Make your own low carb and sugar free chocolate chips at home, with this simple three ingredient recipe!
Why you’ll love these sugar free chocolate chips
- Absolutely no sugar required.
- Dairy free, gluten free, and keto diet friendly.
- Use the chocolate chips for baking, or eat them by the handful!
- Rich, sweet, and perfectly melty. They taste like store bought dark chocolate chocolate chips, just without sugar, corn syrup, milk, or artificial ingredients. No soy lecithin either.
- The entire recipe takes just five minutes to make and is much less expensive than buying low calorie packaged sugar free chocolate chips.
- Did I mention that you only need three ingredients?
You may also love these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step by step recipe video
Above, watch me make the chocolate chips from scratch. It’s so easy!
Ingredients for homemade chocolate chips
Cocoa powder – Use high quality unsweetened cocoa powder for the richest chocolate taste. Or choose cacao powder to create raw chocolate chips. I love the slight bitterness of the cacao.
Coconut oil – The recipe calls for virgin coconut oil or cacao butter. You may substitute refined coconut oil if preferred. Do not substitute vegetable oil or any other oil, because the chips will not harden and you will just get chocolate sauce.
Coconut oil is sold at most regular grocery stores, Costco, Target, or Walmart. Cacao butter should be readily available at health food stores, online retailers, and Whole Foods.
Stevia (optional) – For completely sugar free chocolate chips, use your favorite vanilla stevia drops. You can experiment with other flavors of stevia as well.
A liquid sweetener like honey, agave, or pure maple syrup works for refined sugar free chocolate chips.
Leave out the stevia or other sweetener if you want 100% unsweetened chocolate chips.
Other ingredients – Feel free to add half a pinch of ground cinnamon or a drop of maple or peppermint extract to make flavored chocolate chips. I have not yet tried adding milk for semi sweet or milk chocolate chips.
Homemade sugar free white chocolate chips are next on my list to try. Ooh or maybe sugar free butterscotch chips!
Sugar free chocolate chip baking tips
- Use cacao butter for chocolate baking chips.
- When making classic chocolate chip cookies with homemade chocolate chips, start with cold chips straight from the freezer. And chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator before baking cookies in the oven.
- The coconut oil version is great in raw desserts, Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip, no bake snacks, or chocolate cakes, but it will melt in cookies or bars.
Ways to use sugar free chocolate chips
Chocolate chips are like the little black dress of the food world. I can’t think of many desserts where they wouldn’t be a welcome addition!
Chocolate chip cookies. The DIY chocolate chips work well in homemade Sugar Free Cookies. Cacao butter chips give you slightly more melty results than packaged brands, while still holding their shape in the oven.
No bake desserts. I love adding a sprinkle of these vegan chocolate chips to unbaked treats or ice cream, like my Chocolate No Bake Cookies or Chocolate Banana Ice Cream.
Banana bread. Not just for cookies! The cacao butter version is good in other baked goods, such as quick breads or muffins. You can use coconut oil chocolate chips in recipes where it’s fine if they melt into the dessert. Try them in a Keto Mug Cake or Keto Brownies.
Eat them plain. This is by far my favorite use for chocolate chips. I grab a few (okay, a lot) every time I’m in the kitchen. They also make a delicious topping for oatmeal or yogurt, perhaps along with a scoop of peanut butter. Just be sure to not eat the entire batch straight from the container if you’d planned to use them for recipes.
How to make sugar free chocolate chips
- If your coconut oil or cacao butter is not already melted, very gently heat it in the microwave or on the stove top until melted.
- I like to first sift the cocoa powder in a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps. This step is not required.
- Stir the cocoa powder, melted oil or butter, and stevia or liquid sweetener in a cereal size bowl until it forms a smooth chocolate sauce.
- Spread the melted chocolate into chocolate chip shaped candy molds or any container lined with parchment paper.
- Freeze until completely solid. Then remove from the freezer. If you are using chocolate molds, simply pop the frozen chips out of the molds. If you froze the sauce on parchment paper, use a sharp knife to carefully cut it into large or mini chocolate chip sized pieces.
- Store chocolate chips in the freezer until ready to eat. Leftovers should stay good for up to four months frozen in an airtight container. But I’m almost never am able to keep them around that long!
Health benefits
Low carb: Per serving, these paleo and keto chocolate chips contribute just one gram of carbohydrates and less than one gram of net carbs.
Fewer calories: The recipe below has about half the calories per tablespoon of packaged chocolate chips like Hershey’s or Toll House. And it’s also a lower calorie option than Lily’s sugar free chocolate chips.
Antioxidants: You get flavanols and iron thanks to the superfood cocoa powder.
Low glycemic index: Coconut oil contains zero carbohydrates and no sugar, meaning it has a glycemic index of 0. Cocoa powder is also low glycemic and will not cause a glucose spike. The chips are also very low sodium. They should be safe for diabetics in general, but it’s always a good idea to check with your own personal doctor or nutritionist.
