How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Chocolate covered strawberries are my kind of dessert! What is not to like about healthy, ripe strawberries dipped in melted chocolate chips? These romantic treats are a must for Valentine's Day but are also great for brunches or anytime you want to bring a vibrant and healthy dessert to the table.

These decadent and beautiful morsels may look fancy but are extremely easy to make—you don't need a double boiler or even a saucepan. Thanks to the trusty microwave oven, my bite-size chocolate covered strawberries can be assembled in minutes.

And not only are they easy to make, but chocolate covered strawberries are also bursting with health benefits! Strawberries deliver a boost of fisetin and other nutrients to support cellular and brain health while satisfying your sweet tooth. Plus, my variety is vegan and gluten-free.

Ready to sink your teeth into this recipe?

Chocolate covered strawberries recipe

This recipe for chocolate covered strawberries has only a few ingredients, and it is so easy to follow that it is hardly a "recipe" at all. Even a beginner cook should be able to execute this recipe with success. There is no special equipment required, so you can ditch the double boiler. Also, you can easily add personal touches (such as a drizzle of white chocolate or milk chocolate, or a sprinkling of coconut flakes or chopped pistachios).

This chocolate covered strawberries recipe serves six.

Ingredients

32 oz fresh strawberries
9 oz vegan dark chocolate chips
1 tbsp refined coconut oil
2 tbsp crushed, freeze-dried berries (optional)

Step-by-step preparation

1. Wash and dry the ripe strawberries well. This is a very important step. Submerge the strawberries completely under water. You can add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water to clean them. Let them sit for a minute or two, then drain and rinse well. Drain the strawberries again and let them sit on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to dry while you melt the chocolate. Pat them dry before dipping to ensure there is no more water.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Cook on high for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate chips, then carefully remove the bowl and stir. Repeat until the chocolate is smooth and velvety. Because microwave ovens vary, it is difficult to say exactly how many sessions it will take to melt the chocolate perfectly. But with most microwave ovens, it will take four to five increments of 30 seconds to melt completely.
3. Grasp the strawberries by their green tops and dip them into the melted chocolate one at a time. Submerge each strawberry in the melted dark chocolate, leaving a band of red exposed for visual contrast. Once the strawberry is covered, remove it carefully and let the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Hold the strawberry tip up and rotate the berry so the melted chocolate forms a uniform thickness. Place the strawberry on a tray lined with parchment paper or wax paper.
4. Optional: Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle the freeze-dried berries or other toppings of your choice onto the chocolate covered strawberries so that they will stick. Alternately, you can gently dip the strawberries into a bowl of your desired topping before placing them on your paper-lined tray.
5. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes to set, then enjoy.

Nutrition Info

Serving size: about 5 berries
Calories: 351
Carbohydrates: 38 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 21 g
Saturated Fat: 12 g
Cholesterol: 1 mg
Sodium: 10 mg
Potassium: 634 mg
Fiber: 8 g
Sugar: 23 g
Vitamin A: 35 IU
Vitamin C: 179 mg
Calcium: 57 mg
Iron: 7 mg

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes.

Tips for success

Be patient! Do not rush the dipping part of the process. You need to go slowly and with care to ensure a beautiful chocolate covered strawberry. This can be a very messy process if you try to dip too quickly.

Strawberries: Choose the reddest and ripest strawberries that you can find. Fresh strawberries have plenty of vitamins, fiber, health-promoting fisetin and antioxidant polyphenols. Their sweet strawberry flavor is complemented well by chocolate.

Be sure your berries are fresh, not soft or overripe, and really dry them with a paper towel before dipping. The melted chocolate should act as a preservative so that the strawberries last longer in the refrigerator. But if too much water is trapped between the chocolate and the strawberry, the hold will break down too fast.

Also, using a large strawberry is better than using a small one: It will be easier to dip into the melted chocolate and be more satisfying to eat.

Vegan dark chocolate: It is important to choose a high-quality chocolate so that it will melt properly and be silky, not grainy or separated. For this reason, I prefer dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is also packed with healthy polyphenols and lends a nice flavor contrast to the sweetness of the ripe strawberry. Also, many dark chocolates are naturally vegan because they do not have added milk. But if you prefer white chocolate or milk chocolate, those can easily be substituted or added to the recipe.

Refined coconut oil: I use this oil to help with the melt and texture of the chocolate. It helps smooth it out during the melting process and also helps with the texture of the hardened chocolate.

Dipping station: Because the chocolate will cool quickly, it is good to have the dipping station for your chocolate covered strawberries ready before you begin. Set up your parchment-lined tray—the parchment paper makes it easy to remove your hardened strawberries. Put any additional toppings in little bowls close by in an assembly line of sorts for quick sprinkling or dipping.

Optional toppings: Freeze-dried berries add color and visual interest to chocolate dipped strawberries, but they are not required. You may skip this step or substitute another topping.

This recipe has many variations:

• You can use white chocolate or milk chocolate, or dip your strawberries half and half to make visually striking desserts. (A white chocolate drizzle is also an elegant look for chocolate covered strawberries.)
• Sprinkles and other candies make colorful toppings, or try nuts like peanuts, pecans or almonds.
• Some people prefer chopped pretzels or crushed cookies on their chocolate covered strawberries.
• Hemp seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds and puffed quinoa are other good ways to add nutrition and texture to your custom strawberries.

Should chocolate covered strawberries be refrigerated?

Yes! Once you have dipped all your strawberries in dark or white chocolate and sprinkled your toppings of choice, refrigerate them. This will set and harden the chocolate quickly so your chocolate covered strawberries will be ready to enjoy in about 20 minutes.

They should not be kept at room temperature. Instead, store your strawberries in the refrigerator until consumption to keep them safe to eat. Once hardened, remove the strawberries from the parchment paper or wax paper and place them in airtight containers in a single layer. Enjoy your chocolate covered strawberries within three days for the best quality.

What vitamins are strawberries rich in?

Strawberries are little nutritional powerhouses! They are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidant polyphenols and other nutrients that support healthy aging. Surprisingly, strawberries have about as much immune-supporting vitamin C as oranges. They are also rich in folate, potassium and manganese and other nutrients, which makes them a healthy addition to any diet.

Strawberries have been studied to support brain health and are a healthy part of the MIND diet. Berries like strawberries also promote heart health and help protect against oxidative stress, which encourages skin health. The solid nutritional profile of strawberries makes them an ideal go-to ingredient for a healthy dessert.

References

• Samanta S, et al. "Dark chocolate: An overview of its biological activity, processing, and fortification approaches." Curr Res Food Sci. October 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9589144/
• "All the Reasons You Should Eat Strawberries." Cleveland Clinic. March 2023. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/benefits-of-strawberries
• "Strawberries, raw." U.S. Department of Agriculture. April 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/167762/nutrients