A Clean Bake

Homemade Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate (gluten free, paleo, and vegan)

Anti Candida
Dairy Free
Egg Free
GAPS
Gluten Free
Low Carb & Keto
Nut Free
Paleo
SCD
Vegan
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This vegan, dairy-free, and paleo homemade sugar free dark chocolate recipe is incredibly tasty and simple to make. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to make homemade chocolate with just a handful of clean ingredients!

Homemade Sugar Free and Paleo Dark Chocolate
I have nothing at all against someone buying me a lovely box of chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, my finicky stomach has forced me to resort to what I thought was extreme measures this year: making my own chocolate. 

It sounds bananas — except when you find out just how easy it is to make sugar-free chocolate.

Sugar Free Dark Chocolate is Incredibly Easy To Make – At Least It Should Be

Did you know you could make chocolate at home from scratch? What’s more, did you know it takes five minutes???? In terms of hands on time, it goes mix, stir, pour, [wait], eat — that’s it.

Chocolate is nothing more than cocoa, cocoa butter, sweetener, and flavorings, like salt and vanilla, which enhance the rich flavor of the chocolate. At least it should be. That’s all you need to make truly special dark chocolate. But most manufacturers tinker with that formula, for one reason or another.

When you buy Hershey chocolate chips, Reese’s peanut butter cups, or a hazelnut Russell Stover chocolate bar, they contain additives like soy lecithin. These additives make them shelf stable or hold a shape (like chips that stay chip-shaped when you heat them) or resist “bloom” — that light brown or white-ish powdery look that chocolate gets when it is old, freezer burned, or heated and cooled too quickly. You’ll see a teeny bit of it on these chocolates, but it doesn’t affect the taste or enjoyment of the chocolate in the slightest. 

And it’s a sign of the simple composition of these chocolates.

Cocoa powder and coconut oil in a bowl with a spoon for homemade sugar free dark chocolate

Photo but Quin Liburd

Milk Chocolate Lovers Need Not Apply

You’re either a dark chocolate person or a milk chocolate person. If you’re looking for a sugar free milk chocolate, you probably have a pretty wicket sweet tooth and you will NOT like this chocolate. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth.

This is designed to be dark, rich chocolate, meaning heavy on the cocoa and light on the sweetener. The high cocoa-to-sweetener ratio means you can taste the complex, almost-(pleasantly) burned flavor of the bitter roasted cocoa. But if you’re not a person who loves 72%-85% dark chocolate bars, this might not be the chocolate for you. If you are, you’ll love the great taste of this pleasantly bitter homemade sugar free dark chocolate.

This is the Chocolate For Everyone Else

Raw cacao powder and raw cocoa powder actually have a number of health benefits, including being filled with magnesium, potassium, and antioxidants. Unfortunately, commercial milk, dark, and white chocolate products are filled with unwanted ingredients.

Commercially-made candy bars and dark chocolate truffles are made with far more ingredients than they need to be, which is not only unhealthy, but (in my experience) interferes with the chocolate taste that — call me crazy — I want. (Looking at you, Godiva.) I may be a total chocolate snob, but I want my chocolate to have a, well…chocolate flavor. When I bite into most grocery store chocolate, I can practically taste my blood sugar spiking. Ick.

Then there’s the commercially-available sugar free candy and sugar free chocolate products that come with warnings about a laxative effect??? Even though it has no sugar, sugar free chocolate candy is filled with sugar alcohols, like maltitol or erythritol. I am absolutely not putting that anywhere near my body, and I imagine you don’t plan to either.

Even good quality chocolate products can be produced in a factory that may also process cashews, pecans, and other tree nuts, gluten, dairy, or other allergens – making it risky for anyone who needs to stay nut-, dairy-, or gluten free to consume.

The safest and best sugar free dark chocolate out there is right in your own kitchen.

