These chocolate covered banana split bites are the perfect healthy little snack or dessert. They can be served fresh, or frozen so they can be enjoyed any time!
Just a fairly simple recipe/idea from me today! I saw these banana split bites from Oh She Glows and I knew I had to try them, at least for the kids(although any excuse for dark chocolate, right? :D). Although, I obviously didn’t think of making them for the kids when I made them with toothpicks. It actually didn’t work too badly but they were a bit hard to hold onto and younger kids might have a hard time with them.
These are also pretty large so if you’re serving them to smaller children, you can obviously cut the fruit smaller. Even my 2 year old took quite a while to eat one, so next time I’d make smaller ones for her and these size for my 4 year old and myself 🙂
I did end up making them again with popsicle sticks and they were way better. Although I didn’t hardly get any good pictures with the popsicle sticks. I really don’t know what was so hard about getting these to stand up straight but apparently it was really difficult. So just imagine the toothpicks are popsicle sticks because I like those pictures better 🙂
Just a thought, I’m actually pretty sure you could just stack the fruit and freeze them and they would stay together, but then again frozen fruit dipped in chocolate and little kids probably wouldn’t exactly be mess-free. My 2-year-old daughter somehow gets food from just about every meal she eats in her hair so I’ll take the sticks, thank you. We need all the help we can get keeping food where it’s supposed to be around here!
To make these a little fancier you could dip the chocolate in coconut or chopped nuts while it’s still soft. It does harden especially quickly because of the coconut oil, but if you dip them right away the nuts/coconut would stick and that would taste delicious. I was all about reducing the mess with these ones though.
Unfortunately there’s no substitute for the coconut oil, since that is what gives the chocolate that “magic shell” feel. But if you don’t have coconut oil, just 1 tsp of any flavorless oil should work fine just to help it melt and make it easier to dip. I also recommend using bar chocolate and not chocolate chips because chocolate chips are harder to work with but if that’s all you have it will work.
I’ve included nutrition information in the printable recipe, but of course, that will depend on the size of your fruit, the kind of chocolate you use, etc. Also, my calculation is just for the plain banana split bites, so if you add nuts, etc it will be different as well.
Chocolate Covered Banana Split Bites
Ingredients
- 24 1" pieces from about 1/2 small pineapple
- 2 large bananas sliced into 24 bite sized pieces
- 12 small to medium sized strawberries sliced in half
- 150 g(or5 oz) good quality dark chocolate(I used 72%) (this is between 3/4 - 1C if using a cup measurement for chocolate chips)
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- chopped nuts or coconut for rolling in optional
Instructions
- Chop fruit and assemble into stacks. Press a popsicle stick through the fruit and freeze until solid.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, wax paper or a silicone mat. Melt the chocolate along with the coconut oil either in a double boiler or in the microwave using short intervals and stirring frequently to prevent burning. Once completely melted, remove the frozen fruit from the freezer. Dip the fruit in the chocolate, let the excess drip off for a minute and then place on the sheet to harden. If desired, dip the chocolate covered side immediately in chopped nuts or coconut before placing on the sheet to harden. Once the chocolate is completely hardened(you may need to place in the freezer for it to harden completely), remove from the sheet and place in an airtight container to store in the freezer until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, remove them from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for a couple minutes before serving - if you can wait that long 🙂
- I don't recommend letting these sit for any length of time at room temperature though as they will thaw and the fruit - especially the banana - will not be pleasant. Please enjoy these within a few minutes of removing from the freezer.
Notes
Comments & Reviews
mimi says
delicious! i’m making this weekend for a dinner party .
Latonia says
I plan to make these this saturday for my baby shower. I plan to dip th bananas in the lemon juice water mix and keep in freezer over night. I have to transport them to the shower….do you think if I put them in a cooler with ice that the bananas will be okay?
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
I’m sorry, I really don’t know. You can always choose to make the not frozen version of these, I believe the instructions are in the directions, and as long as you dip the banana in lemon juice they should be OK!
