This "Secret Ingredient" Mint Fudge is an dairy-free fudge recipe that is colored with a surprise ingredient--can you guess what it is? This is a sugar-free fudge that you can for sure feel good about eating--all natural healthful ingredients, and no cooking involved either!
If you're like me, having healthy snacks around is a must to keep you on track with your special diet, and they need to be low carb if you are dealing with candida. Some of our favorites include my Homemade Protein Bars, Green Bean Chips, Almond Joy Bars, and "Dorito®" Popcorn, but this healthy fudge recipe is a fun new addition.
Coloring foods for special occasions is fun, but on a whole foods diet, regular food colorings just do not make the grade.
It's always hard for me to take my kids to the grocery store and see them ogle the multi-colored "foods" and feel like I'd love to make them something fun like that, but I just don't want all those mystery chemicals going into their bodies.
Healthy Fudge--a Naturally Healthy Treat
And we love fudge, but since regular fudge is loaded with white sugar and other things that aren't great for us, they leave me feeling less healthy than I'd like to once I've indulged.
What's the answer?
This Mint Fudge Recipe.
This healthy fudge is:
- loaded with healthy goodness and
- colored naturally.
See--God's provided plenty of colorful options for us creation so we don't need to lean on Aluminum Lake #3, Red No. 40 and the like :-(.
For Saint Patrick's Day this year (or for any day, for that matter), why not have some Dairy-Free Mint Fudge colored with-
parsley (and no, you won't taste it :-)!)
See? When you're a whole foody, you can have festive treats with added nutritional punch.
This mint fudge recipe is one that I adapted from a Grain-Free Foodies' recipe. It is extremely easy as is and if you have a high-powered blender, like the Vitamix, you can make it even easier.
Healthy Fudge Recipes
For more Healthy & Delicious Fudge Recipes, check out:
- Silky Smooth Bean Fudge
- Chocolate Almond Fudge
- Mushroom Fudge (yes, seriously!)
I've made this fudge with several kinds of nuts and/or seeds. While preparing to shoot these photos I made one batch with pumpkin seeds and the other with macadamias. Hence the macadamias in the photo :).
Recipe Notes
- Coconut Oil Notes: Use organic expeller-pressed coconut oil if you wish to avoid the coconutty flavor
- Seed / Nut Butter Options: For nut or seed butter, I used pumpkin seed butter as this adds natural green coloring. Substitute coconut butter for AIP (here's how to make Homemade Coconut Butter).
- Sweetener options: Any equivalent sweetener, liquid or granulated to taste, will work instead of xylitol. You do, of course, have to reduce the amount if using stevia extract. One scoop = 1/32 tsp. See this post on How to Use Stevia. Use the healthiest sweetener you can.
- Chocolate Alternative: You can melt my Homemade Chocolate Chips instead of chocolate.
- Trim Healthy Mama: This recipe fits in as an "S" on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
Mint Fudge with optional (though I think mint ALWAYS goes better with chocolate, don't you??) drizzle.
Secret-Ingredient Mint Fudge - low carb, vegan and sugar free
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups coconut oil
- 1 1/5 cups nut or seed butter (soaked and dehydrated, if possible. See Recipe Notes)
- 1/2 cup xylitol (or other sweetener. See recipe notes)
- 1/2 cup dried parsley flakes (or more)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- melted chocolate (for optional drizzle)
Instructions
- Melt coconut oil in small saucepan. Add remaining ingredients to blender, add coconut oil and blend until smooth.
- Pour into an 8x8 baking pan and freeze until solid.
- Store in refrigerator to prevent softening.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar.
This low-carb fudge is a nice sweet way to celebrate this holiday that is near and dear to my heart.
What is your favorite treat for Saint Patrick's Day?
Hi, just wondering how many servings does 8x8 pan yield?
Thanks
It depends on how big you make the pieces :).
Wow, this is outstanding. I was skeptical about the pumpkin seed butter, because it has such a strong taste, but went with it, and maple syrup as sweetener, and I can't imagine a better tasting mint fudge. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it - thanks for sharing!
Is the Parsley just for color? Can it be left out or will this change the consistency of the fudge?
Yes, just for color - you can do this with or without. Hope you like it!
I can't WAIT to try these Adrienne! Thanks for sharing at The Mommy Club Linky Party!
Thanks Sherri!!
Wow! I have two mint lovers in the house that will LOVE this. Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂 Will definitely share this via social media!
Thanks so much friend :)!
(I'm in terrible drool right now) Seriously? This recipe is perfect for my Garden gatherings with friends and family. Oh how I would love to try this one. Organic recipe is definitely cool. Sorry but I'm in a rush to do this now. Tomorrow's gonna be the big day! Hope everybody will love it like I do. Thanks for the share!
What?! Parsley? That's amazing. I wouldn't have ever thought of that! It looks amazing and I love that it's naturally colored. 🙂
Thanks Erin! I made sooo many batches this week and they are disappearing :).
Adrienne ~ I wonder if a bit of spirulina powder would work to make the green color brighter. I use it in my smoothies and it is really dark green, but it is a bit bitter tasting. I may try this recipe with a bit more stevia and the spirulina. I'll let you know if it works out. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes. I love the bean fudge, so I am hoping this one will be terrific also.
I think that wd be very interesting. I find it to be pretty bitter as well - depends on the brand too. Let me know!
