These rich and creamy fudgesicles are super chocolatey and made from whole, nutritious ingredients. Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free and refined sugar-free, you can feel good about serving these to kids for a delicious treat!
With the end of the school year just around the corner, we are getting primed for some hot sunny days and I know that having a cold, refreshing treat on hand will go a long way with my kids! So rather than filling their little bellies with gums, artificial flavors and food dyes that you'll find in popsicles from the ice cream truck or grocery stores, why not serve up these healthy fudge popsicles instead?
Made from avocados and lightly sweetened with a little maple syrup, these homemade fudge pops are free of high fructose corn syrup that you'll find in the store-bought variety.
This frozen dessert consists of just 6 ingredients and comes together in only 5 minutes. Then just pop it in the freezer until solid (about 4-6 hours) and you're good to go!
Why You'll Love these Healthy Fudgesicles
- Rich chocolate flavor
- Super creamy texture
- Ultra-refreshing on a hot summer day
- 5-minute prep
- Healthy and nutritious - made from whole ingredients
- Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free and refined sugar-free
Ingredients
This homemade fudgesicles recipe consists of surprisingly simple ingredients! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.
- Avocados - naturally creamy and completely flavorless in this recipe, avocados are the key ingredient for the ultimate nut-free, dairy-free fudgesicle.
- Cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder) - for the rich chocolatey flavor
- Non-dairy milk - I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk, but any plant-based milk works if you wish to make it nut-free.
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla bean powder (or pure vanilla extract)
- Pinch of salt
How to Make these Healthy Fudgesicles
- Blend. In a blender, puree all ingredients until smooth. You may have to scrape down the sides or tap the bottom of the blender to get out any air bubbles. Try to avoid adding more liquid if you can as this will water down the recipe. But if you must, you can add a couple more splashes of non-dairy milk to get the blender going.
- Pour into molds. Pour (or spoon) the chocolate mixture into your popsicle molds to freeze. This recipe makes 10, 2.5 ounce pops. Tap the molds on the countertop a handful of times once they are full to try to get rid of any air bubbles. Insert popsicle sticks.
- Freeze. Freeze the until solid and totally frozen (4-6 hours or preferably overnight). The fudgesicles will stay good for up to 4 weeks in your freezer.
- Serve. Just before serving, briefly run the popsicle mold under warm water to release the pop.
Avocados in Popsicles?
Yes! Avocados are naturally creamy and work perfectly in this recipe. The cacao powder, maple syrup and vanilla dominate in terms of flavor, masking any of the mild flavor you might expect from the avocado.
I typically use them in my Instant Vegan Chocolate Mousse recipe. The beauty of this homemade fudgesicle recipe is that you can snack on the fudgesicle mix before it goes into the molds if you just can't wait to dig in. It is basically chocolate pudding...but then frozen. Yum!
Avocados are full of healthy fats, dietary fiber, folate, potassium, magnesium and vitamins B6, C, E and K. Pretty impressive for the main ingredient of a favorite summer treat, right?
This recipe is dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, vegan, nut-free, coconut-free, soy-free, refined sugar-free, butter-free, grain-free and oil-free.
I hope you all enjoy this healthy homemade version of classic fudgesicles this summer! If you give this sweet treat a try, please snap a pic and tag @eatingbyelaine so I can see your awesome creations.
Print
Healthy Homemade Fudgesicles (Dairy-Free)
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 8-10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These rich and creamy fudgesicles are super chocolatey and made from whole, nutritious ingredients. Vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar-free, you can feel good about serving these to kids for a delicious treat!
Ingredients
- 2 medium ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (or cacao powder)
- ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¾ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- optional (but recommended): ½ cup vegan chocolate chips, melted* (see notes)
Instructions
- Blend. In a blender, puree all ingredients until smooth. You may have to scrape down the sides or tap the bottom of the blender to get out any air bubbles. Try to avoid adding more liquid if you can as this will water down the recipe. But if you must, you can add a couple more splashes of non-dairy milk to get the blender going. See my Blenders at Every Budget post for blender recommendations.
- Pour into molds. Pour (or spoon) the chocolate mixture into your popsicle molds to freeze. This recipe makes 8 fudge pops using these molds OR it makes ten, 2.5 ounce fudge pops using the mold pictured in the blog post above.
- Freeze. Freeze until solid (4-6 hours or preferably overnight). The fudgesicles will stay good for up to 4 weeks in your freezer. See notes below from the chocolate drizzle option.
- Serve. Serve immediately. After about 20 minutes they will start to melt at room temperature.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
To make these extra choclate-y add ¼ cup melted vegan chocolate to the blender. I love Hu Kitchen brand which is dairy-free, soy-free and refined sugar-free. You can also use the melted chocolate to drizzle overtop the set popsicles. Allow them to set another 10 minutes in the freezer after you add the chocolate drizzle. I recommend doing this on a parchment lined baking sheet.
If you love this recipe, try my Nutella Fudge Pops next! They are also dairy-free, refined sugar-free but do not contain avocado.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezer
Roberta says
What kind of avocados, regular sized or the little Haas ones?
Elaine Gordon says
Good question, Roberta! Regular sized avocados here. I hope you love this one. Best, Elaine
Mary says
Delicious! I made these last summer. They are very creamy and no one imagined avocados was in the recipe. My grandchildren loved them, they are now a staple in my kitchen, very easy to make with only 5v ingredients. Rate this recipe 10.
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Mary! I'm so happy to hear you all enjoy these! The avocado is definitely undetectable 🙂
Annie Hebert says
Hi
By any chance, have you weighted the avocado meat ?
Thanks
Elaine Gordon says
Hi Annie: I have not but this is a forgiving recipe. Two medium sized avocados should work well here. I hope that helps. And I hope you enjoy the recipe. Best, Elaine
Melanie Hobbs says
Oh my gosh these are so decadent! I sprinkled sea salt on them and yum!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Melanie! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed them! Fun move with the salt! You could also dip them (once frozen solid) in melted chocolate to create a chocolate shell... so good!
Cheryl Albanese says
Love this recipe, added dates and cut back maple syrup also added unsweetened organic coconut flakes, OVER-the-TOP YUMMY!!!
Elaine Gordon says
Yay! Thank you, Cheryl! Glad you were able to make it your own. Coconut sounds fun! Like a frozen almond joy bar!
PamR says
I added some mint extract and some ff plain greek yogurt for more protein. I used large ice cube molds and sticks but if I had dixi cups, I would have tried that.
Elaine Gordon says
Wonderful! I'm glad you made it your own and enjoyed! Thank you for the five star review!