Healthy Chocolate Protein Frosting
Healthy Chocolate Frosting?! Yes, you read that correctly. Unlike storebought frostings and icings, this sweet and creamy, uber chocolatey dessert topping is made without the refined white sugar, hydrogenated oils (or trans fats), artificial flavorings, and preservatives! Perfect for frosting, saucing, dipping, and digging in with a spoon 😉
This Chocolate Protein Frosting is great as a frosting, a fruit dip, and so much more.
Ohhhh yeah. I could eat this stuff alllll day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert? Totally. I say, “YES!” to them all. Top off cake or cupcakes, even pancakes and waffles!
Sweet and addicting? Check.
Buttery rich, and thick and creamy? Check.
Healthy, wholesome, and all-natural? Check.
One bite and you won’t believe this frosting is sugar free, low carb, low fat, high protein, and gluten free too. But it is. For realz!
Healthy Chocolate Protein Frosting
Ingredients
- 230g (1 cup) Plain, Nonfat Greek Yogurt
- 8 oz Neufchatel Cream Cheese (room temp)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Paste
- ½ tsp Liquid Stevia Extract
- 90g (1 cup) Chocolate Whey Protein Powder
- 70g (½ cup) Powdered Erythritol
- 15g (3 tbs) Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder
Instructions
- In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, add the yogurt, cream cheese, vanilla paste, and stevia extract. Mix on medium speed until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the protein powder, erythritol, and cocoa powder. Turn off the stand mixer and add the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until incorporated, then increase mixer speed to high. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix on high speed for 3 minutes.
- Scoop into an airtight container and refrigerate to store. Refrigerate for 4+ hours (preferably overnight) before frosting. Enjoy!
I adapted this recipe from my Vanilla Protein Frosting. Almost every frosting recipe is full of butter and powdered sugar, so I made my own version. I opted for a cream cheese frosting that is secretly high in protein and low in fat. But the taste and texture is practically identical to that Pillsbury “stuff.” This frosting was a HUGE hit in my house, so of course I needed to make it again. And again. Over and over. That Vanilla Frosting and this Chocolate Frosting are both staple foods for me 😉
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In case you were curious to how the nutrition facts of this recipe compares to other frostings, here is the nutrition label for Pillsbury’s chocolate fudge frosting.
Yes. ¼ cup of the storebought icing has 260 calories, 3g of dangerous trans fats, and a whopping 36g of sugar (that’s 3 tablespoons)! This is their ingredient list (unhealthy ingredients are in bold):
Sugar, Water, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oils, Corn Syrup, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Corn Starch, Salt, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Mono and Diglycerides, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Polysorbate 60, Modified Corn Starch, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Soy Lecithin, Citric Acid, Artificial Color.
Why choose that crapola when you can have my lovey-dovey Chocolate Protein Frosting? My healthified version has just 110 calories, 0g trans fats, just 3.5g of naturally occurring sugars (no sugar is added), plus 10g of protein!
Mmmmm. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make an icing like this and eat it immediately after for taste-testing purposes??
Not hard at all. I love my job 😉
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With love and good eats,
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
Ahhhhh congratulations!!! Where will you be?! Hopefully near New York so your desserts won’t be far away from me! 😉
Thanks Marina!! For a few months I’ll be in CT and NYC, then I’ll be moving to Texas 😀
I’ll definitely miss going to the city though. They have the best shopping, restaurants, and best of all, WHOLE FOODS! 😉
This is such an amazing recipe! Will definitely give it a go!
Please don’t get a tattoo! EVERYONE and their mom (literally) has one. It’s nothing unique. You are beautiful and unique the way you are…
Given tattoos’ increased popularity and decreased taboo factor in recent years, many people are under the impression that tattoos are extremely safe, especially if they visit a well-respected tattoo artist in a sterile setting. However, a 2012 New England Journal of Medicine article looks at the public health issues resulting from nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM), a bacterial infection caused by contaminated tattoo ink — ink that was contaminated before distribution to the parlors.
According to the FDA, which is looking into these issues: “M. chelonae, one of several disease-causing NTM species, can cause lung disease, joint infection, eye problems and other organ infections.”
