Looking for a guilt-free dessert that satisfies your chocolate cravings? This Keto Avocado Chocolate Mousse recipe is your answer. Made with just a handful of ingredients, it's a healthy, keto-friendly, vegan, and paleo-friendly treat that will impress everyone. The combination of avocado and chocolate creates a light, creamy texture and a rich, dark chocolate taste that will leave you wanting more.
Why Avocado in Chocolate Mousse?
You might be skeptical about adding avocado to a chocolate mousse, but trust us, you won't taste it! The texture of avocado is thick and buttery, making it the perfect base for a mousse without the need for eggs or milk.
The Magic of Cacao Butter
To elevate the mousse to the next level, this recipe incorporates cacao butter. Cacao butter enhances the chocolate flavor and gives the mousse a super smooth mouthfeel. In fact, cacao butter should be used more often in chocolate mousse recipes made with cocoa powder.
Sweetness Level
Compared to traditional chocolate mousse, this recipe is less sweet. However, it's still sweet enough to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Making the Mousse
Making this avocado mousse is incredibly easy! Simply toss all the ingredients into your food processor or blender and puree until combined. Then, scoop the mousse into chocolate cups or your serving dish.
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Ingredients
- Avocado
- Cacao powder
- Cacao butter
- Sweetener
- Vanilla extract
Edible Chocolate Cups
For an extra touch of elegance, serve the mousse in edible chocolate cups. These are very easy to make with mini silicone molds and dark chocolate.
How to Make Chocolate Cups
- Melt the dark chocolate.
- Coat your silicone molds with the melted chocolate.
- Refrigerate until set.
- Remove the chocolate cups from the molds.
You can skip the tempering process for the chocolate cups.
Single-Ingredient Chocolate Cups
Dark chocolate is the only ingredient you need to make these chocolate dessert cups.
Storage
Store the avocado chocolate mousse in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last for about 2 weeks.
Cacao Butter Substitute
It's highly recommended to use cacao butter for the best texture. However, if you really need to substitute it, omit the cacao powder as well and add about 1 cup of 80% to 100% dark chocolate instead.
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Health Benefits
Avocados are packed with nutrients, including double the potassium of bananas. They are also a healthy source of fat in the form of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid. Dark chocolate is a powerful source of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals with many health benefits.
The combination of avocado, dark chocolate, and other whole food ingredients makes this dessert a much healthier option.
Keto-Friendly Tips
This dessert is very low in carbs, even though it's made with honey. For an even lower-carb option, make the chocolate cups using a dark chocolate with a higher cacao content or a chocolate sweetened with stevia and erythritol. Santa Barbara Chocolate offers 100% dark chocolate and chocolate sweetened with stevia and erythritol.
Recipe Variations
This Keto Chocolate Avocado Pudding is versatile and can be customized with different flavors, add-ins, and toppings.
- Nut Butter: Blend in a tablespoon or two of your favorite nut or seed butter, such as peanut, almond, cashew, or sunflower seed butter.
- Coconut: Top with shredded coconut or toasted coconut flakes.
- Mint Chocolate: Add 1/4 teaspoon of pure mint extract when blending.
- Mexican Chocolate: Add some cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne for a spicy kick.
- Mocha Avocado Pudding: Use a combination of cold brew coffee and heavy cream in place of the almond milk (half and half) to make this a mocha avocado pudding.
Topping Ideas
- Berries: Raspberries, sliced strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries
- Almond butter or sunflower seed butter
- Unsweetened coconut flakes or coconut chips
- Shaved unsweetened chocolate or keto chocolate bars
- A crumbled Keto Coconut Macaroon
- Whipped cream or coconut whipped cream (made with powdered ZenSweet or unsweetened)
Sweetener Options
Adjust the amount of sweetener to your taste. Beyond liquid stevia or monk fruit, you can use other granulated non-calorie natural sweeteners, yacon syrup, dates, maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, or coconut nectar.
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Detailed Instructions
Chocolate Cups
- (Optional: Tempering Chocolate) Melt about half of your chocolate in a bowl over simmering water (double boiler) until it reaches 120°F (49°C). Be sure the bowl does not touch the water in the pan. Remove the bowl from the heat, stir in the remaining chocolate, and mix until it melts and your chocolate reaches 90°F (32°C).
- Add enough chocolate into each silicone or paper cup, rotating it to coat the bottom and edges of the cup. Let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
- Refrigerate cups while making the mousse.
- Remove the chocolate cups from fridge and unmold.
Avocado Chocolate Mousse
- Add the following ingredients to your food processor or blender: avocado, cacao powder, cacao butter, sweetener, and vanilla extract.
- Process until creamy, scraping the sides of your bowl to make sure everything is well combined and smooth.
- Fill each chocolate cup with the mousse using a spoon or a piping bag with a large 1M star tip.
- If you skip the tempering process, melt all your chocolate at once in a double boiler without taking its temperature. Allow the chocolate to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes so it thickens.
*You'll need about one and a half small avocados to measure out 1 cup (185g) of avocado.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does avocado chocolate mousse taste of avocado?
No, it does not. The avocado just adds creaminess. The dominant flavor is chocolate.
Does it taste like real chocolate mousse?
It tastes as good as real chocolate mousse, but it's a little different. If you used heavy whipping cream instead of the coconut cream, you would get very close.
What can I use instead of the coconut cream?
Heavy whipping cream or cream cheese. Or, use half the amount unsweetened almond milk.
Can I use regular sugar or honey?
Yes. The recipe works with both icing sugar and honey. You could also use powdered coconut sugar. Of course, the recipe would not be sugar-free or keto-friendly anymore.
Can I make Keto Avocado Chocolate Pudding with heavy cream?
Yes, go ahead and substitute the almond milk for heavy whipping cream, if that’s what you have on hand and prefer. However, this pudding is already very rich and thick, so the almond milk keeps it a little lighter. You can also whip the cream and add a dollop on top.
Is this Keto Avocado Chocolate Pudding vegan?
Yes, this recipe is vegan as written. Be sure to use a coconut whipped topping if choosing to add cream to the top.
Can I use coconut milk in Keto Avocado Chocolate Pudding?
It’s not recommended to use coconut milk in place of the almond milk for 2 reasons. First, the pudding is rich enough without adding the additional richness of coconut milk. In addition, coconut milk sours a lot faster than almond milk, meaning this pudding will need to be eaten very quickly so it doesn’t go bad.
Freezer Storage
Avocado chocolate mousse freezes well. Simply put it in an ice cube tray and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Defrosting
When you're ready to eat it, either defrost it or throw the cubes straight into a power blender and enjoy half-frozen!