet works great, but I prefer dark or even bittersweet, myself. I would avoid milk chocolate. You can use a baking bar, or simply chocolate chips.
hot fudge sauce

How to make Easy Hot Fudge Sauce

Literally just melt all the ingredients together. That’s it! it just takes minutes for the most delicious, smooth, chocolaty sauce.

Storage and Other Tips

  • Keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container. It will thicken into a fudgy consistency that’s delicious eaten cold from the fridge with a spoon (just guess how I know that.) To warm back up, just heat in 20-30 second intervals in the microwave until warm and smooth. You can also place it in a pan on the stovetop again and gently warm that way.
  • This is a great recipe to make for holiday gifts. I package in mason jars- just be people know that it hasn’t been pressure canned, so it needs to be refrigerated, and to warm it up to use it.
hot fudge over ice cream

Easy Hot Fudge Sauce

5 from 18 votes
This quick hot fudge is destined to become your new go-to for topping ice cream! Chocolate, butter, and sweetened condensed milk blend together to make an ideal thick, chocolatey fudge sauce perfect for drizzling on a sundae or dipping your favorite fruit.
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings6

Ingredients

  • 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate 3 squares of baking chocolate, or about 1/2 C chocolate chips. Avoid milk chocolate as it's too sweet, however both dark and bittersweet are awesome. Semisweet works as well, though I prefer something darker.
  • ¼ cup salted butter
  • 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

  • If you’re using baking squares, chop them up into small pieces so they melt easier. I chop the butter up into small chunks too.
  • Combine chocolate, butter, and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan. Place pan over medium heat and melt, stirring continuously, until everything melts together.
  • Serve over ice cream, or as fondue with your favorite fruit. This sauce will thicken upon standing, so if you're using it for fondue, you may want to put it in a warmed container.

Notes

  • One batch yields 1 3/4 cups (14 fluid ounces) hot fudge. 
  • If you have leftovers, store  in an airtight container in the fridge. It will harden into a soft, gooey fudge like consistency. Then keep a spoon handy on the counter and dip it in every time you pass by. If you want to use it as sauce again, simply microwave at 15-30 second intervals, stirring each time, until desired consistency is reached.

Nutrition

Calories: 150kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 21mg, Sodium: 62mg, Potassium: 83mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 244IU, Vitamin C: 0.01mg, Calcium: 12mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate sauce, dessert, fondue, hot fudge, ice cream
Calories: 150kcal
Author: Our Best Bites
Cost: 5
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
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Meet The Author

Sara Wells

Sara Wells co-founded Our Best Bites in 2008. She is the author of three Bestselling Cook Books, Best Bites: 150 Family Favorite RecipesSavoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites, and 400 Calories or Less from Our Best Bites. Sara’s work has been featured in many local and national news outlets and publications such as Parenting MagazineBetter Homes & GardensFine CookingThe Rachel Ray Show and the New York Times.

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Questions & Reviews

  1. 5 stars
    I just wanted to let you know, which I am sure you already do, that this sauce makes the BEST milkshakes! I am enjoying one right now. So yummy! You girls are awesome THANKS!

  2. I want to make this (and the buttermilk syrup) for teacher gift's this year for Christmas…

    however, I can't exactly package Ice Cream with it! LOL

    I Nmight just get gift cards and state that it's for ice cream 🙂

  3. I saw this recipe and immediately thought of another i had seen awhile back, It is called Brigadeiro and you can make it almost the same way, The recipe calls for unsweetened chocolate powder and a full can of condensed sweetened milk as well as more butter, If you refrigerate it for an hour or so then form it into balls and coat it with chocolate crumbs or I always pour it over some cake instead of using a frosting.

  4. I just heated up a couple of teaspoons of this suace and dipped my fresh strawberries in, YUMMY! thanks for the recipe.

  5. 5 stars
    I just made a quadruple batch of this for gifts. Let's just say I'm going to have a hard time giving it away! It's so yummy. And so easy! Thanks for the recipe!

  6. Trimble -Thank you! That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for 😉 I'm now staring at 16 cute little jars full of hot fudge sauce! I just put all the ingredients in a glass bowl and popped it in the microwave and hit the soften/melt button and it worked like a charm. Tomorrow I'm going to hit Michael's to see if I can find some cute tags or stickers for the jars. Thanks for a great recipe!

  7. No problem at all Sara, it was my fault for putting this off until the last minute and needing the answer too quickly. BTW- have you tried this with peanut butter chips? My son is allergic but I'm certainly not! 🙂

  8. Trimble- you beat me to it! I'm glad you got everything figured out, sorry I wasn't able to get on here and answer your question sooner!

  9. In answer to my own question and in case anyone else is wondering (or trying to work on a small budget, as I am), you can get the short jars (8 oz) in a pack of four at Wal-Mart for $3.79. Also, the recipe fills two of these jars. And in case you're wondering, you can get about 2 cups out of a regular size bag of chocolate chips. I had to purchase everything (except the butter) at regular price because I didn't plan ahead and the total cost per filled 8 oz jar was still only $2.01! Thanks ladies for helping me give presents to my husband's office friends without breaking the piggy bank!

  10. Were you able to find the short mason jars at Walmart also? If so how much were they? I'd also like to know how many jars you can fill with one batch – thank you!