All you need is 5 ingredients for the Best Chocolate Salami dessert. This Italian chocolate dessert is made with melted chocolate, vanilla tea biscuits, pistachios, and of course butter and heavy cream to hold it together.
Looking for more easy no-bake desserts? Try our chocolate caramel pretzel bars or fruit and nut chocolate bark.
Chocolate Salami
Chocolate salami is a well known Portuguese/Italian no-bake dessert consisting of cocoa, broken biscuits, butter, and sometimes nuts. These ingredients are melted into the chocolate and rolled into a sausage shape to replicate the look of salami. Some folks like to dust it with powdered sugar as well. Everyone has their own version of this classic Italian dessert. I personally like to keep it simple. If you like more variety in your chocolate salami, by all means, add a few different nuts. The texture of the smooth ganache combined with the crunchy biscuits and pistachios are a true delight worth splurging on.
Here is what you will need to make it
- Vanilla tea biscuits (or graham crackers)
- Good quality semisweet chocolate chips
- Heavy cream
- Unsalted butter
- Pistachios (roasted, salted, and no shell)
- Powdered sugar for coating (optional)
How to make Chocolate Salami
Note: This is a quick rundown of how to make it. For the full detailed recipe, scroll down to the printable recipe card.
- First, make the ganache by combining chocolate chips with hot heavy cream and unsalted butter. Then using a spatula stir until smooth.
- Next, mix the ganache, crushed tea biscuits, and chopped pistachios. Then mix thoroughly to ensure that all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Now place the chocolate sausage mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll it up tightly into the shape of a sausage. Then tie both ends and refrigerate for about 4 hours until solid.
How to store chocolate salami?
Keep the chocolate salami in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. I personally LOVE to eat it cold! I feel like it tastes so much better that way. However, you can keep it frozen if you prefer to store it longer.
Does it freeze well?
If you want to freeze chocolate salami, make sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Then you will need to wrap it once more with foil and keep frozen for up to 1 month.
More Italian Desserts to try!
- Tiramisu Cake (VIDEO)– A fluffy sponge cake soaked in coffee syrup and layered between mascarpone frosting and cocoa powder.
- Chewy Amaretti Cookies (VIDEO)– dense, chewy, and bursting with almond flavor.
- Zeppole Italian Donuts– pillowy soft, and dusted with powdered sugar.
- Chocolate Dipped Almond Biscotti– A classic Italian cookie that never disappoints.
Full Recipe Instructions
The Best Chocolate Salami
Ingredients
- 14 oz vanilla tea biscuits
- 3/4 cup pistachios
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup butter
- Powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- In a large plastic bag, beat the vanilla biscuits into small pieces using a rolling pin. Then Coarsely chop the pistachios.
- Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan or microwave so that it comes to a simmer (not a boil). Place the chocolate chips in a large bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips.
- Cut the butter into small cubes and place it into the bowl.
- Wait a few minutes and begin to stir the chocolate. You may need to reheat the chocolate in the microwave a few more times. If so, heat in 20-second intervals. You don't want to overheat the chocolate.
- Once the chocolate is a smooth silky consistency, add the crushed biscuits and chopped pistachios. Stir to combine.
- Place a large piece of plastic wrap onto a flat surface and pour the chocolate mixture on top.
- Roll the plastic tightly around the chocolate mixture so that it resembles a stick of salami. You can wrap a second piece of plastic wrap over the chocolate salami if you want to make it more secure. Finish off by tying both of the ends.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Once the time has passed, remove the plastic wrap and coat the chocolate salami in powder sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on Nov 10, 2017, it has been updated since.
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Susan Oher says
Can I use a block chocolate rather than chips as the chips have stabilizers and the block melts more evenly?
Thanks!
Dina says
Hi Susan, you can definitely use block chocolate! Enjoy 🙂
Erika says
Hi! Do you think adding dried red cherries to the mix would stop it from setting? I wanted to add a little red to make it more Christmasy.
Dina says
Hi Erika 🙂 Adding the dried red cherries should be totally fine. That is such a good idea for Christmas! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Melinda Stuedle says
Can you use crushed Vanilla Wafers in place of tea biscuits?
Dina says
Hi Melinda 🙂 Yes, you can use the vanilla wafers. I hope you love this chocolate salami recipe! Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Hannah Hardwick says
I made this, and it was delicious. I actually ended up making 5 small sausages because the bigger ones kept splitting open. the recipe was easy to follow and had a delicious outcome. thanks for the recipe!
Dina says
I am so happy that you loved this chocolate salami, Hannah! Thank you for taking the time to write your kind feedback!
