3-Ingredient Plant-Based Chocolate Sauce (WFPB) (Oil-Free)
Rich, chocolaty, and delicious, this smooth Plant-Based Chocolate Sauce requires only 3 ingredients to make an amazing sauce with no refined sugar but plenty of chocolate flavor. You’ll love this easy and healthy vegan chocolate sauce that only takes 3 minutes to mix up with pantry friendly ingredients. Perfect for dipping fruit, pouring on nice cream, and more.
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This plant-based chocolate sauce is my new favorite dessert… thing. I know it’s not a dessert in and of itself (though I am thinking of using this recipe as a base to make chocolate pudding…), but when paired with fruit? YUM.
Now, you could totally use this vegan chocolate sauce on other things. Nice cream (banana ice cream) or other plant-based ice cream would be great. Or you could drizzle it on plant based pancakes or waffles (coming soon!).
Anything that needs a little extra sweet decadence is something you should put this plant-based chocolate sauce on.
Did I mention the best part(s) yet? You only need 3 ingredients to make this sauce. And it comes together in only a few minutes!
You’ll see I also include some ideas on customizing this vegan chocolate sauce. I often add a quarter teaspoon of ground cardamom, mostly because it’s so good for you, but also it gives the chocolate sauce a bit of a fruity flavor that I really love. Other options include vanilla powder (or extract), mint extract, raspberry extract, and lots of other flavorings.
Anyway, however you flavor it, or even if you just stick to the three main ingredients, I feel fairly confident you will LOVE this chocolate sauce. And if it’s not sweet enough or too sweet for you (since everybody’s palate is different), just keep experimenting with the ratio of sweetness to cocoa for your personal tastes.
Ingredients
See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list (with amounts) and instructions.
- Cocoa Powder: This is what gives our recipe it’s delicious chocolate flavor. I just use unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Date Powder / Date Sugar: Date powder (AKA date sugar) is just powdered dates. It’s less sweet than granulated sugar but it’s definitely unrefined and as close to a whole food plant based sugar as you can get (date paste is also fine, which is just dates blended with water).
- Unsweetened Soy Milk: I almost exclusively use soy milk in my kitchen and I only use the kind that comes in a shelf stable carton. This is because I can find organic non-GMO soy milk that’s literally made from just organic soybeans and water. I love to use this type of soy milk for sauces, my morning tea, and making my homemade soy yogurt.
Substitutions
- Cocoa Powder: If you’d prefer to use cacao powder, which is generally considered to have more minerals and antioxidants, then you definitely can. Just keep in mind that cacao tends to be a little more bitter in flavor, so you may need more sweetener.
- Date Powder / Date Sugar: If you don’t have date powder, you may use any other sweetener such as pure maple syrup, date syrup (or homemade date paste), or whatever you have on hand. Any liquid sweeteners may change the consistency of the sauce, so you may need less soy milk. Keep in mind that granulated sugars may keep your plant-based chocolate sauce from being completely smooth, but if you heat the mixture in a small pot over low heat and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes, it should become smooth.
- Unsweetened Soy Milk: You can use any plant-based milk you have on hand. Keep in mind that non-dairy milks in the refrigerated section of the grocery store tend to have a higher water content so your sauce may be slightly less creamy.
Additional Ingredients / Flavor Ideas
- Cardamom: Add ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom for a lightly fruity flavor.
- Maca: Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon ground maca powder for a slightly malted or almost caramel like flavor.
- Vanilla: Add ¼ teaspoon of vanilla powder or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract to bring out even more flavor in the sauce. It almost gives it a “baked goods” kind of flavor.
- Mint: Add 1-2 drops mint extract for a nice minty flavor.
- Raspberry or Strawberry: Add 1-2 drops of raspberry or strawberry flavoring for a nice berry flavor to your vegan chocolate sauce.
- Peanut Butter: Use 2-3 teaspoons pure peanut butter powder (or you can use real peanut butter if you don’t need to limit your overt fats too much) and a splash more soy milk for a delicious chocolate peanut butter sauce situation.
How to Make Plant-Based Chocolate Sauce
- Mix the sauce ingredients: Add the cocoa, date powder, and milk to a bowl or measuring cup. Use a whisk or a fork to mix thoroughly until the chocolate sauce is smooth. Add any additional flavorings and mix again.
