Frozen Chocolate Banana Monkey Pops

Nutritious, delicious, and so fun to make, these chocolate banana delights will put a smile on your little monkey’s face! Plus, they are naturally dairy-free, optionally low in added sugars, and are pretty much “everyone-friendly”.

To keep this chocolate banana treat on the healthy and allergen-free side, I use Pascha Chocolate Chips. They have three new types of chocolate chips, all of which are made in a top allergen-free facility, non-GMO verified, gluten-free, and certified organic, vegan, and fair trade.

The Pascha 100% unsweetened chocolate chips (paleo-friendly and pictured in the red bag) melt beautifully and allow me to sweeten to taste with my ingredients of choice (in this case I went for a combo of maple syrup and stevia). If I had used their bitter-sweet chocolate chips (85% cacao) in these chocolate banana pops, then I would just add the maple syrup (chocolate and maple are such an amazing combination!). With semi-sweet chocolate chips (55%) I would skip the added sweetener altogether. They are milky and sweet enough on their own!

These chocolate banana monkey pops are great on a hot day or simply for an afternoon snack. If frozen solid, I do like to let them sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes or so to let the chocolate banana goodness soften just a bit.

Oh, and just in case you are wondering, those adorable Monkey Business Straws and Cupcake Liners are by Cupcake Creations.

Special Diet Notes & Options: Chocolate Banana Monkey Pops

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, optionally nut-free, optionally peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian, optionally paleo, and even optionally added sugar-free! Just choose your ingredients wisely for the chocolate banana coating and sweeten as desired.

I’m sharing this recipe on Shirley’s awesome Gluten-Free Wednesdays at Gluten Free Easily, Allergy-Free Wednesdays at Adrienne’s great blog, Whole New Mom, A Wholesome Bunch at The Pink Sprinkle, Try a New Recipe Tuesday at Home to 4 Kiddos, and the Weekend Social at Bake at Midnite.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Frozen Chocolate Banana Monkey Pops

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

The chocolate dip makes for a very thick coating - just the way we like it. If you prefer a thinner coating, omit the nut/seed butter or increase the melted coconut oil to 1 tablespoon. Note that the prep time does not include freezing time for the bananas.

Author: Alisa Fleming

Serves: about 8 pops

Ingredients

• 2 bananas, cut into 1½ to 2 inch chunks
• ½ cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips (I use Pascha Organic Unsweetened Chocolate Chips; use bitter-sweet or semi-sweet instead, if desired)
• ½ tablespoon melted coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon cashew, peanut, or sunflower seed butter
• Sweetener, to taste*
• Toppings (optional), such as shredded unsweetened coconut, cacao nibs, sprinkles, or chopped nuts

Instructions

1. Stick the banana chunks with your sticks of choice. This could even be toothpicks, but for fun, I cut these cute Monkey Business straws.
2. Place the banana chunks, stick side up, in a single layer, not touching, on a silcone baking mat or parchment paper in the freezer. Freeze for several hours, until solid. Can be stored frozen in an airtight plastic bag until ready to use.
3. Melt the chocolate chips (using the microwave - about 1 minute - or double broiler), until just melted. Do not overheat.
4. Stir the melted chocolate, coconut oil, nut/seed butter, and sweetener, to taste, in a small bowl until smooth.
5. If using toppings, place each on a separate small plate.
6. Dip the frozen banana slices in the chocolate, rolling the sides as needed, then immediately roll in toppings, if using. Work quickly, as the chocolate will immediately begin setting up. If the chocolate cools too much and begins to get thick, heat it briefly (15 seconds in the microwave) and stir.
7. Place the dipped bananas back on the mat or paper in the freezer. They can be eaten immediately, or kept frozen for later.

Notes

*With 100% cacao I use ½ tablespoon maple syrup and 15-25 drops pure vanilla stevia (to taste). You can use all stevia, powdered sugar, or more maple syrup, to taste - your choice. Just use caution with liquid sweeteners like honey, as they tend to make the chocolate chewy, or granular sweeteners as they may not fully dissolve.

If using bitter-sweet chocolate (like Pascha 85% Cacao Chocolate Chips), less sweetener will be needed. With the semi-sweet chocolate (like Pascha 55% Cacao Chocolate Chips), no added sweetener will be needed, in my opinion.

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