Healthy No-Bake Grasshopper Pudding Cups (sugar free, low carb, high protein, gluten free)
These easy, no-bake Grasshopper Pudding Cups taste like a Thin Mint cookie in pudding form! Made with a crunchy, chocolatey cacao nib “crust” and a whipped-until-fluffy, minty fresh green filling. Oh, and they’re totally guilt-free too!
This sweet treat will satisfy your sweet tooth without all the excess calories, fat, and sugar. Oh yes, for realz.
These no-bake Grasshopper Pudding Cups are sugar free, low carb, high protein, and gluten free!
Did your mouth just drop to the floor?
Oh, but just you wait… there’s another shocker in store for ya 😉
Can you guess what makes this pudding green?
Hint #1: it isn’t food coloring
Hint #2: it isn’t green pudding mix
Hint #3: it isn’t …
Okay, I can’t hold it in any longer…
It’s spinach!
Please don’t be grossed out. You don’t taste it at all, I promise! This entire recipe only calls for ⅓ cup of spinach, and that’s split up between 10 servings. You know when you add frozen blueberries to a smoothie and it turns the entire thing purple, even if you use a small amount? Spinach leaves are kind of the same way — both provide ample color in a dish.
These Grasshopper Pudding Cups are green and perfectly minty and sweet.
Don’t worry, the mint flavor won’t smack you in the face with an overpowering bite. Oh, and they’re perfectly smooth and deliciously creamy too!
The filling is like a mixture of mousse, jello, and whipped cream. I usually don’t like gelatin in puddings or pies, but it wasn’t bad in this pudding at all. The filling isn’t bouncy or jiggly one bit. It just melts in your mouth!
What I am really excited about is the cacao nib “crust” — it adds the perfect contrasting crunch to the smooth and creamy filling.
These Grasshopper Pudding Cups are absolutely addicting, even without any added sugar, butter, oil, or artificial ingredients.
I kept finding myself wanting more and more, going in scoop after scoop. But no worries though, each serving has just 180 calories, plus a whopping 14g of protein. Seriously. In a DESSERT. That’s crazy!
You know how I’m revamping my Naughty or Nice Cookbook?
NEW layout and design.
NEW recipe photos.
IMPROVED recipes!
Well, in re-testing ALL of the cookbook recipes to make sure they’re still 100% spot on (and to get a chance to re-shoot better photos) I re-made my Grasshopper Pie.
And y’all, I’m LOVING the new photos! Here’s a sneak peek:
I loved the pie so much I wanted to make it again the following week… because I ate the whole pie nearly by myself in 3 days lol.
ANYWAYS.
I realized I had run out of my Chocolate Crackers for the crust (recipe also in the cookbook) after I had already started making the filling. So, I brought out my trusty jars instead. I looked in my pantry. What’s chocolatey, crunchy, but also healthy? Hmmm… cacao nibs!
I spooned some cacao nibs into the jars, topped it with the filling, and put it all in the fridge to firm up. After setting completely, I topped the cups with all-natural whipped cream and fresh mint, and voilà!
Typical Grasshopper Pie is made with sugary Oreos as the base, artificially-dyed Crème de Menthe liqueur, high-calorie and high-fat heavy whipping cream, plus a ton of marshmallows or marshmallow creme, aka high-fructose corn syrup in pretty packaging.
But not this one.
Instead of Oreos, I used cacao nibs.
Instead of heavy cream, I used cottage cheese and Greek yogurt.
Instead of artificial food dye, I used spinach.
Instead of marshmallows, I used organic stevia extract.
Bring these easy-to-make minty pudding cups out for dessert and everyone will be running to the kitchen to get some!
If you’re craving Thin Mints or something sweet and minty fresh, you gotta go with these Grasshopper Pudding Cups! It’s a delicious, chilled dessert perfect for summer time, that also happens to be low in calories, high in protein, sugar free, and gluten free too.
Healthy Grasshopper Pudding Cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup Raw Cacao Nibs
- ½ cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
- 11g (1 tbs) Unflavored Gelatin
- 660g (3 cups) Low Fat Cottage Cheese
- 20g (⅓ cup, packed) Baby Spinach
- 340g (1½ cups) Plain, Nonfat Greek Yogurt
- 2 tsp Liquid Stevia Extract
- 1-1½ tsp Mint Flavor (depends on how minty you want it – I used 1½ teaspoons)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the almond milk and gelatin. Microwave at 15-second intervals, stirring between each one, until the mixture is warm and the gelatin has dissolved.
- In a high-speed blender (I used my NutriBullet), add the cottage cheese, yogurt, spinach, stevia extract and mint flavor. Purée until completely smooth.
- Add the set aside almond milk/gelatin mixture into the blender. Purée until smooth. Mixture should be thick and creamy.
- Spoon 1½ tablespoons of cacao nibs in the bottom of each jar. Pour ½ cup of the blended mixture into each jar. Refrigerate until firm (~3 hours).
- Top with whipped cream. Serve and enjoy! Store covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Recipe Notes
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Enjoy!
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With love and good eats,
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
Chocolate and mint… (music plays) Best combo ever. I don’t suppose you have an idea for a non dairy version of this?
These are super good and super easy! I divided the recipe in thirds because I’m cooking for one, and the first batch came out WAY too minty (like, beyond-toothpaste, caught-in-your-sinuses minty). I reduced the peppermint extract from ½ tsp to ¼ tsp (equivalent to ¾ tsp for the full recipe) and they were perfect.