How to Melt Chocolate in the Microwave: the perfect method for easy treats and chocolate covered treats!
Need to melt chocolate for a simple treat or chocolate covered strawberries? Some recipes require Tempered Chocolatethat includes a food thermometer and a water bath. But when you’re baking a simple treat, you know what? You can easily Melt chocolate in the microwave! It takes 1 ½ minutes and makes the perfect chocolate for dipping or using in baked recipes. Chocolate can be finicky (pardon the pun!), but this method couldn’t be simpler.
When to melt chocolate in the microwave
The microwave isn’t always the best tool for the job when it comes to chocolate. (Just like a microwave sweet potato.) But it’s great for quickly melting chocolate for easy treats! This method works for melting chocolate chips or a chopped candy bar. How to put chocolate in the microwave:
When not to melt chocolate in the microwave? Tempered chocolate is necessary for candy-like treats: it gives the chocolate a lively texture and glossy finish. Do not microwave chocolate candy for chocolate crust, peanut butter molds, and other candies.
Read this first! Things to avoid with chocolate
Melting chocolate can be difficult. There are two things to watch out for when making chocolate in the microwave:
- Don’t let water touch the chocolate or it will burn. This means your measuring cup or glass bowl must be 100% dry before adding the chocolate chips. (Trust us: we know this from experience!)
- Don’t overheat the chocolate! Burnt chocolate also grabs and can become gritty. When you heat chocolate in the microwave, it’s easy to overheat. So you have to be very careful when microwave.
Melt chocolate in the microwave
Did you read the section above? OK, you can continue. Here are the basic steps to melt chocolate in the microwave (or jump to the recipe below!):
- If using a candy bar, cut it into small, even pieces.
- Place the chocolate in a dry glass measuring cup or small glass cup or bowl. Make sure it’s completely dry or the chocolate can get stuck.
- Microwave on high for 30 seconds, then stir. Cook in two more 30-second bursts, stirring after each one. At this point it should be mostly melted with a few pieces: keep stirring until all the chocolate bits are gone and the chocolate is perfectly smooth.
- Use in recipes of your choice or for chocolate covered strawberries!
What if it doesn’t completely melt after 1 ½ minutes? Keep stirring. If you must, you can try another 10 second burst and stir again. But remember, you want to avoid getting the chocolate too hot or lumpy and gritty.
The best chocolate to melt
You can use chocolate chips or a chopped candy bar to melt. We love semi-sweet chocolate for dipping things like strawberries, bananas, and pretzels. Regular chocolate chips, meltable wafers, or baking chips will all work, and larger meltable wafers or baking chips will make perfectly melted chocolate.
If possible, use high-quality branded chocolate chips such as Guittard or Ghirardelli. Our favorite for chocolate covered strawberries is Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips.
More chocolate recipes
Are you addicted to chocolate? Here are some other chocolate desserts you’ll love:
The description
How to Melt Chocolate in the Microwave: the perfect method for easy treats and chocolate covered treats!
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips or candy bars, cut into even pieces (Guittard or Ghirardelli brands preferred)
- Place the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in a dry glass measuring cup or bowl. Make sure it is completely dry or the chocolate will burn.
- Microwave on high for 30 seconds, then stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, stir and stir for another 30 seconds. At this point it should be mostly melted with a few pieces: keep stirring until all the chocolate bits are gone and the chocolate is perfectly smooth. (Continue stirring if it doesn’t melt completely. You can try another 10-second boost and stir again, but you want to avoid overheating the chocolate.)
- Use it in your recipe or to make chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered bananas, raspberries, pretzels, almonds, etc. Keep in mind that this doesn’t temper the chocolate and gives it a lively texture and glossy coating: this technique is needed for candies like chocolate crusts, peanut butter cups, etc.
- Category: Chocolate
- Method: microwave
- Kitchen: Chocolate
- Diet: vegan
Keywords: How to melt chocolate chips in the microwave
