Out of Chocolate chips, one case
Can you substitute cocoa powder for chocolate chips?
3 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Cocoa powder + sugar + fat
Per cup of chocolate chips
6 tbsp cocoa + 7 tbsp sugar + ¼ cup fat
Only where the chips are melted. For 1 cup (6 oz) of semisweet chips that a recipe melts, use 6 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder plus 7 tablespoons of sugar and ¼ cup of melted butter or shortening. That mix replaces melted chocolate in brownies, cakes and cooked frostings. Cocoa cannot replace chips stirred whole into cookies or muffins, because there is nothing to hold a shape. Use chopped chocolate there, or leave the chips out.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Whisk the cocoa and sugar into the melted butter or shortening until smooth, then use it where the recipe adds the melted chips.
- Best for —
- brownies and chocolate cake where the chips are melted
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
One casethe full chocolate chips card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup chocolate chips | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cocoa powder + sugar + fatbrownies and chocolate cake where the chips are melted | 6 tbsp cocoa + 7 tbsp sugar + ¼ cup fatTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Chopped chocolate barchocolate chip cookies | 6 ozWorks | Works |
| 3 | Unsweetened baking chocolate + sugarbrownies and cakes where the chips are melted | 3 oz chocolate + 6 tbsp sugarTweak it | Tweak it |
| Not a swap | Dry cocoa powder stirred in | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Cocoa powder + sugar + fat
deep chocolate, a little less smooth than melted chips
Semisweet chocolate is cocoa solids, sugar and cocoa butter. Unsweetened cocoa with sugar and a fat puts the three back together for a recipe that melts the chips into a batter.
- Best for
- brownies and chocolate cake where the chips are melted, cooked frostings and chocolate sauce, hot fudge and pudding
- Prep
- Whisk the cocoa and sugar into the melted butter or shortening until smooth, then use it where the recipe adds the melted chips.
- Where it fails
- It will not set firm, so it does not work for dipping, chocolate bark, candy shells or a ganache that has to hold its shape. It cannot give pockets of chocolate in a cookie.
Use unsweetened cocoa, natural or Dutch-process. Oil works in place of the butter or shortening in the same amount.
Chopped chocolate bar
the same, or better, depending on the bar
A semisweet or dark baking bar, or a plain chocolate candy bar, chopped into chip-size pieces. This is the swap when the chips are stirred in whole.
- Best for
- chocolate chip cookies, muffins, pancakes and scones, melting for ganache or dipping
- Prep
- Chop to pieces about the size of a pea and include the small shards.
- Where it fails
- Bar chocolate melts into puddles and streaks where chips hold their shape, which most people like but which looks different. Milk chocolate bars make the bake sweeter.
Unsweetened baking chocolate + sugar
deep and slightly more bitter
Unsweetened chocolate already contains the cocoa butter, so only sugar is missing. It melts smoother than the cocoa mix.
- Best for
- brownies and cakes where the chips are melted, frosting and sauces
- Prep
- Melt the chocolate and stir the sugar in while it is warm, or add the sugar with the recipe's other sugar.
- Where it fails
- It is for melting only. Chopped and stirred into cookie dough, unsweetened chocolate is bitter, because the sugar is not inside the pieces.
Dry cocoa powder stirred in
dry, bitter chocolate throughout
Cocoa powder added to a cookie or muffin batter in place of the chips.
- Best for
- nothing; it makes a different recipe
- Where it fails
- Cocoa is a dry powder. Stirred into dough it soaks up moisture and turns the whole bake chocolate-colored, dry and slightly bitter, with no chocolate pieces. Use chopped chocolate, nuts or dried fruit for the mix-in.
Tips for substituting chocolate chips
5 tips- For half a cup of melted chips: 3 tbsp cocoa, 3 ½ tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp melted butter or shortening.
- Sift the cocoa if it is lumpy, and whisk it into warm melted fat. Dry lumps of cocoa do not dissolve in a batter.
- The formula is for semisweet chips. It makes a darker, less sweet chocolate than milk chocolate chips, so taste the batter and add sugar if the recipe was built on milk chocolate.
- For cookies, chop a bar by weight: 6 oz of chocolate replaces 1 cup of chips, and 12 oz replaces a standard bag.
- Hot cocoa mix is not cocoa powder. It is mostly sugar and milk powder and will not work in this formula.
Questions
4 questionsCan I use cocoa powder in place of chocolate chips in cookies?
No. Chips are a mix-in, and a powder cannot be one. Adding cocoa to the dough gives you a drier chocolate cookie with no chips. Chop a chocolate bar, or use nuts, toffee bits or dried fruit in the same volume.
How much cocoa powder equals 1 cup of chocolate chips?
For chips that are melted: 6 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa, 7 tablespoons of sugar and ¼ cup of melted butter or shortening replace 1 cup (6 ounces) of semisweet chips. Cocoa alone, without the sugar and fat, is not equivalent.
Can I make ganache or dip strawberries with the cocoa mixture?
Not reliably. Chocolate sets because of its cocoa butter, and the cocoa, sugar and butter mix has very little, so it stays soft and greasy and will not form a shell. It is fine for a pourable sauce or a cooked frosting.
Can I use oil in place of the butter or shortening?
Yes, in the same amount, in brownies and cakes. Oil stays liquid, so a frosting or sauce made with it will be thinner and will not firm up when cool.