These Strawberry Coconut Truffles have the perfect ratio of chocolate and strawberry filling, and they make a beautiful homemade gift. The filling is made with simple and allergy-friendly ingredients so they fit many special diets, but everyone will enjoy these (even if they don’t have food allergies)!
Hey sweet friends, how is your spring going? Ours is doing great, we have had a lot of moisture so far, so I know it won’t be dry this summer. Last year our town had to cancel July 4th fireworks completely since it was so dry. Even though we got a ton of snow the other day and everyone is sick of winter, I’m still happy it won’t be so dry this year!
Since Mother’s Day is coming up in less than 2 weeks, I wanted to make up some chocolate truffles that are filled with one of my mom’s favorite fruits and a Spring seasonal fruit: strawberries. The filling has such a full strawberry flavor since I used freeze dried strawberries. If you get a good brand, they have amazing flavor!
These sweet and tart Strawberry Coconut Truffles have the perfect ratio of chocolate to strawberry, and they make a beautiful homemade gift for Mother’s Day (or even Valentine’s Day!). The filling is made with simple, whole-food, and allergy-friendly ingredients so they fit a variety of special diets. These can even be paleo and grain-free depending on the chocolate you choose.
How to make strawberry chocolate truffles
One thing I should note about this recipe is that it isn’t budget-friendly (at least not for me). I couldn’t find bigger bags of freeze dried strawberries so I had to buy 3 1-ounce bags which was rather expensive! The ones I got had no added ingredients in them, so they were just strawberries and nothing else.
I also couldn’t find dried strawberries in town otherwise I would have used those instead, so I made the Strawberry Coconut Truffles out of the ingredients I could find, and they turned out amazing (although slightly expensive). Necessity is the mother of invention, and having limited ingredients in our town results in creative recipes 😉
When dipping or drizzling chocolates (like my cookie dough eggs or SunButter eggs), I’ve discovered that thinning the chocolate a bit with coconut oil works great, but it can make the chocolate pretty soft even after it has set. I switched to using palm oil to slightly thin the chocolate and it dips great and holds together much better. It also sets up faster and is more firm in the end.
If you on’t have palm oil or prefer not to use it, you can definitely use coconut oil in the chocolate to help thin it a little for easier dipping, it will be a bit softer than if you used palm oil.
Strawberry Coconut Truffles (Vegan and Gluten Free)
Vegan, Gluten Free, paleo depending on the chocolate you choose. Free of: grains, eggs, peanuts, corn, soy
Ingredients
- 3 ounces freeze dried strawberries
- 1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries
- 1/2 cup extra fine shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup coconut oil NOT melted
- 3/4 cup allergy-friendly chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons palm oil shortening or coconut oil
Instructions
- Process the freeze dried strawberries in a food processor for about 30 seconds until a fine powder forms. You should get about 1 cup of strawberry powder from 3 ounces of freeze dried strawberries. Set aside in a medium bowl
- Process the diced strawberries in the food processor until they become a puree
- Mix the powdered strawberries, the strawberry puree, shredded coconut, and the coconut oil (unmelted but soft) all together until a paste or dough forms.
- If the strawberry dough feels too dry, you can make and add more pureed strawberries. Err on the side of too little puree and add a little bit at a time until it is easy to shape and roll. If it feels too soft, you can chill it for a bit to firm up the coconut oil.
- Roll the strawberry paste into balls about 3/4-inch in size and chill in the fridge to set them up until very firm.
- Melt the allergy-friendly chocolate chips with 2 teaspoons palm oil (or coconut oil) in the microwave 30 seconds at a time (or on the stove using a double boiler) until melted completely.
- Using a dipping fork, dip the strawberry balls into the chocolate and allow to cool in the fridge for a little bit to set the chocolate
- Once all are dipped and cooled, drizzle with the last bit of the chocolate
- Chill the truffles some more to set, and store in an airtight container at room temperature
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie. She’s a food allergy mom and healthy living blogger based in Wyoming. Sarah is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Certified Health Coach, Revolution Running certified running coach, and an ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist
Is there anything I can use instead of the coconut?
You could probably use coarsely ground almonds instead of coconut (if you can have almonds). You might also be able to use coarsely ground quick oats, however this will absorb moisture and I’m not sure how the texture would be (the coconut or almond won’t absorb any moisture like oats will).
Please consider NOT using palm oil it is the leading cause of deforestation in Asia and is endangering wildlife. Otherwise good recipe 🙂
I use Spectrum sustainably sourced palm oil (there are sustainably sourced palm oils out there, please check that out). It is Rainforest Alliance Certified, Fair Trade certified, non-GMO, organic, and RSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil. Due to our food allergies it is one of the few products we have available locally to replace shortening in recipes that works best for us. Thanks for your input, but I plan on continuing to use palm oil.
Beautiful!
Thanks Jules!
IF You are close to an Aldi, they carry them for a reasonable price!
I wish I had an Aldi here! I’ve heard great things about that store 🙂
Looks delicious! When you list palm oil- do you mean the liquid form, or can we use melted palm shortening?
I used solid palm oil that I melted with the chocolate chips, it would be best to use the solid version so that it sets up better (I’m not sure the liquid palm oil would set-up the same
Oh WOW! I love these! I also love freeze dried strawberries. I wish they were more places! I usally get them at TJ’s or Target. But they can get expensive other places.
Thank you! Yeah those freeze dried strawberries can get so expensive, I should see if I can order some online that come in bigger bags
Do u recommend any brand?
The brand I used in this recipe is Crunchies brand (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crunchies-Freeze-Dried-Strawberries-1-oz/48813536) but Sunkist makes some, as well as other brands. There are quite a few great ones out there, just look for ones that don’t have any added things like sugars or preservatives (although most freeze dried strawberries are just fruit with nothing else added).