Melted sugar free dark chocolate in a bowl with a spoon

Photo but Quin Liburd

A Few Notes and Tricks For Your Homemade Dark Chocolate

  • Chocolate base: The base of this recipe is cacao butter (also known as cocoa butter), which is a creamy saturated fat that is solid at room temperature. It may be available at a health food store, but I get mine on Amazon. If you can’t find cacao butter, you can use coconut oil. However, if you do use oil, you must keep the chocolates chilled, even once they are set. Coconut oil will be too soft at room temperature.
  • Sweetener: This recipe works best when sweetened with liquid stevia. I provided a ballpark number of drops, but just keep adding drops until the mixture is sweetened to your taste.
  • Sweetener alternative: If you do not have liquid stevia, you can use granulated monk fruit sweetener (I recommend Lakanto) or granulated stevia (I recommend Sugarless Sugar). If you can find powdered stevia or monk fruit (Lakanto makes it), use that instead. Use another sugar substitute at your own risk, since I haven’t tested the flavor or texture outcome of other products. As a general rule, the larger the grain, the grittier your chocolate will be.
  • Grams of net carbs: If you use stevia or monk fruit as the sweetener in this recipe, the chocolate will be low carb, suitable for diabetics, and keto-friendly, with only 1 gram of net carbohydrates. (Although it is not billed as such, this is keto chocolate) 
  • Sugar alternative: If you don’t have dietary restrictions that limit added sugar, you can use coconut sugar or maple sugar, but I would strongly recommend that you pulse it in an espresso or grinder or food processor so that it will be as fine as possible before you incorporate it into the recipe. Do not use a powdered sugar, white, refined sugar, or a liquid sweetener, such as honey, agave, or maple syrup.
  • Heating tips: Make sure you’re heating your cocoa butter slowly, microwaving in short increments and stirring in between (or, use a double boiler), the cooling slowly as well. You always want to use low heat and change temperatures slowly to prevent the chocolate mixture from seizing. So let it come to room temp to solidify before you store in the fridge, rather than trying to refrigerate or freeze warm chocolate in an effort to chill more quickly. This also helps to prevent bloom, that dusty white layer than can develop on the outside of chocolate after condensation forms.
  • Candy molds: You will get more bloom on your chocolate if you use rubber molds. Try to stick to silicone or, if you prefer to make chocolate bars, use lightly greased ceramic mini loaf pans.
  • Storing: You can store your homemade chocolate in an airtight container on the counter for one week, or in the freezer for six months. 

Recipes To Make With Sugar-Free Chocolate 

This homemade chocolate recipe is an incredibly easy recipe to make. Once your chocolate is prepared, you can use it in a number of recipes, including: 

  • Dark Chocolate Almonds: Dip almonds (or other nut/seed of choice) into your sugar-free chocolate while it’s still melted. Cool on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper in the fridge.
  • Almond Bark: Use your sugar-free chocolate in place of regular chocolate in this recipe. 
  • Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies: You can use your sugar free chocolate in place of chocolate chips in this brownie recipe.
  • Tahini Fudge: You can use your sugar free chocolate in place of baking chocolate in this fudge recipe.

Homemade Sugar Free and Paleo Dark Chocolate

Enjoy This Easy, Homemade Dark Chocolate Recipe 

I think I am making this seem much more complicated than it is, when in fact, it is a simple recipe with lots of potential little tweaks to make it exactly as you want it to be. Or, exactly how your sweetheart wants it to be. Because nothing says I love you more than a homemade gift… except, of course, homemade chocolate!

Homemade Sugar Free and Paleo Dark Chocolate

Homemade (Sugar-Free) Dark Chocolate

Yield: 2 x6" bars or about 9-10 mini chocolate bites
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Vegan and Paleo Homemade Sugar Free Dark Chocolate. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to make homemade chocolate with just a handful of clean ingredients!

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Mix the cacao butter into the cocoa powder, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl periodically to make sure it all gets incorporated.
  2. Stir in the vanilla, stevia, and salt.
  3. Divide between two lightly greased mini loaf pans or a lightly greased chocolate mold (Here is the heart mold, but here is a more traditional bar mold).
  4. Allow it to set at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the fridge to set completely.
  5. Store in the fridge until you're ready to eat it. This gets a little mess if kept at room temperature.

Notes

If you prefer, you can use coconut oil instead of cocoa butter, but these will not stay solid at room temperature. So, make sure you keep them in the fridge.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 chocolate
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 65Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 14mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave me a comment and rating, or tag me on Instagram using @nora_acleanbake or #acleanbake!

