Fudgesicles (WFPB, Vegan, Low-Fat)

“That should be your tagline, Faith–I make fruits and vegetables taste like fudgesicles,” said my husband, popsicle in hand.

You’d never guess or taste the secret ingredient in these that makes them creamy and not icy. Except maybe you would, since it’s one ingredient I use a lot around here. Sweet potato! This is an ingredient I now use in frosting, and they are popular in healthy pudding recipes. Sweet potatoes are loaded with nutrients, and make a soft, sweet base for treats. If you don’t like sweet potato, that’s no problem. You can’t even taste them or even notice their texture when they’re frozen. I promise you won’t notice they’re there. But if you refuse to try sweet potatoes in your popsicles, just make your favorite potato-less chocolate smoothie into popsicles instead (party pooper!).

When I first decided to start my instagram account (about a year pre-blog), I was trying to come up with a name for it. I wanted to call my account something to do with sweet potato, because they are just the epitome of healthy, yummy, convenient food. All the instagram handles dealing with sweet potato seemed to be taken, so I settled on @FoodwithFaith. That wasn’t available as a website domain, so I had to switch to Faithful Plateful. Now you know my history, and that sweet potatoes are nothing new over here.

I got the idea for these fudgesicles from Brittany Jaroudi  (you can read her inspiring story here!). I added banana to make them even more creamy and less hard and icy, though. The banana and sweet potato make these naturally sweet, so you don’t have to add much sweetener. A few dates or a blip of maple syrup make them just right! Best of all, they don’t taste like bananas OR sweet potato, just creamy chocolateness.

You need to make these when you don’t necessarily feel like eating a popsicle, so they’re ready when you do. Make them as soon as you can, so they’re ready for a hot day when you come inside from yard work, a walk, bike ride, or run and need something refreshing. They also make a delightful treat to pull out and enjoy in the backyard after dinner.

Let them sit on the counter for about 10 minutes, if possible, for the best texture. They are like pudding pops! My toddler loves them and has been asking for “pine-ascles” (a mixture between pineapple and popsicles) every day, so I’ve had to make several batches lately.

You can get a simple plastic popsicle mold just about anywhere for around $1. I got mine for 25 cents at an end-of-summer sale at Walmart a couple years ago, and it’s still going strong. Or, you can use paper cups and wooden popsicle sticks.

If you like frozen treats, you’ll also love these divine Pina Colada Popsicles  or these super yummy chocolate Monkey Tails.

5 from 2 votes

Print

Fudgesicles (WFPB, Vegan, Low-Fat)

Prep Time

10 mins

Freezing Time

4 hrs

 

You'd never guess there are fruits and a vegetable in these creamy, chocolately popsicles!

Course: Dessert, Snack

Keyword: fudgesicles, popsicles, pudding pops, vegan, wfpb

Servings: 6 popsicles

Author: Faithful Plateful

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 ripe banana (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup cocoa or cacao powder
• 1 cup milk of choice
• 5 dates (or any sweetener of choice)
• Optional: peanut butter, coconut, mint extract, frozen cherries, or anything else you like in chocolate, if desired

Instructions

1. Bake the sweet potato by cooking it in the microwave for about 5 minutes. Let cool. You can also bake it in the crock pot on high for 3 hours, which creates an even sweeter, carmelized flavor. I bake a few for lunch, and just save one for fudgesicles.

2. Cut open the baked sweet potato, and measure out 1 cup of mashed sweet potato.

3. Blend 1 cup of mashed sweet potato with remaining ingredients. Taste, and add additional sweetener if desired. You could also add peanut butter, frozen cherries, add mint extract, vanilla, coconut, nuts, you name it!

4. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until firm. When ready to eat, let them sit on the counter for about 10 minutes for optimum creamy texture.