This healthy vegan chocolate sauce is naturally creamy and versatile thanks to oat milk and contains no added fat. It's silky smooth, made with just 4 ingredients, and has a decadent hot fudge flavor you'll want to drizzle on everything!Trust me, after one taste you won't believe it contains no nuts, coconut, oil, dairy, gluten, or refined sugar!

Truth? This vegan chocolate sauce is blowing my mind. It is every bit as rich and delicious as it looks in the photos, yet it's made with just 4 wholesome ingredients. I honestly didn't know it was this easy to make such an amazing and versatile chocolate syrup!
This recipe comes to us courtesy of author Kim Lutz and her book, The Oat Milk Cookbook. Big thanks to Kim and Sterling Publishing for allowing me to review the book and share this recipe with you.
If you've visited my blog before you may be familiar with my obsession with oats. From this popular vanilla oat ice cream andvegan pecan pie filling made with oatmeal, to baked goods made with oat flour like my oat flour banana bread, pancakes, and healthy oat mug cake, oats are a major theme around here.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Healthy Vegan Chocolate Sauce!
- Ingredients and Substitutions
- How to Make Vegan Chocolate Sauce
- Serving Tips
- FAQs
- Ways to Use Vegan Chocolate Sauce
- More Sweet Toppings
- Recipe
- 💬 Comments

The Oat Milk Cookbook also highlights the versatility of oats. It features more than 100 delicious, dairy-free recipes that prove the versatility of oat milk for everything from cheesy sauces and soups to coffee drinks and desserts.
I love that the first chapter includes information about the benefits of oat milk over dairy, such as the health, environmental, and animal cruelty issues. Kim also gives great tips about kitchen tools you'll need to make many of the recipes.
I've already marked SO many recipes throughout the book that I can't wait to try, including this gorgeous Oat Milk Sandwich Bread that Sarah of Bad to the Bowl made and shared.
Why You'll Love This Healthy Vegan Chocolate Sauce!
- Simple: Only 4 ingredients and 5 minutes to make a batch (or 10 minutes if you make your own oat milk).
- Versatile: Use homemade oat milk for a creamier chocolate sauce or a different non-dairy milk for a thinner chocolate syrup. Plus...
- Different Temps: Use it at room temp or warm like vegan hot fudge. Or chill it for a dense, spreadable, fudge-y consistency!
- Healthy: Made with unsweetened cocoa powder and sweetened entirely with maple syrup, there's no dairy, coconut, oil, corn syrup, or added fat of any kind!
- Delicious: Most importantly, it tastes amazing! I know you'll love it as much as we do.
The pure, simple genius of this chocolate sauce is why I chose it as THE one I wanted to share over all the other recipes in the book.
I mean, look at it! How can you not want to keep a jar of this heavenly sauce in the fridge at all times?!
When chilled it's more like a spreadable ganache. I'm not even kidding. Just wait until you see it. It's actual oat magic.
Ingredients and Substitutions
To make vegan chocolate syrup, all you need are a small saucepan, a whisk, about 10 minutes, and these 4 ingredients:
- cocoa powder - Look for natural, unsweetened cocoa powder, though you can sub raw cacao powder if you'd like.
- pure vanilla extract - important for the overall flavor
- maple syrup - I haven't tried the recipe yet with agave syrup but I suspect it will work, too.
- oats and water - In the recipe notes I've included instructions for making a basic oat milk at home. As mentioned above, this will give you an extra creamy and impressive chocolate syrup! But you can also use store-bought oat milk if you don't mind a slightly thinner consistency.

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Though you can make the chocolate syrup with either homemade or store-bought oat milk, I highly recommend you try it first with homemade.
You see, commercial oat milks go through a process that breaks down the starches that give oatmeal its thick and gooey quality. In case you've ever steamed oat milk for a latte and wondered why it doesn't get weird like some homemade oat milk does, that's why.
I even figured out how to replicate the enzyme process at home for my oat milk recipe!
But for this chocolate sauce, the oat "slime" actually works to our advantage by making it extra creamy and thick - basically, it replaces the viscosity of dairy cream.
Thankfully, making oat milk for this recipe is as simple as blending oats and water, then straining it through a nut milk bag.
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Sauce