© Nora (A Clean Bake)
Cuisine: Dessert / Category: Candy & Truffles


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Comments

  2. June Burns says

    Wow that is interesting! I never knew you could make chocolates like this at home. Really takes “from scratch” to another level! I will have to try this idea, it would be helpful for when there is no dairy-free chocolate available 🙂

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      Haha yeah, it’s borderline insane, I know! Or at least I thought it was until I figured out how easy it is. And this recipe is so versatile too! I think it would work great when you need a quick chocolate fix and there is no dairy-free chocolate nearby 🙂

      Reply

  5. Julia says

    How BEAUTIFUL are those chocolate hearts?! I’ve been searching high and low for naturally sweetened chocolate in stores, and I’ve only found one brand that makes a zero-sugar chocolate bar. I’m totally going to whip up these beautiful treats at home!

    Reply

  7. Mary Frances says

    These are beautiful! I love how the new layout lets your photos SHINE. I love coffee like chocolate as well so I love that you gave this recipe that option. Making chocolate from scratch is so fun and let’s be honest, it has great payoff … eating half the batch *cough cough* 😉

    Reply

  8. Monica says

    Wow! This is SO awesome, Nora. The chocolates look so professional and absolutely beautiful!! Why buy chocolate when you can make your own? (: Hope you had a great Valentine’s Day weekend!

    Reply

  9. Tania says

    All of the homemade sugar-free chocolate recipes have coconut oil/butter in them. These, along with other tropical oils and butters are forbidden in many diets due to their high saturated fat content.

    Are there any substitutions for these fats and oils that are healthier?

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      That’s a great question, Tania, and unfortunately, the problem is also the solution. Saturated fat is, by definition, solid at room temperature (as opposed to unsaturated, which is liquid at room temp), so it is what makes the chocolate hold its shape. If you were to use another fat, you’d have to add some sort of stabilizers, either chemical (gross) or starch (which would make the chocolate taste more like a brownie, but with a really bad texture, and I wouldn’t recommend this). I have seen fiber, such as acacia or psyllium, used in commercial chocolate, but I have never tried it myself. So, unfortunately, coconut oil is your best bet in this case. It does have many health benefits, but I understand that it is not appropriate if you have to watch your saturated fat intake.

      Reply

      • Allan says

        Nora,

        This is a great thread and thank you your efforts.

        On the topic of saturated fat, I have a question.

        Cocao contains the wonderful flavor, but also saturated fat. Why do you need additional saturated fat in the form of either coconut oil or butter? What would be the result if you prepared the chocolate with no fat other than the fat contained in the cocao?

        Thank you!

        Allan

        Reply

        • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

          Hi Allan,

          That’s a great question and I’m sorry to say that I don’t have a scientific answer for you. I can only say this: When you add water to cocoa powder, you get a liquid or goo consistency, not a solid. I can only imagine – and this is just an educated guess, since I’m not a food scientist! – that that means that cocoa powder doesn’t have enough saturated fat to hold the chocolate together, so adding more, via coconut oil, provides the structure of the chocolates. Again, just a guess, but from decades of experience baking with cocoa powder, I can tell you that it alone is not a sufficient source of saturated fat to create the rich, solid mass we consider to be good chocolate. I’ll bet if you googled a little, you could find a more scientific answer! 🙂

          Reply

  10. Arti says

    Hi, Nora. This is a terrific recipe. I just wanted to know if I can use Vanilla Essence instead of Vanilla Extract. Thank you.

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      Hi Arti! Great question. It depends on where you are, but the answer is probably yes. If you’re not in the US, the substance you call essence is what we call extract: it’s a liquid that is made from vanilla beans and alcohol. If that’s what you have, regardless of the name, go for it! Just don’t use anything that is made using imitation flavors. Hope this helps!

