Learn how to make Chocolate Covered Strawberries with this easy tutorial for chocolate dipped strawberries – perfect for Valentine’s day! Make your own chocolate strawberries with melted chocolate and fresh fruit.
Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
When it comes to a celebration, there’s nothing better than a homemade sweet treat. These Chocolate Covered Strawberries are one of our favourite decadent sweets to make at home when we’re looking for something extra special but not too indulgent – it is fresh fruit after all!
Chocolate covered strawberries are a classic and elegant treat that combines the natural sweetness and juiciness of fresh, ripe strawberries with the richness of melted chocolate. They’re known as a luxurious dessert with romantic qualities, making them perfect for an at-home date night, Valentine’s Day, or anniversary celebration. They’re elegant, refined, and bring an elevated atmosphere wherever they’re served (often with champagne!).
The basic recipe for chocolate dipped strawberries involves dipping ripe strawberries into melted chocolate, which then hardens to form a glossy coating. Almost any kind of chocolate can be used – dark, milk, and white chocolate all work well. The strawberries are sometimes decorated with additional drizzles of contrasting chocolate, sprinkles, coconut, crushed cookies, or nuts before the chocolate sets.
There are so many reasons why we love this chocolate dipped strawberries recipe and here’s just a few!
- It’s EASY to make: Follow our step-by-step instructions to make this easy recipe!
- It’s SIMPLE: With minimal ingredients (just 2-3!), this is a prefect Valentine’s day treat, an edible gift, or even a snack.
- It’s naturally GLUTEN-FREE: Aside from being beautiful, this is a treat everyone can enjoy, regardless of dietary restrictions.
- It’s CUSTOMIZABLE: There are endless options to personalize them with toppings, patterns, or even chocolate varieties.
- It’s an awesome EDIBLE GIFT: Valentine’s Day or not, everyone loves a beautiful box of chocolate covered strawberries! It’s the perfect recipe for any romantic occasion.
Whether you’re making chocolate dipped strawberries as a treat for a special occasion or just a sweet indulgence for yourself, knowing the basics of working with melted chocolate can both make things easier and help you achieve a beautiful and delicious end result. Here’s everything you need to know about working with melted chocolate for making chocolate covered strawberries!
Melting chocolate can be a simple process, but it requires a little bit of skill to prevent issues like clumping or burning. You can use either a microwave or a double boiler, and each method has its advantages.
Choosing between a microwave and a double boiler depends on your preference and the tools in your kitchen. The microwave is faster and often more convenient, especially if you need melted chocolate quickly and with minimal cleanup. However, it can sometimes lead to uneven melting if not done properly.
Microwave Method: The microwave is a quick and convenient option for melting chocolate. To melt chocolate in the microwave, chop it into small, even pieces—this helps it melt uniformly. Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat it at 50% power or lower. Microwave the chocolate for 30-45 second increments, removing the bowl and stirring the chocolate each time. This stirring is crucial as it helps distribute the heat evenly and prevents the chocolate from overheating in one spot.
Double Boiler Method: The double boiler method for melting chocolate is excellent, but a little more complicated. Fill a pot with a small amount of water and bring it to a simmer. Place a heatproof bowl on top of the pot, ensuring the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Add your chocolate to the bowl, stirring occasionally as it softens. The steam from the boiling water gently heats the bowl, melting the chocolate indirectly and reducing the risk of burning.
Once chocolate has been melted and then solidified, it’s tempting to just re-melt it for use. However, repeated melting and cooling can affect the chocolate’s texture and taste. It can lead to a grainy, dull finish once it sets again, and may also cause the chocolate to bloom, where fat or sugar crystals rise to the surface, creating a white, powdery effect. Blooming won’t affect the taste, but it will affect the appearance.
Burning chocolate can happen quickly, and it can’t be corrected. Burnt chocolate turns grainy and bitter, with a scorched taste that is unpleasant. In the microwave, burning typically occurs when the chocolate is heated for too long without stirring. In a double boiler, it happens if the water touches the bottom of the bowl or comes to a boil. Always keep an eye on your chocolate and maintain a gentle heat to prevent burning.
Here are all our best tips and tricks for how to make chocolate covered strawberries at home!
