Dairy-Free Fudgesicles Recipe (Simple, Cheap, Delicious)

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.

Dairy-Free Fudgesicles

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

Please note that the Prep time is hands-on time only. Be sure to allow a lot of time before you serve them. Because the mixture is cooked, it needs to cool first, and then frozen.

Author: Sarah Hatfield

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: 5 to 6 large fudge pops

Ingredients

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)

Instructions

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.

Notes

Milk Beverage Note: I used plain almond milk, because my family really likes almond milk! The nuttiness goes well with chocolate. But you can use your favorite dairy-free milk beverage – it can be nut-free, soy-free, whatever you need.

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.