Treat yourself to these scrumptious Chocolate Covered Strawberries! These decadent chocolate dipped berries are beautiful and delicious, and so easy to prepare ... make a batch anytime you're craving a decadent treat!
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Some foods are just made for each other ... like chocolate and strawberries! Can you think of a more classic combo?
With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I'm so excited to share these Chocolate Covered Strawberries with you! These beautiful strawberries are a fun way to wow your guests for practically any occasion. And they're much more affordable than store bought berries.
You'd never know it from looking at these gorgeous berries, but they're so easy and fast to make. No fancy candy-making skills are required. Just follow my simple step-by-step tutorial, and you'll be making professional-looking treats in no time.
Make a batch of these mouthwatering Chocolate Dipped Strawberries any time you get a craving! Or save them for a special occasion, like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, birthdays, weddings, baby showers, Christmas, Easter, and more. They're guaranteed to make any event more special!
Ready to start dipping? Then keep reading for all the delicious details!
Ingredients
This recipe uses basic ingredients you can find in any grocery store! Here's what you'll need:
- Strawberries - Make sure to use the freshest, sweetest berries you can find. Look for deep red berries ... they will be sweetest.
- Chocolate - Choose your favorite chocolate for this recipe. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate will all work. I used a Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bar, and it worked perfectly! Scharffen Berger, Lindt, and Valrhona are also good options.
- Decorations (Optional) - Keep your berries simple, or decorate them with white chocolate, sprinkles, chopped nuts, and more. You'll find lots of easy ideas below
This recipe is naturally vegetarian. To make it vegan / dairy free, make sure to use vegan chocolate, such as this Lindt Vegan Chocolate Bar, Lovo Oat Milk Chocolate Bar, or this Theo Dark Chocolate Bar. For a gluten free chocolate, try this delicious Guittard Chocolate is a wonderful option.
You'll Also Need
Before getting started, gather a small, microwave safe bowl for melting the chocolate. If you don't have a microwave, you can use a double boiler instead. You'll also need a couple baking sheets (these Circulon sheet pans are my fave!) and parchment paper for lining the pans. If you're planning to decorate the berries, gather some toothpicks for making the marbled strawberries, and a pastry bag with a small round tip (or a silicone frosting bulb, which I find much easier to work with) for drizzling the berries.
How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Let's get started! These Chocolate Dipped Strawberries really are simple to make, especially with my helpful tips. You'll find a detailed recipe card below, but here's an overview of the steps:
- Melt chocolate. Start by breaking your chocolate into small pieces, then transfer it to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds, then mix well. Continue heating the chocolate at 15 second intervals, stirring really well in between each interval. Avoid overheating the chocolate, or it will seize up.
- Dip the berries. Grasp a strawberry by its stem or leaves, then dip it into the melted chocolate. Swirl the strawberry in the chocolate to coat it evenly.
- Let chocolate harden. Once you've dipped the berry, let any excess chocolate drip off, then place it on a parchment covered baking sheet. Repeat this process with the remaining berries. Tip: The chocolate will set as it cools. If you live in a warm climate, you can refrigerate the berries for 20 to 30 minutes to harden the chocolate before serving.
- Decorate the strawberries. You can enjoy the strawberries simply dipped in chocolate, or you can decorate them. Check out my tips below for lots of fun ideas!
Ta da ... your Gourmet Chocolate Covered Strawberries are ready to eat! Wasn't that easy?
Tip: Before getting started, make sure to wash and completely dry your strawberries (chocolate will not stick to wet berries). You'll want to use room temperature berries, so take them out of the fridge about an hour before starting.
Tips for Making Perfect Chocolate Strawberries
Making perfect Chocolate Coated Strawberries takes a little practice, but it's not that difficult. Here are few tips that will help improve your technique:
- Use high quality ingredients. Choose the highest quality chocolate and the sweetest berries you can find. That way, even if your berries have a few imperfections, they'll still taste amazing!
- Dry before dipping. Chocolate will not stick well to wet berries, so make sure your strawberries are completely dry before dipping them.
- Use room temperature berries. If you use cold berries, they'll start to sweat as they warm up. And they'll also cool down the chocolate faster.
