Pudding Pops: Chocolate or Banana (Paleo, Gluten/Dairy/Egg-Free)

Sometimes desserts just happen. I'm not big on baking (cookies, cakes, and all that) because I don't particularly enjoy measuring exactly (which is why it takes forever for me to write up recipes because I forget to measure). If you've seen the desserts on this site, you know that they are pretty flexible recipes. Like this fudge or this chocolate bark or this one. And though some do require measuring, a little mess up in measurements here or there won't affect the final product much.

Find my Chocolate Avocado Fudge Pops here. 

Back in February, I made this banana pudding. When the weather started to warm up, I was thinking about banana pudding, but more importantly...banana pudding pops. Because when it gets warm, what do kids want? Well, popsicles of course. Banana (or chocolate because most people love chocolate) pudding pops just for the kids. Ah, who am I kidding...these are for me too. I absolutely loved banana pudding pops when I was a kid. And while these don't taste exactly like Bill Cosby's pudding pops (because he created them, right?), they are a pretty tasty replacement. Eat the pudding or freeze the pops for the the kids (or yourself) to enjoy on a warm day. Or any time, really.

This is basically the pudding recipe (without eggs) in this post, except it's frozen. After I made them, I saw this on One Good Thing by Jillee where she adds cool whip to her pudding pops. Instead of cool whip, I'm adding whipped coconut cream to make them creamier (you could also use homemade whipped cream or leave it out). To make these, you can use popsicle molds, like these nice stainless steel ones or some of the cheaper ones you can find in Target or the dollar store. Or like me, you can use dixie bathroom cups. Is that weird? I didn't have them in the bathroom...


To make whipped coconut cream: Put a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight. (I use this brand.) When ready, open can and carefully scoop the top layer of hardened cream from the can (leaving the liquid which you can use for smoothies). Add a tbsp or two of maple syrup or honey. Whip with hand or stand mixer for 5 minutes until peaks form (works best if you use a cold bowl).


Banana or Chocolate Pudding Pops
(gluten/dairy free, egg free) *Slightly edited August 2014*

What you need:

3 bananas OR 1/3 cup cocoa powder (or raw cacao)
3/4 - 1 1/4 cup full-fat coconut milk 
1-5 tbsp honey or maple syrup (to taste)*
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean
pinch (about 1/16 tsp) sea salt
1 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin plus 2 tbsp water
optional: 1 tbsp coconut oil


How to make:

1. Sprinkle gelatin over 2 tbsp of water in a small dish. Set aside to bloom. Add milk to a saucepan and heat over low-med until warm.

3. Use 3/4 cup milk for banana and 1 1 /4 for chocolate. Whisk together milk and cocoa powder. Heat over low-med, add sweetener and salt (and coconut oil if using), and whisk to incorporate. For sweetener, I like 1 tbsp for banana (though sweetener is not needed) and 4 tbsp for chocolate. Once warm, turn heat to low, add gelatin and whisk constantly until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.

4. If using, add bananas to food processor, pour in at least half of the pudding, and process until smooth Take caution with hot liquids when blending. Pour back in saucepan and stir to incorporate.

Optional: Replace 1/2 cup milk with coconut whipped cream. Make pudding with 1/2 cup milk, set pudding aside until to cool to the touch. Add 1/2 cup whipped coconut cream for creamier pops. ** See above recipe for directions to whip coconut cream. Fold in the cream.

5. Pour pudding into small paper/plastic cups or popsicle molds. Freeze 30-60 minutes then add popsicle sticks. Makes about 10-12 small dixie cup size popsicles or 4 regular popsicle molds. Freeze a total of 6-8 hours. If you have extra mixture, stick in the refrigerator to set and eat as pudding. If popsicles are too hard directly from the freezer, allow to sit out for about 5-10 minutes to soften or run a little water over the outside of the molds to get them out.


Enjoy! (Slowly...brain freeze is not cool.)

Find my Chocolate Avocado Fudge Pops here.

More gelatin:
Homemade Banana Pudding
Homemade French Onion Dip
Benefits of Gelatin and Ways to Consume
Mini No Bake Pumpkin Pies 



Shared at: Make Your Own Mondays, Fight Back Fridays, Fat Tuesday and Allergy Free Wednesdays


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