Ultra creamy, easy-peasy and packed with healthy fats, these paleo and keto chocolate popsicles are bound to become your favorite summertime treat!
Paleo & Keto Chocolate Popsicles
Just 3 Ingredients!
Ahem… the ingredients are sooo good in these keto fudge pops, that they might even qualify as breakfast material! Or at the very least as an actually healthy treat packed with good fats and plenty of minerals (think magnesium!).
Coconut milk, cocoa (or cacao!) and your choice of sweetener. That’s it! Throw in a pinch of salt, and we are absolutely golden.
Feeling a little extra?! Dip in chocolate and sprinkle with toasted nuts (almonds and hazelnuts are my top picks here!). Or you can always do a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, or some extracts (think mint or orange for a fabulous combo!). Perhaps even a drizzle of caramel?!
Whatever you decide, I’m nominating these guys as ‘the keto fat bomb’ for the summer! Because even if you don’t have popsicle molds*, you can always freeze them away in ice cube molds with tooth picks. Think bite-sized treats!
*It’s generally advised nowadays to not freeze things in plastics, so I procured these metal popsicle molds that are BPA free etc.
The (Full-Fat!) Coconut Milk
OK, so the base to these keto chocolate popsicles is your standard full-fat (very important!) coconut milk (I use this one). I pinky promise you cannot taste the coconut (seriously weird I know, but you can’t).
And if you are really adverse about coconut, you can always use heavy cream of course.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to cut calories and don’t mind a bit icier fudge pops, you can always use a lighter coconut milk (or dilute either the full fat or heavy cream with a little water).
The Sweetener
Unlike in every single other gnom-gnom keto ice cream recipe (cue in our suuuper luscious no-churn master recipe!), I’m going to advice against using xylitol and allulose here.
You see, the beautiful quality there is that those two natural sweeteners keep your ice cream ultra scoopable (i.e. not freezing rock solid). But using them here = limp and soft popsicles = not good.
So stick to erythritol (Lakanto‘s monk fruit blend always being my favorite!). And if you’re trying to stay away (or minimize!) sugar alcohols, this is a great chance to whip out your pure monk fruit extract.
Fun fact: it might also be my taste buds here, but I’ve noticed that stevia-based sweeteners don’t work so great when chocolate is involved as the bitter aftertaste is accentuated. So I cannot recommend enough that you don’t use stevia-based sweeteners here!
The Chocolate
Cocoa or cacao? Both work great, just know that quality really matters here. My favorite will forever be the Dutch-processed alkaline cocoa Valrhona, known to be one of (if not the) best cocoas in the world. But feel free to use a raw cacao powder (arguably more nutritional perks here), though keep in mind that your ice cream will be lighter in color and more reddish in hue. Both are well and good, as long as they’re unsweetened.
How dark? Talking dark chocolate versus milk is a sure way to divide a crowd! But know that you can make this keto chocolate popsicles to your taste buds’ desire. So I suggest using 1 tablespoon for a milk chocolate version and 3 tablespoons for dark.
p.s. a lightly sprinkle of flaky sea salt works wonders to cut through the dark chocolate variation!
(3 Ingredient!) Paleo & Keto Chocolate Popsicles
Ultra creamy, easy-peasy and packed with healthy fats, these paleo and keto chocolate popsicles are bound to become your favorite summertime treat!
Ingredients
For the keto chocolate popsicles
- 1 13.5-ounce can full fat coconut milk *
- 2-4 tablespoons erythritol to taste**
- 1-3 tablespoons cocoa powder ***
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum optional****
Special Equipment
- popsicle molds or ice cube trays!
The (Optional!) Add-Ins
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- other extracts such as orange or mint!
- toasted nuts
- dark chocolate
Instructions
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Add coconut milk, sweetener (lower amount), cocoa and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Mix using an immersion blender or whisk until all the solids from the coconut milk have the dissolved and the mixture is fully blended. Taste for sweetness and adjust if need be.
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If adding the xanthan gum (see notes), sprinkle it little by little and blend until fully combined. You will likely have some air bubbles, but be sure to check there are no lumps. Any lumps will be resolved by mixing with an immersion blender (or in an actual blender). Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool completely.
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Transfer to popsicle molds (or an ice cube tray!) and freeze until set. Keep in the freezer for up to three months.
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(Optional): feel free to be a little extra with your popsicles! I like adding a touch of espresso powder to enhance the chocolate, but extracts such as orange or mint will work beautifully too. Dipping in melted chocolate and sprinkling with toasted almonds is totally optional... but highly suggested!
Recipe Notes
*You absolutely NEED to use full fat coconut milk here for optimum creaminess (without any coconut after taste!). Alternatively, feel free to use heavy cream and for 'lighter versions' you can use a lower-fat coconut milk (at the expense of a bit of iciness).
**Unlike in every single other gnom-gnom keto ice cream recipe (cue in our suuuper luscious no-churn master recipe!), I’m going to advice against using xylitol and allulose here (as they keep your ice creams soft!). So stick to erythritol (or pure monkfruit!), unless you want soft popsicles!
Fun fact: it might also be my taste buds here, but I’ve noticed that stevia-based sweeteners don’t work so great when chocolate is involved as the bitter aftertaste is accentuated. So I cannot recommend enough that you don’t use stevia-based sweeteners here!
***Use the smaller amount for a 'milk chocolate' version and the larger for dark. For reference, I used 2 tablespoons of Valrhona cocoa for these!
****Optional: xanthan gum acts as a stabilizer, ensuring a consistent texture while freezing (but it's also totally optional). I particularly suggest it if you're going to leave your popsicles in the freezer for a while, or if you like your texture extra creamy. Be sure to measure a very lightly packed 1/8 teaspoon of xanthan gum, as it's an ingredient that's easy to overpack. And if you overdo it, you'll get gummy popsicles.
Please note that nutrition facts were estimated per chocolate popsicle.
I had the same problem as one post. They freeze so solid and become full of ice crystals. The flavor is a amazing but they’re literally hard as ice cubes also making them impossible to remove from the mold. I ruined a good silicone tray doing this. I added cinnamon to mine and a dash of chili powder to make them Mexican chocolate so they were even better. I just need to know how to have a creamy popsicle instead of an icy popsicle. I only used the 1/8 of xanthum so they’re weren’t gummy at all but that was probably because they were pure ice crystal. Any suggestions?