This Chocolate Spread is so good, you’ll want to lick the knife clean! It’s easy to make, nut-free, and tastes great on everything from toast to waffles to apple slices! This recipe is a longtime fan favorite, and it’s now been updated with new troubleshooting tips and step-by-step photos, to make sure yours turns out perfectly every time.
🍫 The Best Nut-Free Chocolate Spread
This recipe came about because a reader asked a simple question: could I help her make a tasty chocolate spread at home? The requirements: no nuts, no complicated equipment, no unfamiliar ingredients, and no long list of steps.
It took a few attempts, but I finally nailed a recipe that hit all the right notes: it has a deep chocolate flavor and a lush, silky texture. The ingredients are all things you probably have at home already, and it comes together in just 5 minutes.
This recipe is built on two of my favorite ingredients: chocolate and butter. It has a small amount of vanilla, and a pinch of salt, but it’s really all chocolate, all the time. If you’re looking for a nut-free alternative to peanut butter or Nutella, this is the recipe for you!
When it’s first made it has the texture of hot fudge sauce (and I won’t stop you if you want to pour it all over ice cream, cake, your hands, etc…), but once it’s chilled, it’s gorgeously creamy and smooth, with a consistency that’s perfect for spreading on toast or using as a dip for fresh fruit.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Spread
This delicious dark chocolate spread was first published back in 2012, and it quickly became a favorite with readers (and my own family!) It’s easy to see why people love it:
- simple list of easy-to-find ingredients
- no complicated methods or equipment
- nut-free!
- only 5 minutes to make it
- can be kept for weeks
- good for snacking, or dessert
- makes a great gift
Table of Contents
🧾 What You’ll Need
Ingredients
You won’t need much to make this rich and smooth Chocolate Spread. Here’s a few ingredient tips to help you gather your ingredients. Full ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)
- Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate gives the spread a super boost of chocolate flavor. This is where most of the flavor comes from, so don’t use cheap chocolate chips here: make sure you use flavorful chocolate that you enjoy eating.
- Water: To dissolve the other ingredients and get the right consistency.
- Granulated sugar: Use a little granulated sugar (aka white sugar or regular sugar) for sweetness.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: For rich, chocolately flavor, use a high quality unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Unsalted butter: Butter gives the spread its lush, creamy texture. I like to use unsalted butter and add salt separately, but you can use salted butter and omit the extra salt. Make sure your butter is cubed and at room temperature, so it incorporates easily into the spread.
- Vanilla extract and salt: These round out and balance the chocolate flavor.
Equipment
- Saucepan: You’ll need a small saucepan to heat the ingredients on the stovetop.
- Whisk: You’ll also need a whisk to combine the ingredients and stir them while simmering.
- Jar: You’ll need some type of container to store your spread in. The container should hold at least 12 ounces. My preference is to use mason jars.
- Plastic wrap: As the spread cools down, its important to cover it with plastic wrap to avoid having a thick skin form on the top of the spread.
❤️ More Dessert Sauces
Leave a Review!
If you make this recipe, let us know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe below, and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram @elabau, or use #sugarhero on IG!
Lick-The-Knife-Clean Chocolate Spread
Ingredients
- 4 oz dark chocolate, (about 2/3 cup when chopped)
- 2 fl oz water, (1/4 cup)
- 3.5 oz granulated sugar, (1/2 cup)
- 1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 oz unsalted butter, (1 stick or 1/2cup), cubed and at room temperature
Instructions
- Finely chop the dark chocolate and set it aside for a moment.
- In a small saucepan, combine the water, granulated sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, and salt.
- Place the pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar and cocoa powder dissolve. Continue to heat the pan, stirring frequently, until bubbles appear around the sides of the pan and it starts to simmer.
- Once simmering, remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla extract, chopped chocolate, and cubed butter.
- Whisk until the chocolate and butter melt and the mixture is completely smooth. When it is freshly made, this spread will have the consistency of hot fudge sauce.
- Pour the spread into a jar or other container with a lid. Press a layer of plastic wrap on top of the chocolate to prevent a skin from forming, place the lid on, and refrigerate it for at least an hour, until cooled.
