I love chocolate, but it’s not always made with the best ingredients. This healthy Homemade Paleo Chocolate recipe solves that problem!
Made with 7 healthy ingredients, this easy chocolate bar recipe is great because it’s soy-free and dairy-free. It’s also super simple to make. All you need is cacao butter, cocoa powder, coconut butter, maple sugar, sunflower lecithin, vanilla powder, and salt.
What is sunflower lecithin?! It is a super food that contains phosphatidylcholine. Phosphatidylcholine is an important nutrient because it breaks down fat. It also helps with the formation of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that is vital for memory and mood stability.
Sunflower lecithin is key to this Homemade Paleo Chocolate recipe. The recipe will not work without this ingredient because it gives the chocolate its creamy flavor. More important, sunflower lecithin keeps the ingredients from separating. I use sunflower lecithin in my Creamsicles recipe, and add it to smoothies every day.
Homemade Paleo Chocolate
Ingredients
- 50 grams cacao butter
- 15 grams coconut butter
- 10 grams cacao powder
- 10 grams maple sugar, powdered
- 2 grams sunflower lecithin powder
- ½ gram vanilla powder
- 1 pinch celtic sea salt
Instructions
- In a very small pot over very low heat, melt cacao butter
- Stir in coconut butter, then remove from heat
- Use scale to measure dry ingredients
- Measure cacao powder and place in a small bowl
- Measure maple sugar and add to bowl
- Measure lecithin and add to bowl
- Measure vanilla powder and add to bowl
- Add salt to bowl
- Grind dry ingredients in a coffee grinder
- Use whisk to mix dry ingredients into cacao butter mixture
- Transfer mixture to chocolate bar mold
- Refrigerate for 1 hour, then serve
- Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week
I created this recipe using weight measurements rather than volume. This recipe will not work without a scale because so many of the ingredients are in such small amounts it is not possible to measure them accurately by volume. Although I know that most American are used to cooking by volume, I don’t have volume measurements for this recipe, so it does require a little flex!
Another tip? This tiny whisk is very helpful when mixing the dry ingredients into the wet. A standard size whisk didn’t work. Please note this recipe makes one chocolate bar, and I made a couple of extra for the photo. I tested this Homemade Paleo Chocolate recipe more than 50 times to make it perfect and I know you’ll love it!
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Madeline says
Hello Elana,
Thank you for the chocolate bar recipe! Would you please share where you found the molds?
Thank you for your work!
Madeline
Elana says
Madeline, if you click on the highlighted text in the instructions portion of the recipe that says “chocolate bar mold” you will be given that info :-)
Jeanette says
Awesome recipe, thank you for your dedication!!
Could you possibly please make a white chocolate recipe like this? I know it wouldn’t be as healthy without all the antioxidants/polyphenols in the cocoa. However, I use white chocolate a lot for decorative purposes (edible candles for my children’s birthdays, or in molds for special occasions for them), but can’t seem to make a healthy version that tastes good too. (usually it never mixes completely). Any somewhat healthier/organic store bought white chocolate always has soy or dairy. Would it be too risky (I don’t want to waste expensive ingredients) to just omit the cocoa powder? Or do you know what I should try replacing it with?
Thank you again I am forever grateful to you for your recipes! Your breakfast sausage recipe is the best and we eat it almost everyday. A lifesaver for busy school mornings, healthy, quick, yummy, and NOT messy ;)!
Thank you for the awesome recipes Elena!
Elana says
Jeanette, thanks so much for your comment and request! I have been working on a white chocolate recipe for quite some time but have yet to perfect it :-)
Jeanette says
Thank you Elana for replying, and so promptly! Also, thank you for working on a white chocolate recipe too! I bet you’ll get it before I do, so I’m looking forward to it. And now I don’t feel so bad that I’m not alone in the tedious quest for a healthier white chocolate ;). Much appreciation & many thanks!!!
Elana says
Jeanette, you’re welcome! Here’s a shot of one of my test batches:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlvnhHRB03Q/?taken-by=elanaspantry
Do you follow me on Instagram? I post a lot of my experiments over there!
Elana
Jeanette says
Darn, I am not on Instagram. Maybe now I have to get on ;). Awesome work! Thank you for thinking of me!
Elana says
You’re welcome :-)
Brandi says
Thanks for posting. I enjoy making homemade chocolate with sunflower lecithin and will definitely try your recipe. I read all of the comments and thoroughly read the recipe hoping to understand why you added coconut butter, rather than exclusively using cacao butter. Was it for flavor, texture, nutrition or another reason? Have you ever made the recipe with only cacao butter? I like to let my chocolate harden overnight at room temperature rather than placing it in the refrigerator and I’m concerned that the addition of coconut butter would result in a softer (less “snappy”) finished bar at room temp. Has that been your experience? Thank you for your time.