Denise says
Hi, I run out of butter already and want to know if coconut oil is a good sub at 1:1 ratio. Thanks – D
Dina says
Hi Denise, you can definitely use coconut oil, but you might taste it. If you don’t mind the flavor of coconut added to the chocolate salami, than you should be good to go. Enjoy! 🙂
Sally says
Is the end product supposed to be the texture of fudge?
Dina says
Hi Sally, yes it has a very similar texture to fudge and should be served cold and kept in the fridge when not being eaten.
Iliana says
Hi! Did you mean 4oz biscuits or 14? 4.2 oz is 1 box. According to the recipe we will need over 3 boxes. I just made it with two and mine came out huge 😵💫
Dina says
Hi Iliana, yes it should be 14 oz. I know it sounds like a lot. A large number of biscuits help keep the shape of the chocolate salami. It makes a rather large salami stick, but it disappears so fast. Just make sure to keep it wrapped and refrigerated when storing it. It will last so much longer 🙂
Penny Wilken says
This was incredible! I tried this at a restaurant and knew I had to find a recipe. I doubled this recipe and added some orange zest and a dash of rum. Everyone who tried this, raved about it. Thank you!
Dina says
Wow Penny, that is amazing! Thank you so much for your kind recipe review. It truly means so much to me 🙂
Jeff R. says
So good. I added a little cocoa powder and vanilla because why not. I’ll be doing these again. 🤒 😷
Dina says
Hi Jeff 🙂 So happy that you loved this chocolate salami recipe! Excited that this recipe will be a repeat in your home 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog! 🙂
Joyce payne says
Can this recipe be frozen?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Joyce, yes you can freeze chocolate salami. Make sure to tightly wrap it with plastic wrap and then with foil to help prevent freezer burn. It can be in the freezer for about 1 month. Hope that helps and I hope you love this recipe 🙂
Valentina says
Hi Dina:) Can I use graham crackers instead vanilla tea biscuits?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Valentina 🙂 Yes you can use graham crackers in this chocolate salami recipe! That is a really good substitute, it will just have a slightly different taste but should still be delicious! I hope you love this recipe 🙂
Valentina says
Thank you for quick response!:) can’t wait to try it:)
simplyhomecooked says
No problem Valentina 🙂 Let me know how it turns out!
Lisle Kin says
Can I be the first to point out that in the ingredients list you call for pistachios, but in the directions you say to stir in the pecans? LOL I presume either nut would be equally delicious. I made this yesterday for the first time and it exceeded my expectations!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Lisle. Oh wow! Thank you so much for letting me know about that mistake, I’m not even sure how I wrote that LOL (should be pistachios)! I have already fixed it 🙂 And thank you so much for your feedback! I am very happy to hear that you enjoyed my chocolate salami recipe!
Kadri says
You can also use condensed milk instead of heavy cream, cocoa powder instead of chocolate and marmalade instead of pistachios. Highly recommend!
Benaiifer says
Thank you for the fantastic recipe…can it stay without refrigeration? And how how many days?
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Benaiifer, Its best to keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, but you can keep it in a cool dry place as well. The shelf life will only last a few days at room temperature as apposed to a week in the refrigerator.
Benaiifer says
Thank you for such a Fantastic recipe….what’s the shelf life of this?And can it stay without refrigerating?
Anna says
My mom made this over the holidays and I believe that I enjoyed it even more than my children! I liked the pistachios as opposed to other nut variations and I loved the fact that it tasted more “dark chocolate” than milk chocolate. It was a real treat.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Anna! 🙂
Vera says
I love it ,I will do that for my grandchildren
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you! kids love this chocolate salami.
Anna says
So this looks like a dessert I would attempt. What brand tea biscuits did you buy?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Anna, I used Kedem brand for this recipe.
Valya @ Valya's Taste of Home says
Love it! My kid’s are obsessed with this chocolate salami. Beautiful pictures Dina!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Vaylya! 🙂
Diana says
Thank you for this recipe! I will have to try it! Looks really yummy!
simplyhomecooked says
I hope you enjoy it Diana 🙂
amy says
14 oz of cookies is 3 1/2 packages of cookies or do you mean 14 oz of crushed cookies?
Also, do you include the cookie “dust” that remains in the bag of crushed cookies?
Thank you
Dina says
Hi Amy 🙂 If you want you can use just the 3 packages of cookies if you don’t want to get another package. This recipe is ok to have a little more or less of the cookies. You can omit or leave the dust in. I hope this helps clarify! Let me know how it goes 🙂