- Avoid overheating the chocolate. Take your time when warming the chocolate. If it seizes up, you'll need to start from scratch with a new bar.
- Let the excess chocolate drip off after dipping. Don't move your strawberries straight from the chocolate to the baking sheet. Instead, after dipping the berries, let as much chocolate drip off as possible. If you have any a big pools of chocolate under your berries, let the dipped berries cool a few minutes. Then, grasping the berry by its stem/leaves, move it to a fresh sheet of parchment. The excess chocolate will remain in place.
- Carefully reheat the chocolate as needed. If your chocolate gets cold and starts to thicken, pop it back in the microwave for just a few seconds. Again, do not overheat.
- Have patience. Most importantly, remember that perfection is in the eye of the beholder! You'll probably be the only one to notice any imperfections, and the strawberries will taste delicious no matter what they look like.
How to Decorate
Plain dipped strawberries are gorgeous (and totally classic) as is, but why not give them a little extra pizazz? A few well chosen decorations will look stunning, plus it's an easy way to customize your berries for special occasions!
Below, I'll show you three easy ways to decorate Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Sprinkles
- White chocolate
- Marbled
1. Sprinkles
Decorating strawberries with sprinkles is the easiest way to make your chocolate covered treats pop. And bonus, sprinkles will hide all those minor imperfections!
- For traditional sprinkles (jimmies and non pareils), simply pore the sprinkles over your berries shortly after dipping them. Rotate the berry as you sprinkle so the top and sides get covered completely. Make sure to do your sprinkling over a bowl ... that way you can reuse any sprinkles that do not stick.
- For larger, heavier sprinkles (like the red and white hearts below), let the chocolate set slightly. Then press the shapes one at a time. The partially set chocolate will prevent the heavier shapes from sliding off.
Sprinkles to Try
There are so many different types of sprinkles available, and they're all sooo cute! Here are some of my favorites:
- Gold Edible Sprinkles - These come in hearts and stars, and they are so sweet. I actually have the hearts, but couldn't find them when decorating my berries (sad face).
- Micro Heart Sprinkle Mix - How adorable are these mini hearts? I couldn't find the exact hearts that I used to decorate my strawberries, but these look similar.
- Finely Chopped Nuts - Minced nuts are a great way to decorate your berries, and these Pecan Chips are the perfect size (no chopping required).
- Rainbow Sprinkles - Dip your strawberries in white chocolate, these add these Rainbow Jimmies for a fun, colorful effect!
- Chocolate Sprinkles - I love the tone-on-tone look of chocolate dipped berries covered with Chocolate Sprinkles. The more chocolate, the better in my book!
- Unicorn Sprinkles - It doesn't get much cuter than this adorable Unicorn Sprinkle Mix! Use them on white chocolate dipped strawberries for the best effect.
- Valentine's Non Pareils - For sweet Valentine's Day strawberries, sprinkle your berries with these fun Red, White, and Pink Non Pareils.
- Chocolate Chips (not shown) - For an extra chocolatey treat, sprinkle the strawberries with mini chocolate chips.
2. Drizzled with White Chocolate
Berries drizzled with white chocolate are super easy, but they look very fancy. Plus, the drizzled chocolate will draw the eye away from any minor imperfections. Here's how to do it:
- Start by dipping the berries in regular chocolate.
- Once the chocolate sets, melt the white chocolate, then transfer it to a pastry bag with a small tip or a silicone frosting bulb (which I find much easier to handle).
- Starting off the berry, drizzle the white chocolate back and forth over the berries, using quick, fluid motions. Don't be afraid of going off the berries as you're drizzling (like I did below) ... you'll get cleaner lines. And move fast! I found that the more controlled I try to be, the more shaky my lines looked.
Tips: This method can be done with any type of chocolate or candy melts (which come in different colors). You could also reverse the layers, by dipping the berries in white chocolate first, then drizzling them with regular chocolate. Or drizzle dark chocolate over berries dipped in dark chocolate (or do white chocolate on white chocolate) for a subtle textured look. The sky's the limit!
3. Marbled
The Marbled Chocolate Covered Strawberries ended up being my favorite, and the technique is surprisingly easy. Plus, they're sure to wow whoever you serve them to!
