Healthy Chocolate Frosting Recipe (2024)

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This healthy chocolate frosting recipe has a deep chocolately fudge flavor. It’s low in sugar and fat, and is super thick and rich. This healthy frosting recipe is vegan, and is easily made a paleo chocolate frosting by subbing honey for the date syrup. No powdered sugar!

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Contents

Sweet Potato Frosting

Awhile back, I made a healthy chocolate cake for a friend. When it came time to decorate it, I pulled out a bag of powdered sugar I had begrudgingly bought for the occasion.

I wanted the cake to look nice, and my previous attempts at a low sugar frosting always turned out too thin to pipe or use in a layer cake.

Thinking back to the gooey sweet baked sweet potatoes my grandma makes for Thanksgiving, I realized they would make a perfect frosting base.

Ingredients for Healthy Chocolate Frosting

Sweet potatoes, roasted until very soft and creamy. Read this on how to bake a sweet potato if needed.
Coconut oil, melted
Date syrup – I like this low glycemic index sweetener and use it often. It’s a great alternative to honey. I also testing this recipe with whole dates. Whole dates work, and their are instructions on how to use them in the recipe card, but the frosting is more fiberous (still tastes wonderful!)/
High quality cocoa powder
Salt & vanilla

We make this sweet potato frosting often now. My husband loves the leftovers — he scoops it into his bowl of yogurt and fruit for dessert! I have even served this to my toddler (who of course wouldn’t know the difference) and his friends, and kids love the stuff!

How to Make Healthy Frosting

To achieve the best textured and flavored sweet potato frosting, be sure to roast sweet potatoes well.

Steps for Making this Healthy Chocolate Frosting

Add roasted sweet potato, cocoa powder, coconut oil, date syrup, salt and vanilla to a food processor bowl. Process until the mixture is very smooth.
Add extra sweet potato if the mixture is too thin, or extra coconut oil and date syrup if the texture is too thick.
The frosting is very spreadable at room temperature, and becomes thicker and fudgy when refrigerated. If you’d like to make it ahead of time, be sure to allow it to come back to room temperature before spreading it.

Below you see a thick layer of this frosting on a slice of my chocolate quinoa cake! A great pairing.

Vegan or Paleo Chocolate Frosting

This healthy chocolate frosting recipe works well in many diets.

Make it Vegan:This healthy frosting recipe is vegan as written.
Make it Paleo:This is the perfect frosting recipe if you follow a paleo diet, or if you just like to choose foods with a higher nutritional content. I have made this healthy chocolate frosting recipe using soaked dates, and it tastes great — it doesn’t look quite as smooth, and if you eat it off the spoon, it’s more fibrous than making it with date syrup or honey. On a cupcake, you really can’t tell the difference though.
Save time:I like to throw my sweet potatoes in the microwave for 4 minutes before baking them. I have never tried making them 100% in the microwave, because I like how creamy they get in the oven.
Make it Ahead:This frosting holds well in the refrigerator for up to a week. If making it with coconut oil, it will need to warm up to room temperature and be stirred well before using it to frost cupcakes. I’ve also made this with grapeseed oil, and the texture stays soft, so there isn’t a need to let it warm up prior to using it.

Healthy Chocolate Frosting Recipe

This sweet potato frosting blew my expectations out of the water! If made with the right proportions, no one will detect the potato! If yours turns out a tad "potatoey" (mine has on ocassion), simply add 1 more tablespoon each of cocoa powder, coconut oil, and date syrup. This frosting is easily made vegan or paleo.

4.94 from 15 votes

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Ingredients

▢ 3/4 cup sweet potato roasted and peeled, mashed
▢ 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder
▢ 6 tablespoons date syrup or sub honey (or 5 ounces of soaked dates*)
▢ 1/4 cup coconut oil or sub grapeseed oil**
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla sub a scraped vanilla bean for paleo
▢ 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Be sure your sweet potatoes are fully roasted and very soft. The skin should easily press in or be sagging around your potato. If your potatoes aren't roasted very soft, your frosting will not turn out as smooth and will have more of a sweet potato flavor.
Add the roasted sweet potato and cocoa powder into a food processor. Process to combine (it will ball up, and that's okay).
Add the date syrup (or honey), coconut oil (or grapeseed oil), vanilla and sea salt. Process again for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth and glossy.
If using coconut oil, it's best to pipe or spread the frosting while it's still room temperature. If using grapeseed oil, the frosting stays soft and spreadable even after being refrigerated.

