These bite-sized, decadent Double Chocolate Sea Salt Truffles are a great addition to any party! Serve them on a holiday dessert tray or give them as homemade hostess gifts or stocking stuffers.

Fancy Truffles Made Easy

Gray rectangular plate with five double chocolate truffles on it. They've ben sprinkled with sea salt and one of them has a bite taken out of it.

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I first discovered these Sea Salt Truffles on The Pioneer Woman’s site back in the dinosaur age of blogging.

I’ve never been a big fan of truffles. Put a plain ol’ chocolate truffle in my face, and it’s pretty easy for me to take a pass.

But seeing that sprinkling of magic fairy sea salt on top piqued my interest. I decided to give them a try, and whoa, I guess I love truffles after all. These were almost sinfully rich and creamy, but the salt pushed them back from the edge of cloying.

I first served them at a girl’s night over a decade ago, and since then they’ve made many more appearances, always to rave reviews.

Like Homemade Salty Caramel Sauce and Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies, adding a sprinkle of salt to sweet desserts takes them from great to “OMG, what is this sorcery?”.

Don’t believe me? Researchers have found that a second set of sweet receptors is activated in the body when sodium is present along with glucose. So salt not only contrasts sweetness, but also helps our bodies experience more of the sweetness as well. Pretty cool, huh?

Dark Chocolate Dipped Sea Salt Truffle on a gray plate.

Here’s why Sea Salt Truffles are the Best Truffles

They only requires FIVE ingredients, and you likely already have them on hand. You can’t get much simpler than that!
One batch of this recipe yields 3 dozen truffles. It’s the perfect amount for parties, or you can package a few truffles together in a cute baggie for a homemade holiday gift.
They’re adaptable. You can take the basics of this recipe and adjust it to your personal taste! I’m a sucker for this double chocolate version, but you can use the base recipe for any number of coatings and toppings.

Key Ingredients for a Chocolate Sea Salt Truffle

Sweetened condensed milk being poured into a bowl of chocolate chips.

Now that we’ve addressed the potential of this recipe, let’s talk about the ingredients that I used to achieve the perfect double chocolate truffle.

Semi-sweet chocolate – This one really doesn’t need an explanation…it’s chocolate. ‘Nuff said. You can use the baking chocolate that comes in a bar, or you can go for semi-sweet chocolate chips. Either will work fine, but buying a high quality bar or chip that you love really pays off. It is, after all, the main flavor of these chocolate truffles.
Sweetened condensed milk – You know that can that’s been sitting in your pantry for weeks? It *finally* has its chance to shine. Open that guy up and combine with the semi-sweet chocolate while melting. You can use regular condensed milk or reduced fat, if you want to feel virtuous while stuffing your face with truffles. The condensed milk gives the truffles that signature meltaway texture that’s so irresistible.
Vanilla – Would it really be a dessert recipe without vanilla?
Melting chocolate – I used the double chocolate flavor of Ghirardelli’s dipping chocolate. If you’re using chocolate chips, add a heaping teaspoon of coconut oil to it as it’s melting. This adds shine and makes the chocolate smooth like butter!
Sea salt – For the best texture choose a flaky sea salt, like Fleur de Sel. That delicate crunch is DIVINE.

How to Make Chocolate Truffles with Condensed Milk

Metal mixing bowl with a wooden spoon stirring melted chocolate and sweetened condensed milk together.

Truffle balls scooped out onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Melt the chocolate. In a double boiler or one heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat the chocolate and the sweetened condensed milk over medium low heat. Stir often until chocolate is smooth and thoroughly combined with milk. The mixture will be fairly thick. Turn the heat off and stir in vanilla.
Chill. Allow the bowl to cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate for 1.5 hours.
Roll into balls. Using a cookie dough scoop or spoon, roll mixture into tablespoon sized balls. If balls are too soft after this process you may want to pop them in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
Melt the dipping chocolate. Meanwhile, in a shallow medium sized bowl, melt the dipping chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler on the stove top.
Dip the truffles. Using a slotted spoon or fork, dip each ball into the chocolate mixture and coat completely. Use a chopstick, toothpick, or knife to scrape excess chocolate off the bottoms. Place on waxed paper. Allow to dry for a few seconds before sprinkling with sea salt.

Spoon scooping melted chocolate over a truffle.

Fork lifting a chocolate dipped truffle out of a bowl of melted chocolate.

Tips for Success

If you don’t have a double boiler, don’t worry! There are a couple other methods you can use to achieve melted chocolatey goodness.

Microwave

Yes, you can melt chocolate in the microwave! Get a microwave safe bowl and add your chocolate and condensed milk. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each time. Continue this until the chocolate is almost completely melted, then stir to combine and fully melt the chocolate and milk. Don’t overdo it with the microwaving, or you might end up with burnt chocolate at the bottom of your bowl.

*Most microwaves allow you to adjust the power level, so you can also decrease the power to 50% and then microwave in 45-60 second increments, which ensures that you won’t overheat your chocolate.

Make your own double boiler

Make your own double boiler with a sauce pot and a metal or glass bowl that can sit on top of the pot. Add a small amount of water to the pot and bring it to a simmer. Place the bowl on top. It shouldn’t touch the water. Add the chocolate and condensed milk to the bowl and melt, stirring frequently until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate can burn easily, so keep a close eye on it during this process.

Tips for Dipping

Recently dipped chocolate truffle sprinkled with sea salt.

My best advice is to not worry too much about perfecting the chocolate coating. They likely won’t be perfectly smooth like the kinds of truffles you see in chocolate shops. That’s ok! I find it works best to place the truffle in the chocolate then use a spoon to roll it so it’s coated on all sides. Use a fork to lift it up so excess chocolate can run off and/or be scraped off.

If extra chocolate pools around the truffle, don’t panic. You can leave it and it will be FINE and still taste great. If you want to clean it up, use a toothpick to trace a circle around the truffle, separating the excess chocolate from the truffle itself. After it dries, you can just pick the truffle up and leave the rest behind. Alternatively, let the chocolate dry, then slice off any excess with a knife.

Toppings for Truffles

You can use any kind of melting chocolate to coat the truffles. Dark, milk, white—whatever you prefer. If you use white chocolate, I recommend omitting the salt.
If you’d like, you can also skip dipping them in chocolate and instead roll the truffles in cocoa powder, sprinkles, or shredded coconut.

Storing Truffles

Sea Salt Truffles will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. They may develop a white cast. This does not mean that they’ve gone bad, it’s a natural reaction of the chocolate. Truffles have the best texture at room temperature, so remove them from the fridge 2 hours before serving.

Hand grabbing a chocolate sea salt truffle off of a gray plate filled with other truffles.

More Chocolate Recipes You Might Enjoy

Want to really impress at the holiday party? Finish out your dessert tray with some Chocolate Dipped Fluffernutter Ritz Cookies, Chocolate Covered Pretzels, and Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Shortbread with Pistachios.

If you love double chocolate desserts, you’ll also want to check out the Best Chocolate Bundt Cake, Double Chocolate Waffles, and Brownie Cookies.