These low carb dark chocolate bites are inspired by my favorite French treats called mendiants, which are basically chocolate bites sprinkled with delicious toppings.
They’re super easy to make with parchment paper, low carb chocolate ingredients and some of your favorite low carb foods as toppings (I’ll share my picks below!).
They’re the most colorfully adorable way to enjoy a sweet treat — perfect for get togethers, holiday gifts and your own low carb desserts stash! I keep a baggie of this low carb dark chocolate in the freezer so I’m not tempted by sugar filled junk.
Let’s do this low carb dark chocolate thing!
How to Make Low Carb Dark Chocolate
Low carb dark chocolate is so easy to make!!
The only trouble you may have is gathering your ingredients — I suggest buying them on Amazon, as they can be hard (and expensive) to find in stores.
To make these low carb dark chocolate bites:
- Melt together your cocoa butter and baking chocolate in a double boiler, stirring constantly. (I use a pot with boiling water and a heat safe glass bowl)
- Add your sweetener, lecithin and a pinch of salt. Use a whisk to combine your ingredients thoroughly.
- Remove bowl from heat and add vanilla. Stir to combine.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Create drops of keto dark chocolate on the parchment paper. I do this using a tablespoon.
- Sprinkle low carb dark chocolate bites with toppings.
- Allow the bites to firm up in the fridge before eating and enjoy!
Low Carb Chocolate Ingredients
As I said before, buying these low carb chocolate ingredients online will save you time, energy and money! (other than the baking chocolate, which I buy at Walmart)
Here’s what you need and why:
Baking Chocolate.
The amount of baking chocolate you use will affect the “darkness” of your low carb dark chocolate.
I suggest taste testing your melted low carb dark chocolate before forming your bites, this way you can add more baking chocolate if you’re looking for extra “dark” chocolate-y flavor! To give you an idea of the ratios:
- Low carb milk chocolate: use about .5 oz of baking chocolate for every 2 oz of cocoa butter.
- Low carb dark chocolate: use between 1-2 oz of baking chocolate for every 2 oz of cocoa butter.
Cocoa Butter.
This ingredient can be tricky to find in stores — If you’re in a pinch, I’ve seen it at Whole Foods!
You’ll want to be sure you purchase FOOD GRADE cocoa powder — Non-food grade cocoa powder is used in lotions and toiletries.
Erythritol.
Erythritol is my keto sweetener of choice, as it looks, feels and tastes just like regular sugar!
It comes in granular and confections, I use confections in this low carb dark chocolate recipe as it combines more easily — granular may leave a crunchy texture.
Keto chocolate brands use a range of sweeteners, again, I like the taste of erythritol the best!
Soy/Sunflower Lecithin.
If you read any chocolate ingredient list, you’ll find lecithin listed.
It’s an emulsifier which helps to combine the ingredients together — resulting in smoother and tastier low carb dark chocolate. Without it, you’ll quickly see the cocoa butter separating from the other ingredients. I strongly suggest using it!
It’s easiest to find this ingredient on Amazon.
Sea Salt.
Sea salt helps to bring out the sweetness in any regular or low carb dark chocolate recipe — may seem odd, but you’ll love this addition!
Low Carb Dark Chocolate Bite Toppings
Get as wild and creative as you’d like with your low carb dark chocolate toppings! My favorites include:
- Freeze dried low carb fruits — such as raspberries or strawberries
- Coconut flakes — unsweetened!
- Ground coffee
- Low carb nuts — such as peanuts or pecans
- Sea Salt (just because it looks pretty)
Most low carb chocolate brands leave out these delicious toppings — Just another benefit to making your own…
Keto Chocolate Variations
Using this keto chocolate recipe as a base, you can easily create whatever chocolate shape you’re craving! Here are a few how to’s:
Sugar Free Chocolate Chips
Skip the toppings and pour your melted low carb dark chocolate into a chocolate chip mold. I bought one on Amazon — If using a mold, be sure to hit it on the counter to get any air bubbles out of your melted low carb dark chocolate.
Keep in mind, you can adjust the amount of baking chocolate you use to make your sugar free chocolate chips anywhere from milk to dark chocolate.
Low Carb Chocolate Bars
Or, you can pour the melted chocolate into a chocolate bar mold. I grabbed this traditional looking mold from Amazon, you can find all sorts of shapes and size there.
While your low carb dark chocolate bars are cooling, sprinkle them with your favorite toppings.
Pst — I find silicone molds are significantly easier to work with than the plastic ones!
Sugar Free White Chocolate
These mendiants can also be made using sugar free white chocolate! To whip up your own batch, skip the baking chocolate and add heavy cream powder. Check out my recipe to learn more!
A Note About The Carbs in Dark Chocolate
Traditionally, there are a lot of carbs in dark chocolate — first and foremost, they’re loaded with sugar, which we swapped with powdered erythritol.
Second, there are plenty of carbs in cocoa beans, which is why there are still some dark chocolate carbs in this recipe. Erythritol also contains carbs, but, according to manufacturers, these carbs don’t affect blood sugar.
Word of warning: You may see sugar free chocolate bars at the store and think they’re a low carb chocolate bars Hershey makes! But, sugar free doesn’t mean low carb. Read the label before you buy!
Low Carb Dark Chocolate Recipe
There you have it friends! My favorite low carb dark chocolate bites recipe. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Leave me a comment below and let me know your favorite keto dark chocolate recipe toppings! Did you make a milk or dark chocolate version?
pinLow Carb Dark Chocolate
Ingredients
- 2 Ounce Food-Grade Cocoa Butter
- 2 Ounce Unsweetened Baking Chocolate , chopped. See notes below!
- 6 Tablespoon Erythritol , confectioners. (I use Swerve!)
- 1/4 Teaspoon Lecithin , soy or sunflower
- 2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
Toppings: Dehydrated raspberries, unsweetened/shredded coconut, chopped nuts, ground coffee, sea salt, etc.
Instructions
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Add cocoa butter and baking chocolate to a double boiler (or a bowl fit over a pot with water).
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Melt together while stirring to combine with a rubber spatula.
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Add the erythritol, lecithin and a pinch of salt.
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Use a whisk to fully incorporate ingredients.
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Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
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Prepare a sheet of parchment paper over a baking sheet.
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Place drops of low carb dark chocolate on parchment paper using a spoon.
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Sprinkle with your toppings.
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Place in the fridge and allow the chocolate to cool/harden — should take about 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Dark/Milk Chocolate:
The amount of baking chocolate you use will make your low carb dark chocolate darker-lighter. For milk chocolate, use .5 oz baking chocolate — for dark chocolate use between 1-2 oz.
Nutritional Information:
- I was able to make 24 bites from this low carb dark chocolate recipe, which is reflected in the nutritional information below. If you make smaller/bigger bites, the nutritional information will be different per bite.
- Nutritional information doesn’t include toppings.
Nutritional Information
Nutrition information will vary based on the specific products. To be safe, check the nutrition facts labels of your products. Optional object listed above have been left out of nutritional data.
WHAT IS THE LECITHIN FOR THE COOKING. IS IT DIFFERENT THAN THE VITAMIN SUPPLEMENT?
Lecithin is an emulsifier which helps to combine the ingredients together. Using it will make for a smoother and tastier low carb dark chocolate. Without it, the cocoa butter will separate from the other ingredients. I strongly suggest using it! It’s different from the supplement in that it’s in powder form (most easily dissolved into your chocolate). I linked to the product above in the recipe, hope you enjoy!