      Reply

      • Arti says

        Hi Nora,

        Thanks a lot for your response. I live in India. Yes, Vanilla Essence is the same as Vanilla Extract in that case and is made from real vanilla bean. Thank you for this awesome recipe. I love chocolates but I get worried about the amount of sugar in them, so this is my perfect solution 🙂

        Reply

  11. Alisdair says

    Id like to thank you for this recipe, it was my first attempt at making chocolate, I wanted something healthier and you gave the answer. Thank you. I used honey for sweetener which worked really well.

    Reply

  13. ruth says

    hi, we only get coconut oil which is at liquid consistency in India, can i make the chocolates with this oil? and also can i use normal cooking oil to make this?

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      Hi Ruth! That oil should be fine as long as it is solid when refrigerated. You’ll have to make sure to keep these chocolates in the fridge to keep them from melting! I would not use regular cooking oil for these, because they will never firm up.

      Reply

  14. Lisa says

    This question is for Alisdair – can you please provide the amount of honey that you used? I would like to try the recipe using honey for sweetener. Nora, I am new to your site, but everything I have seen so far looks fantastic and beautiful. Excellent site! 🙂

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      Hi Lisa, I think you might end up with chocolate syrup if you use honey for the sweetener. You may want to look into granulated honey, which might produce a coarse or grittier texture to the chocolate, but you may still have a chance of getting the chocolate to solidify. If you need any help, please feel free to email me (acleanbake@gmail.com). And welcome to the site! I’m so glad you found me 🙂

      Reply

  15. Rebecca says

    I made the chocolate and made bout 6-7 in Easter egg mould, I’m just like you I love dark rich chocolate and have a weak tummy, but need to make it last more then a weekend lol
    Bec Wilson Nsw

    Reply

  17. Aubrey says

    You should be able to use cocoa butter as an alternative fat. All chocolate that meets the standard of identity in the US uses not only the ground cocoa bean but also additional cocoa butter. The bean does not have enough cocoa butter content to make a smooth chocolate once you grind it and expose all the surface area of the cocoa bean solid. This recipe starts out even lower in fat since it uses coca powder, basically a defatted ground cocoa bean. The issue with cocoa butter is it has multiple crystal states and has to be tempered correctly or you will get bloom. An interesting fact is that cocoa powder is one of the “waste” products from chocolate making since it requires additional,coca butter to make a smooth chocolate and you can not call it chocolate if you use too much non cocoa butter fats.

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      You have to keep in mind, though, that commercially-prepared chocolate is subject to different processes than you’d use as home, and also often contains stabilizers for shape and texture. That said, if you have tried this recipe with cocoa butter, I’d love to hear how it turned out!

      Reply

  18. Lyn Ratcliff says

    I am definitely going to give this a go. As both my Husband and I love chocolate, but we are both diabetic, too. What sort of calorific value might it have?

    Reply

  19. Suellen says

    Hi. I love milk chocolate and was wondering if this recipe can be altered slightly to resemble more of a milkchocolate please?
    Thank you,

    Reply

  20. Carly Holtzman says

    This looks like a geeat recipe. However I dont have access to coco butter and am allergic to coconut. Is there anything else that can be used? Thanks Carly

    Reply

  21. Gayle says

    I’m going to try this with coconut butter/manna instead of cocoa butter. I would think it would hold up without having to be refrigerated, since it’s a saturated fat as well. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  22. Simone Shaw says

    If substituting with monk fruit sweetener, how much should you use if it’s powder or granules please?

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      I highly recommend liquid sweetener to make sure you’re avoiding any grittiness, but if you want to use granulated, try to find a powdered version and start with about 2 Tbsp, then add a little bit at a time until it is sweetened to your preference.

      Reply

  23. Bhawana says

    Hi Nora…thank you for the recipe. How much sugar would you recommend to be added if I want it slightly sweet? For reference, I can eat the dark chocolate upto 72% cocoa but not more than that. I am planning to add some peanuts as well. I had once bought a sugar free peanut chocolates and have been craving that recently.

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      Hi Bhawana! It is very slightly sweet as-is, but you can feel free to add more stevia to taste. If you decide to use sugar, you’ll have to taste as you go. And make sure it is melted into the hot cacao butter so that the chocolates don’t turn out grainy. Enjoy! I think the peanuts will be a wonderful addition!