- If it is too cold to spread easily, let the chocolate spread sit at room temperature for a short while before serving.
- This chocolate spread can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Video
Recipe Notes
Variations
- To make it dairy-free: substitute the butter for an equal amount of coconut oil – no need to melt it first. Add it in when you would add the butter. Note that your spread will probably have a light coconut-chocolate flavor, unless you’re using refined coconut oil.
- To make it sugar-free: substitute a 1:1 sugar replacement for the granulated sugar in the recipe, and use a sugar-free chocolate, like Lily’s brand. We have tested it with both Swerve and Splenda, and both work fine. Make sure you are using a 1:1 product, and measure by volume, not weight.
Tips
- If your spread becomes grainy: heat it in the microwave in 30-second increments, whisking well and checking it for sugar crystals after each interval. To check, rub a bit of the chocolate spread between your fingers to see if you feel any sugar crystals. When the spread is warm and you can find no trace of sugar crystals, pour it back into a container.
- If your spread becomes oily: heat it in the microwave in 30-second intervals, whisking after each time, until it is warm and fluid. Place an immersion blender in the bowl and blend it until the oil mixes back into the chocolate. It might take a minute, but you should see your mixture transform into a glossy chocolate with a pudding-like texture.
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
Nutrition
📸 Photo Tutorial: How to Make Chocolate Spread
Follow this photo tutorial to see how easy it is to make this Chocolate Spread. Full instructions are included in the recipe card above.
- Chop chocolate: Finely chop 4 oz dark chocolate.
- Combine water, sugar, cocoa powder and salt: In a small saucepan, combine 2 fl oz (1/4 cup) water, 3.5 oz (1/2 cup) granulated sugar, 1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt.
- Stir and simmer: Place the pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar and cocoa powder dissolve. Continue to heat the pan, stirring frequently, until it reaches a simmer.
- Add vanilla, chopped chocolate and butter: Once simmering, remove the pan from the heat and add 1 tsp vanilla extract, previously chopped chocolate, and 4 oz cubed butter.
- Whisk until smooth: Whisk until the chocolate and butter melt and the mixture is completely smooth.
- When it is freshly made, this spread will have the consistency of hot fudge sauce.
- Cover and refrigerate: Pour the spread into a jar or other container with a lid. Press a layer of plastic wrap on top of the chocolate to prevent a skin from forming, add the lid, and refrigerate it for at least an hour, until it cools.
- Enjoy or store: If it is too cold to spread easily, let it sit at room temperature for a short while before serving. Store it in the refrigerator for up to a month.
🥣 Making it Dairy-Free or Sugar-Free
This recipe is flexible and can be adapted to many different dietary needs.
- To make it dairy-free: substitute the butter for an equal amount of coconut oil – no need to melt it first. Add it in when you would add the butter. Note that your spread will probably have a light coconut-chocolate flavor, unless you’re using refined coconut oil.
- To make it sugar-free: substitute a 1:1 sugar replacement for the granulated sugar in the recipe, and use a sugar-free chocolate, like Lily’s brand. We haven’t tested it with every sugar replacer, but we have tested it with both Swerve and Splenda, and both work fine. Make sure you are using a 1:1 product, and measure by volume, not weight.
💡 FAQs
Rarely, the spread can develop a grainy texture over time. This happens if the sugar has not been completely melted and dissolved during the heating step. Even just a few stray sugar crystals can make it so that the rest of the sugar slowly crystallizes, leading it to have a grainy texture.
You might not notice it when it is freshly made, but over time you’ll see and taste the spread becoming more granulated. It’s still perfectly safe to eat, but most people don’t enjoy the crunchy texture. Fortunately, it’s easy to fix the grainy texture.
Transfer the chocolate spread to a bowl and heat it in the microwave in 30-second increments, whisking well and checking it for sugar crystals after each interval. To check, rub a bit of the chocolate spread between your fingers to see if you feel any sugar crystals. When the spread is warm and you can find no trace of sugar crystals, pour it back into a clean container, place plastic wrap on top, and let it cool completely.
If you notice your chocolate spread developing a clear oily layer on top, this means the fat in the spread has “separated.” This is rare, but it does happen sometimes.
