This 5-ingredient paleo vegan chocolate mousse is easy to make and egg-free! Perfect for Valentine’s Day or whenever you’re in the mood for a healthy (but delicious!), chocolaty treat. It’s also GAPS and AIP-friendly.
It’s been a while since I posted and if you follow me on Instagram and happened to have seen this post, you’ll know why. All my effort went into making the below video for my perfect paleo chocolate chip cookies.
I’d love for you to check it out! And if you like it, I wouldn’t mind if you gave it a thumbs up and / or commented on it as it currently has 0 of each. ;) If you click on the white title in the upper left corner of the video, it’ll bring you directly to Youtube.
Now on to today’s recipe! This chocolate mousse came about after I refrigerated some of my leftover paleo vegan hot chocolate. Once it’s chilled, it becomes thicker and slightly moussy. So I figured I’d make it a lot more moussy!
So instead of using a full can of coconut milk, like in the hot chocolate recipe, you refrigerate the can overnight and then use the coconut cream and all except 1/3 cup of the coconut water. And to make it even thicker, you add a little coconut oil.
You can probably tell by the below picture that it’s quite thick, kind of like cheesecake. If you want it more in the direction of pudding, use only 1 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
The chocolaty-ness and sweetness will depend a lot on your cocoa powder. If you find that it doesn’t have enough chocolate flavor, add more cocoa powder. If it’s not sweet enough, add more dates or another sweetener.
I usually use Dutch-process cocoa powder in my recipes but this time (at least in these pictures) I used raw cacao powder, hence the light color. With raw cacao, you could taste the coconut. With Dutch-process, it’s almost undetectable. By the way, I used raw cacoa for the health benefits. It’s good stuff!
And as a bonus, this chocolate mousse is AIP (autoimmune paleo) and GAPS-friendly! Even if you’re not on a special diet, this is a delicious treat. :)
For a more classic version (but still naturally sweetened one), try this chocolate mousse from Veggie Balance!
Paleo Vegan Chocolate Mousse (AIP, GAPS-friendly)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: four 1/2-cup servings
Please see the notes below for the AIP + GAPS options!
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce (400-milliliter) can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated for at least 8 hours
- 100 grams pitted dates (that's about 16 - 18 dates regular-sized dates – if you use Mejdool, you'll need a lot fewer)
- 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons cocoa powder or carob powder for AIP
- 3 tablespoons (42 grams) coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder / bean scrapings for AIP
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (I like things salty and use 1/4 teaspoon)
Directions
- Scoop out all but 1/3 cup of coconut water from the can and place the contents in a small pot. Use the remaining 1/3 cup coconut water in a smoothie or just drink it. Depending on your can, you might be able to turn the can upside down and use a can opener to open it so you can just measure out the 1/3 cup coconut water and dump the rest of the can in the pan.
- Warm it up so that it's melted and no longer hard.
- Place that and the remaining ingredients (using 1 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa for now) in a high-powered blender (I haven't tried this in a food processor). Blend for about 1 minute and add additional cocoa / carob, to taste.
- Once totally blended and no chunks of dates remain, pour into dessert glasses. Chill for at least 2 hours to firm up. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days.
Notes
- For AIP: Use carob powder. Vanilla powder / bean scrapings are elimination-phase legal (read more here).
- For GAPS: Cocoa powder is GAPS-legal once you're on the full diet and don't have any digestive symptoms. Read here for more info. I also use vanilla bean scrapings but it looks like pure vanilla extract (with just vanilla beans + vodka) is legal.
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20 comments on “Paleo Vegan Chocolate Mousse (GAPS, AIP-friendly)” — Add one!
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I made this three times now and it was delicious, but I am curious on chilling the milk for 8 hours , but then Turing around and heating it up. Do we need to chill it? Thanks again for the recipe , it was terrific.
I’m so happy that you like it! The reason you have to chill the coconut milk is to get the coconut cream to separate from the water (since you leave out 1/3 cup of the water). You could also just leave out 1/3 cup of coconut milk (instead of the coconut water) for a less rich version. :)
Thank you Erin, making again tonight :)
Hope you enjoyed it! Happy Friday. :)
Can the dates be subbed out for maple syrup on the Paleo Vegan Chocolate Mousse recipe? I have IBS so dates, raisins, honey are a no no, but maple syrup is allowed.
I’m afraid that it’s too much bulk to remove. 100 grams is a lot! I don’t think it’d have the right texture if you remove them and then when you add quite a bit of maple to sweeten it, it’d be a runny mess. Sorry about that!
Off to find some dates this week because I love this! Perfect for me right now
I recently had to go on a dairy free diet for my new baby. I was feeling like I wouldn’t be able to eat any special dessert for Valentines but this may be it! Thank you!
I have a question though, did you have to soak the dates first? When I’ve tried using dates in my smoothies they never completely break down & I end up with chunks.
I didn’t soak my dates for this recipe. Do you have a high-powered blender? If you’re using a regular blender, that could be the issue. Or if you’re using old dried up dates, that could also be an issue. If you’re worried about it, just pour some boiling water over the dates and let them sit an hour and then drain off the water. I hope you’ll enjoy it! I’d love to hear how it comes out.
This mousse looks divine! So easy too!
Ohh yeah!!!I love this paleo vegan chocolate mousse! This sounds so gooood!
I have to try this! I love that you’ve used dates to sweeten it.
The perfect classic dessert – love the fruit on top!
What a delightful mousse! I could see this going over wonderfully on a weeknight or for Valentine’s.
Oh, that looks tasty. I have had something similar…but I just bought some dates last week…might have to make this ASAP. I kept checking your page last week…I was looking for inspiration.
I hope you’ll give it a try and that you’ll enjoy it! Sorry I was so slow to get up a new recipe. I’ll try not to disappear again (at least not for a long while ;))
Erin, this mousse looks incredible! Looks simple but still decadent and special. Perfect for Valentine’s Day, or any day chocolate is necessary – which is basically everyday. :)
Haha. I totally agree with you on the chocolate thing! Thanks so much for your comment. :)
This looks so decadent! Perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Ohhh this looks so creamy, dreamy delicious! Love the berries on top :)