Rich and velvety avocado chocolate mousse is incredibly delicious, easy to make in your food processor, and no, you can't actually taste the avocado!
The concept of this mousse sounds suspicious, for sure. A few months ago, I happened upon a photo of a gorgeous chocolate dessert on Pinterest. When I found out it was made with avocado, I shrugged it off as a gimmick. "That would never work!"
But that photo, so rich and dark and decadent, kept haunting me. And every time I bought a ripe Haas avocado, I did not think about guacamole, avocado fries or baked avocado eggs. Instead, I thought about chocolate mousse.
Until I finally broke down, sat at my computer and started researching. I found several recipes for avocado chocolate mousse that looked promising. After mixing and matching a few of them, I settled on the recipe below.
Boy, is it good! Super rich and creamy, thick and chocolatey. The kind of dessert that you can't help but vocally ooh and aah over with each delicious spoonful.
In fact, this is one of the best chocolate desserts I have ever had (this chocolate pudding is another good one). I have made this recipe several times in the past few months, and each and every time it amazes me.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty avocado chocolate mousse. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
Avocado: It's important to use a very ripe Haas avocado in this recipe.
Unsweetened cocoa powder: It's important to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this recipe. It's milder and less acidic than natural cocoa powder.
Water: The water adds the moisture needed for achieving the perfect texture. Suggested alternatives are listed below.
Vanilla extract: Try to use the real thing - pure vanilla extract - and not the artificially flavored stuff.
Kosher salt: Just a dash - and you can skip it if you wish.
Instructions
Making avocado chocolate mousse is truly easy. Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
You start by placing the avocado, cocoa powder, vanilla, sweetener, and salt in your food processor. I use a mini food processor.
Process these ingredients until very smooth, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust as needed - you might need to add more cocoa powder, more sweetener, or both.
Recipe tips
1. Choose high-quality ingredients
Obviously, with a simple recipe such as this, each of the ingredients must be top-quality.
So the avocado must be ripe and creamy, not fibrous or watery. The cocoa powder should be of high quality too. And you should use good vanilla extract.
2. Use Haas avocado and make sure it's ripe
It shouldn't be too difficult to find Haas avocado - it's the most popular avocado variety. It's high in fat and its flesh is creamier than that of other varieties. Fibrous, watery avocado will obviously not work here.
The avocado should be very ripe but still green and not brown on the inside.
3. The cocoa powder must be Dutch-processed
The label should say "processed with alkali." This will ensure a smoother, less acidic flavor.
4. You will probably need to adjust the recipe
Avocado chocolate mousse is one of those recipes where you'll probably need to adjust it to your taste. So after you process the ingredients, taste the mousse, and see if you feel like you need to add cocoa powder, sweetener, or water.
If your avocado is larger than the one I typically use, around 7 oz without refuse (200 grams), try using ½ cup cocoa powder and ½ cup water, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 2 teaspoons stevia glycerite (equals ⅔ cup sugar), then taste and adjust.
5. Let it rest
It’s really important to let the mousse rest for 30 minutes. The flavors meld and the texture improves as it rests.
Possible substitutions
You can use unsweetened almond milk instead of water. You can also use a sugar-free sweetener (or pure maple syrup if you don't mind the carbs) and omit the water and the extra sweetener.
Frequently asked questions
It does. It tastes like a rich, thick mousse. But please don’t expect it to taste like the real thing. Especially if you use stevia, it has a slight bitterness to it that not everyone will like. But it’s rich and chocolaty and decadent. My entire family loves it - even the teenagers.
Surprisingly, no! If you add enough cocoa powder, you can't taste the avocado. It gives this dish texture, not flavor. Phew.
Because it contains raw avocado, I suggest you make this mousse on the day you plan on eating it. You can make it a few hours in advance and refrigerate, covered. But I wouldn't try to keep it any longer than that.
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Recipe card
Amazing Avocado Chocolate Mousse
INGREDIENTS
- 1 medium Haas avocado very ripe (4.5 oz, 130 grams without refuse)
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder Dutch-processed (heaping)
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon stevia glycerite (equals ½ cup sugar)
- Dash Diamond Crystal kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the avocado, cocoa powder, water, vanilla, sweetener and salt in your food processor bowl (I use a mini food processor).
- Process until smooth and creamy, about one minute, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula if needed.
- Allow the mousse to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then serve.
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NOTES
Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 