Creamy, luxurious frosting with no butter, oil, or sugar. This vegan chocolate frosting is easy to make with only 3 healthy ingredients and a serving of plant-based protein!
This never would’ve happened if it weren’t for that cupcake. This whole out of the ordinary posting on a Wednesday thing, it’s all that little purple-flecked cupcake’s fault. Here’s what happened…
My camera memory card was almost full but I tried to shoot a quick frosting-making clip anyways. So naturally it cut off right in the middle. Without the pouring of the almond milk part it was totally unusable footage, so I had to redo it.
Refilming frosting-making leads to extra frosting. Extra frosting calls for cupcake baking to use it up. Freshly frosted cupcakes demand purple sprinkles. Purple sprinkles lead to photogenic cupcakes that I have to take at least 68 shots of because the lighting was just too good not to. So many photos results in at least a 3 or 4 good shots. And 3 or 4 good cupcake shots–well that’s reason enough for a frosting post!
So actually I guess in a way it was my memory card’s fault, wasn’t it?
Okay but I’m going to stick with the cupcake-was-too-cute story because the formatting-my-memory-card-freaks-me-out-so-I-put-it-off-as-long-as-possible story is just a little too real.
Originally I was just going to tack this creamy, fudgy, fat-free frosting onto tomorrow’s similarly chocolatey recipe, but it’s magically delicious enough to deserve it’s own personal url.
I’ve made date chocolate frosting before, but never like this. Usually I make the entire thing in a blender, which calls for a much higher liquid to dry ingredient ratio. But if you blend the date paste first on it’s own and then do the rest of the mixing by hand, ultra thick and rich but still low fat frosting is a very real possibility. And by possibility I mean thing. And by thing I mean you NEED to try it on a cupcake asap!
To keep this vegan chocolate frosting recipe date-sweetened and refined sugar free, the dry ingredients must all be chocolate powders of some sort. No icing sugar. You could make it with cacao/cocoa powder as the only dry ingredient, but let’s just say that would be one intense frosting! I much prefer to use 50/50 ratio of chocolate protein powder and cacao powder. Or even all chocolate protein powder if you have one that tastes really, really good!
If your protein powder is the kind that is nasty and gritty and only barely edible if buried under 27 other ingredients in a smoothie, then I don’t advise using it in this recipe. I used my go-to: Sprout Living Epic Protein because it’s delish. And since it only has actual real food ingredients and no funky stuff added in, it tastes really good in frosting form! Plus it already contains maca, cinnamon, and a bit of sea salt which all can only make a frosting taste that much better.
That is one of my Everything-Free Vanilla Cupcakes styling the frosting in these photos. Coming tomorrow–a non cupcake fudgy frosting vehicle…
Print
Prep Time:
Yield:
Print
PinIngredients
Date Paste
- 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
- 1/2–2/3 cup water
Frosting
- 1/4 cup date paste (above)
- 1/2 cup chocolate protein powder * (I used Sprout Living Chocolate Maca Epic Protein)
- 3–4 tbsp nondairy milk
Instructions
- Blend the ingredients for the date paste in a high speed blender until very smooth. Add just enough water to get it to blend.
- Remove 1/4 cup and transfer to a mixing bowl. Put the rest in a jar and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- To the mixing bowl, add your dry ingredient(s) and 2-3 tablespoons nondairy milk.
- Mix to form a thick but spreadable consistency, adding more nondairy milk if necessary.
- Use immediately or keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. It will become harder when refrigerated so it is best to use fresh.
Notes
*Or 1/4 cup chocolate protein powder + 1/4 cup cacao powder, especially if your protein powder has that funky protein powder flavor.
Click Below To Pin
I hate it when that happens! Might be a good idea for me to get a second battery, haha. Oh, and do we really need a reason to bake extra cupcakes? I don’t think so, they look delicious!
Ha nope no explanation really necessary 😀 I need to get a second battery and memory card too, it would make life much easier. Thanks Vivian!
you are a baking genius! love all of your recipes, Natalie!
Thank you Nisha! And as we both know, a little touch of purple makes everything more appealing 🙂
You are a recipe making machine lately, Natalie! How are you doing this??? This looks incredible, as always. Love the simplicity of the recipe too!
Thank you lovely <3 I do not know where this super productive streak is coming from, but I am taking full advantage of it haha!
I love your recipes and a photo or two are instructive.but scrolling down eight or more similar photos plus text on my slow tablet takes up a lot of time.that could be spent elsewhere. Can you condense?
Thanks for the feedback, I can most certainly get carried away with the photos 🙂
Can I make it without protein powder, somehow? I don’t have any and I want these right now. 🙂
You can try it with all cacao/cocoa powder in place of the protein powder, but it will be very intensely chocolatey. The other option is using half powdered sugar and half cocoa powder if you don’t mind using that.
Instead of the protein powder could you use half cacao powder and half oat flour? Thanks!
I am not sure how good oat flour will taste in there, but you can certainly try it!
Looks amazing! Just wondering how long this would last in the fridge?
★★★★★
The texture is best if you use it right after making it, but it can last 2-3 days in the fridge ?
Nothing beats chocolate frosting – especially when it’s healthy! Your recipes are always so inspiring Natalie! This looks so delicious <3
★★★★★
Chocolate and healthy together is one of my favorite parts of life? Thanks Harriet!
It looks amazing! I have pure maca powder, no flavor added. Do you stil recommend doing 1/4 maca 1/4 cacao? Wouldn’t it be too strong?
That would be too much maca powder if you used straight maca, the protein powder I used has lots of other stuff in it too. I’m not sure how well this will work without the protein powder, that ingredient really helps to thicken it. Perhaps this frosting would be better instead: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/the-best-healthy-chocolate-cupcakes/
Thanks. I combined almond flour, cocoa and a spoon of maca and became great! Not as creamy as the picture though, but added a great flavor and texture to the sweet potato brownies.
★★★★★
That sounds delicious, I am so happy it worked!
Hello , Could you please tell me a suggestion for vanilla frosting not using protein powders
Thank you
Sure, this one is my favorite: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/vegan-pumpkin-cake/#tasty-recipes-16466 Just skip the lemon juice if you don’t want it slightly tangy 🙂