Chocolate Lasagna made healthier! Luscious layers of creamy chocolate pudding and vanilla whip on a crisp chocolate cookie crust-- without the gluten, dairy, sugar or processed ingredients! (Keto/Low-Carb, Paleo & Vegan approved)
Recipe MAKEOVER Time
Did you know I take recipe requests? Yep! Ask and you shall receive! I absolutely LOVE taking on the challenge to give a conventional "SAD" recipe a healthy MAKEOVER.
So when a dear reader asked me to makeover Chocolate Lasagna, I so was excited to recreate it.
A chocolate cookie crumb crust topped with layers of fluffy vanilla cream and silky chocolate pudding. YUM.
After some googling, I discovered it's typically made with crushed up Oreos, Cool Whip, and instant chocolate pudding. Yikes.
Years ago I wouldn't have batted an eye at those ingredients, but now I can't handle them without a major stomach ache, headache, plus gaining eleventy pounds lol.
Sugar, sugar, trans fat, gluten and more sugar. Not to mention all the artificial ingredients and preservatives, etc.
But NOW you can have Chocolate Lasagna that's free from gluten, dairy, sugar and made with deliciously wholesome ingredients!
Keto, Paleo and Vegan friendly and delicious for ALL.
Like CRUSHED UP OREOS, but healthy!
This simple mixture of almond flour, cacao, coconut oil and monkfruit reminds me of chocolate cookie crumbs -- like Oreos, but way better for you.
So here's another one of my happy accidents:
I tried & TRIED to make a keto/vegan brownie recipe, but it just wasn't happenin' guys. Idk why, but they just kept having a cookie crumb-like texture.
But then I realized it would make the PERFECT base for this Chocolate Lasagna recipe!
OH HAPPY DAY.
Like COOL WHIP, but healthy!
Something I discovered in my dairy-free adventures is that coconut cream with vanilla and sweetener tastes REMARKABLY like Cool Whip!
But with only THREE ingredients!
I used to love Cool Whip, but then I discovered it's basically a bowl of hydrogenated oils (aka trans fat) and corn syrup, ugh.
It makes me so GIDDY that you can EASILY make your own healthy version!
It's so simple using canned coconut milk. I love Thai Kitchen brand. Many other brands are too watery. You need it to be *thick*
ps Don't forget to chill your cans for **at least** 24 hours so the cream rises to the top! You only need the solid white cream (save the leftover coconut water for a smoothie!)
Like Snack Packs, but healthy!
Corn starch and sugar? No way. This pudding is so much healthier than conventional puddings that are void of nutrients.
And SUPER simple. It's made with almond butter! Seriously!
The awesome folks at Living Tree Community Foods were so kind to send me some of their Organic Alive Almond Butter, and GUYS.. it's SO delicious! Super fresh tasting, and ULTRA silky smooth.
Add some cacao, non-dairy milk, and monkfruit. Plus a little salt and vanilla to bring out the flavor.
Whisk it all together and you're done.
A rich and silky smooth chocolatey layer ready to be spread on top of that "Cool Whip"!
Chocolate pudding you can feel GOOD about because it's packed with protein, antioxidants and magnesium and NO JUNK 😀
LAYERS of deliciousness!
Ok, hear me out on this one. I know this recipe is a little more involved than my other quick and easy 5-minute recipes.
BUT IT'S WORTH IT.
Don't get overwhelmed. It's actually pretty simple. You just need to plan ahead so you have enough time for each layer to set.
- Cook & cool your crust completely
- Add a layer of whip & freeze 30 min to set
- Add pudding & freeze 30 min to set
- Add whip on top and chill 60 min to set
Sweets for your Sweetheart
I'm thinkin' this lasagna is the PERFECT dessert to serve your sweetheart this Valentine's Day, don't you think?
I mean, who doesn't love CHOCOLATE & VANILLA cream slathered a bed of faux-reo crumbs (without the stomachache and sugar coma)?! YASS.
It's almost too good to be true!
Chocolate Lasagna (Keto, Paleo, Vegan)
Ingredients
Chocolate Crust
- ½ cup almond flour
- 3 Tbs cacao - to taste
- ½ Tbs baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tbs ground flaxseed + 3 Tbs water
- ¼ cup monkfruit granules - or coconut sugar for non-keto
- 2 Tbs coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate Pudding
- ½ cup natural almond butter
- 5 Tbs almond milk
- 2 Tbs cacao - to taste
- 1 ½ Tbs powdered monkfruit - or coconut sugar *see notes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of pink salt
Healthy Cool Whip
- 2 13.6 oz cans coconut milk - solid cream only
- 2 Tbs powdered monkfruit - or coconut sugar *see notes for hot to make it
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Garnish
- dark chocolate shavings or SF chocolate chips
Instructions
To make the crust:
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 or 8x6 glass baking dish with coconut oil. Set aside.
