This delicious chickpea chocolate spread is like a healthy chocolate hummus or edible brownie batter. Enjoy it as a creamy chocolatey topping on pancakes, or use it as a dip for dessert.
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What you'll love about the recipe
- Chickpea chocolate spread is a great way to include more healthy pulses in your diet. Kids love chickpeas when they are blitzed down into this healthy chocolate hummus! My daughter immediately thought it tasted like brownie batter.
(You might also like healthy adzuki bean brownies or black bean chocolate cookies.) - Healthy homemade chocolate spread takes just 5 minutes to make, with a few everyday ingredients. It's perfect for a speedy dessert, breakfast topping or snack
- High in fibre and nutrients. Both chickpeas and cocoa are a good source of fibre and packed with antioxidants. Chickpeas also contain protein. Read more about the health benefits of chickpeas.
- Gluten free, dairy free and free from refined sugar.
You might also like this post with ideas on how to eat more snacks with protein.
Ingredients
Chickpeas. You'll need a can of cooked chickpeas to make this chickpea chocolate spread. You can use home-cooked chickpeas if you prefer. 240g of cooked chickpeas will be the equivalent weight of a drained can.
Olive oil, or you can use another healthy oil if you prefer
Cocoa. Make sure that you use unsweetened cocoa rather than drinking chocolate in the recipe
Honey. You'll need some sweetener in this chocolate hummus otherwise it will taste quite bitter. For a vegan chickpea chocolate spread, you could use maple syrup or date paste. Alternatively, for a sugar free recipe, use a natural sweetener such as stevia
Salt - a pinch of salt will help to enhance the chocolate flavour
You'll also need some water to thin the spread to the desired consistency
Optional ingredients
- For an even richer fudgy chickpea chocolate spread, include a tablespoon of nut butter. Peanut butter works well as does almond butter. If you've got some hazelnut butter, you can make healthy Nutella! For a nut-free version, try sunflower seed butter or tahini (sesame seed paste).
- You can also add other flavourings such as a teaspoon of vanilla extract or cinnamon if liked
You might also like this chocolate avocado mousse, or 5 minute chocolate nice cream recipe. There's a whole category of healthy chocolate treats to tempt you!
How to make chocolate and chickpea spread
Honestly, it just takes minutes to make this healthy chocolate spread. You'll need either a food processor or a blender. I use a stick blender as it seems to give the best texture, but it'll depend on how powerful your blender or food processor is.
Add the oil and honey to the blender along with 50ml of cold water. Then add the remaining ingredients.
Blitz until smooth. You may need additional water, but just add a little at a time. If necessary, scrape down the blender a couple of times during the process.
I like to leave the spread quite thick so it's like brownie batter, but if you're planning to use it as a dip you can make it a little thinner if you prefer.
Serving and storage
I'm sure you're not going to be short of ways to enjoy this delicious chickpea chocolate spread! You can use it as a topping for toast, rice cakes, waffles or pancakes. It's perfect with a plate of fresh fruit or banana bread as dessert or a snack. You could even use it as a healthy frosting. But, it's also healthy enough to eat for breakfast - guilt free!! Why not add a dollop to your porridge?
You can store chocolate chickpea spread in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Frequently asked questions
One helping (about 2 tablespoons) of this healthy chocolate chickpea spread has just 106 calories. This is over 50% less than bought chocolate spread. Chickpea chocolate spread is also highly nutrient-dense meaning the calories are nutritious.
You can store this chickpea Nutella in the fridge for up to a week. If you want to keep it for longer, you can freeze it.
A good way to ensure that your chocolate spread is nut-free is to make it yourself. This easy homemade nut free chocolate spread takes just 5 minutes to make, and uses healthy chickpeas.
Other healthy topping and dips
There are lots of healthy sauces, jams and spreads on Cinnamon and Kale, so why not try some of these other recipes?
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Recipe
Chickpea Chocolate Spread
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 400 g can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 3 tablespoon olive oil or another healthy oil
- 4 tablespoon cocoa powder unsweetened
- 4 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 50 ml water
Instructions
- Add the water, olive oil and honey to the blender. Tip in the drained chickpeas, cocoa and salt.400 g can chickpeas, 3 tablespoon olive oil, 4 tablespoon cocoa powder, 4 tablespoon honey, 50 ml water, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Blitz until smooth. Scrape down the blender once or twice if necessary. You might need to add extra water to get the desired consistency - make sure to add only a little at a time!
Notes
- If you want to use home-cooked chickpeas, 240g is the equivalent weight of a drained can of chickpeas
- For an even richer fudgy chickpea chocolate spread, include a tablespoon of nut butter. Peanut butter works well as does almond butter. If you've got some hazelnut butter, you can make healthy Nutella! For a nut-free version, try sunflower seed butter or tahini (sesame seed paste)
- Add other flavourings such as a teaspoon of vanilla extract or cinnamon if liked
- You can use either a food processor, blender or immersion blender to make this chocolate hummus recipe
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
Ebony says
This is great and super tasty. How long will is last in an air tight glass jar?
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi Ebony, I'm glad you enjoyed it:). You can store chickpea chocolate spread in the fridge for up to a week.