Elana says
Brandi, yes! I use the coconut butter for flavor, texture, and nutrition. If you experiment I hope you’ll let us know how it goes :-)
Brandi says
Thank You
Elana says
Brandi, you’re welcome!
Lisa Dawn Angerame says
Hello. Could I use liquid sunflower lecithin? I hope so! Let me know your thoughts! Thanks.
Elana says
Lisa, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Jeanette says
Lisa, did you (or anyone else) try liquid sunflower lecithin??? Thank you!!!
Chana Lew says
Super psyched to try these and gift my kids some gelt. Frontier foods has powdered maple syrup. Would you try that? Did you powder your maple sugar in the food processor?
Thanks so much!
Elana says
Chana, thanks for your comment! I powdered my maple sugar in the Vitamix. I haven’t tried that powdered maple syrup :-)
Ruth says
Summary: 10g maple sugar should be a scant 1/4 tsp of powdered stevia
(as a starting point )
Justification: (per the internet)
10 g maple sugar = 3 1/3 tsp maple sugar (roughly)
1 tsp sugar = 1 tsp maple sugar (roughly) in sweetness
1 tsp sugar = 1/16 tsp powdered stevia (roughly) in sweetness
so, the math says 10 g maple sugar is roughly 3/16 + 1/48 tsp =5/24 tsp stevia,
which is just under 1/4 tsp
So, I will start with a scant 1/4 tsp of stevia for my first batch and go from there.
The maple sugar provides texture that the stevia will not, so there will be some difference.
:-)
Elana says
Ruth, thanks for sharing your experiments with us!
Sara says
How did it turn out? Ever try Lily’s brand chocolate? It’s made w stevia
Elana says
Sara, thanks for your comment! A word of warning about Lilly’s, while it’s a wonderful product it contains corn which many of us here (including myself) cannot digest :-)
Shelley says
Hi Elana, can you post this recipe using standard measurements please? Thank you, Shelley
Elana says
Hi Shelley, thanks for your comment! As I mention in this post, “I created this recipe using weight measurements rather than volume. This recipe will not work without a scale because so many of the ingredients are in such small amounts it is not possible to measure them accurately by volume.” :-)
Susan Z. says
Just Curious: It annoys me no end that you offer these recipes so generously yet are forever being asked questions like this… How do you remain so patient and kind?
Elana says
Susan, thanks for being so empathetic. I love all comments, but some are definitely better than others :-)
jc says
Low carbers, keto fans, LCHFs et all, dig in!
I entered it in to fatsecrect.com for nutritional breakdown. I put down the recipe as making 6 servings, so you can figure out your serving size from there. Also, I put in vanilla extract instead of powder, as I couldn’t find that. But should be close anyway.
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 93 Calories 103
% Daily Values*
Total Fat 10.33g 16%
Saturated Fat 6.334g 32%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.132g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.028g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 28mg 1%
Potassium 9mg
Total Carbohydrate 3.25g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0.8g 3%
Sugars 1.67g
Protein 0.49g
Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 2% Iron 9%
Elana says
JC, thanks so much! You are awesome :-)
Cindra says
Thank you, Elana, for all of your great recipes!!
Elana says
Cindra, you’re welcome!
Cindra says
Thank you jc!!
Julie says
Thank you jc!
Madeline says
Hello Elana,
Thank you for the helpful and healthy recipe! Does this bar need to stay refrigerated or will it stay set at room temperature?
Elana says
Madeline, I like to keep mine refrigerated, but it is solid enough that it will not melt at room temperature :-)
Olivia Lerner says
My fingers flew to the keyboard as soon as I saw your post – I ordered all the ingredients right away. Now I’ve just made my third batch. I have a deep-ish mould and put coarsely chopped toasted almonds into the bottom before adding the chocolate mixture. My 11-year-old daughter asks me every day to make more. Perfect, Elana! Thank you so much! Two questions for you please: 1) could this be used in your recipes that call for chocolate, such as fudge and choc chip cookies? and 2) does it chocolate count as a ‘health food’ or is that a bit of a stretch? Thank you again! Olivia
Elana says
Olivia, I’m so happy you and your daughter are enjoying this homemade chocolate! Here are the answers to your questions: 1) I’m not sure if this would work in the fudge, maybe; I think it might work in the cookies, and I’ll be testing that in the near future. 2. Yes, chocolate, especially dark chocolate such as this is a health food; chocolate has an abundance of antioxidants that are heart healthy and protect against insulin resistance!!!
Olivia Lerner says
Thank you! I’m just ordering more ingredients now…!
Elana says
Olivia, you’re welcome!!!