No erythritol: These chocolate chips are stevia sweetened and are free of erythritol, xylitol, monk fruit, allulose, and artificial sweeteners like sucralose or aspartame.
The recipe was adapted from these Homemade Chocolate Bars.
Sugar Free Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp coconut oil or melted cacao butter (80g)
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder or cacao powder (30g)
- 50 drops vanilla stevia (or use 1/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup and decrease coconut oil to just 4 tbsp)
Instructions
- *Use cacao butter for sugar free chocolate baking chips. The coconut oil version works well for no bake desserts, as a topping for ice cream or yogurt, or eating by the handful.
- 1. If not already in liquid form, gently heat the coconut oil or cacao butter in the microwave or on the stove top until melted.
- 2. For the smoothest results, I like to sift the cocoa powder in a fine mesh sieve. This step is optional.
- 3. Whisk the cocoa, melted oil or cacao butter, and stevia or sweetener in a cereal size bowl. Continue stirring until it forms a smooth chocolate sauce.
- 4. Spread the melted chocolate into a parchment-lined container or into candy molds. If you want that classic chocolate chip shape, I recommend these Chocolate Chip Candy Molds.
- 5. Freeze until completely hardened. If using chocolate molds, simply pop the chips out. If using a container, use a knife to cut into small chocolate chip sized pieces.
- 6. Store in the freezer until ready to use. The homemade sugar free chocolate chips should stay good for up to four months when frozen in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
More sugar free chocolate recipes
For using the chip molds, the easiest way to fill them is by setting the mold on a larger piece of wax or parchment paper on the counter, pouring the chocolate in a puddle in the middle of the mold, and then using a bench scraper or other wide straight-edged tool, swipe the chocolate across the mold. If all the holes aren’t filled, spoon a little more on and continue smooshing it in to the remaining holes. Any chocolate that falls off the edge onto the paper can be scraped up and re-used. Use the scraper to remove any remaining chocolate from the face of the mold, then move mold to freezer or fridge.
Can j use another oil but not coconut oil?
Coconut oil is solid when hard, so the only other thing I can think of that might work is possibly palm oil?
Jason
Hi Katie! I just received one of your cookbooks for Christmas and I’m so excited to try out some recipes. I was wondering if you have experimented with allulose as a sweetener in recipes like this one? I keep hearing good things about it, but I don’t want to spend the money if it won’t work in your recipes.
We have never tried it, but will look out for it to experiment with!
Jason (media relations)
Can I and a little bit of almond milk to make “milk” chocolate chips. And if I can what would you recommend?
We have never tried so honestly have no idea, but be sure to report back if you experiment!
Jason (media relations)
Can I use these to make chocolate avocado mousse? Thanks.
Can I sub melted cocoa butter for the coconut oil like in your peanut butter baking chip recipe? : fingers crossed and eyes closed: I hope you say yes because I am desperately trying to find a homemade chocolate chip recipe using cocoa butter so I can keep them at room temperature (in my homemade trail mix) or even bake with them!?
I don’t see why you couldn’t but haven’t tried it. Be sure to report back for us if you try. Or use the room temp recipe she offers in her post: Sugar Free Chocolate Chips For Baking:
While the above raw version is fantastic for using in no-bake treats or eating by the handful, if you want a version that you can bake with or that has the option of being oil-free, simply melt a bar of unsweetened chocolate and sweeten to taste with your favorite sweetener of choice. You can add a tsp oil for smoother results, but it’s not required. Pour into a parchment-lined container or candy molds, and freeze until firm. Then break into small pieces or pop out of the molds. This version needs no refrigeration and can be used anywhere you’d use store-bought chocolate chips.
I used Costco kirkland brand peanut butter and these cookies were so oily and the lily’s chocolate chips I used burned. I’ve been baking at least twice a week for 37 years and have never had a cookie recipe turn out so awful. Just want to warn others before they waste money on these specific ingredients. Completely inedible. Sorry
I don’t even know what recipe you are talking about, as this is a recipe for chocolate chips…
I am allergic to coconut. Is there another oil I can use that will work to be able to eat these raw? So excited to try this recipe soon!
The only thing I can think of is maybe cocoa butter, melted? If you try it, be sure to report back!
Jason
I was running late this morning so this recipe arrived just in time for a late breakfast. Very tasty and couldn’t be easier.
Do you think if I made the 2nd version, could I use date syrup to sweeten the 100% chocolate, and if so how much?
Can I use date syrup in the 2nd version to sweeten the chocolate instead?
I only have powdered erythritol on hand, can i sub stevia with this? What would be the ratio? Thanks!
This recipe is great and I love it. 💗💜💗
Mine do not come out of the candy mold well. Even freezing overnight they are still soft. Any suggestions?
Hi Amanda, did you use coconut oil?
I have the same problem and I used coconut oil melted
Help my chips won’t pop out of my mold.
I had to adapt my recipe as I used more UK available products.
I used agave.
Can you use. The chocolate chip recipe. For chocolate chip cookies. Thanks