Delicious and simple-to-make chocolate fondue with lots of fun dipping ideas!
The Best Chocolate Fondue
One of my mom’s go-to desserts growing up was chocolate fondue. With a family as large as ours (9 total!), fondue was an easy treat that brought the whole family together. That, and my mom, was a self proclaimed chocolate addict. 🙂
Although my mom has always been a bit of a minimalist in the kitchen (very few gadgets/cookware), the one exception to that rule is her big fondue fountain. So when my boys had a night over with their grandparents and the fountain came out, they immediately fell in love with it. Once they came home they both kept asking incessantly that we get a chocolate fountain like their Grandma has.
While we don’t have fancy dipping tools or a cool 3-tiered fondue fountain, I have been able to please the boys with a simpler chocolate fondue and it’s now becoming a fun tradition in our home. It’s fun to take a longer time to eat a dessert and talk/laugh through the process of dipping and sampling. It’s also a little very messy in my home, but you win some and you lose some I suppose.
Speaking from experience, the recipe for this fondue is definitely kid-approved. Most fondue recipes use a lot of bittersweet and dark chocolate which I do love, but the kids? Not so much. This recipe is a mixture of semi-sweet and milk chocolate. It IS sweet, but not sickly so.
And the great news is, if you aren’t serving this to kids and like a darker chocolate fondue mixture, the quantities in this recipe will work with whatever chocolate you decide to use! I like using two varieties of chocolate as it yields a richer and deeper final flavor.
Quick Tips
- Use REAL, high quality chocolate bars. Simply put, the better the chocolate you use, the better your fondue will end up. Unfortunately chocolate chips do not work great in fondue — the flavor isn’t quite right and they harden a lot quicker. Chocolate chips aren’t pure chocolate either, and that’s essential for a good fondue.
- Make sure the fondue fountain, and any other dishes the chocolate comes in contact with are completely dry and free of any water. Water will cause the chocolate to seize and ruin the fondue.
- Experiment! You can add a lot of fun variety to a fondue by experimenting with new chocolate flavors and types.
Favorite Things To Dip In Fondue
A better question, what can you NOT dip in chocolate fondue? 🙂 I’m of the opinion that everything tastes better with chocolate on it, so get creative here! Here are some of our favorites:
- Fresh fruit: strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, bananas
- Store–bought cookies: Oreos, nutter butters, pirouettes (my favorite!), Milanos, girl scout cookies
- Homemade cookies: these toffee pecan cookies are our favorite!
- Other treats: poundcake (store-bought or homemade), Rice Krispies treats (our favorite recipe here; just leave off the white chocolate and sprinkles), brownie bites, large marshmallows
More Dessert Recipes:
Easy Chocolate Fondue
Ingredients
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 1/2- 3/4 cup whole milk (depending on thickness preference, I use 1/2 cup)
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional (see note)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Flaky sea salt, for topping, optional
Dipping Ideas
- Fresh fruit: such as bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, clementines, etc.
- Cookies: oreos, piroette cookies, milanos,
Instructions
- Start by preparing all of the ingredients/treats you will be dipping in the fondue. The preparation of the fondue goes quickly so you want to have all the treats and skewers (if using) ready!
- To make the fondue, in a small bowl, combine the chocolate, 1/2 cup milk or cream, and butter* and melt gently in a barely simmering water bath or microwave on Medium (50 percent) power for about 2 minutes.
- Stir until completely smooth.
- Add more milk if desired. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Serve this warm fondue immediately with whatever you've chosen to serve it with 🙂
- If the fondue gets too thick (or starts to harden), reheat in the microwave in bursts of 15 seconds stirring in between each burst for 10 seconds until melted and smooth again.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi – Recipe looks wonderful and I’d like to try it for a movie night. Do you know if it will work in the Velata chocolate fondue pot (Sentsy discontinued it). Thank you!
Does the butter make a big difference?
Butter results in a more mellow chocolate flavor. For a more intense chocolate fondue, leave out the butter.
thanks this will go well with my new fouten
Glad you enjoyed it!
Ryan…wondering if you used this recipe in your fountain and how it turned out. Doing a chocolate fountain for my Grandaughters graduation open house. Thanks!
I plan to make this recipe on Saturday. Can I use a hollow milk chocolate Easter bunny for the milk chocolate in this recipe?
Thank you!
You could try it! I’m not sure the quality of chocolate the bunny is made with; if it’s not high quality chocolate the fondue may end up a little waxy
Could you use white chocolate to make a white chocolate fondue also ?
Sure!
Can Almond milk be substituted for milk or cream?
I haven’t ever tried a plant based milk in this recipe; it would probably work fine, but be bit thinner
Thank You so much, I’m quite grateful to you. I made a chocolate bar with your recipe. It’s really fantastic and easy to make. thank you once again. I love chocolate so much. I also got some ideas about homemade chocolate, I got an amazing homemade chocolate recipe, I shared in my Instagram profile when I made that lovely chocolate
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This recipe turned out really well. Normally, I have a hard time with chocolate fondue staying a smooth melted consistency. That was not the case with this one. It was delicious and easy, and will be my go to chocolate fondue recipe now.
Score! I am so happy to hear this! Thanks so much Liz! 🙂
This was AWESOME!! A perfect treat for a “Valentine’s Day” family date! We dipped strawberries, bananas, Halo oranges, marshmallows, and…POWDERED DONUT HOLES!! Send help!!
YUMMY! You’re making me drool! I’m so happy you guys enjoyed this! I have to try it with powdered donut holes sometime! Thanks Nicole! 🙂
Hello! I was wondering how many bars of semi sweet chocolate I need and how many bars of milk chocolate I need? Also, how many cups is 6 oz and how many cups is 4 oz?