How to Melt Chocolate in the Microwave

Meghan Splawn
Meghan Splawn
Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the…read more
Jan Valdez
Jan ValdezAssistant Recipe Producer at The Kitchn
I cover recipe content on The Kitchn, write and update recipes and recipe roundups, and test recipes for the team. I have 10 years of experience working in R&D test kitchens, testing products and recipes, and at publishers including Serious Eats and EatingWell.
updated Sep 24, 2024
christmas
Overhead shot of melted chocolate in a glass bowl with a blue spatula stirring it.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: Debbie Wee

Learn the easy steps for better melted chocolate in the microwave.

Makesabout 3/4 cup

Prep1 minute

Cook1 minute to 2 minutes

Jump to Recipe
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Overhead shot of melted chocolate in a glass bowl with a blue spatula stirring it.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: Debbie Wee

Adding a touch of melted chocolate to cookies, strawberries, pretzels, or marshmallows is an easy to way to elevate your favorite sweet (or salty) treat. But have you ever hastily tossed a bowl of chocolate into the microwave, set it to one minute, and come back to find burned bits of chocolate around the bowl and big clumps of chocolate unmelted? Oh, no? I guess that’s just me.

To avoid my mishaps, and to end up with perfectly melted chocolate every time, use small, uniform pieces and heat the chocolate in short bursts of time. This is the foolproof method whenever you need melted chocolate for dipping holiday cookies and wafer cookies, coating chocolate truffles, or adorning berries.

Why You’ll Love It

  • It’s the quickest and easiest way to melt chocolate. While you can melt chocolate in a double boiler on the stovetop or over direct heat in a saucepan, the quickest and easiest way is to melt it in the microwave.
  • You’ll get perfectly melted chocolate every time. The key is to use small, uniform pieces and heat the chocolate in short bursts of time.

Types of Chocolate for Melting

Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: Debbie Wee

How to Melt Chocolate In the Microwave

  1. Chop the chocolate in small, uniform pieces. Chocolate blocks and bars should be finely chopped for melting.
  2. Transfer the chopped chocolate to a glass bowl. Glass insulates the chocolate better, preventing scorching.
  3. Microwave the chocolate in 30-second bursts and stir between each. For the first burst or two, stirring will feel arbitrary, but by the third, you see plainly that the edges of the bowl are melting faster than the center and distributing their heat will melt everything more evenly and quickly.

How to Use Microwave Melted Chocolate

This microwave method won’t keep your chocolate in temper (that is, it won’t set up snappy and shiny for coating candies or cookies to be kept at room temperature). You’ll need our cooking lesson on how to temper chocolate for that.

But this melting method can be used for chocolate destined for batter, or for topping and coating refrigerated treats like homemade truffles, chocolate-covered cherries, or chocolate-covered strawberries.

Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: Debbie Wee

Ways to Use Melted Chocolate

How To Melt Chocolate in the Microwave

Learn the easy steps for better melted chocolate in the microwave.

Prep time 1 minute

Cook time 1 minute to 2 minutes

Makes about 3/4 cup

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces

    chocolate or chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Finely chop 8 ounces chocolate into small, uniform pieces (no need to chop chocolate chips). Transfer to a medium microwave-safe bowl, preferably glass.

  2. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is mostly melted and only a few tiny pieces remain, about 1 1/2 minutes total. Let sit at room temperature for a minute or two so that the last few pieces will melt, then stir until smooth.

  3. Let cool for 5 minutes before using to dip truffles, pretzels, strawberries, or for drizzling over popcorn.