Rich and indulgent Chocolate Frozen Yogurt has a sweet-tart flavor and light, creamy texture. Just blend, churn, and enjoy!
Try other favorite frozen yogurt recipes — this vanilla Frozen Yogurt Recipe or Strawberry Frozen Yogurt.
Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
Growing up, my favorite dessert was frozen yogurt from a local shop near our house. You’d pick a base and pile on endless toppings—mine were often over-the-top and barely edible, but I never left a bite.
Those shops were pricey, which made froyo feel like a special treat. Even now, I get excited about it and still see it as a bit of a delicacy.
These days, I make it at home just how I like it—no sticker shock, no candy overload. I’ve spent years perfecting a chocolate version with the right sweet-tart balance, rich fudge flavor, and a light, creamy texture. And it’s finally here.
This recipe is quick and easy but does need a few specific ingredients for the best flavor (more on that below).
Frozen Yogurt Ingredients
- Yogurt. Skip low-fat or fat-free—they don’t get as thick. I always use Noosa® vanilla bean.
- Heavy cream. Adds thickness and softens the tang.
- Dutch-process cocoa. Hershey’s® Special Dark is easy to find. Extra® Brute has the boldest flavor but is harder to get.
- Vanilla + salt. Just a pinch of salt makes a big difference.
- Sugar. Adjust based on how sweet or tart you want it—and how sweet your yogurt is.
Recipe Tips
- Pay special attention to the ingredients. With regular cocoa powder and a low-fat, less flavorful yogurt, you’ll end up with some fairly lackluster frozen yogurt.
- Freeze the ice cream insert ahead of time. An ice cream insert takes a good amount of time to thoroughly freeze which is a requirement for the yogurt to set up — otherwise, it may never reach the consistency you’re looking for.
- Chill the mixture. Depending on the quality of the blender used, the blender may warm up the mixture as it works to combine the ingredients. If this is the case, I’d recommend chilling the mixture for 30 minutes to an hour before adding it to the ice cream maker.
Ice Cream Maker
- For this recipe, you’ll need an ice cream maker. Here’s the one I use and love.
Quick Tip
It usually takes 45–60 minutes to thicken, but timing depends on your machine. If it’s too soft, freeze in an airtight container until firmer—but not too long, or it’ll turn icy.
Topping ideas
- Chocolate shavings. Use a vegetable peeler to “peel” the backside of a plain chocolate bar onto the yogurt.
- Fruit. If you like chocolate-covered strawberries or bananas you’ll probably love fruit added to the frozen yogurt.
- Whipped cream. Go for extravagance with a scoop of coconut whipped cream or regular whipped cream on top.
- Cookie dough. Roll tiny balls of edible cookie dough and add as a topping– or use this peanut butter cookie dough for a chocolate-peanut butter treat.
- Brownie batter. Roll tiny balls of this edible brownie batter to add as a topping.
- Chocolate or caramel sauce. Add a drizzle of some homemade (or a store-bought) chocolate fudge sauce or caramel sauce.
Chocolate Frozen Yogurt FAQs
If you freeze plain yogurt, it will harden and solidify into a brick, with an icy consistency.
To get a similar frozen yogurt consistency to what you’ve had in frozen yogurt shops, there needs to be sugar in the mix. Just like ice cream and sorbet, the more sugar, the softer the yogurt will be.
Typically frozen yogurt is lower in fat and calories than ice cream, but it can also have more sugar.
Frozen yogurt provides protein and probiotics from the yogurt that you won’t find in ice cream.
It depends on the recipe and also what yogurt you use. The yogurt used in the recipe can have a good amount of sugar.
This particular recipe calls for 2/3 cup of added sugar and one serving contains 38 grams of sugar (natural and added).
Frozen yogurt is a dessert made with yogurt and additional ingredients to add sweetness and result in a creamy texture when frozen. Frozen yogurt is more comparable to ice cream, but with a tangy, sweet taste and a creamier (softer) texture.
Regular yogurt is essentially fermented milk– milk that is heated and mixed with live bacteria. Regular yogurt can also have sugar and other ingredients added, but it’s refrigerated, not frozen.
More chocolate desserts
- Chocolate Dip for Fruit with Nutella
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Mix with Reese’s candies
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with chocolate buttercream frosting
- Chocolate Pudding Pie with an Oreo cookie crust
- Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats with a chocolate topping
Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups vanilla yogurt see note 1
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder see note 2
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a large powerful blender and process until completely smooth. If the mixture is warmed up by blending, thoroughly chill it before adding to an ice cream maker.
- Use an ice cream maker to freeze the mixture according to the manufacturer’s directions. It takes my machine about 35–45 minutes to get to frozen yogurt consistency. Enjoy the yogurt straight out of the ice cream maker.
- If desired, transfer the mixture to an airtight container and into the freezer to further harden. Note that the longer it is in the freezer, the icier the texture becomes.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can’t substitute honey for the sugar?
I don’t think that would work well here; sorry!