For best results, you’ll need ripe but firm strawberries with leaves that are bright green. If your strawberries are too ripe, they will go bad too quickly. If they’re not ripe enough, they’ll be too tart.
Make sure that the strawberries are washed and fully dry before dipping them in chocolate. Dabbing them with paper towels is not enough. For best results, we suggest you air dry them on all sides.
The better the chocolate you use, the better the final result will be. We suggest you use dark chocolate and white chocolate for both visual and flavour reasons.
You can use chopped up pistachios, pecans, peanuts, crushed cereal, sprinkles, coconut flakes, crushed up candy, or even mini chocolate chips to decorate them.
If you’re opting to add toppings to your chocolate covered strawberries, sprinkle them on, or roll the strawberries in them quickly after the strawberries are dipped.
Place the dipped strawberries on parchment paper to prevent the chocolate from sticking to the plate or pan. Parchment paper is also a good option for storing them. If you’re looking to gift them in a box, line the bottom of that box with crumpled up parchment paper for a cute look.
If you’re having trouble with your chocolate covered strawberries, here’s a list of all our best troubleshooting ideas for common problems you might encounter – and how to fix and prevent them!
Make sure your strawberries are completely dry and room temperature when dipping them to ensure proper coverage.
Dip the strawberries using one smooth motion and twist or shake excess chocolate off before placing them on the parchment paper.
To keep the chocolate warm in the bowls as you dip all the strawberries, place the bowls in a baking dish and add some hot water to the dish. Make sure you mix the chocolate in the respective bowls every now and then to keep it homogenous.
Make sure you use ripe but firm, fresh strawberries and serve them soon after making them. After they’re refrigerated, they will begin to weep, or give off drops of liquid.
When preparing the piping bags for the decoration, make sure you only cut a small corner of the bag so the lines can be as thin as you want them.
Here’s everything you need to have on hand to make these delicious chocolate dipped strawberries (paid links):
- Cutting Board and a large knife
- Parchment Paper
- large baking sheet
- Piping bags
- measuring cups and spoons
- microwave safe bowls
- spatula
To make this chocolate covered strawberry recipe, you’ll only need these 3 basic ingredients (paid links):
- 2-3 pounds strawberries
- 12 ounces dark chocolate
- 12 ounces white chocolate
Time needed: 40 minutes
Here’s all the steps you’ll need to follow to make these chocolate dipped strawberries!
- Prepare your strawberries.
Wash the strawberries thoroughly and set them aside to dry on paper towels.
It’s very important that the strawberries are clean and very dry. Excess moisture will prevent the chocolate from sticking to the strawberries properly or even make it seize. - Prepare your working station and chocolate.
Prepare your sheet pans or trays by lining them with with parchment paper.
Chop the dark chocolate and the white chocolate and place it in separate glass bowls.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave, in 30 seconds intervals, mixing with a small silicone spatula between the intervals.
If your bowls are too wide and the chocolate isn’t deep enough for you to comfortably dip the strawberries in it, transfer the chocolate to liquid measuring cups. - Dip your strawberries.
Holding your dry and room temperature strawberries by the stem, dip them in chocolate in one smooth motion, leaving just a little bit of strawberry uncovered. Shake or spin the strawberry so that excess chocolate can fall back into the cup and place it on the parchment paper.
If you’re not sure you can work fast enough and are worried about the chocolate hardening, simply place the chocolate bowls in a baking tray with hot water and mix the chocolate every now and then. - Add toppings (if using).
If you want to add any toppings, now is the moment to do it. For the white lines on dark chocolate or dark lines on white chocolate, you don’t have to worry – we’ll do them at the end.
- Decorate.
When you’ve finished dipping all your strawberries, pour the leftover melted white chocolate and dark chocolate into piping bags.
Snip a small tip off with a pair of scissors and slightly squeeze the piping bag to create lines.
Make white lines on the dark chocolate covered strawberries and dark lines on the white chocolate covered strawberries.
To get very straight lines, go back and forth on a wider area than your strawberries, keeping the strawberry in the middle.
For a more rustic look simply create lines on your strawberries including the curves on the sides.
If you’d like sprinkles only on the thin lines, put them on right after piping the lines. - Enjoy!
