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What is it about bananas and chocolate that makes such a great combination? I’m actually not even a big banana fan, but bananas and chocolate is such a tempting duo, so I make these chocolate banana bites as part of my meal prepping plan. They’re a tasty little treat and keep well over the course of the week, making them the perfect way to build an indulgence into the schedule. Unfortunately, most commercial chocolate is full of junk: loads of added sugar, soy products, even artificial flavors. Then, of course, there’s dairy, which is a no-no with strict Paleo, vegans, and some vegetarians. Luckily, it is really easy to make your own dark chocolate. As in, ridiculously easy and with only three ingredients! Raw cacao powder, cocoa butter (the edible kind, not the lotion kind!), and a bit of sweetener. That’s it!
I do truly only use a bit of sweetener – just a tablespoon of maple syrup. To me, that’s just right when added to the banana’s natural sweetness. If you’re not as actively anti-added sweetener as I am, you may want to put extra in your chocolate. If dark chocolate really isn’t your thing or making chocolate sounds way too hard, you can always use your favorite chocolate or chocolate melts. But, seriously, this chocolate is super easy to make.
You can use these chocolate banana bites two ways – frozen or just refrigerated. You’ll probably want to decide before you get peeling which you’re going with. Thin slices don’t work well for this recipe because they’re annoying/difficult to cover with chocolate, so you’ll need sizable chunks. Biting into an inch of frozen banana is a little intense, so I recommend sticking to sliced around 1/2″ to slightly thinner for frozen banana bites and 3/4″-1″ slices for refrigerated banana bites. You can freeze the bananas then transfer them to the fridge, but the bananas will end up somewhat gooey (freezing then thawing tends to do that to produce). I actually think that’s pretty tasty, but you may think it’s weird.
So do you know how you’re going to cut you bananas? Great! The chocolate recipe will generously cover large (approximately 1″) pieces from four medium bananas. Make sure to choose ones that are still very slightly green – more firm bananas stay on the toothpick better during dipping. You’ll also need about a half cup of food grade raw cocoa butter (around 90 grams) and half a cup of raw cacao powder (about 45 grams). You can substitute processed cocoa powder if necessary, but be aware that it probably has added sugar and other ingredients. The only other things you’ll need are some tootpicks and parchment paper. Ready to get started?
Paleo & Vegan Chocolate Banana Bites
Ingredients
Instructions
If you have left over chocolate, you can either eat it on the spot (no one’s looking, right?) or transfer it to a mold to make your own chocolates. Don’t have a mold? Just scoop it into a paper or silicone muffin liner, or even just a muffin pan. Let it cool and then you’ll have your very own mini chocolate bar – hooray!
Who else does meal prep? If you’re not meal prepping, why not?? It’s a great way to save time and money while eating healthy!
Tasha's mom
Can’t wait to try these!
But remember YOU live in the tropics where one can purchase bananas ripe off the tree. It can be so difficult to find ripe bananas around here.
Natashalh
You don’t want ripe bananas for this – when they’re a little bit green they hold together better. I actually really don’t like ripe bananas.
Paige
We normally do meal prep and planning, and I LOVE it. This week is weird because we’re going to be gone, but as part of my normal schedule I make a bunch of chicken or pork in the crock pot and we eat it for dinner most of the week. Having brown rice or quinoa cooked and ready to go is a big time-saver, too.
Natashalh
It is amazing how much time you can save cooking ahead! This week is funny for me, too, since my husband is gone. We always cook 6 cups (uncooked volume) of brown rice for the week and do a lot of baking and slow cooking of beans on Sunday, but we cook meat as we go some weeks.