If you live anywhere near a Trader Joe’s, then you have probably seen their frozen dark chocolate banana bites. They are relatively cheap and way too delicious to keep around. My son is a huge (HUGE) fan of them and while there are minimal ingredients, they do unfortunately contain soy lecithin (like way too many chocolates out there!).
My solution was to just start making our own banana chunks dipped in dark chocolate. Easy enough right? Cut pieces of banana, dip in melted dark chocolate, refrigerate to set.
After a while they morphed into these. I am pretty sure it was during recipe testing for BLEND: Artisanal Smoothies For Food Lovers when it happened because there is a date caramel sauce that we use for one of our smoothie recipes (coming out in a future volume!) that I was putting in and on all kinds of things. It’s that good!
Anyway, these are super easy, fun to make (especially with kids), vegan, paleo and gluten free. Plus, they keep in the freezer for a while so you can make a big batch!
NOTES:
- I recommend Medjool Dates for their natural, caramel-y sweetness. Try to find the ripest ones you can. If they feel dry, they will not be as creamy and may need to soak for a couple hours or even overnight before processing.
- I used two 3.5-ounce Green & Black’s Organic 85% Dark Chocolate Bars. Not only is their chocolate delicious and organic but it is one of the few that is soy lecithin free!
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Paleo Frozen Banana Bites
- 8 large Medjool Dates pitted, chopped and soaked for 1/2 hour (or more*)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
- 1 1/2 to 2 small bananas cut into 24 1/4" pieces
- 7 ounces of dark Chocolate divided and melted
- Hawaiian Sea Salt or coarse sea salt for finishing
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Remove the pits from the dates and coarsely chop. Place in a 1-cup measuring cup - the chopped dates should (loosely packed) fill to just above the 3/4-cup line. If not, use more dates. Cover with boiling water up to the 1-cup line and let sit for at least 30 minutes. You may need more time if the dates are not super soft and sticky.
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Once the dates have softened, pour the dates and their soaking liquid into a blender or food processor. Process until completely smooth.
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Add vanilla extract and a pinch of sea salt to the date mixture and transfer back to measuring cup. It should be shy of 1-cup. Set aside.
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Peel bananas and cut into twenty-four 1/4" pieces.
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Line a mini-muffin tray with mini-muffin or candy liners and set up a double boiler to melt half (3.5 ounces) of the dark chocolate.
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When chocolate is melted, working quickly, use about half of a teaspoon to fill the bottom of each candy cup. Make sure the chocolate spreads across the entire bottom and you can't see through it. Once done, place in freezer to set for 20 to 30 minutes.
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Remove chilled tray, add one banana slice to the bottom of each candy cup and top with approximately 1/2 teaspoon of the date mixture.
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Melt the remaining dark chocolate (3.5 ounces) and top each candy with a little less than 1 teaspoon until all of the chocolate is used up and each candy is completely coated.
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Finish with a sprinkle of Hawaiian (or coarse) Sea Salt and place in the freezer to set for at least 30 minutes. Once set, remove from tray into an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
Hello Alyssa
The Frozen Banana Bites recipe is OUT of SITE !!
I enjoyed it immensely
The reason I tried the recipe was I had ALL the ingredients in the house
Soooo with most recipes I find on line I LOVE to add my own personal touch
which is what I did with your recipe
Here’s my adjustments:
I used 5 Dates & 5 Dried Figs instead of all Dates
I Microwaved the Dates & Figs 2 time for a minute each time dur the 30 minutes
I added on top of the 24 Slices of Banana…. Nuts 12-Pecans,12-Cashews
I Ground Pink Himalayan Salt on top of the Nuts
Added the Date & Fig Mixture and then
Topped off with MORE Nuts… Mixing Both kinds of Nuts ones with Cashews on the Banana got Pecans on top and visa versa
Then Finally some more Ground Pink Himalayan Salt
I would LOVE to send you the Photo’s I took of the finished product
Let me Know if I can
By the way I’m 66 years Old and do all of the cooking at our house
My Beautiful Wife tells be how much she ” LOVE my cooking ”
I enjoy making her Happy
Thanks for wonderful recipe
Charlie Bee
Hey Charlie! So happy you loved these with your changes. Your wife is one lucky lady!
I am soooooooo excited to try your Date Caramel recipe! I’ve been dreaming about it since you mentioned it in AZ! xo
Hi Catherine!
The Date Caramel is here http://www.everydaymaven.com/2012/chocolate-covered-date-cups/ It’s soooooo good!
Mmmm.. decadent little bites!
Oh Alyss, cooking it down sounds so good! I can’t wait to try this! xo
I’ve been going a bit frozen fruit crazy – including bananas – and this looks great!
These sound incredible! And addicting! I think I’d eat them ALL.
Not hard to do – trust me 😉
Fun recipe! Really easy and loads of flavor. I’ve seen these at Trader Joe’s but never tried them – I’ve definitely been missing out. But I think I’d rather have your version. 😉
***Sorry, that frosting for carrot cake! I’m getting distracted just thinking of it!
One more thing, you can add some caramel sauce to cream cheese or vegan cream cheese to make frosting for cream cheese! My son went nuts for that one! 🙂