Place your strawberries on a platter and serve.
Can I melt chocolate on the stove?
Yes! You will need a medium saucepan and a heatproof bowl that fits on top of the saucepan. Over low heat, bring about an inch of water to a simmer (you don’t need the water to boil, a simmer is enough). Place the chopped chocolate in the bowl and use it as a double boiler. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted. Remove the pot from the stovetop but feel free to keep the chocolate bowl on top of the water.
What’ s the best chocolate for chocolate covered strawberries?
The perfect chocolate is your favourite chocolate! You can use milk chocolate, semi-sweet, white chocolate, or even bittersweet chocolate. Just choose as high quality chocolate as you can afford.
What’s the easiest way to dip strawberries in chocolate?
If the green tips are too short or too frail, use some toothpicks or skewers to easily dip them.
Can I dip any other berries in chocolate?
Yes, you might need to rely on skewers but any berry tastes great dipped in chocolate.
What’s the best way to store chocolate covered strawberries?
Keep your chocolate covered strawberries in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To prevent condensation, line the container with some paper towels and some parchment paper.
We hope you love this delicious recipe for Chocolate Dipped Strawberries as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite homemade treat to make for Valentine’s Day or other celebrations? We’d love to know!
More Sweet Treats
- Chocolate Mousse
- Chocolate Cheesecake
- Strawberry Cheesecake Fruit Dip
- Strawberry Milkshake
- Strawberry Cake
- Chocolate Fruit Dip
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Chocolate Milkshake
- Fruit Dip
Watch the video below to see exactly how we make this recipe. You can find many more deliciously simple recipe videos on our YouTube channel!
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Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Recipe: Equipment
Recipe: Ingredients
- 2-3 pound strawberries
- 12 ounces dark chocolate
- 12 ounces white chocolate
- coconut flakes, sprinkles, crushed up Oreos, chopped nuts optional toppings
Recipe: Instructions
- Wash the strawberries thoroughly and set them aside to dry on paper towels.It's very important that the strawberries are clean and very dry. Excess moisture will prevent the chocolate from sticking to the strawberries properly or even make it seize.
- Prepare your sheet pans or trays by lining them with with parchment paper.
- Chop the dark chocolate and the white chocolate and place it in separate glass bowls.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave, in 30 seconds intervals, mixing with a small silicone spatula between the intervals.
- If your bowls are too wide and the chocolate isn't deep enough for you to comfortably dip the strawberries in it, transfer the chocolate into liquid measuring cups.
- Holding your dry and room temperature strawberries by the stem, dip them in chocolate in one smooth motion, leaving just a little bit of strawberry uncovered. Shake or spin the strawberry so that excess chocolate can fall back into the bowl or cup and place it on the parchment paper.
- If you want to add any toppings, now is the moment to do it. For the white lines on dark chocolate or dark lines on white chocolate, you don't have to worry -we'll do them at the end.
- If you're not sure you can work fast enough and are worried about the chocolate hardening, simply place the chocolate bowls in a baking tray with hot water and mix the chocolate every now and then.
- When you've finished dipping all your strawberries, pour the leftover chocolate into small piping bags.
- Snip a small tip off with a pair of scissors and slightly squeeze the piping bag over the chocolate dipped strawberries to create contrasting lines.
- Make white lines on the dark chocolate covered strawberries and dark lines on the white chocolate covered strawberries.
- To get very straight lines, go back and forth on a wider area than your strawberries, keeping the strawberry in the middle.For a more rustic look, simply create lines on your strawberries including the curves on the sides.
- If you'd like sprinkles only on the thin lines, put them on right after piping the lines.
- Place your strawberries on a platter, let them set for about 20-30 minutes, and then serve!
Recipe: Notes
Storage Instructions
These strawberries are best enjoyed fresh but they keep well in the fridge for up to two days. Keep them in a parchment lined container, without stacking them to prevent the chocolate from smudging. Keep in mind that after the first day, the strawberries will start to release some moisture which will cause them to lose their beautiful appearance.Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
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This was my first try the end result was not pretty, but, I certainly had fun making them. They are in no way pretty but sure tasted delicious. Will try again later this week for Valentine’s Day. Practice makes perfect (hopefully)