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Want to know how to make chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine’s Day so you can save $42 at Godiva? And yes, Godiva charges a whopping $42 for six measly chocolate covered strawberries–and they aren’t even organic strawberries!
I got the Godiva strawberry sticker shock a few weeks ago when I took my nieces shopping at the mall. As we strolled past the glistening Godiva store they both let out an “Oooooh” that let me know they really wanted me to buy them something chocolaty. So in the store we went…
Since I was not sure exactly what ingredients Godiva used for their chocolate and since I didn’t want to make a big deal asking about the ingredients and spoil all the fun for the girls, I figured the chocolate covered strawberries would be the healthiest choice since they were mostly fruit. The girls were elated with the chocolate covered strawberry idea and so I asked the lady behind the counter for 6 chocolate covered strawberries (so we could take a few home to my son and the other kids at the house.) I didn’t even think to ask the price because I thought they would be around $2 or $3 each.
$42 dollars later I told the girls we should just Google how to make chocolate covered strawberries next time and put the $42 towards more clothes at Justice for Girls (they love that place!)
How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries taste decadent and always look splashy and fun. It’s a simple classic treat everybody loves, they are beyond easy to make and they can be made healthfully too!
Although you wouldn’t think the strawberries could really be improved upon health-wise, I do suggest you go the organic extra mile with these fruits since strawberries are actually considered among the “Dirty Dozen” by the Environmental Working Group, which means when conventionally grown they tested positive for at least 47 different chemicals.
After you clean things up by buying organic strawberries you can start the fun part—chocolate dipping! But of course the chocolate part is where so many things can go wrong…
If you are buying chocolate covered strawberries pre-made you are most certainly getting a less-than healthy chocolate sauce. The strawberries most likely won’t be all that fresh either (our $42 Godiva chocolate covered strawberries were a huge disappointment, by the way.) And they surely won’t be organic.
More often than not commercial chocolate sauces used for strawberries contain heavy cream and / or partially hydrogenated oils. Although Godiva chocolate admittedly does taste amazing, I knew it probably wasn’t one of the “cleaner” chocolate brands when I bought my nieces their treats. However, I had NO idea until I got home and looked Godiva up online that the “Cadillac” of chocolate is actually made from super cheap ingredients like corn syrup, butter oil, refined palm oil, evaporated milk, “natural flavors”, artificial color, etc. I was appalled. What a rip off that place is!
Chocolate covered strawberries do not need to be unhealthy and they definitely do not need to be that pricey either…..
If you make your own chocolate covered strawberries the typical recipe calls for you to just melt a bunch of chocolate, which at least gives you the control of buying the absolute very best, highest quality chocolate. And of course the healthiest chocolate is dark chocolate that contains 75% to 80% cocoa and is made with cocoa butter rather than milk fat or hydrogenated oils. By the way, cocoa, a main ingredient in chocolate, is made from beans of the cacao plant. All plant foods are rich in anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and disease-fighting phytonutrients, and the cacao plant is no exception. Raw cacao is particularly rich in a class of phytonutrients known as flavanols (which are also found in red wine, tea and certain fruits). However, processing techniques such as roasting, which occur during the manufacturing of a chocolate bar or chocolate candy, can substantially decrease flavanol levels, which is just one of the reasons why making your own chocolate sauce from scratch, from raw cacao powder is a healthier idea.
The recipe below for hand-dipped chocolate covered organic strawberries is made with raw cacao powder, zero dairy and no processed/ refined sugar (note: the small amount of pure maple syrup called for in the recipe is also a plant food and although it is certainly not a “superfood”, it does actually have phytonutrients!)
So here is how it’s done…how to make chocolate covered strawberries that are healthy and inexpensive too….
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How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon coconut milk
- 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil (such as Barlean’s)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup raw organic cacao powder
- Pinch of unrefined sea salt
- 12 large organic strawberries (washed and dried, stems left on (note: be sure to dry strawberries very, very well!))
Instructions
- Line a cooking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small saucepan, add the lime juice, coconut milk and coconut oil; heat over low heat for about 1 minute, or until oil is melted. Slowly stir in the maple syrup, vanilla and cacao powder. Mix to combine well. Stir in a pinch of unrefined sea salt.
- Take a strawberry, and dip it completely into the chocolate. Twirl it around to completely coat the strawberry. Transfer the strawberry to the cookie sheet to cool. Repeat until all the strawberries are covered. Refrigerate strawberries for 1 hour, or until chocolate hardens.
Notes
Chocolate covered strawberries are best if made no more than 48 hours before serving.
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Unfortunately the chocolate sauce separated and would not stick to the strawberries. it worked for the first few strawberries and then totally separated. Tried stirring more and nothing seemed to help. while it was not pretty, the flavor was pretty good.
Ivy,is there any reason not to use organic cacao butter instead of coconut oil ? I make candy frequently this way since my hisband does not like coconut oil but I am not sure if it is healthy ?
Hi Annie,
Organic cacao butter is absolutely healthy! In fact, it is actually more healthy than the coconut oil because it has more of the “whole” coconut. I’m not sure if the consistency would work right with the chocolate dipped strawberries using it though? But, if you try PLEASE let me know how it turns out. I would love to offer cacao butter as an ingredient alternative.
Wonderfully delicious and easy to make! Perfect for Valentine’s Day!
So glad you liked them Ronda =) Thank you for letting me know. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Made these, awesome. I also made another recipe of the sauce and added 1c each of sunflower seeds and craisins…..chocolate bark!. Oh my word. Been really craving some choco……….
★★★★★
oh YUM!!! The chocolate bark sounds amazing Misty =) I have actually been wanting to make choc bark for ages, I had no idea my choc sauce recipe would work for that though! I will have to give it a try. thank you for letting me know!
Good, natural and easily prepared recipe. Did not have coconut milk open (Ivy, did you mean canned coconut milk or coconut beverage?), so used a tablespoon of cashew milk that was open. My guests really liked it. Thanks!
★★★★★
Oh GOOD! So happy to hear you liked it Donna =) And I should have specified that I meant canned coconut (that is actually the only coconut milk I use) Thank you for letting me know how it turned out!
Have you updated the recipe as I don’t see coconut milk in the ingredients list?
Do you think I could sub honey for the maple syrup?
Thanks!
Hi Joyce! So sorry I am just now getting back to you. And yes, I updated the recipe recently to make it have fewer ingredients. Coconut milk was in the OLD recipe but I don’t see where it is listed in the revised version? Can you please let me know where it is showing up on your end so I can fix! Thank you for bringing it to my attention too.
As for the honey, hmmmm….I’m not 100% sure if that would work because it might be a bit too sticky. I think the flavor would be great, but I worry it might not have the right consistency. If you try it though please do let me know how it turns out…
This made me laugh, I used to work for Godiva in the UK. The chocolate covered strawberries are sold by weight hence they end up expensive. Just to make you feel worse about them not being organic we were told not to wash them otherwise the chocolate won’t stick. We also took leftovers home for free at night.
Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for sharing Josephine —I think I will most definitely stick to making my own chocolate covered strawberries for sure now 😉
Considering making this with a group of students as part of a farm to table meal. If trying to minimize ingredients, could you exclude the coconut milk or does it play a large role in keeping the chocolate solid?
Hi Brett,
I think you could probably get by without it—it just helps to make it a bit less thick without watering it down too much. You could try substituting 1 teaspoon water though and I think that might work!