Making your own healthy, paleo chocolate is easier than you think. This DIY method will teach you how to use simple, natural ingredients to create your own, low-sugar, low-carb and nutritious chocolate. Great for kids and grownups!
Homemade Paleo Chocolate
This simple paleo chocolate recipe is from my fellow healthy foodie Scott Gooding. There are two key ingredients in this healthy chocolate – cacao butter and cacao powder – which you can purchase in most health food stores and online. The rest is really up to you!Â
For a sweetener, we’re using maple syrup but you could add honey, stevia or another sugar-free alternative, coconut syrup and so on. There are only two tablespoons in the whole recipe so this chocolate isn’t too sweet but the cacao butter and coconut give that lovely, rich flavour. Feel free to add an extra teaspoon or so for extra sweetness but not too much to keep it on the healthy side.
Let’s talk about the fillings and textures! This recipe uses some shredded coconut or coconut flakes that are lightly toasted to add some nice flavour and texture. You can also add things like chia seeds (healthy fats), hemp seeds (extra protein and fats), crushed nuts and seeds, rose petals, or even some fresh berries.
Finally, you can use fun moulds like cars and animals, simple ice cube trays (I like silicone ones) or parchment paper over a flat bowl/plate or baking tray to create chocolate bark or flatter shapes.
Do you ever make your own chocolate? Let me know in the comments your favourite combos and if you use this recipe to make some healthy treats for yourself or the kids.Â
Find more healthy chocolate recipes here.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup cacao butter chunks or buttons
- 7 tablespoons cacao powder unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or another sugar-free sweetener
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut toasted
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds for crunch, you could also add hemp seeds
- Other filling options: nuts or crushed nuts dried fruit, fresh berries
Instructions
- Place a heat-resistant bowl over a pan 1/3 full of water. Bring the water to a gentle simmer. Place the cacao butter in the bowl and once melted, add the cacao powder, vanilla, maple syrup and gently stir for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Place a frying pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the coconut. Toss until lightly toasted. You could also keep the pan over very low heat for this.
- Add the coconut to the chocolate mixture (or any other fillings) and stir. Pour into fun-shaped moulds or regular ice cube moulds. You could also line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper and fold the edges up, then pour the mixture to make chocolate bark.
- Chill for 1 hour in the fridge. Enjoy.
Easy to make and look delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful. What can I replace the cacao butter with? Would coconut oil work at all? Thanks!!
I haven’t tried it without cacao butter, it would be quite different with coconut oil, wouldn’t be the same texture.