Your guide to making the BEST Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Homemade chocolate strawberries are truly easy to make and are perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or any special occasion.
Watch the video tutorial for our tips on melting chocolate and achieving the perfect dipping consistency. You’ll be making all kinds of chocolate-covered fruit in no time!
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We love special Valentine’s Day Recipes from Lava Cakes to Panna Cotta, and of course Red Velvet Cake. If you are a fan of romantic desserts or just want to surprise someone with a sweet treat, these chocolate-covered strawberries are a must-try!
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries Video Tutorial
Watch as Natasha teaches the best techniques to master chocolate-covered strawberries, from preparing the strawberries to melting chocolate properly, dipping, and of course decorating. If you enjoyed this video tutorial for Chocolate Strawberries, please subscribe to our .
Why you will Love this Recipe
- Easy – you only need 2 ingredients here: chocolate and strawberries.
- Proven method – We’re sharing our tips on how to temper (melt) chocolate to achieve shiny and non-sticky chocolate-covered strawberries that have a little crunch when you bite into them.
- Dipping technique – learn how to dip strawberries to keep the strawberry stems clean and avoid making a mess.
- Decorate like a pro (it’s easier than you think!) – These will impress anyone, whether you’re keeping them simple, or if you want to go all out with adorable tuxedo strawberries.
Only 2 Ingredients!
To make simple chocolate-covered strawberries, you only need two ingredients and you can easily cut the recipe in half or double it depending on how many chocolate covered strawberries you need:
- Semi-sweet chocolate – chocolate chips or bars chopped into small pieces
- Strawberries – pick large strawberries with vibrant stems. Rinse and thoroughly pat dry since water will keep chocolate from sticking to the strawberries. Strawberries should be at room temperature.
The Best Chocolate for Dipping Strawberries
You will need real semisweet or dark chocolate for tempering. For the tempering to work, the chocolate must have cocoa butter in the ingredients. These are great options:
- Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bars
- Ghirardelli baking bars
- Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Chocolate from Belgium
- Guittard chocolate wafers
Can I use Candy Melts?
Candy melts are compound chocolate and contain other ingredients besides cocoa butter. You can use them, just melt them according to package instructions.
Why Should Chocolate be Tempered?
Tempering is a method of heating and cooling chocolate to stabilize it so you end up with chocolate that has a nice shine and snap to it and won’t be sticky to the touch.
How to Set up a Double Boiler (Bain Marie)
A double boiler or “Bain-marie” is a simple way to heat chocolate gently over steam.
The setup: Fill a saucepan with 1 inch of water brought to a simmer over medium/low heat. Add chocolate to a rimmed heat-safe glass bowl or a metal bowl. Set the bowl over the pot to trap the steam and stir until the chocolate is melted then remove the bowl carefully with oven mitts.
How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Prepare strawberries – rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Bring to room temperature.
- Melt chocolate – Set up your double boiler (see above). Put 2/3 of your chopped chocolate into a rimmed bowl and set over your double boiler. Stir with a spatula for about 2 minutes until mostly melted and 110˚F on a thermometer then immediately remove from heat and set on a towel.
- Add remaining chocolate to temper the chocolate: Stir in the remaining 1/3 chocolate and stir continuously until the chocolate cools to 90˚F. Tempering is a method of heating and cooling chocolate to stabilize it so you end up with chocolate that has a nice shine and snap to it and won’t be sticky to the touch.
- Dip strawberries: pull back the leaves to use as a handle. Dip and roll strawberries in the chocolate until fully coated, lightly scraping one side against the bowl for excess to drip back into the bowl. Place on parchment paper to set.
- Decorate strawberries using white chocolate, crushed nuts, and sprinkles. Watch the video tutorial for decorating ideas.
Can I melt chocolate in the microwave?
Yes, but microwaving has a higher risk of burning chocolate. Place chopped chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds, stir then heat another 30 seconds, stir, and heat for one or two 15-second increments until chocolate is melted with stirring. Keep the chocolate temperature between 90˚-95˚F.
Tips for the Best Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Dry strawberries – thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. Water will prevent chocolate from sticking and will make chocolate dull. Wet strawberries can get mushy in the refrigerator.
- Water is the enemy of melting chocolate. Avoid getting any water in the chocolate while tempering or it will cease the chocolate, make it lumpy, and dry. Use a rimmed bowl to keep steam out and make sure the bowl and spatula are dry.
- Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the chocolate and remove it from heat when it reaches 110˚F. It should never be hotter than 120˚F or you will burn the chocolate. Glass bowls retain heat so remove quickly and set over a kitchen towel to avoid overheating.
- Mix the chocolate continuously as it cools to the optimal dipping temperature of 90˚F.
- If the chocolate cools – Place the bowl of chocolate back over the double boiler and warm the chocolate back to 90˚F (not hotter), stirring continuously.
How to Store Chocolate Strawberries
These are best enjoyed within 1 to 2 days of making them as the chocolate will cause the strawberries to sweat. Store uncovered at room temperature for 1 day and refrigerate uncovered overnight if making ahead.
Pro Tip:
If you have leftover tempered chocolate, you can salvage it for another use. Spread the leftover melted chocolate onto a piece of parchment paper. Once it has hardened, peel it up from the parchment, transfer it to a zip-top bag, and store it in the refrigerator for another use.
I hope you’re inspired and excited to try Homemade Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Have fun, get creative, and tag me on social so I can see your beautiful strawberries.
More Strawbery Recipes
If you loved the Chocolate Strawberries, then you won’t want to miss these fresh strawberry recipes.
