This is one of those recipes…
One of those recipes that’s impossible to stop eating until every last chocolate bite has disappeared. Rich dark chocolate, complemented by creamy banana filling…
I made two batches (for five of us who were watching the Olympics last night). One batch was just banana and a second batch was peanut butter banana, where I blended a big spoonful of crunchy peanut butter into the filling.
There were no leftovers.
Monkey See Monkey… Eat
The summer after I finished third grade, my family took a trip to Vermont and stopped at the Ben & Jerry’s factory to see how ice cream is made. (I think that same summer, we visited a brewery and got to see how beer is made. It was a very educational summer for me!)
After touring the factory came the best part: sampling ice cream. We tried chocolate, we tried Cherry Garcia, and finally we tried their #1 seller, Chunky Monkey. I decided this flavor was my favorite, mostly because I thought the name was funny. The tour guide then informed us that this particular product had a different name in Japan; it was simply called Banana Nut. Apparently, if you try to translate the name to Japanese, you get “Chunks of Monkey.”
Ever since that trip, whenever I see anything chocolate-and-banana flavored, my mind automatically thinks of chunks of monkey.
So… who’s hungry now? 
Chocolate Monkey Bites
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
- 20-30 nunaturals vanilla stevia drops (or 3-4 tbsp liquid sweetener, such as agave)
- 1/2 a banana (see “nutrition info” link below for all substitution notes in this recipe)
- tiny pinch salt
- optional: 1-2 tbsp peanut butter (or pb2, or another nut butter)
Combine first three ingredients in a bowl and stir until it makes a chocolate sauce. Pour a little of the sauce (saving the rest for later) into the bottoms of cupcake liners, mini cupcake liners, or candy molds. Then freeze 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend (or mash and stir with a fork) the banana, salt, and optional ingredients. Take liners out of the freezer and top each with banana mixture. Now evenly distribute the rest of the chocolate and re-freeze until solid. This recipe makes 9-10 mini cups (as shown in the photos).
View Monkey Bites Nutrition Facts
Link of the Day:
I love bananas and chocolate, what a great idea and a great treat!
Katie,
I have made these several times now as they are wonderfully scrumptious! But I’m always having to make double the chocolate mixture to make enough for top and bottom layer. I use mini cup cake pans. Is my conversions right 1/4 coconut oil is about 52g and 1/4 cocoa powder is about 20g. Is this right?
1/4c oil is 60g. Yes on the cocoa. Be sure to use only enough on the bottoms to line the bottoms. Save most of the chocolate for the tops ;).
Ah I see. That works! THANKS!
I’m so glad I came across your site, you have so many delicious healthy recipes! I’ve been going on a pinning frenzy!
Love this Katie! Hope to make them today!! Will let you know how it goes.
Made these for my non-vegan boyfriend the other day – he loved them!! I also tried making them with a layer of jam over the banana/nut later and that was really good too. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Yum! I’ve been looking for something to do with my bananas and this recipe fits perfect with my paleo diet 🙂 Thanks!
just made these and LOVE them! strangely enough, my two kidlets didn’t like them, but that’s ok… more for me! i love how quick they are, that i can use up small amounts of bananas this way, and how nice they feel on a hot summer day! 😉 lisa
what can i use as a substitute for coconut oil?
All I can say is this: it was a good decision to make these.
these are so good! i love a recipe that i can work with and think of 100 different ways to make them different. i can’t wait to make them again! love, love, love making our own low sugar chocolate. what a great way to get in a dose of coconut oil.
have a mini cupcake pan but not the wrappers so i used those tiny dixie cups, that you use in the bathroom. they fit perfectly inside the mini cupcake pan! just cut and ripped off the cups once everything was frozen.
i’ve read comments on your blog that this is the best blog ever and i just wanted to add…I AGREE! you have filled a much needed spot for those of us who are eating healthy but still need our sweets. i don’t know what i’d do without your recipes.
Aw thank you!!