A simple chocolate sauce can be made from unsweetened cocoa powder, a sweetener such as sugar, and water.

Recipes may also include other ingredients, such as corn syrup, malt, and flavorings like vanilla extract.

[1] Industrial recipes may contain ingredients such as:[2] Beginning in the 1890s, chocolate sauce was marketed as a treatment for ailments, including for infants suffering from colic.

In part due to the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, which required clear and accurate labeling, chocolate syrup began to transition from primarily medical application to commercial use.

[3] Chocolate syrup was often used in black-and-white movies to simulate blood, because it was safe for the performers to swallow, easy to get out of clothing, and cheap to buy.