Chocobananos (chocolate banana pops)
Part snack, part dessert, and completely irresistible. These Chocobananos are made with banana, peanut butter, and chocolate to create a kid-friendly frozen "treat" that's both satisfying and nourishing. They're simple to make, freezer-friendly, and perfect for warm days or after-school snacks.
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"I love that this recipe creates a new fun way to eat bananas! Chocolate and banana is always a great combo." - Kathlyn
Jessica was first introduced to chocobananos (aka chocolate banana pops) when she was eighteen and spent three months in Guatemala. After working long, hard days for Habitat for Humanity, we would walk to the local tienda (store) and buy a chocobanano for a whopping 5 cents. I may be getting old now but that was a steal of a deal even back then!
My first time trying to replicate the chocobanano experience was a disaster. I learned the hard way that you need to freeze the bananas before dipping into the chocolate - it just doesn't stick otherwise!
I've now mastered the technique and I'm so happy that my kids have also fallen in love with this summertime treat - this is one of their favourite snacks!
But they also love these homemade animal crackers with a spiced pumpkin dip too. Oh, and yes, we've got chocolate lovers here which means I'm also making these bean filled double chocolate zucchini muffins (don't let the beans scare you!).
And, if any food on a stick is a win for your kids, then you'll 10/10 want to try these creamy mango chia pops!
Recipe Overview: Chocobananos
🍌 A delicious way to keep bananas in your child's regular rotation along with coconut banana muffins and this chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie!
🥜 Supports repeat allergen exposure--made with peanut butter, or swap in almond butter if preferred.
⚡ Quick and easy. All you need to do is: melt, dip, and freeze.
💪 Offers healthy fats and protein.
❄️ Freezer-friendly.
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Key ingredients
Banana
Literally, the star of the show here is a good ol' banana. You'll want to use one that is perfectly ripe but not too ripe because it will not hold up and be a mushy mess! If you have a ton of ripe bananas to use up, consider making our tahini oat bars!
Chocolate chips
Use any variety of chocolate chip you have--it could honestly even be butterscotch or white chocolate chips if you fancy that!
Peanut butter
Opt to use a smooth peanut butter for an even layer, but you're also welcome to use any other nut or seed butter if your child has a peanut allergy. We've also tried it with yogurt too!
Coconut oil
This is super important to help the chocolate and peanut butter layers harden! You can find coconut oil at most grocery stores where you snag your cooking oil.
Popsicle sticks
Okay what parent doesn't have these kicking around? You don't need anything fancy, just some good ol' popsicle sticks!
Allergen information & substitutions
These chocobananas contain peanut butter, which is a top priority allergen in Canada. If your child is allergic to peanuts, you can definitely either skip the peanut butter layer and go straight to the chocolate layer or use an alternative such as:
- Wow butter (soy-based)
- Sunflower seed butter
- Almond butter (tree nut)
We personally love the addition of nut and seed butters because they make this snack a little more satiating (ie: filling)!
How to make chocobananas
The full recipe is below, but here are a few key steps to visualize the process.
Step #1: Prep the chocobananos by inserting a popsicle stick half way into each banana and place on the baking sheet.
Step #2: Freeze the banana pops by placing the baking sheet into the freezer for about 12 hours.
Step #3: Dip frozen bananas into the peanut butter sauce and turn to coat. Allow the excess to drip off. Hold the banana in the air until the glossiness starts to disappear. Place back on the baking sheet and repeat. Place the tray of peanut butter dipped bananas back in the freezer.
Step #4: Make the chocolate sauce. Repeat step #3 except you're dipping the peanut covered banana into chocolate sauce.
Step #5: If you want toppings, roll the bananas in your desired topping immediately after dipping, before hardening.
Step #6: Your chocobananos are complete and ready to enjoy!
Recipe FAQ
The options are seemingly endless. You can either choose a topping just for fun or you can be intentional about it if there are certain nutrients you feel your child could use more of in their life (ahem, I'm looking at you, high fibre cereal!).
- High fibre cereal
- Crispy rice cereal
- Other breakfast cereals, crushed (such as corn flakes or cheerios)
- Chopped peanuts or other nuts (ages 4+)
- Freeze-dried fruit
- Flaked coconut
- Sprinkles
- Hemp hearts
To be honest, you can serve it as you wish. We firmly believe that in order to expand a child's variety it can be helpful to expand their idea of what they eat, when. So, go on and serve this for breakfast alongside other foods like perhaps an omelet!