      Reply

  26. Felicia Tang says

    Hi, I am so happy to come across your post as I just started on my ketogenic diet and Christmas is round the corner. I am looking for a keto chocolate dip / coating recipe to make some keto-friendly desserts for a fellow keto friend. I am wondering if your recipe can be used to coat some fat bombs?

    Looking forward to hearing from you.

    Many thanks in advance,
    Felicia Tang

    Reply

  29. Jen says

    I tried this recipe and the cocoa was really gritty in the candy. Did anyone else have this issue? I used powdered monk fruit, cocoa, cocoa butter and vanilla. Flavor was good, just gritty.

    Reply

  31. Debbie Callaghan says

    Good morning, I have a question. If you recommend 15-20 drops of Stevia but we can replace it with monk fruit, how much monk fruit should be used in replacement of 15-20 drops of stevia?
    Thank you
    xoxo

    Reply

  33. Judy says

    I think I love you!

    I just got off the phone with the kosher certifying agency for Lily’s chocolate. He said there’s milk in the product!!

    I bought the chocolate chip molds, and the cocoa butter chips To make non dairy chocolate chips! And then I find out all the chocolate bars—Lily’s and unsweetened bars—have milk. So I’m thrilled to find your recipe.

    When you say high quality cocoa, do you mean Dutch cocoa? Or something like Ghiradelli natural cocoa?

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      Ah that’s great news!! I recommend natural cocoa, as Dutch processed can be a smidge more bitter. Either will work! By high quality I just mean the best quality you have access to. If Hershey’s is all you can find, that’s totally fine but if you want to use something fancier that’ll work too!

      Reply

  35. Sonia S says

    I love Dark Chocolate but this same to have a powder and strong butter taste very bitter..anyway to take that down a bit?

    Reply

  37. Heidi says

    I just finishing making a half batch (bc I’m afraid of ruining it and wasting ingredients lol) and coated a silicone gummie bear mold with a drop of coconut oil. I loved licking my fingers so I’m super hopeful these’ll turn out just as awesome! Followed the recipe (halved) using coconut oil. Then dropped an almond in each mold bc plain, dark chocolate is boring to me hehehe.

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      I wouldn’t recommend it. Chocolate chips typically contain additives that help them hold their shape in the heat of the oven. This chocolate is additive free and will likely melt into the cookies when you bake them.

      Reply

  40. Linda Stock says

    Hope I didn’t miss the answer but so many questions! The instructions confused me. In the ingredient list you say Cacao butter, but in the 1. instruction you say coconut butter. I didn’t know what to use and had purchased cacao butter so used it. I found that it was lumping up before I could get it in my silicone molds. Is that common? It didn’t want to stay liquid and was turning hard onto the bowl. I got what I could into the molds, the latest ones pretty chunky. Linda twodogfox@yahoo.com

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      Sorry that is a typo! An old version of the recipe called for coconut oil, but it has since been updated to incorporate cacao butter, which works better. I’ve updated the instructions. Thanks for pointing that out!

      Reply

  41. William Kilgore (Old Guy) says

    I stumbled onto your article and as a type 2 diabetic was interested. I bought (from Amazon) 2 tubs of Nestle cocoa powder (the cheapest premium cocoa powder), and a 8oz bag of Navitas food-grade cacao butter and a bottle of cheapo vanilla extract and liquid stevia, at the grocery. I followed your recipe exactly and got a great product.
    I just made my second batch and this is what I did. I bought a single (Pink) silicone mold (Amazo also for $4) that makes six, 2″ round bars about 1 ” thick. I put exactly 1 cup of cocoa powder in a small glass bowl, In a one-cup pyrex measureing cup I put about a 1/2 cup of cocoa butter chunks. I microwaved the cup on defrost for 4 minutes to soften the cocoa butter and 2 minutes on high to melt it. Stirring it until the warm liquid melted all the white lumps I added a little coconut oil to get to exactly 1/2 cup of warm liquid, I added some sea salt, 1/4 + tablespoon of vanilla, and 2-3 generous squirts of stevia and slowly mixed it into the cocoa powder with 1/2 cup of crushed pecan halves. I got a full mold of killer dark chocolate bars.

    Reply

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