Brenda @ Chatting Over Chocolate says
Hi, Heidi! I’m stopping by to let you know that I featured your fun Chocolate Covered Banana Split Bites on my blog today! http://www.chattingoverchocolate.com/2013/07/banana-splits-dozen-pinteresting-ways.html … Thanks so much for sharing this sweet recipe!! Hope you’re enjoying a terrific Summer! 🙂
Erin @ Making Memories says
I’m not a fruit eater but even I would eat these! They look so cool!
Fran says
I don’t think I would freeze them either. I use a small amt of crisco with my melted choc and it works out fine. Try dipping the bananas (or any fruit that discolors quickly)
in lemon lime soda for a few seconds. You don’t taste the soda and the fruit stays brighter longer.
Dina says
Is there a substitute for coconut oil or can it be omitted? I am not a big fan and most of my family aren’t either, but it looks yummy otherwise.
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Hi Dina, the coconut oil in this case is what gives the chocolate it’s “snap” when you bite into these straight from the freezer but doesn’t give these a coconut flavor if that’s what you’re worried about. I do think a tiny bit of any flavorless oil should work in it’s place though.
GenkiFox says
Made these for a holiday party and they were a big hit. I agree that when they thaw the fruit does get a bit mushy. The next time I make them I won’t even bother freezing the fruit, I don’t think you really need to.
Michelle says
I made these today for a large dinner party, and while they looked delicious, the bananas turned to mush. Most people were eating the pineapple and strawberries, and pitching the bananas. Next time I’ll only use the pineapple and strawberries. They held up better. I also used canola oil (instead of the terribly expensive coconut oil) and the chocolate still turned into “magic shell” and was delicious.
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Hi Michelle, I’m sorry they didn’t turn out perfectly… I do recommend keeping these frozen until everyone is ready to eat which makes these really hard to serve at a dinner party. I highly recommend the banana layer if you can serve them straight from frozen though because it’s so creamy it’s almost like the ice cream in the banana split! I’m glad at least part of it turned out well though!
Cindy says
Sooo cute. You might want to submit this to Edible Crafts. Meghan loves healthy cuteness to break up all the sugar.
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Thank you for the suggestion – I think I will 🙂
Debbie G. says
Thank you so much for continuing to reply to the questions. I was wondering if these could be made in advance and decided to research further and all my questions were already answered by just reading others with your answers to them. I had no idea bananas would not turn brown when frozen. I have learned so much! I am cheating and purchased the melting chocolate in the baking department. I am sure it will have the same effect. I appreciate the posts and suggestions. This is very helpful! Thank you for your time for in making other lives more organized! Making these for church tomorrow and will get them done tonight to save time.
Debbie says
I love your recipes! Thank you for sharing them. 🙂
melody says
I think that using coconut oil is great but instead of chocolate with the sugar and all , but to use raw cocoa beans and stevia vanilla liq. for sweetner and coconut oil ….raw nuts and raw coconut and maybe some hemp seeds in the chocolate and freeze all the wonderful full flavor fruit Bananas, pineapple, strawberry, and cherries. oh this is such a great Idea and the the thoughts on this is unlimited as to what you can do!! thank you for this post!
ruchita says
looks Amazingly sumptious:)
Laura says
What would you recommend as a substitution for the banana? There are quite a few people in the group i’m making this for that don’t like bananas- so i was trying to think of another fruit that would work. Maybe kiwi? What do you suggest?
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
I haven’t tried it, but I’d heard kiwi with chocolate is good so you could try that. Maybe you could try something else like a sweet cherry(pitted of course) or a piece of mango, or just leave it out and have strawberry pineapple bites 🙂 I really do recommend the banana though so maybe make some with and some without 🙂
Heather says
I just made these for my son’s birthday party; perfect!!! I used Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate and mini bamboo sticks, which was a lot easier than toothpicks.
Saree Rentals says
I found this on Pinterest…. I can not wait to make these!!!!! Banana splits are my favorite dessert of all time!!!
Kathy says
These would look cute with the sandwich pick with the little feather thing on top, I will try them for my Tupperware party.