- Troubleshooting: If the sauce is too thick, add a small splash of milk and mix. Repeat until you’ve reached your desired consistency. If the sauce is not sweet enough, add a pinch more sweetener and mix. If the sauce is too sweet, and both a pinch more cocoa powder and a small splash of milk and mix.
- Serving: Serve immediately with fruit, nice cream, or whatever you like!
- Storage: Store in an airtight container like a jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can make more or less according to how much you need. To be honest, I actually just make 1/4 of the recipe and eat it all.
Expert Tips
- Substitutions: There’s a whole list of substitutions underneath the ingredients section. Check it out if you don’t happen to have the 3 main ingredients on hand.
- Consistency: Changing any of the ingredients could change the consistency. Simply adjust as needed (add more liquid if it’s too thick or add more cocoa or date powder if it’s too thin).
- Uses: Did you know this plant-based chocolate sauce could also be used as a frosting on a cake? I’ll be posting some recipes for whole food plant based cake soon. The frosting won’t harden, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good frosting. Sweet, creamy, and chocolaty… that’s what makes a good chocolate frosting in my book!
Serving Suggestions
Much like my butter bean hummus and spinach artichoke hummus recipes that are perfect for dipping veggies into, this plant-based chocolate sauce is perfect for dipping fruit into! I love strawberries, pears, apples, bananas, mandarin segments, and pineapple with this sauce. Any fruit would complement the chocolate flavor perfectly.
This healthy vegan chocolate sauce is also perfect for drizzling over nice cream (banana ice cream) or fruit sorbet. Drizzle it on top of a smoothie bowl or vegan yogurt bowl (I have one of those for breakfast every day!).
Speaking of which, this sauce would also be excellent drizzled on an oatmeal bowl, or added to any batch of overnight oats (especially my chocolate cherry overnight oats, coming soon!).
This sauce is also excellent on top of more decadent desserts like plant-based chocolate cake or a chocolate mug cake or mug brownie ( both coming soon). There is no limit to what you can put this amazing chocolate sauce on.
Plant-Based Chocolate Sauce Recipe
Plant-Based Chocolate Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Small Whisk or a fork can work in a pinch
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cocoa powder, or cacao powder, but see notes for info
- ¼ cup date powder, also known as date powder, see notes for substitutions
- ½ cup unsweetened soy milk, or any unsweetened unflavored non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Mix the sauce ingredients: Add the cocoa, date powder, and milk to a bowl or measuring cup. Use a whisk or a fork to mix thoroughly until the chocolate sauce is smooth. Add any additional flavorings and mix again.
- Troubleshooting: If the sauce is too thick, add a small splash of milk and mix. Repeat until you've reached your desired consistency. If the sauce is not sweet enough, add a pinch more sweetener and mix. If the sauce is too sweet, and both a pinch more cocoa powder and a small splash of milk and mix.
- Serving: Serve immediately with fruit, nice cream, or whatever you like!
- Storage: Store in an airtight container like a jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can make more or less according to how much you need. To be honest, I actually just make 1/4 of the recipe and eat it all.
Notes
- Cocoa Powder: If you’d prefer to use cacao powder, which is generally considered to have more minerals and antioxidants, then you definitely can. Just keep in mind that cacao tends to be a little more bitter in flavor, so you may need more sweetener.
- Date Powder: If you don’t have date powder, you may use any other sweetener such as pure maple syrup, date syrup (or homemade date paste), or whatever you have on hand. Any liquid sweeteners may change the consistency of the sauce, so you may need less soy milk. Keep in mind that granulated sugars may keep your plant-based chocolate sauce from being completely smooth, but if you heat the mixture in a small pot over low heat and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes, it should become smooth.
- Unsweetened Soy Milk: I almost exclusively use soy milk in my kitchen and I only use the kind that comes in a shelf stable carton. This is because I can find organic non-GMO soy milk that’s literally made from just organic soybeans and water. You can use any plant-based milk you have on hand. Keep in mind that non-dairy milks in the refrigerated section of the grocery store tend to have a higher water content so your sauce may be slightly less creamy.
