This easy healthy Chocolate Mousse recipe is paleo, dairy-free and refined sugar-free and comes together in 5 minutes using only 5 ingredients! Dessert win!
Elevate your dessert game with this Healthy Chocolate Mousse recipe!
My husband loves chocolate mousse! It seemed like a simple enough dessert to make. However, it usually involves a double broiler, separating the yolks from the whites, beating the whites, and some chocolate mousse recipes even calling for baking it.
I suck at baking. This is why I have to come up with the easiest and quickest desserts possible. And healthy, obviously.
I love to cook, but I find baking really boring. I didn’t really think double boiler and beating eggs was necessary to get perfectly silky and smooth chocolate mousse. Turns out, I was right.
Why you should try this healthy Chocolate Mousse recipe:
This healthy chocolate mousse recipe was the easiest dessert to make and is seriously foolproof.
Even the worst cook can throw this together and it will come out perfectly. But it’s not only easy, it’s also delicious while being simple at the same time!
My Paleo chocolate mousse is made with just a few simple ingredients.
- Coconut Milk
- Raw Cacao Powder
- Raw Honey
- Vanilla
- Almond Extract (optional)
So, it just happens to be dairy-free, refined-sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, – free of all the nasties!
Health Benefits of Raw Cacao Powder:
So, there’s cocoa powder and cacao powder. But what’s the difference?
Both powders come from the same cacao bean. However, cocoa powder is obtained by roasting the beans at much higher temperatures than cacao powder.
The heat destroys many compounds and as a consequence, the benefits of cocoa powder are greatly reduced. And there’s more: cocoa powder goes through an alkalizing process, to develop a more mass-market flavor and color. Unfortunately, this process removes some of the minerals like magnesium and calcium found naturally in cacao beans.
So, cacao powder is definitely healthier than cocoa powder. It is often actually even labeled a “super-food” and while I find this label ridiculous, I am a fan nevertheless. Here’s why:
- Cacao powder is rich in calcium.
- It’s full of iron, magnesium, and antioxidants.
- Consuming raw cacao powder in smoothies or desserts can help with depression, stress, blood pressure, and heart health.
- It can even help with weight loss due to its chromium content
and its abilities to regulate blood sugar levels.
Tips for making Paleo Chocolate Mousse:
- Remember that you must only use the solid part aka. coconut cream for this recipe, not the coconut milk.
- If you buy coconut cream in cans, you’ll need 11 to 12 ounces.
- You can serve this paleo chocolate mousse as is, or with fresh berries, coconut whipped cream and cocoa nibs.
Variations on this healthy chocolate mousse recipe
- You can use natural cocoa powder instead of raw cacao but you will be missing out on some of the health benefits.
- If you cannot find raw honey, you could try and use maple syrup. Note that the resulting chocolate mousse will be softer and more pudding-like, as maple syrup is thinner than honey.
- Turn this into a Mexican Chocolate Mousse by adding a pinch of cinnamon and chili powder.
For more healthy dessert recipes, check out my:
Five Ingredient & Five Minute Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- 1 can coconut milk only use the hardened cream part (use THIS brand, it’s organic and BPA free)
- 1/4 cup raw honey use real, raw honey ,see notes
- 1/3 cup raw cacao
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 tsp almond extract optional, but I love almond flavor and think it gives this a really nice flavor (I use THIS brand)
Instructions
- Add everything to a bowl and beat with a hand mixer. THAT’S IT. It’s so easy!
Notes
- Remember that you must only use the solid part aka. coconut cream for this recipe, not the coconut milk.
- If you buy canned coconut cream you’ll need 11 to 12 ounces.
- You can serve this paleo chocolate mousse as is, or with fresh berries, coconut whipped cream and cocoa nibs.
30 Comments
I am most definitely making this, however I think I want to substitute chopped or sliced almonds in lieu of almond extract. I too, love almond flavor and I love having a bit of a “crunch” factor. Thanks for sharing this simple recipe.
No problem!
Thank you! This was delicious! Now I must go buy all the ingredients in bulk to have it constantly… haha 😉
is there a good substitute for the honey? Have you tried agave?
Thank you!
No, agave is extremely high in fructose which is toxic to the liver. Maple syrup would be the next best!
If I want to make this dessert in advance, does it store well in the freezer?
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried it. Let me know how it stores if you do!
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I make something similar to this: 1 ripe avocado, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1/4 cup honey/maple syrup, 1/4 cup cacao, 1 tsp vanilla bean powder…and I like to add a few dashes of cinnamon. It tastes fantastic and you can feel good about each of the ingredients. 😀
I love doing that!
this is AWESOME. i’m enjoying it right now with shredded coconut on top. the almond extract is perfect in this. i think i’m going to eat the whole batch myself because it is just addictively creamy.
Do you put the coconut milk in the refrigerator before making this or just right out of the pantry?
With that specific brand of coconut milk it’s usually unnecessary. Might be a good idea if you’re in the tropics.
I want to make this for Valentine’s day but add some frozen raspberries…do you think that would mess with the texture too much if I blended some in there?
It’d probably work.
Could I use
Almond milk(unsweetened) instead of coconut milk, my daughter isn’t a fan of coconut.
Yes, but it’s best to make your own.
can i mix cream into this along with everything else?
Sure, why not
I made this and it was excellent! Super easy to make and absolutely delicious. I refrigerated for a few hours before serving, which gave it a rich texture. Thanks for the great recipe! I’m planning to make it again.
So glad you liked it!
Why is mine not like a mousse constancy? It’s like a chocolate milk constancy. I can’t get it right!
Sorry about that! I’ve found that sometimes that happens depending on the weather (ie: winter versus summer). It’s so weird. You may just need to add a bit more gelatin and let it cool again. And make sure you’re using the red can of Great Lakes.
I had the same problem as Laura – it never got to a mousse consistency.
You hadn’t mentioned adding gelatin in the recipe – is that necessary? and how much should I use?
You answer in another question re amount of coconut milk. Recipe calls for one CAN, but you advise 1 CUP to Lauren.. I’m confused.
And someone mentions mixing it for a long time… how much time would that be? I tried for about 10 minutes, but no change in consistency.
The weather thing is because to make mousse you are trying to get air into it. That’s why you have to beat it for a long time to force air pockets into it. Refrigorating it for a couple hours may help too.
Just curious- you didn’t give an exact amount as to how much coconut cream that you used. I have an entire can of coconut cream in the cupboard and wanted to know how much to measure out. Thank you!
About 1 cup.
So glad you asked this because i buy cans of coconut cream also and didn’t know how to do that.
About how many servings does this recipe make? Any recommendations on serving size? (1/2 cup, etc.?)
I’d recommend splitting the recipe into three servings.