Vegan Chocolate Dipped Cherries

These Clean Eating Vegan Chocolate Dipped Cherries are super easy to make and so much better than the store-bought version.

I was inspired to make this after my blog friend Tabatha over at Kitchen to Nirvana posted a recipe for Chocolate Covered Nuts and Coconut Bits and I've had chocolate on my brain ever since.

Last weekend when I was at Whole Foods, I spotted organic cherries in the produce section and I immediately knew what I wanted to do with them.

I normally would have made my own homemade chocolate topping using coconut oil, raw cacao butter and maple syrup, but they would have had to be kept frozen to keep the chocolate from melting and frozen cherries just aren't the same as the fresh.

So I used the Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips because they are Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free, but also because they only have 3 ingredients:  evaporated cane juice, natural chocolate liquor (non-alcoholic) and non-dairy cocoa butter.  If you need the recipe to be lectin-free, just use the 69% Cacao Dark Chocolate Morsels instead of the semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Why shouldn't you ever buy store-bought chocolate covered cherries? Here's an ingredient list of a popular store-bought version:

 

S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Chocolate Covered Cherries Candy

Ingredients:  Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Milk, Chocolate, Soy Lecithin, An Emulsifier, Flavors Artificial Vanillin), treated with Sulfur Dioxide, Preservative, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Preservative, Flavors Artificial, Calcium Chloride, Colors Artificial (Red 40)

 

They are a box of GMO ingredients, chemicals, preservatives and artificial flavors and coloring.  And, do you even see "cherries" as an ingredient?

This healthier version is made with clean ingredients and they're vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, lectin-free, nut-free, paleo-friendly and contain no refined sugar.

They're a great little snack to make in a matter of minutes when you want something sweet, chocolate and healthy.

Want more healthy dessert recipes?  Check out Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Bark, Healthy Peanut Butter Cups, Crispy Peanut Butter Protein Cups or my Clean Eating Cookbook with an entire chapter of 20 healthy, clean eating dessert recipes that you will love!

 

5 Fast Facts About Cherries:

• high in anti-oxidants
• contains anti-cancer agents
• provides anti-inflammatory benefits
• contains beneficial phytonutrients
• contains 19 x more beta carotene than strawberries

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

 

 

 

Tip #1:  Remember to use caution if you serve these to younger children because the cherries have big seeds in the middle.

Tip #2:  You can add a little extra nutrition to these by adding organic chia seeds (not lectin-free), organic flax seeds, organic shredded coconut flakes or even organic sesame seeds to the chocolate mixture and give it a little crunch.

 

 

 

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