It usually occurs because the butter and chocolate weren’t mixed well enough into the spread. Maybe the butter was too cold when it was added, or the chocolate was in large pieces so it didn’t incorporate well. It can also happen if the spread goes through multiple heating and cooling phases. (See below for a longer explanation.) It’s still completely edible, but it doesn’t look very appetizing, so here’s how you fix your oily chocolate spread.
First transfer it to a bowl and heat it in the microwave in 30-second intervals, whisking after each time, until it is warm and fluid. Next, place an immersion blender in the bowl and blend it until the oil mixes back into the chocolate. As you blend, move the blender around, including the sides and bottom of the bowl, so all of it gets well mixed. It might take a minute, but you should see your mixture transform into a glossy chocolate with a pudding-like texture.
Don’t have an immersion blender? A regular blender can also be used, but it’s my second choice since it can be a pain to clean, and doesn’t work as well for smaller quantities. You can also try just using a whisk after reheating, but if you do that, be sure to keep whisking until you see the texture change. This could take several minutes.
Bonus nerdy section on why the spread sometimes separates: the spread is an emulsion, meaning it has fat particles from butter and chocolate suspended in the water and sugar base. Not mixing it enough, or heating and cooling it frequently, can both result in the fat dropping out of the suspension and coming to the surface of the spread.
The spread will have the texture of hot fudge sauce when it is first made, but after chilling it, it will become spreadable. Hot weather and hot kitchens can cause it to soften again. If your kitchen is quite warm, you’ll find that it becomes soft again when it is left out on the counter for long periods. Simply refrigerate it briefly until it firms up again.
This chocolate spread should be stored in a jar or container with tight-fitting lid. It can kept in the refrigerator for at least a month – but anecdotally, I’ve had it last longer and be completely fine.
It will be pretty firm when it comes out of the refrigerator, so you can either stir it until it becomes more spreadable, or let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes until it softens a bit.
This is great! Im trying to find somewhat, healthy, but fun snacks for my VERY picky Kindergartner who has to bring a snack to school everyday! Of course, it is against policy to bring ANY nut products. My kids love rice cakes, with peanut butter and a sliced banana on top. For a split second, I thought, nutella would be a great substitute for the PB… Nope.. made with hazelNUTS. I am so excited to try a chocolate spread! Thank you so much!
Awesome, what a great idea! Please let me know what you think if you give it a try, Jennifer!
How long does this last for? I want to make it for my younger brothers and sisters 🙂
I’d say a couple of weeks, if you keep it in the refrigerator! The only limiting factor is the butter, so it should keep as long as your butter usually keeps in the fridge. Let me know what you think!
I was out of chocolate spread and my 4 yr old daughter eats bread with only chocolate spread(groan). Googled and saw this recipe. Made it in 20 mts and packed her lunch with this spread.
Thank q for this amazing, super easy recipe!!!
(Bonus tip: added a tablespoon of almond butter and the spread was of perfect spreadable consistency)
Haha, your daughter is a girl after my own heart! So glad that it worked well for you, and I *love* the addition of the almond butter– nutrition, flavor, AND texture? I’m sold!
Thank you so much for this recipe 🙂
Following 2 anaphylactic episodes I have just been diagnosed as having a nut allergy (after 60 years eating and loving them) – in particular hazel nuts and almonds – so this recipe will ‘save me’ in so many ways!
Toni, that’s rough! So glad you finally got a diagnosis, and so happy to help find some nut butter alternatives! Good luck navigating your new nut-free world. 🙂
You save my life today. My sister is a chocolate vampire but she’s also a vegan so its not easy for her to find vegan chocolate spread for her so I decide to made her life easier by trying to make it my own. I switch the butter on your recipe to vegan margarine but I cut the amount of it to half of the amount of semisweet chocolate blocks and it turns out I don’t even need to refrigerate it (and I life in Indonesia,the country that sits right on the equator) but the spread I made stay firm! Its perfect my chocolate-vampire sister. Thanks!
Haha, “chocolate vampire”! I love it, and am so stealing that to describe myself! So glad to know that it worked out for you, and also that it works with vegan margarine! I’m sure other folks will find that info really useful–thanks for sharing! Cheers!
