Here's What You Can Substitute For White Chocolate

There is a certain group of people that love very sweet and extra creamy desserts, which is why they prefer white chocolate. In cupcakes, muffins, white chocolate fudge recipes, or just in a regular chocolate bar, this sweet tooth category chooses white chocolate for its unique silky feature that stands on its own in the chocolate universe. And it's the same when baking, these cocoa fans know how white chocolate can enhance the final result.

But one thing they may not be aware of is that white chocolate is actually not chocolate. White chocolate is made mainly with the butter or fat that comes from the cocoa beans, and lacks the solids that give regular chocolate its color (via BBC Good Food). They are typically made with powdered or condensed milk, sugar, and a flavoring like vanilla. This is why white chocolate feels smooth when you hold it in your hand or take a bite.

As we said, there are those who don't mind added sugars or a bar of chocolate that tastes more than milk than cocoa. But, what happens when we can't find any white chocolate in our pantry in the middle of baking? Don't panic, you probably have substitutes on hand or the ingredients to make homemade white chocolate.

AmericasRestaurant.com suggests using milk chocolate when you don't have white chocolate, because milk chocolate is also made with cocoa butter and sometimes condensed milk. The Spruce Eats explains that although they are not the same color, milk chocolate can taste very similar to white chocolate, while maintaining the creaminess that stands out in the ivory-colored sweet. Of course, this is the best suggestion for when the white chocolate ingredient, especially its color, is not the dessert's main character.

Kitchen Divas says we can use white chocolate chips, squares, or melts (the small disks) interchangeably. Keep in mind that squares and melts have a higher melting point than chips, which usually have additives to strengthen their texture so they don't melt. Add a bit of butter to melt the chips if the recipe calls for melting white chocolate, Kitchen Divas suggest. The same goes for if you are replacing white chocolate with a white chocolate almond bark, a great substitute for coating. If the recipe calls for chips, like for a cookie batch, Food Nouveau suggests using semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips to keep the cookies sweet. 

If a substitute isn't in the cards, you can also make your own white chocolate. Cocoa and Heart says you only need cocoa butter, powdered milk, icing sugar, and vanilla.