Alisa asked me if I could test a basic dairy-free Fudgesicle recipe. One that suits almost any dietary need, and can be made with easy-to-find ingredients. We have recipes for yogurt fudge pops, raw fudgesicles, and even fancy mocha fudgesicles. But we didn’t have an everyday kind of recipe for dairy-free fudgesicles. Fortunately, you don’t have to ask me twice when it comes to chocolate.
Dairy-Free Fudgesicles that are Simple and Cheap to Make
I looked at several online recipes and realized the basic recipe for fudgesicles is almost identical to homemade pudding. Many of the recipes I saw used melted chocolate in the mixture in addition to cocoa powder. I wanted to make simple, inexpensive dairy-free fudgesicles with basic pantry ingredients. So instead of adding chocolate, I upped the amount of cocoa powder. The results are delicious!
I use relatively large popsicle molds, but you can use any size. The size of the popsicle molds just affects how many dairy-free fudgesicles you get and how long they take to freeze. Larger fudge pops will take longer to freeze than smaller ones. I used cactus popsicle molds that we found at Walmart – they had pineapple popsicle molds too!
Special Diet Notes: Dairy-Free Fudgesicles
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, optionally nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.
For corn-free, dairy-free fudgesicles, you can substitute arrowroot starch for the cornstarch.
For paleo fudgesicles, use tapioca starch in place of the cornstarch, and you can substitute your favorite paleo-friendly sweetener, like coconut sugar.
- 2½ cups plain dairy-free milk beverage (see Milk Beverage Note below)
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons non-GMO cornstarch (see Corn-Free option above)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon dairy-free buttery spread (see Buttery Spread Alternatives below)
- In a saucepan, whisk together the milk beverage, sugar, cocoa powder, and cornstarch until smooth.
- Place the pan over medium heat and cook, while whisking, until the mixture thickens, approximately
- to 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the vanilla and buttery spread.
- Divide the chocolate mixture between your popsicle molds.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- Once cool, freeze the popsicles until they are firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Buttery Spread Alternatives: This just adds a hint of softness, richness, and enhances the flavor. It’s a very small amount, so you can use almost any brand without a problem. If you don’t have any on hand, you can substitute a teaspoon of your favorite neutral-tasting oil and a wee pinch of salt.
Creamy Fudge Pops Option: You can substitute lite canned coconut milk for the milk beverage for richer dairy-free fudgesicles. You'll need just under 1½ cans.