Craving a chocolatey frozen treat? Make these dairy free, soy free, and peanut free Dark Chocolate Popsicles (aka Fudgesicles) for a cool treat that’s healthier than store-bought
Since the weather has been warming up quite a bit lately (yesterday was in the 90s!!), I decided to re-do one of my older recipes for dairy free dark chocolate popsicles (or fudgesicles, whichever you’d like to call them!). Oddly enough, I had originally posted these in February 2012, but the cold weather wasn’t stopping me from enjoying a frozen treat!
When I decided to re-do my old chocolate popsicle recipe, I made a few tweaks to the recipe and I tried to make this with a vegan option using agar powder, but the texture was a bit off. If you want to make this recipe vegan, you can use agar (or skip it altogether), but if you use agar, make sure you use less than the amount of gelatin since it doesn’t take much agar to thicken things.
I decided to make these popsicles a bit creamier, so I used canned coconut milk. This also makes these chocolate popsicles not quite as dark or bitter as the older ones, so you don’t need to use as much sweetener. Bonus!
One other change was that I decided to skip the cooking step altogether and use the hot water method to dissolve the gelatin. No standing over a hot stove in the summer! I kept the old recipe at the bottom of the post so you can refer to it if you have been here before and are looking for the old recipe 🙂
This is an allergy friendly version of a classic frozen Fudgesicle treat. I love the non-dairy fudge bars I find at the store occasionally, but they can be a bit expensive. Making your own allergy-friendly popsicles is budget-friendly, plus you can make them healthier by using your favorite non-dairy milk and sweetener (like honey or monk fruit).
I used canned coconut milk for creaminess, but if you want to cut calories and fat, you can also try using non-dairy milk from a carton (like almondmilk, rice milk, or coconutmilk), it just won’t be as smooth.
You can have a little fun with this recipe by swapping out the vanilla extract for some other extracts, like orange, peppermint, or raspberry. Adding chocolate sprinkles would also be fun!
Craving a fruity popsicle instead of a chocolate fudgesicle? Check out my Pomegranate Popsicles and my Strawberry Mango Popsicles!
Recipe adapted from Fudgy Pops recipe from Health.com
Dairy free, gluten free; Free of: soy, eggs, peanuts
- 1/2 cup boiling (or nearly boiling) water
- 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- 1/4 cup allergy friendly mini chocolate chips
- 1 cup canned full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup lite canned coconut milk chopped
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup (for sugar free, replace with baking Stevia)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Stevia drops (optional)
- Popsicle Molds
In a small heat-proof bowl or cup, combine the boiling water with the gelatin. Whisk until the gelatin dissolves, then let stand for about 5 minutes.
Whisk the mini chocolate chips into the hot water gelatin combo until the chips melt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milks, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla, and Stevia drops (if using). Whisk until combined.
If the cocoa powder is difficult to mix smoothly into the coconut milk, you can use an immersion blender (or a regular blender) to mix things smoothly.
Combine the gelatin mixture into the coconut milk mixture and whisk together by hand.
Portion the mixture evenly among popsicle molds. With my molds, this fills about 9 molds, but depending on what size molds you have, it may fill more or less.
Place in the freezer. Freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight. Enjoy!
If you are vegan, you can try using agar agar here instead, although I cannot guarantee how the recipe would turn out
Older recipe for Dark Chocolate Popsicles (Fudgesicles)
Makes 4 popsicles
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk
- 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- 1 Tablespoon Stevia in the Raw
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the milk in a small saucepan and whisk in the gelatin, Truvia, and cocoa powder. Whisk thoroughly until everything is dissolved in the milk. Heat until the mixture comes to a simmer.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate and the vanilla extract.
- Portion the mixture evenly among 1/4 cup (2 ounce) molds (it will fill 5-6) and place in the freezer. Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight. Enjoy!
- Notes: If you are vegan, you can try using agar agar here instead, although I cannot guarantee how the recipe would turn out
Some of the photos from my original post:
Food allergy mom and healthy living blogger! Sarah is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Certified Health Coach, and an ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist
julissa says
Could I use coconut palm sugar instead? I have never used it and I am not sure how or when it should be used but I was wondering if I could substitute it for the Stevia?