You can marble any kind of strawberry, but I found that wide, flat berries worked best. Here's how to do it:
- Start by dipping your berry in regular chocolate.
- While the chocolate is still wet, draw parallel lines on the berry with the white chocolate.
- Starting at the top of the berry, pull a toothpick through the layers of chocolate perpendicular to the white lines.
- Then, beginning at the bottom of the berry, pull the toothpick toward the top, going in between those lines you just created.
Tips: To keep things neat, clean off the toothpick between lines. Also, if the bottom of your berries get messy (like mine did below), move them to a clean piece of parchment paper when you're done. The mess will stay behind. You could also try this method on white chocolate-dipped berries, using regular chocolate or candy melts for the lines, as well.
More Decorating Ideas
Here are some other ways to decorate strawberries for you to try:
- Colorful - Instead of using chocolate, dip or decorate your berries with candy melts, which come in many different colors!
- Rainbow - Dip your berries in white chocolate. Let set, then drizzle them with different colors of candy melts.
- Criss-Cross - This technique is similar to the drizzled berries above, but with a twist. Drizzle your berries on a diagonal, then drizzle them on the diagonal in the opposite direction so the lines cross.
- Birthday - Dip the berries in pastel-colored candy melts, then sprinkle them lightly with multi-color sprinkles.
- Football - Cover the berries with regular chocolate; let set. Use white choc to draw a stitching pattern on the front of the berries. Add a single line across the top and bottom, if you wish.
- Baseball - Dip the berries in white chocolate and let set. Add curved red stitching (using red candy melts) on either side.
- Salted Chocolate - Add a light sprinkle of flaked salt to your berries to enhance the chocolate flavor.
- Salted Caramel - Dip your berries in salted caramel candy melts. Once caramel is set, dip or drizzle with regular chocolate. Add a sprinkle of flaked salt as the finishing touch.
- Light & Dark - Coat berries in white chocolate; let set. Then dip part of the berry in regular chocolate ... either straight on or at an angle. You could also do this with regular chocolate as the base and white chocolate on top.
- Tuxedo - Dip the berry in white chocolate and let set. At an angle, dip each side of the berry in regular chocolate, leaving a v-shaped white "shirt" in the middle. Once the chocolate sets, fill a silicone frosting bulb or pastry bag with regular chocolate. Using a small round tip, add a bow tie and buttons to the white "shirt".
Storage
Strawberries do not stay fresh for long. So for best results, serve your berries on the same day that you dip them. If that isn't possible, let the chocolate set completely, then store the berries in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to two days. If you need to layer the berries, separate the layers with parchment paper, which will keep the berries looking their best, as well as help them avoid sticking together.
Related Recipes
If you enjoyed this yummy treat, check out my Chocolate Covered Strawberry Hearts, a cute variation on this recipe! And you'll like these recipes, too:
- Chocolate Covered Raspberries
- Strawberry Chocolate Bark
- Chocolate Strawberry Parfait
- Mixed Berry Compote
- Strawberry Ice Cream Cake
- Mini Strawberry Shortcakes
- Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
- Strawberries and Cream Crepes with Chocolate Sauce
- Strawberry Compote
- Heart Shaped Strawberries
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (907 grams) strawberries
- 16 ounces (454 grams) chocolate
- 4 ounces (113.5 grams) white chocolate, optional
- sprinkles, non pareils, chopped nuts, etc., optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Wash strawberries well, then blot dry. Place berries on a few layers of paper towels to dry completely and warm to room temperature.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or foil). Set aside.
- When berries are completely dry, chop chocolate and place in a small bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds; then mix well. Continue microwaving at 15 second intervals, stirring very well in between each, until chocolate is completely melted.
- Grasp strawberry by stem or leaves, then dip into chocolate, swirling to coat berry evenly.
- Let excess chocolate drip off, then transfer dipped berry to parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining strawberries.
- Decorate berries with melted white chocolate and sprinkles / other toppings, if desired.
- Let chocolate harden at room temperature (or in fridge for about 30 minutes) before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Have you ever made anything chocolate-covered? How did it turn out?
Can I use chocolate bark for these instead of a chocolate bar?
Hi, Maria! Yes, chocolate bark would work, too. Hope you enjoy the berries!