Chocolate? Yes, please. It is my favorite indulgence. And with Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought I would share some healthier chocolate recipes to inspire you to create some yummy deliciousness for all the people that you love.
Who doesn’t love chocolate? I know I do. And I don’t feel bad about eating it.
Just be sure that you are eating good quality chocolate made with real food ingredients. It’s all the other garbage that gets put into chocolate that is not good for us. Here’s a few tips for making healthier chocolate:
- Use organic raw cacao powder instead of cocoa powder. It’s full of antioxidant flavonoids and polyphenols that promote health and protect against toxins. It also contains minerals like magnesium, manganese, and sulfur.
- Use a good quality food-grade cacao butter to make your chocolates. Cacao butter, also known as cocoa butter, is a pure vegetable fat that’s extracted from the cacao bean. It makes the purest and most smooth chocolate I have ever had.
- Use healthy fats like coconut oil, coconut butter, and cacao butter to make your homemade chocolate treats. Read my take on what makes a fat healthy HERE.
- Avoid sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup and white sugar. Use whole food sweeteners that still have some nutrients and minerals in them. I prefer raw honey, real maple syrup, and coconut sugar.
- Stay away from chocolate that contains soy lecithin. Soy lecithin comes from sludge left after crude soy oil goes through a degumming process. It is a waste product, and manufacturers bleach it to make it the more appealing. Also, 90% of all soy is genetically modified and is heavily sprayed with toxic herbicides. GROSS!
There are few brands of healthier chocolate that do not contain soy lecithin:
- Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate Mega Chunks
- Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
- Lindt Excellence Supreme Dark Chocolate
- Tropical Traditions also carries soy-free chocolate chips
Happy Valentine’s Day!
xo,
Katja
60+ Healthier Chocolate Recipes
Candies
1. Homemade Almond Joys from Rubies and Radishes
2. Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bites from Savory Lotus
3. Flavor-Infused Homemade Chocolates from Phoenix Helix
4. Homemade Chocolate from How We Flourish
5. Honey-Kissed Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nuts from Savory Lotus
6. Almond Butter Balls from Holistically Engineered
7. Salted Dark Chocolate Nut Bites from Tasty Yummies
8. Nom Nom Chocolate Truffles from Nom Nom Paleo
9. Chocolate Raspberry Jellies from Plaid and Paleo
10. Copycat Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs from Life Made Full
11. Easy Avocado Chocolate Truffles from Whole New Mom
12. Healthy Homemade Chocolates from Savory Lotus
Cookies
13. Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie Cookies from Cave Girl Cuisine
14. Paleo Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Balls from Savory Lotus
15. Chocolate Almond Spice Cookies from VA Hunter/Gatherers
16. Chocolate Chunk Salted Caramel No Bake Cookies from GI 365
17. Double Chocolate Chip Coconut Flour Cookies from Ditch the Wheat
18. Flourless Chocolate Cookies from Savory Lotus
19. Double Chocolate Cookies with Chocolate Chunks from Gourmande in the Kitchen
20. Paleo Chocolate Fudge Haystacks from Pure and Simple Nourishment
21. Salted Dark Chocolate Truffle Cookies from Paleo Parents
22. Chocolate Coconut Macaroons from Downshiftology
Cakes
23. No-Joke Dark Chocolate Cake from Zen Belly
24. Brownie Cake with Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and Cacao Nibs from Slim Palate
25. Chocolate Lava Cakes from Real Food Outlaws
26. Flourless Chocolate Cake from Real Food RN
27. Chocolate Cake with Fudge Icing from The Nourishing Home
28. Flourless Chocolate Rose Mini Cakes from Savory Lotus
29. Chocolate Espresso Cake from And Here We Are
30. Paleo Chocolate Cake in a Cup from Oh Snap! Let’s Eat!
31. Chocolate Cake with Coconut Honey Frosting from Paleo Spirit
32. Chocolate Truffle Cake from Living the Crunchy Life
33. Paleo Chocolate Molten Lava Cake from Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind
34. Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from Deliciously Organic
35. Paleo Chocolate Souffle from Gutsy by Nature
Brownies and Bars
36. Dark Chocolate Fudgy Brownies from Ditch the Wheat
37. Flourless Peppermint Brownies from Savory Lotus
38. Flourless Red Velvet Brownies from Butter Nutrition
39. Coconut Almond Mocha Fudge from Beautyandthefoodie
40. Spicy Red Velvet Brownies from Paleo in PDX
41. Paleo Mudflat Brownies from Paleo Newbie
42. Paleo Dark Chocolate Orange Fudge from Pure and Simple Nourishment
43. Fudge Triple Chocolate Paleo (and Vegan) Brownies by Paleo Running Momma
44. One Pan Nut Brownies from The Primal Desire
45. Super Chocolatey Brownies from Zen Belly Catering
46. Raw Chocolate-Topped Fudge Brownies from Whole New Mom
Puddings and Custards
47. Salted “Caramel” Chocolate Pudding from VA Hunter/Gatherers
48. Maca Chocolate Pots De Creme from Real Food RN
49. Earl Grey Pots Do Creme from Gourmande in the Kitchen
50. Paleo (and Vegan) Chocolate Pudding by Bakerita
51. Death by Chocolate from GI 365
52. Rich Chocolate Pudding from Whole New Mom
Cold Treats
53. Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream from Zen Belly
54. Strawberry Ice Cream Chocolate Roll from Primally Inspired
Chocolate with Fruit
55. Paleo Chocolate Covered Apples from Thriving on Paleo
56. Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries from Primal Palate
Tarts
57. Montezuma’s Spicy Chocolate Tart from Grok Grub
58. Paleo Chocolate Pecan Tart from Paleo Fondue
Donuts
59. Chocolate Donuts from The Spunky Coconut
60. Double Chocolate Cake Donuts from GI 365
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Kelly @ The Nourishing Home says
Oh my, you’ve just posted recipe that speak to my chocolate lover’s heart. 🙂 I’ve pinned this and can’t wait to start giving this a try. Thanks for the shout-out on my Chocolate Cake with Fudge Icing recipe, it looks like it’s in great company here. So many delicious recipes … where do I start???
Eileen @ Phoenix Helix says
Here’s to the love of chocolate! Thanks for including me in your roundup, Katja.
Chloe @ How We Flourish says
Thanks for sharing my recipe for homemade chocolate! It’s all we do for chocolate now, since it has no funny ingredients and is a fraction of the cost!
Raj @ www.ThePrimalDesire.com says
Katja,
Thanks for including our easy One Pan Nut Brownies in this list.
This list looks amazing. I just wish you’d shared photos of all these creations. -Nope: I take that back. It’s a lot easier to resist these things if you can’t see them!
Cheers!
Shanti @ Life Made Full says
Thanks for including my copycat Reese’s peanut butter eggs! Pinning now!