Jean Brosio says
Sounds fun and healthy! Thanks for the idea!
Angie says
I found these on Pinterest (I think…) and tried them today. So good and so easy to put together. I used Wilton Cookie Sticks that I use for cake pops and they worked great! I dipped Pretzel Crisps in the extra chocolate. We’ll be enjoying these a lot this summer. Thank you!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
I came over here today, wondering why you hadn’t posted in such a long time and then saw that you had posted lots since I was last here! I don’t know what’s going on with Google Reader. These look so yummy! But my mind would just process these as fruit and not a treat. They look so refreshing and perfect for summer. 🙂
Steph says
Might be fun to add one or two of those new flattened marshmallows to the stack!
Tami Griffeth says
There are short skewers that are bigger and thicker than the toothpicks, but yet smaller than the popsicle sticks. Maybe these would be even better? Just a thought–haven’t tried it yet.
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
That might work too! You could even make larger skewers with a couple pieces of each fruit and just drizzle the fresh fruit(not frozen) with chocolate. That would be an awesome idea!
Pam says
How do you keep the bananas from turning brown?
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
The banana will stay a nice color when it freezes and it wont turn brown for at least a couple weeks as long as they’re kept in a sealed container and kept frozen.
Brenda says
What if you just put the banana slice on the bottom, wouldn’t that make a larger, flatter base for them to stand up more easily?
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Possibly, but the pineapple worked well. I think it was a case of my pineapple being flat on the bottom and the piece not being perfectly square. Either way they’re super yummy 😀
Angela says
I love your presentation with these! Such a fun idea to stack them. 🙂 Thanks for the shout out & glad you enjoyed them.
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Thank you for the inspiration! 🙂
Kathy says
Sounds great…how would you suggest keeping the banana fresh looking if taking them to a pot luck?
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
The banana will look fresh as long as it’s frozen. I don’t recommend letting these thaw, but as long as they’re kept in the freezer until about ready to serve the banana will be fine.
Sally says
I use bananas in other receipes, and just squirt a little lemon juice on them to stop them from turning brown. It works great and there is no lemon taste.
Elizabeth says
They look fantastic! I have an open house coming up at my home in a week, and I have a broken oven. Does the freezing help prevent the bananas from turning brown? Will they stay okay on the counter for awhile, if I leave them in the freezer until right before it starts?
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Yes, freezing helps keep them from turning brown, but they will eventually(after a couple weeks or more though) I think these would be OK on the counter for a short while. I will say that the banana gets kind of gross if it thaws too much though.
PJS says
I missed when to use the coconut oil….
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Just melt it with the chocolate. Sorry about that, I changed the recipe to make it more clear 🙂
Michelle says
so simple and cute!
Heather says
Super cute idea! I love the idea of dipping these in shredded coconut, what an easy and tasty snack 😉
Eat Good 4 Life says
Wow, these is genius. Fresh fruit, doesn’t require any baking and I am sure the kids love them. Super easy to eat as well. These are great even for the little ones to make and I agree that the popsicle sticks are way better for this.
chinmayie @ love food eat says
These look so colorful and fun! I am sure it’s a great recipe for a kids party! Thanks for sharing…
myfudo says
Perfect! From combination to presentation…I love the creativity. Not to mention, it is easy to make. What more can I ask for? This is gonna be a blast!
Kathryn says
What a great idea, these look adorable and so perfect for kids!
Brenda (kookt!) says
Great idea! I am saving this for a sunny day!
Looks a little like the strawberry/cream puffs sticks I made. Check: http://brendakookt.nl/2012/05/27/zomerse-aardbei-snack/
Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama} says
These are so cute, Heidi! What a fun summer treat. 🙂
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
I hate how fb keeps changing their “rules” and making people jump through hoops just to keep their feed how it was before without notice!
On a more positive note…this are super cute and such a good idea!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
*these not this…
Cara says
Such a cute idea! Banana splits always remind me of my dad because his favorite carton of Friendly’s ice cream is the banana split flavor. I obviously love this much healthier twist 🙂