NTM infections are easy to misdiagnose, with symptoms that appear much like an allergic reaction (red papules, or solid, raised spots on the skin that often appear soon after a new tattoo).
Thanks so much for your concern! I really appreciate it 😀
I’ve wanted a tattoo for years now, but didn’t feel comfortable getting one so young (might regret it later, and tattoos weren’t as generally accepted/condoned as much compared to today). However, after graduating and overcoming a major hurdle (something I NEVER thought I would be able to do), I think now is the perfect time to get a tattoo. I don’t think about a tattoo as body art or just something meant to look pretty, I believe it’s a daily reminder and imprint on my physical body that will remind me of the troubles I’ve faced and conquered. Both proof of the past and inspiration for the future. Personally, I think it’s silly to get a tattoo if it has no meaning to you, but I guess it’s everyone else’s decision. I’ll be getting the tattoo on my shoulder/upper arm (works to cover an “M”-shaped birthmark too). I don’t wear tank tops too often anyways, so most people won’t even see it. It’s not for anyone else, it’s for me and me only 😀
(The artist I am going through uses Eternal Ink, Ohana Organics and Hush Anesthetic, in case you were curious)
THANKS AGAIN SOPHIE! It’s awesome how someone out there can show so much concern and kindness to someone they’ve never met <3
Looks delish! Any substitute for the coconut flour? I have a coconut and nut allergy (peanuts and almonds are fine).
It’s great that you’ve got things figured out. This is a crazy time in life and I hope you enjoy every minute of it!
Thanks so much NaKeisha! SO MUCH is going to happen in the next few months, deeeffffinitely crazy! 😀
Coconut flour is pretty difficult to substitute because it’s SO absorbent, like a sponge. But, I guess you can try ~3/4 cup of Peanut Flour or Oat Flour? Both are pretty absorbent but not as much as coconut flour. Peanut flour will of course impart a peanut buttery flavor, but that’s still delicious huh? 😉
try flax or chia meal – you need something that is absorbing. Coconut is very absorbing!
Good suggestions! Chia meal might work, I’m just afraid it’ll make the icing chunky or goopy… I haven’t had much luck with chia seeds 😉
I love your food blog!
Hey girl! Questions about the erythritol…does it add bulk? I ask because I’d like to know if it’s possible to replace it with stevia? Thanks!
Depends what stevia you’re talking about. I don’t think liquid stevia will replace the erythritol, but Stevia in The Raw might 🙂
What about PURE stevia extract? Like the only ingredient is high concentration stevia?
Hi there. The protein powder you linked to is a whey concentrate (with xanthum gum). Is this necessary for the icing to hold its structure?
I only have whey ISOLATE and am wondering if I can use that instead.
Thanks <3
Also – just randomly – why are you reposting this recipe? Did you make any changes to it?
I don’t have any experience with whey isolate so I can’t answer… but feel free to try it out!
And yes, this post is completely different. I revamped the recipe (took out the coconut flour, used a different cocoa powder, used less erythritol, etc.) and also reshot all the photos. I don’t repost for the hell of it 😉
As to your comment reply above, what brand of pure stevia are you talking about? Maybe just look them up and see what they recommend or if they have a sweetener conversion chart, like most brands do. The recipe above is just the way I tested it. If you want to make a substitution you’ll have to test that on your own 🙂
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I have a really bad sweet tooth you receipes are always so helpful !
These receipes always help with my really bad sweet tooth !
Thanks so much for all the great ideas !
I just made this to use as a dip for celery. Yum!!!! I love it! I’m eating it by the spoonful right now. 😋 How many servings did you get? 8?
AWESOME! So glad you liked the recipe! This recipe yielded 6½ cups and every serving is ¼ cup 🙂
Great article! I will have to try this frosting out.My wife has used a lot of your recipes and they are great!
Is this icing pipeable? I tried your vanilla frosting, and although it tasted very good, it was runny and didn’t hold its shape. Should I reduce or not use the yogurt to make it firmer?
The gif shows me piping the icing 🙂 so yep!! It’s pipeable!! 🙂
If you want a very firm icing, I’d recommend subbing ¼ cup of the yogurt for cream cheese, and adding an extra tablespoon of cocoa powder.