This ultra-rich and decadent homemade chocolate is made with cocoa powder, coconut oil, honey, and chopped nuts.
Making your own chocolate is easy. And when you make it at home, you know exactly what goes into it and can avoid unwanted additives.
It’s also a fun recipe to make – my kids love helping me make it, and I’m happy to enlist their help. They love pouring the warm melted mixture into the molds, then watching it magically turn into chocolate bonbons.
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need four ingredients to make your own homemade chocolate! Don’t you just love recipes with a short ingredients list? Here’s an overview of what you’ll need – the exact measurements are included in the recipe card below:
Virgin coconut oil: I love the wonderful flavor it gives the chocolate. You could also use food-grade cocoa butter for a more stable chocolate that doesn’t need to be refrigerated. See the discussion below.
Unsweetened cocoa powder: I prefer Dutch-processed cocoa powder which is milder and not as acidic as natural cocoa powder. But if all you have on hand is natural cocoa powder, that should work too.
Honey: I find that just 2 tablespoons are the perfect amount. They give this chocolate the perfect dose of sweetness – not overly sweet, but also not too bitter.
Chopped nuts: You can omit them, but they do enhance the chocolate, both in terms of flavor and in terms of texture. Make sure the nuts are unsalted unless you think you will like the sweet-salty combination.
How to make homemade chocolate
Making this recipe is surprisingly easy! It’s so easy, in fact, that it’s a great activity to do with your kids. Depending on their age, I find that they need very minimal supervision when making it.
The detailed instructions for making this recipe are included in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps:
Melt the coconut oil in the microwave, then gradually stir in the cocoa powder, honey, and nuts. You can also use the stovetop for melting the oil over low heat, but the microwave is faster and easier.
Pour the mixture into a candy silicone mold. These molds are flimsy, so it’s a good idea to place the mold on a tray or a pan that would fit in your freezer.
Freeze the homemade chocolate until set. This should take between 20-30 minutes. I’m impatient, so I usually take them out after 20 minutes, even though they tend to still be quite melty at this point.
Melty chocolate
Coconut oil is delicious, but since it’s almost liquid at room temperature, this chocolate is quite melty. So keep it in the fridge and remove it just 5 minutes before serving.
Another option is to use food-grade cocoa butter instead of coconut oil. But I do find that even when it’s made with coconut oil, the chocolate is not as melty the next day, after it’s had some time to rest and stabilize in the fridge. So I almost always make it with coconut oil.
How long can you keep homemade chocolate?
As you can probably imagine, it doesn’t keep as long as commercial chocolate. And it does need to be refrigerated. You can keep it in the fridge, in a sealed container, for about one week. But it’s so good, I doubt it is going to last you that long. 😀
More chocolaty recipes to consider
If you like to make your own chocolate, you might also want to try this easy recipe for dark chocolate bark. Other tasty chocolate recipes that I love to make include:
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Homemade Chocolate
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 oz roasted unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped in food processor
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the coconut oil in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave just a few seconds to melt it.
- Sift the cocoa powder into the melted coconut oil. Use a small rubber spatula to combine.
- Mix in the honey, then the ground almonds.
- Use a spoon to transfer the mixture into a candy silicone mold. Freeze for 20 minutes, until completely set.
- Keep the homemade chocolate in the fridge in an airtight container. Remove it from the fridge 5 minutes before enjoying.
NOTES
More Recipes to Try:
Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.