Whoa--mind officially blown!! (Do you promise you don't taste it?) 😉 I am going to have to try this one myself--I'm craving fudge these days for some weird reason!!
Hey Ricki! I'll just tell you my kids are devouring this. Even the batch made with pumpkin seed butter that my youngest will.not.touch. Hope you like it!
Yum! We added 1/2 cup of cocoa powder and used mint leaves from our garden that we had dehydrated last summer. (didn't end up green because of the chocolate, but we all agreed that was worth it!!)
Also did 1/4cup of honey and a little bit of stevia...perfect!
thanks for a great, easy recipe. (oh, and my 11 yr. old daughter made the whole thing by herself, using the vitamix)
I LOVE the added cocoa! I was just working on mint chocolate brownies myself today. (Not a winner yet. Sigh.) It's such an easy recipe, isn't it! Tell your daughter "good job!" for me.
Beets are very good for coloring, as well. I would think blueberries would be a nice color for the Mom above looking for colors for her son, but they may be purple as well. Do you have any good white sugar free frosting recipes?
Great tips! There are other coloring options on my Easter Fudge and Blue Food Coloring posts. Blueberries do color things purple :-). I do have one or two good frosting recipes. What kind of sweetener would you like to use? One of them is a yummy carob but no post on it yet.
Bean fudge??? Is that here as well? I am new to your sight, obviously. Via Traditional-Foods 🙂
The "batter" for the fudge tasted good so far. I used rapadura so it has the ugly 70's brown/green color. Lol.
Welcome :-)! Here's the recipe - you'll love it! Silky Bean Fudge.
I am so excited to make this fudge. I studied, ahem, water color in Ireland for a month and your post brought back such good memories. My grandfather's last name is Magee and he was born in Boston to Irish immigrants, if that gives you any indication of my heritage. I love the mother land!
Okay, so I just made the pumpkin seed butter and it is GREEN. Genious! I never knew!
I hope you like it. I think my bean fudge is better - but I think this is pretty good cold. My family just told me that they think it needs tweaking. Sigh. I hope it's good enough!
Did you ever end up tweaking this? And what do you think of almond flavoring? I have all the ingredients except mint extract. I forgot that I used it all up last time I made this 🙂 I always at least double the mint, and I always use pumpkin seed butter from pumpkin seeds I soak and dehydrate! I'd love to hear any tweaks you've made.
Also, I was trying to rate your recipe on my phone, and it won't let me. It looks like it's going to select, but won't.
I haven't done that. Sorry! Just too busy. I hope you tried it and would like to hear what you think. I'm checking on the rating issue - I assume it still doesn't work? We're working on a new blog design that might take care of the issue but I see that you are correct - you can't rate it on mobile :(.
I wonder if you could use spinach instead of the parsley? I know you can use it in smoothies to make them look green, without the flavor. I have a bunch I need to use up!
You sure can, but raw spinach is another one of those veggies that is not great to eat frequently if you have a tendency towards thyroid issues so I try to limit it. Hope you enjoy it! - Oh - you'll of course have to adjust how much to use. The color strength will be different and raw vs fresh issue will be there as well. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I will have to try this recipe, thank you!!
You're welcome! Hope you like it!
I was just thinking Bout how to food color for my 2.5 yo. Up until now I have always done shades of pinks and purples from berry puree for his big sister, but he is getting old enough that this wont work too much longer. Thanks for the tip. I was also thinking of some powdered stevia. Maybe a combo of the 2 and reduce the other sweetener woukd work!
The stevia & other sweetener combo would almost for sure be fine. It's a very forgiving recipe. Enjoy!
I don't have that much parsley on hand can I use 1/2 cup of kale instead?
You can use kale, but kale is a cruciferous veggie and I've read quite a bit about cruciferous vegetables eaten raw being bad for your thyroid. I'd just not worry about it for St. Patrick's Day, but I wouldn't eat it daily :-). Hope you enjoy it!
How would I adapt this to make green frosting for cupcakes? Not the fudge recipe, but the green color from parsley.
Hi Faith! I would just blend the parsley into your frosting in a good blender. Otherwise, you could powder the parsley in a blender first and then mix it into the frosting gradually until you have the color that you want. Hope that helps! I'll probably be doing the same with frosting this year for my kiddo's hockey celebration this year since they are on Team Ireland :-).
Thanks! My baby turns one soon and I would get LOTS of flack from my SAD eating family if his birthday cake did not have colored frosting 🙂
Oh, I sooo hope it turns out well for you! We should exchange photos of the finished product!
Thanks for including the article by Chuck Colson; i should have read this on the 17th ! I will have to try the green treat just to remember this great man.
Oh, if i did want to make it a dairy fudge with raw milk, do you have an idea of whether i need to omit or add anything. I wouldn't mind raw eggs either. Thanks!
As long as your recipe calls for milk, I don't think it matters. I do think that most fudge recipes call for evaporated milk though so plain raw milk will not be thick nor sweet enough.
Chuck Colson is another great man too, isn't he?
I would have never thought to add parsley. Amazing.
I was so pleased to find that it worked! I had heard of using kale before for natural coloring, but not parsley!
...why not just use mint leaves to flavor AND color it?
Very nice idea! I don't have mint but I was hoping to grow it. Might not be enough color but would be fun to try!