I can’t include nut-containing items in my kids’ school lunches and the nut-free chocolate spread I’d used previously has vanished from the shops. Your recipe turned up in my google search and will be trying it shortly! Do you think coconut oil could work in place of some of the butter?
Hi Melanie! I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, but I do think coconut oil would work for some of the butter, especially during the winter. (I know my coconut oil tends to liquefy during the hot summer months, which might make it less than idea as a sandwich spread ingredients.) I’d love to hear how it goes if you give it a try! Also, I’m not sure if you saw this previous comment, but another person made this with vegan margarine and said it worked well–so that might be another option if you’re trying to avoid butter. She used only 2 oz and says it stays firm at room temp.
Not so much trying to avoid butter (I avoid margarine!) as that I really love coconut 🙂 I did it with butter this time, and it is delicious! Next time I’ll sub some coconut oil and report back.
Do you happen to know how this would bake up? I ask because I came across a “Red Velvet Nutella “Cinnamon” Roll Hearts” recipe today, but would rather use a chocolate spread instead of Nutella. You make and roll out the “Red Velvet” bread dough, spread Nutella on, slice into strips, roll from the outsides to the middle and pinch the center to form the heart, then bake. Do you think the chocolate spread would work or melt away? I’m dying to try it!
Hi Kami! I’ve seen that pin–it’s gorgeous! Unfortunately I think this particular chocolate spread would melt away. I did make a pinwheel cookie with a chocolate filling that might work for the rolls:
https://www.sugarhero.com/recipes/?recipe_id=6035789
You could also try to track down the plain chocolate Hershey’s spread. It’s probably made with palm oil or similar (like Nutella) so my guess is it would behave the same way when baking. Here’s a link so you know what I’m talking about:
http://www.hersheys.com/spreads/default.cshtml
Good luck! I’d love to hear how it goes when you give it a try!
Thank you for the ideas! I will let you know how it goes when I try it, maybe this weekend.
I used this sauce for a bread recipe. (I wanted a cinnamon bread loaf with a jelly-roll style swirl of chocolate.) In my opinion, it worked perfectly. I need to make it again, just to make sure…. Well, to share. 🙂 I was wondering if it would work adjusting the amount of sugar. I described my original batch as semisweet in favor, but I wonder since I have family that loves dark chocolate and to minimize sugar.
I think you can safely reduce the sugar! I’d try 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 and see how you like that. Alternately, you can try using 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate and 2 oz unsweetened (instead of 4 oz semi-sweet) to get at deeper chocolate flavor. I think either option would work well, I probably wouldn’t try both variations at once unless you’re sure you like really dark chocolate!
Do you think this would work with white chocolate?
Thanks ever so much for sharing this recipe. I live in Australia & all the primary schools here(kids aged 4-12) are nut free. Nobody is allowed to take nut products to school due to other children having allergies. My local stores used to stock nut free spread but for the past 3 weeks I’ve been unable to find any & my daughter won’t eat anything for lunch but a chocolate spread sandwich. I’m now going to make this & hope that she will eat it. Again, thank you for making my life a little easier…LOL
Hi Alyssa, You’re so welcome! Thanks for the comment. My son’s school is the same way so I know that it can be challenging! I hope your daughter enjoys it–please let me know how it goes!
Thanks for the advice. I’m going to make some (both for in-bread and to just share as a spread) for family for Christmas. I hope you enjoy the holidays! And thanks for this wonderful recipe.
I am so happy to find a Chocolate spread you can make yourself that seems so easy. Thank you for sharing it with us. I have a fibroid and have been trying to eliminate Soy’s and Lecithin’s from my diet as much as possible. The problem is almost everything has one or the other, or both in it, including a lot of chocolate. And I simply cannot do without chocolate. I have a brand of Organic 65% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (no soy, lecithin’s, palm oils and such) that I’d like to try with this. Do you think it would work or does it have to be a baking chocolate? I’m so excited to try it.
Hi Julie, So sorry for the belated reply! Somehow this comment slipped by me. I think the 65% chocolate chips would absolutely work! I don’t see any reason why you’d need a specific baking chocolate for the recipe. Let me know what you think if you give it a try!