This creamy and delicious avocado chocolate mousse needs only a few simple ingredients to make a quick, low carb dessert. It’s an easy, optionally vegan chocolate pudding, and you won’t even notice the avocado flavor. Make this simple recipe for Valentine's Day or any day!
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Why we love this recipe
Unlike a traditional chocolate mousse, which relies on tempering eggs and using a double boiler to keep chocolate from burning, this decadent dessert gets its creaminess from the ripe avocados and coconut cream or milk. There is enough cacao powder to satisfy your chocolate cravings.
Since this avocado chocolate pudding gets its texture from the avocados, there is no need to whip egg whites as you might for a conventional mousse. It's a great way to enjoy avocados that are close to over-ripe. Mousse is a great Valentine's day dessert with red fruits on top!
You can also adjust the recipe for your own preferences for sweetness. Raw honey is one of our favorite ways to sweeten baked goods. Use pure maple syrup or agave nectar to keep it vegan.
As with other Paleo desserts with added sweeteners, consider this an occasional treat rather than a recipe that’s healthy enough to enjoy every day. My taste-testers found that 5 tablespoons was the least amount of sugar (in the form of honey) we could add to compensate for the bitterness of the cocoa powder. My husband would have preferred it a bit sweeter!
To make this avocado chocolate mousse even more special, top with whipped coconut cream and fresh raspberries or blueberries - or both!
What you will need for this recipe
- Avocados. The Hass variety have the best flavor and enough healthy fats to make the mousse creamy.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder. Or use raw cacao powder. This recipe is simpler than ones that call for melting chocolate, and we love the flavor.
- Coconut milk. Use full-fat coconut milk.
- Honey or pure maple syrup, or agave syrup. Remember that although these are sometimes called healthy sweeteners, ideally on a Paleo eating they would be a very small part of your food intake. Make it a goal to use less and less all the time! We use organic honey, USA-grown.
- Sea salt. Just a little to balance the sweetness and fats. I prefer the Redmond pink sea salt.
- Coconut cream for making a dairy-free whipped topping.
- Raspberries or other fresh berries. Or kiwi! Or banana!
- Vanilla, to flavor the mousse or coconut whipped cream - this can be optional, too.
- Optional toppings: cacao nibs, cocoa powder, etc.
Steps in making Avocado Chocolate Mousse
- Assemble the ingredients. I just throw them all into the smaller bowl of my food processor.
- Blend until the mousse is smooth. I usually need to scrape down the cocoa powder from the sides at least once. Use a flexible spatula for this. Blend for three minutes or so until the surface is shiny and the mousse is completely smooth.
- Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate for at least one hour, preferably three.
- Serve into individual dishes or small glasses and top with coconut whipped cream. Garnish with cocoa powder, fresh berries, cacao nibs - whatever sounds good!
Avocado Chocolate Mousse Variations
To make this avocado chocolate mousse recipe vegan, replace the honey with pure maple syrup or agave syrup.
You can use almond milk instead of coconut milk in the mousse, but the texture will be thinner since almond milk has less fat than canned coconut milk.
If you prefer to use dark chocolate chips in this recipe, melt ½ cup of them in the microwave in 15-second bursts, allow to cool, then add them to the food processor before blending. More detail on this in a future post.
Add a couple of tablespoons of brandy to the recipe for an adult dessert like chocolate pudding shots!
Recipe FAQ
When the mousse is first blended, the taste of avocados is there, but after chilling, the chocolate flavor takes over. Be sure not to leave any green bits of avocado, though - those are a dead giveaway!
With maple syrup or agave syrup as the sweetener, this recipe is vegan.
Four total; five if you count the dash of sea salt. Six including the vanilla in the whipped coconut cream.
This mousse recipe as written is Paleo but not keto. To make it keto, change the sweetener to erythritol or another keto-friendly one. A suggestion is to start with 4 teaspoons of erythritol for each tablespoon of maple syrup or honey, but adjust to taste! You could even leave sweetener out altogether but the mousse will taste quite bitter.
