It's so easy to make these delicious and easy homemade sugar free chocolate chips. They're perfect in low carb baking and a much cheaper alternative to store-bought keto chocolate chips.
From now on, I'll always have a jar of homemade sugar free chocolate chips in the larder. And when I get one of these urges to make my favourite low carb chocolate chip cookie recipe RIGHT NOW, I'm good to go!
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Sugar free chocolate chips options
You could go for cacao nibs, or for keto friendly unsweetened chocolate and simply break it into pieces.
Or you can use a quality regular chocolate with a cocoa content of 90% such as Lindt. A whole bar of this chocolate (100g) clocks only 7 grams of sugar. It contains 10 squares, which makes it 0.7 grams of sugar per portion.
Then there is stevia-sweetened sugar free chocolate such as Lily's. Lily's is popular in the US and sells chocolate bars as well as chocolate baking chips. The only issue is that low carb chocolate brands are EXPENSIVE!
The regular semi sweet or dark chocolate chips you can buy in the baking sections of supermarkets have a high sugar content. I have never found one that has more than 70% cocoa solids. Remember that the remaining 30% will be sugar!
Also, beware of brands that call themselves sugar free, but sweeten chocolate with maltitol. This sugar alcohol has the highest glycemic index (35) of all sugar alcohols and will raise your insulin levels.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need for homemade sugar free chocolate chips:
- Cacao butter - also called cocoa butter. It is the main ingredient of quality chocolate and firm at room temperature. It is a better and tastier option for homemade chocolate chips than coconut oil.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Powdered sweetener - Allulose is best, but erythritol based sweeteners work too. Or use stevia glycerite.
Instructions
This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
1.) Melt cacao butter in a frying pan.
2.) Add unsweetened cocoa powder and powdered sweetener. Stir until combined.
Top Tip: If you wish, add ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract.
3.) Pour the melted sugar free chocolate onto the underside of a pyramid silicone baking mat. These mats are actually sold for fat-free roasting - if you place meat on top of the pyramids, the fat can run off and your meat gets crisp and browned all round.
4.) Using a spatula or a spoon, spread the chocolate evenly into the silicone mat and place it in the freezer for 5 minutes.
5.) Now release your cute little pyramid-shaped sugar free chocolate chips! They're ready to use in your favourite low carb recipes.
Keto chocolate chips for baking
Update June 2020: I now recommend altering the recipe a little if you want use the chocolate chips in keto baking, such as my keto chocolate chip cookies.
The reason is that the 3 ingredient chocolate chips with cacao butter become very liquid in the oven.
However, if you add a forth ingredient - cacao paste, sometimes also called cocoa mass - they become as stable as the keto chocolate chips you can buy in the shops. This means they will melt, but turn into those lovely chocolate blobs we're looking for.
Cacao paste is basically ground up roasted cocoa beans. They are the dark brown buttons in the picture below.
Instead of using 50 grams of cacao butter, use 25g cacao butter and 25g cacao paste. Then, add your 2 tablespoon powdered sweetener and 1 ½ tablespoon of cocoa powder.
I decided to use only half the amount of cocoa powder in this altered version because the cacao mass already has a strong chocolate taste.
Here are the ingredients again:
- 0.9 oz / 25g cacao butter
- 0.9 0z / 25g cacao paste
- 2 tablespoon powdered sweetener
- 1 ½ tablespoon cocoa powder
The method is the same - melt, spread onto the pyramid mat and cool until firm.
Recipe Notes
If you don't have a pyramid silicone mat (or a silicone trivet), you could simply pour the sugar free chocolate onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. After the chocolate has set, break it into pieces.
If you want to go the full nine yards, check out this chocolate chip mould which you can get on Amazon US! It creates the perfect chocolate chip shape.
For an even simpler version of the recipe you could use 100% unsweetened chocolate and sweeten it with powdered erythritol or allulose.
If you choose to do this, make sure you use quality chocolate such as Montezuma's (my go-to brand in the UK). Cheap chocolate has a tendency to seize and curdle if it's not heated VERY slowly.
Can I make homemade chocolate chips with coconut oil?
As mentioned above, I don't recommend swapping the cacao butter for coconut oil or adding any other ingredients such as butter and cream. Your chocolate will not be firm at room temperature and you'll have to store it in the fridge or freezer.
Which sweetener works best?
Important! This recipe works best with powdered sweetener. Granular sweetener is too heavy and will sink to the bottom, resulting in crunchy chocolate chips. You can blend granulated sweetener in a food processor to make powdered sweetener.
The best zero carb sweetener for this recipe is allulose. It melts like sugar and you won't have any issues with grittiness. Allulose is easy to get hold of in the US. It's not yet common in the UK and Europe, but you can get it via the website mydiet-shop.co.uk.
My go-to sweetener is still erythritol. I tolerate it well and don't mind the slight cooling taste it has. I like the blends that also contain a small amount of stevia and monk fruit (Try Lakanto or So Nourished!).
The one thing about erythritol is that is has a tendency to re-crystallise when it cools. This means you will have an ever-so-slight graininess in your keto chocolate chips.