Video

Notes

* Honey and date syrup yield similar results. I prefer date syrup because there is no honey flavor in the frosting. I have also tested this recipe using whole dates. If using dates, soak them in hot water first, and then add when you would add the liquid sweetener. It will take longer to process, but the result should still be a creamy and spreadable frosting. This option yields a frosting that tastes a bit fibrous, but is still delicious on baked goods.

**I have made this both with coconut oil and grapeseed oil. I love the coconut flavor. If choosing coconut oil, the frosting will become slightly hard (more like a firm fudge) when refrigerated. If using grapeseed oil, the consistency will be the same at room temperature, and it will stay soft after being refrigerated. The grapeseed oil also has no flavor, if you don't like coconut or prefer not to have that flavor in your frosting.

Nutrition

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @SunkissedKitch or tag #SunkissedKitchen!

OtherHeathy FrostingRecipe:

White Chocolate Buttercream, by Sunkissed Kitchen
Chocolate Frosting Shots, by Chocolate Covered Katie
Homemade Cookies ‘n Cream Frosting, by Chocolate Covered Katie
5 Minute Healthy Frosting, by My Whole Food Life

I’d love to connect with you on social media! Find meonFacebookorInstagramwhere I post daily healthy eating and lifestyle inspiration.

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Healthy Chocolate Frosting Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you reduce sugar in frosting? ›

If you want to make the end result less sweet, add a Tbsp of of cornstarch to the frosting in place of a Tbsp of your sugar. Don't use too much cornstarch, though, or your frosting will taste chalky.

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How to thicken frosting without sugar? ›

If you are trying to avoid any sweetness to your frosting you could try some cream of tartar or some cornstarch mixed with a little milk. You can also whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold into the softened cream cheese. People use gelatin to thicken and set whipped cream frostings.

How to make frosting better? ›

Smooth Additions

Cream cheese. Beat in 8 ounces of room temperature plain or flavored cream cheese. ...
Whipped cream. Mix equal parts freshly whipped cream and frosting. ...
Butter. This makes a buttercream more buttery. ...
Peanut butter or other nut butter. ...
Nutella. ...
Cookie butter. ...
Jam, preserves, or marmalade. ...
Lemon curd.

More items...

Feb 14, 2024

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How to make can frosting creamy? ›

Make it extra smooth

Mix in 1 cup of cream cheese or 1/2 cup of marshmallow creme or nut butter per can of frosting for a creamy delight.

Get More Info Here ›

What is the secret ingredient that will improve your frosting? ›

But, there are ways to make it more interesting; one such way is to hit it with a shot of vinegar. Don't worry, the icing won't taste sour or like vinegar at all, but the acid will help balance out the sweetness, making it taste more pleasant. Even better, it will make the icing stronger and more durable.

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Does adding more powdered sugar make frosting thicker? ›

Adding more powdered sugar can be an effective way and the easiest way of absorbing too much liquid to achieve thicker frosting.

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Is it better to use milk or water in frosting? ›

Liquid substitute: Water can be used as the liquid ingredient, although the fat from milk and heavy cream make for creamier, more flavorful buttercream.

How do you make frosting sweeter? ›

Taste and add powdered sugar #2 to the frosting.

(I like it without powdered sugar #2.) If you prefer it sweeter, add a little at a time mixing after each addition. You can add a bit of vanilla here, but it easily overpowers the delicate, tangy flavor, so start small and taste until you like it.

Is butter or margarine better for frosting? ›

For a rich and creamy flavor in your frosting, butter is key. We suggest using a good-quality unsalted butter for tasty results every time. For those who want to use margarine instead, go for regular margarine rather than low-fat.

Read On ›

How do you fix too much sugar in buttercream? ›

If that happens, no need to fret. One of the most effective ways to balance that overpowering sweetness is by simply adding fat like butter or cream cheese. It's totally understandable how easy it is to overdo the sweetness in your buttercream seeing that sugar is one of the main ingredients.

How does reducing sugar affect cake? ›

“Thus, sweeter doughs and batters will generally be more tender than doughs and batters with little or no sugar.” Remove too much sugar from your recipe, and you may end up with drier cookies or less plush cake.

Read The Full Story ›

How do you counteract sugar in a recipe? ›

If your dish is a little too sweet, try rounding out the sweetness by adding flavors or ingredients that are sour, bitter, or spicy. It may be obvious not to add more sweet ingredients, but you should also stay away from salty ones since they actually bring out the sweetness in food.

Know More ›

What counteracts sugar in baking? ›

If you over sweeten, you have a few different options, according to Curtis. He suggests adding a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. "The acidity helps to balance it," he explains. If you don't have either handy, you can also try yogurt, or you can add a fat like olive oil, the chef says.