- Easy Strawberry Cake
- Strawberries Romanoff
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
- Strawberry Sauce
- Easy Strawberry Smoothie
- Fresh Strawberry Scones
- Strawberry Cheesecake
Easy Chocolate Covered Strawberries Recipe
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Covered Strawberries:
- 2 lbs large strawberries, stems attached (25-count)
- 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate bars or chips*, (finely chopped if using bars)
Optional Toppings:
- White chocolate chips, melted to dip and drizzle
- Finely chopped nuts, (walnuts, pistachios, almonds)
- Coconut flakes, finely chopped
- Sprinkles or sanding sugar
- Oreo cookies, crushed
Instructions
Prep Strawberries:
- Rinse strawberries and pat dry thoroughly with a paper towel. Place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
How to Melt and Temper Chocolate:
- Fill a medium saucepan with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium/low heat.
- Put 2/3 of your chopped chocolate into a rimmed bowl and set over your double boiler. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes or until chocolate is mostly melted and reaches 110˚F on a thermometer (not hotter than 120˚F or chocolate will burn).
- Immediately remove the bowl from heat with oven mitts and set it on a kitchen towel. To temper the chocolate, add the remaining 1/3 of your chocolate and stir constantly until cooled to 90˚F (the optimal dipping temperature is 90˚F.) If it starts to cool, return the bowl to the double boiler to warm it back to 90˚F.
How to Dip Strawberries:
- Working with one strawberry at a time, pull back the leaves to use as a handle. Then dip and roll in chocolate until evenly coated. Lift up the strawberry and let excess chocolate drip off. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.**
To Decorate Strawberries:
- Sprinkle on nuts, crumbs, or sprinkles while chocolate is moist so it adheres. Once semi-sweet chocolate is set, you can drizzle and decorate with melted white chocolate.
Notes
**Once the chocolate has set, enjoy the strawberries or store uncovered in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Hi Natasha! Thank you for the wonderful and easy recipe, as always! I’ve tried making chocolate covered strawberries multiple times, air drying my strawberries for several hours prior to dipping, but every time they stick to the parchment paper and the entire side of chocolate comes off, making it unpresentable. Am I doing something wrong? Will definitely use skewers next time though!
Hello there! These are some tips for you – I would make sure that the strawberries are very dry not only surface dry. Even a bit of moisture left can cause the chocolate to seize and chocolate can fall off. Try to use a different type of parchment paper, you can try a silicone baking mat or wax paper instead. If you’re using chocolate chips, try melting the chocolate slowly and stirring in some coconut oil or vegetable oil. Hope that helps!
Looking forward to making this within the next week for Galentine’s with the girls. I wanted something indulgent but not super fattening. Thanks. ❤️🍓
i want to make these for my daughter’s birthday and thinking of using white chocolate and decorating with white chocolate mixed with food colouring. Can i add food colouring to melted chocolate?
Hi Agnes, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Could I also use leftover ganache (your recipe) to coat strawberries?
Yes, you can dip the strawberries in the ganache but it won’t harden.
This was my first time making these and even though they look so pretty and fancy- they really were easy to make! Thank you!
Yes they are easy to make, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
These chocolate-covered strawberries were so easy to make. They are the perfect treat and my kids love them.
Hi Kristen! Thank you for the feedback. They sure are simple to make and kid-approved in our kitchen!
My family loves chocolate covered strawberries!! We make them quite a bit, but especially for Valentine’s Day!
Yes, they are surprisingly easy to make and I love that it’s just 2 ingredients! They are also super fresh which you can’t guarantee if you are buying them from the store.
Can I use white chocolate to dip the strawberries in instead of chocolate? I was planning on mixing the white chocolate with food colouring, and then dipping them.
Hi Rita! I bet that will work! I hope you love this recipe!
Looks delicious. How did you make the tuxedo strawberry? Looks amazing. All your recipe are wonderful.
Hi April! Thank you. I have a video posted above in the blog where you can watch my process of how I made them! 🙂
These are wonderful, but also time-consuming to make. (Skewering each strawberry and letting the excess chocolate drip off or each strawberry seems to be a slow process.) I was hoping to make a hundred for a party. Is there any hints you can give me to speed up the process? Or is this just a really bad idea for a special dessert at a party? (I was going to simplify and just make all white chocolate and all chocolate chocolate ones, and then maybe drizzle some of them.) Should I work in batches or could I melt all the chocolate and dip all of them at once? Maybe not using skewers would take less time?) Any hints or advice would be appreciated. Thank you! 🙂
Hi Dixier, I use the skewer to help me hold the strawberry because if I hold it by its leaves, it causes them to come loose and fall off. Each strawberry should be dipped individually for best results. One thing you could consider to speed up the process is to align your strawberries on a piece of parchment paper and add your melted chocolate to a piping bag or drip bottle and drizzle the chocolate on your strawberries. They won’t be fully covered in chocolate but you can adjust how much chocolate you drizzle (more or less for the desired results). I hope that helps.
Thank you for that idea! I suppose I could drizzle on one side, put in the fridge for 5 minutes, flip then drizzle on the other side? I appreciate your help. Your recipes are wonderful! Thank you for all that you do! 🙂
You’re welcome! I bet that could work!
Love all of your recipes and enjoy watching you cook and explain how you make everything!!!
Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Wanda!
I really don’t enjoy cooking. Simple and easy works for me. I’m looking forward to your recipes. Sandwich recipes would be great!
We love simple recipes also! This one is always a treat! You can find our awesome sandwich recipes HERE.
Hi Dasha, that is a great question and I wish I had a good answer. Maybe someone else knows and can chime in?