Chocolate Banana Pops
Frozen banana halves dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in nuts, sprinkles or coconut.
Three ingredients and a freezer. The trick is freezing the bananas solid before dipping, so the warm chocolate sets into a hard shell on contact rather than sliding off. Add a spoon of coconut oil to the chocolate and it snaps when you bite it.
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How to make Chocolate Banana Pops
Ingredients
Quantities scale automatically. Cooking times stay the same.
Pops
Coatings
Equipment
- Baking tray
- Baking parchment
- 8 wooden sticks
- Heatproof bowl
Method
-
1
Skewer and freeze
Peel the bananas, halve them crossways and push a stick into the cut end of each. Lay on a parchment-lined tray and freeze at least 2 hours, until rock solid.
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2
Prepare the coatings
Put each coating in its own shallow bowl and line a second tray with parchment. Once dipping starts there is no time to prepare anything.
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3
Melt the chocolate
Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil in short 20-second bursts in the microwave, stirring between each, or over a pan of barely simmering water. Let it cool for 2 minutes.
-
4
Dip fast
Working with one frozen banana at a time, dip and turn to coat, letting the excess drip off. The chocolate will begin setting within seconds against the frozen fruit.
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5
Coat immediately
Roll or sprinkle the coating on straight away, before the shell hardens, then set on the lined tray.
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6
Firm up
Return to the freezer for 15 minutes to set completely. Serve straight from frozen, or let them soften for 3 minutes for a softer bite.
Cook’s tips
- Freeze the bananas solid first. Room-temperature bananas make the chocolate slide off and go grey.
- The coconut oil is what makes the shell snap; without it the chocolate coating is dull and soft.
- Take one banana out of the freezer at a time. Chocolate sets on contact, so you have only a few seconds to add toppings.
Variations
- Use white or milk chocolate, or drizzle a second colour over the set shell.
- Swap banana for frozen strawberries or grapes threaded onto skewers.
- Spread peanut butter along the banana before freezing for a hidden layer.
Storage and make-ahead
Keeps 1 month in the freezer. Once fully set, wrap each pop individually or layer between parchment in an airtight box so they do not stick together.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 198 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 26 g |
| Fat | 10 g |
| Fibre | 3 g |
| Sugar | 17 g |
| Sodium | 15 mg |
Nutrition is estimated from ingredient averages and will vary with brands and portioning.