Sarah Jane says
HI Julissa! You can use coconut palm sugar in this recipe if you like. Make sure it completely dissolves so your popsicles don’t get crunchy. Coconut palm sugar can replace granulated sugar in just about any recipe (except high temp candy making), and it will lend a richer flavor similar to brown sugar in your recipes. It’s a great alternative to white sugar since it’s not highly processed, but it is sugar, so I would still use it in moderation.
Gaby says
im lactose intolerant and I can’t wait to finally have a chocolate Popsicle again. I love how you can just substitute the diary aspects of this recipe!
Sarah Jane says
I’m so glad that you found our recipe! Let me know what you think of it 🙂
Courtney says
Can you use flavored gelatin? I love chocolate and raspberry together!
Sarah Jane says
Hi Courtney, you could use flavored gelatin in this recipe I suppose! You could mix flavors if you like, just watch that they may end up really sweet since they would have twice the sweeteners in them
Rebecca says
Oh my goodness…thank you for this great recipe. We have been wanting to make fudge pops for a while now but all seemed to involve pudding mix. Yucky. Love that this could use almond milk and stevia! I am sure it has much less sugar than pudding mix kind or store bought. Thanks again.
Sarah Jane says
You’re welcome Rebecca! Let me know what you think of them 🙂
Rebecca says
I loved them! These taste so wonderful! We love everything about the taste but I was wondering if I cut the gelatin a little it might make it a little less like frozen pudding, maybe more like a fudgsicle? My kiddo wasn’t crazy about the texture when it started to defrost a bit. Any ideas???
Sarah Jane says
I’m glad you loved these! You could try cutting the amount of gelatin a bit, like using half a packet instead of a full packet. That should help you get the texture you’re looking for 🙂
Rebecca says
I am going to make them again this week! I will report back! Thank you!
Kylie says
Can you use regular sugar instead of the truvia or stevia?
Sarah Jane says
Yep, you certainly can! It might take it a bit longer to dissolve, but it should be fine
Vashti says
Mine are in the freezer now! Kids are excited! I used 1 tbs Great Lakes gelatin, 2 tbs coconut sugar and Enjoy Life chocolate chips. Thanks for the recipe!
thefitcookie27 says
You’re welcome, Vashti! 🙂
Angie Jones says
What form of stevia did you use? Liquid or powder or packet? They are all different strengths… and could I sub with honey or agave? If so, how much? Thank you!
thefitcookie27 says
Hi Angie! I used the Truvia or Stevia powder in this recipe since it will be dissolved with the gelatin, but you can use liquid Stevia if you like. I would add a few drops at first and taste-test to adjust to your liking. You could definitely use honey or agave in this recipe, just start with 1-2 Tablespoons and taste-test to see what you like. It shouldn’t change the texture at all using honey or agave instead, but I haven’t made this with honey or agave so I can’t say for sure. Let me know how they turn out!
Angie Jones says
Ok, so I must not have a taste for too dark a chocolate, because even with two tablespoons of honey, I still added two packets of stevia and a tablespoon of maple syrup! I know that sounds awful, but that being said, the texture and taste of these pops is quite good! Very much a “pudding pop” consistency!
thefitcookie27 says
I am glad to hear these turned out for you! If you want more of a milk-chocolate flavor, you could always reduce the cocoa powder a little bit as well. Thank you for sharing how it turned out! 🙂
Angie Jones says
Yes, I thought about that after tasting them, and next batch I will do just that! Thanks for your recipe, it’s a keeper!!
Beth says
How are these dairy free if they require milk????
Sarah Jane Parker says
Hi Beth! In the recipe it calls for “milk of choice”, meaning you can use any milk you choose, such as coconut, almond, hemp, oat, or rice milk. Also, in the post, I said that I used coconut milk from the carton in this particular recipe.
Kerri Kenny says
These look great! You’ve now made me want to buy Popsicle holders just to make this recipe! Can’t wait to try.
Sarah Jane @ The Fit Cookie says
Thanks! These are so yummy. Let me know how you like them : )