How to Melt Chocolate in the Microwave

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Are you wondering how to melt chocolate? If you are making a recipe that calls for melted chocolate, you are in luck. I have an quick and easy way to get there – plus a few tips. Gone are the days where you need to get out the double boiler or a crock pot. I use this method.

Have you ever wanted to melt chocolate but weren’t sure how? Melting chocolate can be an intimidating process if you’re not sure how to do it right.

Melting chocolate can be tricky, and doing it wrong can ruin the whole process.  Chocolate needs to be done right or it can quickly become grainy or burn. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution – melting it in the microwave.

If I am making my truffles, peanut butter balls, or English toffee.  It works just great.

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Things to Avoid When Melting Chocolate

Here are a few tips on what not to do when melting chocolate

I have learned the hard way and I want to pass this information onto you.

Don’t mix a little bit of water in the chocolate. It will get thick and seize. You will have a gooey hunk of chocolate. However, with that said, if you add more water – like a couple of tablespoons, the chocolate will become smooth and thin.

Caution – once the chocolate seizes, it is impossible to get to thin out-at least from personal experience.  Therefore, I would thin with whole milk or cream instead of water.

Don’t add cold cream or other ingredients to the chocolate. I find that if I am making truffles for example, I need to let the cream get to room temperature and then I add it to the chocolate. Without doing this, it seems to bring the heat down too quickly on the chocolate and it stiffens up before I can get the ingredients mixed.

How to Melt Chocolate-The Easy Way

I use the Microwave-now, I still occasionally use the double boiler depending on what I am making. However, most of the time, this is the method that I use to melt my chocolate. It saves time and clean up.

Microwave Safe Container

It is very important that you have a microwave safe container. I use a glass mixing bowl like this one. If you do not have a microwave safe container, the handle or bowl will get very hot and it will be hard to hold.

Also, I do like to use a glass container; not plastic.  I just don’t know about heating things in a microwave with plastic, so I stick to glass.

Pro Tip. Make sure that your bowl is completely dry.

Begin Melting the Chocolate

I put the chocolate amount I need-usually 2-4 cups of chocolate in the microwave safe container. This method can be used for chocolate chips or broken up chocolate chunks if you have a large ten pound chocolate block.

Pop it in the microwave for 1 minute intervals.

Stir After Each Heating

Stir the chocolate. You might be saying to me right now that I am crazy, nothing is melted or it is hardly starting to melt-why would I stir?

Well, I have tried to go over a minute and I will get little burn spots on the chocolate. So, I heat 1 minute at a time and stir to move the chocolate around.

Continue to heat the chocolate for 1 minute intervals stirring in between each heating. It generally takes 3-4 minutes to melt the chocolate.

If there are any small lumps in the chocolate at this time, but most of the chocolate is hot and melted, I just keep stirring the chocolate as the heat from the melted chocolate will melt those small lumps.

When the chocolate is silky smooth, you are ready to use it in your favorite recipe or to dip fruit in such as strawberries, pineapple, apples, pears…Enjoy!

Stovetop Instructions

This is how I used to melt my chocolate. The past decade, I have switched to the microwave. However, if you are not a fan of using a microwave, this method will work just fine.

Use a Double Boiler. If you don’t have one, you can use two kettles.

Set a kettle on the stove with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat to a simmer. You don’t want to cook the chocolate, just melt it.

Next, put the chocolate in a stainless steel bowl or kettle that fits over the top of the kettle with the water in it. Pro Tip. It is important that no steam escapes as it can cause the chocolate to seize if the water gets in the chocolate. Also, make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water.

Place the bowl with chocolate on top of the barely simmering water. Double check that the pan or bowl; whatever container you choose is not touching the water.

Finally, stir the chocolate frequently until melted.

Have you ever wondered how to make chocolate from scratch? This is a great article that will break down the process of how to make chocolate in your own home.

How do you store melted chocolate?

You can store leftover melted chocolate in a plastic storage bag or an airtight container. It will keep in the refrigerator a few weeks up to a month.

You will notice the surface of the chocolate turning a grayish color. That is normal. It is called bloom and it is just the cocoa fat coming to the top. Your chocolate is still edible.

Chocolate can be frozen for up to 6 months in a freezer safe container. Thaw before using in any recipes.

Can melted chocolate be reheated?

Yes, leftover melted chocolate that is properly stored can be reheated using the methods outlined in this article. While I use the microwave method the most now, the stove top double boiler method will work just fine too.

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