This should be less noticeable if you use xylitol (be aware thought that it is highly toxic to dogs).
Storage
Store in a mason jar or airtight container for up to 3 months. Shelf-stable.
Option to store in the fridge or in the freezer.
Recipes with sugar free chocolate chips
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Don't miss the handy video where I show how to make sugar free chocolate in three simple steps - you can make low carb chocolate bars, crunchy Keto chocolate bark by adding nuts or homemade low carb granola and, of course, sugar free chocolate chips!
Recipe
Sugar Free Chocolate Chips
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
- 1.75 oz / 50g cacao butter
- 3 tablespoon cocoa powder unsweetened
- 2 tablespoon allulose or powdered erythritol
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Melt the cacao butter in a pan over a low heat.
- Add the cocoa powder and powdered sweetener and stir util combined. Add the vanilla extract, if using.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the underside of a pyramid silicone baking mat and place in the freezer for 5 minutes until set.
- Release the sugar free chocolate chips from the mat and use in your favourite low carb recipes!
Video
Notes
- 0.9 oz / 25g cacao butter
- 0.9 0z / 25g cacao paste
- 2 tablespoon powdered sweetener
- 1 ½ tablespoon cocoa powder
Nutrition
First published in October 2018, updated in June 2020.
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Ashley
Will this recipe also work for white chocolate chis as well?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, it should.
Rox
can i use a regular butter instead of cocoa butter?
Katrin Nürnberger
No, that would not be the same as butter is much softer than cocoa butter. If you used butter, you'd be making a fudge that you'd have to keep in the freezer.
Ness
Hi, i made these using Allulose and the chocolate is very gritty. Did i do something wrong?
Katrin Nürnberger
I"m wondering if you did not wait long enough until the sweetener was melted? Allulose normally behaves like sugar, which means it does not recrystallise.
Estephany Ross
Thank you for making this recipe, I made this recipe with the paste version. It is somewhat stable but very bendy and melts really easily. What can I do to keep it hard outside of the fridge? Is the alcohol from the vanilla keeping from hardening to its potential? Or maybe I need to add more paste? What is your advice. I followed the recipe exactly, except for the vanilla and added less cocoa powder.
Katrin Nürnberger
To get that snap without the aid of the fridge, you need to temper chocolate.
Colleen M
Hi Katrin,
Many thanks for yet another super simple, uncomplicated stand out recipe. Little shiny , yummy pyramids, love them.
Georgina
OH MY GOSH
I can’t rate this recipe yet as I haven’t made it BUT I can’t believe I’ve stumbled across this website.
I’ve recently adopted a sugar free lifestyle and it has been SO HARD to find recipes from the UK. American recipes are great but it’s difficult to find most of the ingredients used over there.
I can’t wait for things to be easier now that I can see your product recommendations!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Georgina, I have a lot of readers from the US so I do link to many US products on Amazon. But of course, I source my ingredients in the UK. If you ever have questions about where to get a product from, let me know.
Carole
I only have cacao powder not cocoa powder will I need to use less? Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger
I would use the same amount.
Tracy Neal
What cacoa paste/mass did you use? Can’t wait to make this
Mary Gerdt
Love, Love ❤️ this recipe!
Have been paying a fortune for sugar free chocolate that tastes flat.
Your recipe very easy to follow and Thank You
Rosa
hi Katrin,
I wonder if you can help me find what went wrong with my chocolate chips. I tried to make them and instead of melting nicely into a spreadable consistence, it melted at the beginning but when I mixed it with a whisker it became grainy. I am not sure what went wrong ?? My other question, you mention powder sweetener, so I grounded my Lakanto Monkfruit + Erythritol sweetener. Right? wrong? Please help, I was looking forward to having homemade keto chocolate chips and was excited to find your recipe.
Thank you,
Rosa
Katrin Nürnberger
You have to warm the cocoa butter gently and make sure you do not overheat it - so it may be a temperature issue.
As for the sweetener, if you have a high speed blender, making your own powdered erythritol/monk fruit should be fine. You'll get a slight graininess in the finished product, but for me, that does not impact the enjoyment. The only way to get a 100% smooth chocolate is to use allulose, which does not re-crystallise like sugar.
Rosa
Success! I used the double boiler method and added ingredients slowly, starting with cocoa butter, then cocoa mass and finally cacao powder and powder sweeetener. The chocolate chips look and taste great and now on to making your delicious Triple Chocolate Mug Cake. Thank you very much!
CAROL COWART
I've made your original recipe and it is amazing. We love a TBSP of powdered freeze-dried strawberries in it.
I have a question. How is this altered recipe as a chocolate bar? Does it hold up better with less finger melt?
Thank you.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Carol, there's no noticeable difference when it's at room temperature - but maybe I eat my chocolate too quick to notice! You are adding more solids though, so in theory they should hold up a little better.
Alena
Hello Katrin, thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Would it be possible to make these 'milk' chocolate? What should I add? Cream? Thank you in advance.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Alena, I have a recipe for keto milk chocolate, where I use heavy cream and reduce it. However, to keep these firm at room temperature I think it's better to use either heavy cream powder or coconut cream powder. Add a couple of tbsp and taste test!