- In a small glass measuring cup, melt coconut oil and stir in flax, water, monkfruit, and vanilla.
- In a mixing bowl , whisk together almond flour, cacao, baking powder and salt
- Pour wet over dry and mix well. Taste and adjust with more sweetener, cacao or salt, if needed.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until the center slightly springs back lightly when pressed. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before adding the first layer of cream.
To make the healthy cool whip:
- (Use coconut milk that has been refrigerated for a minimum of 24-48 hours so the cream separates.) Scoop out only the solid white cream into a mixing bowl.
- Add powdered sweetener and vanilla and whip with a hand mixer for about 30-60 seconds.
- Spread ½ the whip over the cooled crust. Freeze for about 30 minutes to set. (leave the remaining whip on the counter so it's easy to spread later)
To make the pudding:
- Whisk together all ingredients. Taste and adjust with more cacao, sweetener or salt, if needed.
- Spread pudding evenly over the cream.
- Freeze for 30 minutes to set.
- Top with remaining "cool whip" and chocolate shavings. Chill lasagna for about 1 hour to set. ENJOY 🙂
Kathy Ray
With Valentines Day coming I can't wait to try this! Thank you for cleaning up this decadent dessert! I'm sure it's going to be a favorite as it is all things I truly love to eat....
Emily
You are so welcome! I hope you love it as much as we do. Happy Valentine’s Day
Samantha
I normally don't comment on recipes but WHOA. This recipe is totally awesome. My coconut milk whipped cream didn't go as smoothly as I thought, (quite possibly because I did not refrigerate it beforehand). We were so excited about this recipe that we couldn't wait, so I'll admit I decided to go for a keto version and used heavy cream instead. This is probably the BEST keto dessert I've made yet. Tasted nothing like some keto desserts -- nothing about the taste indicated it was a healthier version of this popular dessert. I now know what we will be bringing to Thanksgiving this year 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
Emily
I’m so happy you enjoyed!! Thanks for leaving a comment. Those are really helpful for other readers
Ps the coconut milk does have to be chilled for a minimum 24 hours usually to separate. I keep a can or 2 in there at all times 🙂
Anonymous
Can I sub Swerve for monkfruit here?
Emily
Yes that should work. It may slightly affect the flavor since swerve has a “cool” taste. If you try it, let me know how it goes
Lisa
Do you think canned coconut cream would work rather than the canned coconut milk? Coconut cream is really thick and then you wouldn’t need to refrigerate it. ♀️
Emily
Yes that works 🙂
NikkiB
This is such a great recipe to whip up ahead of dinner! My husband and I weren't quite able to keep our hands off of it long enough to fully set. Lol! Didn't matter..It was so so good! It's like mud pie, but better in taste and in health!!
Emily
So glad you enjoyed it!! I couldn’t wait for my first batch to set either lol
Bridget
Can you substitute the almond flour in the crust for coconut flour? (Trying to make it nut free due to allergies)
Emily
Coconut flour is really tricky to work with. It’s extremely dry and absorbent and requires a lot of eggs and liquid to work, so I don’t recommend swapping it out here.
A 1:1 sub is a seed flour such as pumpkin seed or sunflower seed flour (you can make it by grinding seeds in a food processor) Hope that helps!
Rachael
I LOVE Chocolate lasagna! Can wait to try this version.
My favorite part of a traditional chocolate lasagna is the cream cheese mixture layer, what would you suggest to use to make it have the cream cheesy goodness layer as well?
Emily
If you’re dairy-free there are some great plant-based cream cheeses available these days, such as Kite Hill Or if you can have dairy, you can simply use regular cream cheese. Sweeten it up with a little powdered monk fruit or drops and you’re good to go!
Let me know if you try it. Hope you enjoy!
Anita
Hi Emily,
Happy New Year 🙂
Can I use erythritol? If yes, like for like measurement?
Thanks 🙂
Emily
Hi! That should work just fine in the crust, same amount.
For the cream, you’ll want to use powdered sweetener so it’s not gritty. I just throw mine in a blender for 10’seconds to make powder 🙂 Hope that helps!
Sharon
What is the purpose of ground flax seed? I cannot tolerate flax seed OR chia seeds. Can I just omit or is there another substitute? Thanks for your response.
Emily
The flax acts a binder (egg replacer.) Can you have eggs?
Sharon
In reply to the above Yes, I can have eggs
Emily
Replace the flax and water with one egg (whisked). That should work.
Sharon
Thanks so much for your quick & helpful replies
JR
If dairy isn't a problem, can heavy cream be substituted for the coconut cream? If so, how much? Thanks!
Emily
Absolutely. I would use 1 cup heavy cream and whip to stiff peaks. It should approximately double in volume. Hope you enjoy!