Or, you can serve these banana pops as a snack since they are fairly well balanced!
Finally, if you're a family that enjoys dessert you are more than welcome to serve it as so--we've actually written about our family philosophies when it comes to dessert.
From a nutrition standpoint-bananas are a great source of potassium, vitamin B6, fibre and carbohydrates! Coupled with the nut butter and chocolate which offer fat, protein and a hint of sweetness, this snack checks off what we like to see in a balanced snack!
If you've made it this far into parenting, you've probably already learned that bananas are incredibly versatile. Often used in smoothies, baking (such as these Coconut Baby Banana Muffins), pancakes or on their own, this is just another way to enjoy the fruit.
Apart from our genuine love for chocolate banana pops, we also have great appreciation for how this recipe brings us together with our kids, in the kitchen. Depending on your child's age and capabilities, they can help you with the following tasks:
- Peel the bananas
- Slice the bananas in half
- Help you stir the peanut butter or chocolate mixture once melted
- Insert popsicle sticks into the banana
- Dip bananas into peanut butter and the chocolate mixture
- Roll the banana into the topping
How to serve chocobananos at each baby & toddler stage
6-24 months: We don't recommend serving this recipe to a young baby, due to the added sugar from chocolate chips. Latest health guidelines recommend that added sugars not be a part of your child's diet until age they are 2 years old.
However, if you prepare the recipe without the chocolate layer, you can offer it to your older toddler, we suggest about 18 months once they have a good handle on chewing more challenging textures. As always, judge things by your unique child's ability.
24 months+ : Serve the chocobanos exactly as suggested in the recipe! You may want to model biting and taking small bites together!
Play + books that match this recipe
Children love stories! By reading books featuring different foods, your child may get excited about trying something a character they've gotten to know enjoys eating. Try these ideas to spark interest in food with your child. And, for even more books recommendations, we've compiled our top 24 favorite foodie books for you!
Other recommended toddler dessert recipes
If you tried this chocobanano recipe or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Summers are so short, especially where we live in the heart of the prairies. We hope you make some fun memories with your kids and these chocobananas over the next few weeks. If you try this recipe be sure to let us know what you think, and you can always tag us on Instagram @happyhealthyeaters - we'd love to see how you and little ones style up your bananas.
Here's to a memorable summer with food that's tasty and nourishing.
Chocobananos (chocolate banana pops)
Video
Ingredients
- 3-4 ripe but not over-ripe (no brown spots!) bananas
- 8 popsicle sticks
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ¼ cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Toppings (optional)
- High fiber cereal
- Crispy rice cereal
- Other breakfast cereals crushed (such as corn flakes or cheerios)
- Chopped peanuts or other nuts ages 4+
- Freeze-dried fruit
- Flaked coconut
- Sprinkles
- Hemp hearts
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.
- Cut the bananas into 3-4 inch sections. Usually about 2 or 3 pieces per banana.
- Insert a popsicle stick half way into each banana and place on the baking sheet.
- Freeze bananas for at least 12 hours.
- Once the bananas are frozen, make your dipping sauces.
- To make the peanut butter sauce, place the peanut butter and coconut oil in a mug. Microwave for 30-60 seconds (until all melted).
- To dip, hold the mug on a slant so that the sauce covers the inside side of the mug. Dip a banana in and turn to coat. Allow the excess to drip off. Hold the banana in the air until the glossiness starts to disappear. Place back on the baking sheet and repeat with the others.
- Place the tray of peanut butter dipped bananas back in the freezer.
- To make the chocolate sauce, place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a mug. Microwave on low, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate is all melted.
- To dip, hold the mug on a slant so that the sauce covers the inside side of the mug. Dip a banana in and turn to coat. Allow the excess to drip off. Hold the banana in the air until the glossiness starts to disappear. Place back on baking sheet and repeat with the others.
- If you want toppings, roll the bananas in your desired topping immediately after dipping, before hardening.
These are great - messy when the kids help but worth it. They like to use colorful sprinkles and some crushed raisin bran cereal for crunch.
Sprinkles make everything more fun!
This is going to be a really cool treat for the kids in the summer.
It's such a fun way to jazz up bananas.
I love that this recipe creates a new fun way to eat bananas! Chocolate and banana is always a great combo.