Berries ‘n Cream Vegan Pops are Layered with Healthy Deliciousness

In perfecting one of my favorite healthy treats, Dairy-Free Yogurt Mousse, I ended up with a couple batches that were a little too sweet. Since I knew that sweetness tempers when frozen, I wondered how the mousse would work as ice cream. But without a properly chilled ice cream maker waiting in my freezer, I opted for easier vegan yogurt pops instead. The end result was these berries ‘n cream vegan pops that are marvelously creamy, perfectly sweet, and pretty darn nutritious!

Berries ‘n Cream Vegan Pops are Layered with Healthy Deliciousness

When I came up with the layered idea for these vegan yogurt pops, I had originally planned to make them “red, white and blue” frozen yogurt pops for the 4th of July. Of course, I failed to anticipate that blending a dairy-free “yogurt cream” into the berries would lighten them to pink and purple instead of red and blue! I think these dairy-free berries ‘n cream pops are still festive enough for patriotic holidays, but you can enjoy them any day.

Straight up vegan yogurt pops typically end up too watery and icy for my tastes. These use the richness of cashews to thicken and add natural plant-based decadence.

Mixing Up the Fruit

Since I was originally on that red, white and blue track, I used blueberries for one layer. But I like the consistency of the strawberries a bit better, and wouldn’t hesitate to mono line the fruit and just make layered Strawberries ‘n Cream vegan yogurt pops in the future. I’m actually planning to make a Peaches ‘n Cream variety, too (peaches would be amazing in this recipe!).

Choosing Your Dairy-Free Yogurt

This post is sponsored was originally sponsored by So Delicious Dairy Free, but I have updated the post. Nonetheless, I still use their unsweetened coconut milk yogurt to make this recipe. I like that it’s affordable, sugar-free, rich, fairly neutral in flavor, and easy to find. If you don’t see an unsweetened dairy-free yogurt in your store, you can use an original version and reduce the sweetener, if needed.

Special Diet Notes: Berries ‘n Cream Yogurt Pops

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan / plant-based, vegetarian, and optionally paleo.

For nut-free, vegan yogurt pops, replace the cashews with 1/3 cup coconut cream (skimmed from chilled, good quality, full-fat coconut milk). For creamier, you can reduce the yogurt to 2/3 cup and use 2/3 cup coconut cream.

Berries ‘n Cream Vegan Yogurt Pops

 

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Prep time

25 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

This recipe is a fun frozen twist on my Healthy Dairy-Free Yogurt Mousse Recipe. It's rich, creamy and not the least bit watery. Note that the Prep Time is hands on time only. Plan ahead for refrigeration and freezing times.

Author: Alisa Fleming

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: 6 frozen yogurt pops

Ingredients

• ¾ cup raw cashews (see post above for nut-free option)
• 1 cup unsweetened dairy-free yogurt (I use So Delicious coconut milk yogurt)
• 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• Generous pinch salt
• 1 inch vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon pure vanilla flavoring*
• 2 to 4 tablespoons honey or agave nectar**
• ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or more strawberries)
• ½ cup fresh or frozen halved or sliced strawberries

Instructions

1. Place the cashews in your spice grinder or small food processor and whiz until finely ground or powdered.
2. Place the ground cashews, yogurt, lemon juice, seeds scraped from the vanilla bean or vanilla flavoring, and salt in your blender and puree about 30 seconds or until smooth. You want to avoid blending too long, as it can heat up the yogurt! Blend in the honey or agave nectar, to taste (making it just a touch sweeter than you would normally eat).
3. Cover and refrigerate the creamy mixture 1 hour, or longer if making ahead (up to overnight), just to allow the cashews time to soak up some of the moisture.
4. Blend ⅓ cup of the dairy-free yogurt mousse with the blueberries (or strawberries). Divide the mixture between 6 medium-sized pop molds. Freeze for 1 hour.
5. Divide ⅔ cup (total) of the dairy-free yogurt mousse between the pops, topping the first berry layer. Freeze for 30 minutes.
6. Blend the remaining ⅓ cup dairy-free yogurt mousse with the strawberries. Divide the mixture between the pop molds, topping them off.
7. Insert sticks and freeze until solid, about 2 hours.

Notes

**I prefer to use real vanilla bean (those flecks!) or a non-alcoholic flavoring (since it isn't cooked). For both I use Simply Organic.

*The amount of sweetener you use will depend on the ripeness / sweetness of your berries and your personal tastes. Keep in mind that treats taste a little less sweet once frozen. I used about ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) sweetener in my testing, which was pleasant and notably sweet, but I think you could go a little lighter with very ripe fruit.

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