- Whisk together all 4 ingredients in a small sauce pan.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cook for about 2 minutes more. You'll see the natural starches of the oat milk start to thicken and get ultra creamy.
- And that's it!Remove from heat and serve now like vegan hot fudge, or let it cool before serving or storing.
Serving Tips
You can use this chocolate sauce warm, at room temp, or chilled. And here's a little perk you might enjoy versus sauces that are made with added saturated fats.... this one doesn't harden as it cools.
In fact, it's fantastic straight out of the fridge the next day! The consistency becomes more like a caramel sauce but with the flavor of deep, dark chocolate fudge.
Also, feel free to add a pinch of salt to the pot. Next time I might try it with a bit of smoked sea salt!
FAQs
What's the difference between chocolate sauce and chocolate syrup?
Both chocolate syrup and chocolate sauce are thinner in consistency and sweeter than hot fudge. The key difference is that chocolate sauce often includes milk or cream, which makes it slightly thicker and richer than chocolate syrup, which is made with water.
The cool thing about this vegan version is that, depending on the non-dairy milk you use, this recipe can serve as either one.
How long does it keep?
Store homemade vegan chocolate sauce in a lidded jar or other airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Can I freeze leftovers?
Yes, this low-fat chocolate sauce freezes well! So feel free to make extra, and store it for a rainy day. Or make ahead for use on a dessert for a party or other special occasion.
Can I use a different non-dairy milk?
I've heard from some of my readers that other non-dairy milks work, but the result will be more like syrup. If you want the thickness provided by homemade oat milk, you may want to add a small amount of starch, such as arrowroot or cornstarch.

Ways to Use Vegan Chocolate Sauce
Serve this healthy vegan chocolate syrup:
- drizzled on oat milk ice cream, coconut milk ice cream and any vegan ice cream flavor you love!
- as a syrup for oat flour pancakes and muffins
- as a dip for vegan protein cookies
- chilled and spread like frosting on these healthy banana brownies
- on frozen banana nice cream
- as a dip for fresh fruit like strawberries and sliced apple, pear, and banana - hello, vegan chocolate fondue!
- on frozen banana bites (yes, please!)
- you can also make hot chocolate and creamy vegan cocktails with it!
During the week when you (or the kids) want a quick snack, pull the jar of sauce from the fridge and spread some on one half of a peanut butter-banana sandwich. Heavenly.
Check out this new spreadable Vegan Chocolate Ganache lightly adapted from this recipe!
More Sweet Toppings
- Date Caramel Sauce
- Sweetened Condensed Oat Milk
- Vegan Condensed Milk (No Coconut)
- Vegan Frosting Without Butter
Grab a copy of The Oat Milk Cookbook, and be sure to let us know in the comments below what you think about this vegan chocolate sauce... and your favorite ways to enjoy it!
Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Sauce & Syrup
Author: Lori Rasmussen, My Quiet Kitchen
Oat milk gives this healthy vegan chocolate sauce a naturally creamy consistency with no added fat. Only 4 ingredients, and it tastes SO rich and luxurious! Drizzle it over ice cream plus all of your favorite desserts and breakfast treats. Contains no coconut, nuts, oil, dairy, or refined sugar.
Reprinted with permission from Sterling Publishing Co; recipe by Kimberly Lutz, 2020.
Yield:the photos show a double batch, which makes about 1⅓ cups of sauce;as written here and in The Oat Milk Cookbook, the recipe makes about ⅔ cup. The author says she likes to double the recipe and keep a small jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. I completely agree.
5 from 30 votes
Servings: 3 servings
Prep Time: 3 minutes mins
Cook Time: 5 minutes mins
Total Time: 8 minutes mins
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Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup - Note: 6 tablespoon is ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp; for a double batch you'll need ¾ cup.
- 6 tablespoons oat milk, homemade or store-bought - See Notes for homemade.
Instructions
In a small sauce pan whisk together the cocoa powder, vanilla, maple syrup, and oat milk.
Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for 2 minutes, or until thick and creamy.
Serve the chocolate sauce warm or at room temperature. It's delicious both ways. We also enjoy it straight from the fridge when it's thick and spreadable.
Notes
Be sure to review the FAQs and helpful tips in the post above.
How To Make Oat Milk
- Combine 1 cup rolled oats with 4 cups ice cold water in a blender. In my Vitamix I like to blend on high for no more than 30 seconds to avoid slimy oat milk (note that if you're only using it for chocolate sauce, this doesn't really matter).
Depending on your blender I recommend experimenting with this to find the perfect blend time. - Strain the oat milk through several layers of cheesecloth or a nut milk bag.
- Store oat milk in a lidded glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Shake well before using.
Store leftover chocolate sauce in a lidded jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. It freezes beautifully and thaws quickly.
Nutrition information is an estimate and based on a ¼ cup serving.
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 148kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 3gFat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 21mgFiber: 6gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 62IUVitamin C: 0mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.
Did you try the recipe?Share your feedback in the comments below!