Out of chocolate chips, or not able to eat chocolate? Don’t let that stop you from making a sweet treat. Here are several things you can substitute for the chocolate chips called for in any recipe.

Chocolate Chip Substitutes

These substitutes replace one ounce of chocolate chips. Most recipes call for more than that, So, here’s the math you’ll need to scale the substitution to your needs:

3 Tbsp of chocolate chips = 1 oz.
1 cup of chocolate chips = 6 oz.
1 bag of chocolate chips = 2 cups = 12 oz.

Now that we’ve got the chocolate math out of the way, let’s look at some possible substitutes for semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Baking Chocolate

Use one ounce of semi-sweet baking chocolate, or one ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate, plus one Tablespoon of sugar, in place of one ounce of chocolate chips. Chop the bar into chunks to replicate the look of chips, in cookies, muffins or pastries. Baking chocolate contains more cocoa butter than chocolate chips, so your chocolate chunks probably won’t hold their shape quite as well, when you bake them. One square of baking chocolate is equal to one ounce of chocolate.

Chocolate Bar

Replace the chocolate chips called for in your recipe with the same amount of your favorite chocolate bar (milk chocolate, dark chocolate – whatever you like, or happen to have on hand). To get a true 1:1 replacement, measure by weight, rather than volume. A measuring spoon, or cup, won’t give you a reliable measurement in this instance. If your recipe calls for melting chocolate chips in a double boiler, do the same thing with your chocolate bar. If you’re replacing the chips in a baked good recipe, just chop the bar into chunks, and fold them into your recipe. Chocolate chips contain stablizers to help them hold their shape when they’re subjected to heat. Since these aren’t present in chocolate bars, expect your chocolate to melt.

Cocoa Powder

Create a replacement for the chocolate chips in your recipe by combining three Tablespoons cocoa powder, three Tablespoons sugar and one Tablespoon butter. This will give baked goods an intense chocolate taste, but it will change the appearance and texture of the finished product. You’ll end up with a chocolate-colored treat, rather than one that’s studded with chocolate chips. For the best results, add your substitute when you add the wet ingredients in your recipe.

Carob Chips

Need to avoid chocolate due to an allergy or medical condition? Just replace the chocolate chips called for with an equal amount of carob chips.

Another Type of Baking Chip

If you’re out of chocolate chips, but you have other kinds of baking chips on hand (butterscotch, white chocolate, peanut butter, cinnamon), go ahead and use them. Just pick the one you think will work best with the other flavors in your recipe. The fat content is pretty similar across all the different baking chips, so there’s no need to make additional adjustments to your recipe.