Yes, this mousse will freeze well in an airtight container. Defrost it in the refrigerator in the container. Whip the coconut cream fresh, though.
I have shared this mousse recipe with Angie at Fiesta Friday #418.
Want more GF and Paleo dessert recipes? Try these!
Avocado Chocolate Mousse - Paleo
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Blender
- Hand mixer
- Silicone spatula
Ingredients
For the mousse:
- 2 large avocados peeled, pitted, and halved
- 5 tablespoons organic honey see note* (or sub pure maple syrup)
- ½ cup raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt Redmond
Coconut Whipped Cream:
- 1 can chilled coconut milk cream scooped off the top (about 1 cup of coconut cream)
- 1 Tablespoon Grade B maple syrup or honey
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Scoop out the avocado flesh and discard the skins. Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender. Process until completely smooth, about 3 minutes in a food processor. Note: You may need to scrape the edges of the food processor to get everything to combine.
- Transfer to a sealable container and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or until ready to serve. Chill the ingredients for coconut whipped cream, as well as the bowl you will whip it in, at the same time.
- Just before serving, whip the coconut cream using a hand mixer.
- Serve with cacao nibs or grated dark chocolate, fresh berries and/or coconut whipped cream.
Notes
You can use a whisk attachment on a hand blender to whip the coconut cream, though a hand mixer is faster.
The size of the avocados will determine the quantity of mousse you end up with. We used the Hass avocados from Costco, about 8 ounces each.
Nutrition
If you make this recipe or just enjoyed the post, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #amealinmind on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Deborah
This avocado chocolate mousse looks so delicious. Hard to believe it's made from avocado! Wow. I'm impressed.
Beth
It was hard for me to believe too, but I'm so glad we have added it to our regular dessert menu! Great for a creamy dessert, even if you don't have over-ripe avocados.
Jacqueline Debono
This avocado chocolate mousse looks amazing. I want to make it for my hubby who loves chocolate mousse and see what he thinks. I would say this is easier and healthier!
Beth
I hope he really likes this version of mousse, and would love to know his opinion.
Petro
Easy, quick and delicious, just my kind of dessert! Bookmarking to serve to our next family gathering, I'm sure it will be a hit!
Beth
I'm so glad the mousse sounds good to you, Petro. I hope everyone loves it!
HEATHER PERINE
Oh my gosh I've been wanting to make mousse with avocado for some time now...this version looks amazing and love that it's made with honey too!
Beth
Thank you! This is such an easy mousse, and honey is certainly our sweetener of choice.
Megan
This might just be the recipe for me to make the leap and try an avocado choc mousse. Your mousse looks so good! Thanks for the push!
Beth
It's so much fun blending avocados with chocolate and finding they actually go together. I hope you love it!
Marie
These mousses are so elegant! Loved the silky texture--how surprising is the avocado and chocolate combination? It makes perfect sense at the first spoonful. Will make this again over the weekend!
Beth
Aren't they? This mousse recipe certainly makes me appreciate the creaminess of avocados!
Liz
What a great idea! I would have never thought to have combined avocado and chocolate together! Excited to give this recipe a try!
Beth
Thank you, Liz. I had heard of this avocado-chocolate mousse dessert for years and am so glad it turned out as good as what I imagined.
Leslie
The ultimate healthy, chocolate dessert recipe! Dreamy, creamy, chocolatey..this dessert is perfection!
Beth
That's such a great description, thank you Leslie!
Jessica
You have given me yet another reason to love avocados. To my surprise, they work perfectly here. I love this simple, delicious dessert. Will be making it again!
Beth
I'm so glad for that great feedback, thank you! Yes, avocados are magical.
Jenny
I love your chocolate mousse recipe. So flavorful and easy to make. The fact that it's paleo makes it amazing. I will be making this mousse again. Thanks for sharing!
Beth
So glad you enjoyed it as much as we do.
Silvia
The avocado here is so creamy and delicious. This is my kind of dessert, easy and simple to make and nutritious.
Beth
I agree, I love any recipe I can dump into the food processor!