This rich chocolate mousse has a secret ingredient making it dairy-free (hint: it's not coconut oil!). Dark and smooth, you won’t miss the milk (or milk substitute). Perfect for Passover or when you want a pareve (non-dairy) dessert!
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Why this recipe works
- This chocolate mousse replaces milk (and milk substitutes) with extra virgin olive oil, making it dairy-free
- The flavor is rich and the texture is smooth and creamy
- As a flourless dessert, this mousse is great for those following a gluten-free diet or those observing Passover
With so many milk alternatives now, it's easier than ever to adapt recipes for those sensitive to milk.
Indeed, chocolate mousse is doable, even if you're lactose intolerant. But what if you run out of soy milk, or almond milk, or oat milk, or... ?(Yeah, we get the picture!)
Fear not, for I bring you a dairy-free chocolate mousse recipe that tastes so wonderful, you won't miss the milk (or milk substitute). It has a secret ingredient that might surprise you - extra virgin olive oil!
Did I mention that my dairy-free chocolate mousse is dark, rich, and smooth? The flavor is all chocolate, all the time, with a light texture like satin. And you can't tell that it contains extra virgin olive oil instead of heavy cream.
Oh, man, this is heavenly!
Give this easy dairy-free chocolate mousse a try. I'll leave deciding to divulge the secret ingredient up to you. No one will guess why it's dairy-free unless you tell them!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was amazing! Thank you so much for sharing!!
- Leslie
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make this dairy-free chocolate mousse recipe:
Ingredient Notes
Chocolate: Use pure chocolate - the higher quality chocolate you purchase, the better your fudge will taste. The best type of chocolate to use are chocolate wafers or a bar of chocolate, but you can also use chocolate chips. Using dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao) will result in a richer chocolate flavor, but you can use semisweet if you want to back off on the intensity.
Olive Oil: This non-dairy chocolate mousse recipe uses olive oil to add richness and fat, and you probably have a nice bottle of extra virgin olive oil in the pantry. That's the key here - use the best olive oil you have, one whose flavor you enjoy. It's time to break out the good stuff here, people.
The olive oil will add fruity undertones to the chocolate mousse, but the chocolate will still be front and center.
Eggs: This is where the body of the mousse is built. The egg white meringue lightens the texture, while the egg yolks add richness and flavor.
One caveat I should note is that this mousse contains raw eggs. If you're concerned about the risks of eating raw eggs, you can use pasteurized eggs without affecting the results.
Toppings: Cacao nibs and sea salt flakes add a crunchy counterpoint to this silky-smooth mousse. They're optional, but so worth it!
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to separate eggs
It's imperative that you separate the eggs carefully when making a meringue. No yolk can be in with the egg whites because the fat will keep the whites from whipping into a meringue. As someone who tries to use less dishes, I'm forever breaking at least one yolk as I separate, thus having to start all over again.
Here's my tip for you: break the egg into a small bowl, remove the yolk into a medium bowl, and pour the whites into the stand mixer bowl. You can use an egg separator to help. If an egg breaks, don’t use it, just get a new egg (and wash the bowl). Washing that bowl is so much better than having to use more eggs!
How to make chocolate mousse
The method for making a chocolate mousse recipe is pretty straightforward. It's only 5 main steps!
Step 1: Melt the chocolate
Start with melting the chocolate. You can melt the chocolate in the microwave on short 30 second bursts (stir in between). Or, place a heatproof bowl atop a saucepan with 1-inch of simmering water (don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Either way, stir the chocolate to keep it from burning.
While the chocolate is melting, dissolve the espresso powder in 1 tablespoon of boiling water. The espresso deepens the chocolate flavor.
Once the melted chocolate is smooth, stir in the olive oil, espresso, vanilla extract, and salt until combined (photo 1).
Step 2: Prepare the egg yolks
It's important to separate the eggs carefully. You don't want any egg yolks mixed in with the egg whites.
Whisk the egg yolks and ¼ cup sugar together until the mixture is pale yellow. This helps the sugar dissolve fully so you don't get a grainy texture. Stir the yolks into the chocolate mixture until it's smooth (photo 2).
Step 3: Prepare the egg whites
Wipe out the bowl of a stand mixer with a bit of white vinegar or lemon juice. This will remove all traces of fat in the bowl.
Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add in the remaining ¼ cup sugar and whip until you have stiff peaks (photo 3). Don't over whip the meringue because it will start to separate, and you need all that air to lift the mousse.
Step 4: Fold in the egg whites into the chocolate
Add a generous spoonful of the egg white mixture to the chocolate mixture. Stir gently until completely incorporated. Transfer the chocolate mixture to the bowl of egg whites.
Gently fold with a large spoon or rubber spatula until completely combined. And I mean fold, stirring gently so you don't lose that previous volume (photo 4).
Step 5: Portion mousse into ramekins
You can store it in a single bowl to portion out later or divide the mousse into 6-ounce ramekins and cover with plastic wrap (photo 5). Wipe up any drips, cover with plastic wrap, and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
To serve, garnish with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream, a light sprinkling of cocoa nibs and/or sea salt. Serve and enjoy!
Storage and make-ahead instructions
Storage instructions: The mousse can be stored in the refrigerator in a container with a tight fitting lid for 1 week, and in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Make-ahead instructions: This recipe can be made up to three days ahead.
Yield Notes
This chocolate mousse is very rich, and a little goes a long way. Depending on your portion sizes, you can get 6 to 8 generous servings from the recipe as written. The recipe can also be easily doubled.
Questions asked and answered
Here are some questions that you might have...
Yes! It's perfect for a Passover Seder, especially if you're observant and want a pareve (i.e. non-dairy) dessert. Like my Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake and Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies, this mousse is gluten-free and dairy-free (though not egg-free, sorry about that!). It's a dessert that can please many people's dietary restrictions . Almost everyone can partake!
No, you won't be able to tell that there's olive oil instead of cream in this chocolate mousse recipe. You might notice a subtle fruitiness from the olive oil, so make sure the olive oil you use is one you like.
When you're using a meringue of just beaten egg whites (aka a French meringue) rather than one that is stabilized with some sort of heat treatment (like an Italian meringue), the possibility of over-beating the egg whites is real. If that happens, the meringue will separate and won't have the ability to lift and lighten the chocolate mixture. Just keep checking how stiff the meringue is getting as you approach the stiff peak stage.
I hope you like this recipe! Let me know if you have any questions, and don't forget to leave a comment and rating. Thanks!
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
- Tammy
More Passover (gluten-free) dessert recipes to try
Recipe
Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse (No Coconut Oil)
Ingredients
- ¼ teaspoon white vinegar, or lemon juice
- 4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature, see Recipe Notes
- 6 ounces dark chocolate wafers, chopped solid chocolate, or chocolate chips (1 cup), see Recipe Notes
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder, dissolved in 1 tablespoon of boiling water, cooled
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, see Recipe Notes
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Pinch kosher salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar, divided
- cocoa nibs, for garnish (optional)
- sea salt flakes, for garnish (optional)
- whipped cream, lightly sweetened, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Wipe out the bowl of a stand mixer with a bit of white vinegar or lemon juice (to remove all traces of fat in the bowl).
- Break the eggs into a small bowl, remove the yolk into a medium bowl, and pour the whites into the stand mixer bowl. You can use an egg separator to help. No yolk can be in with the egg whites because the fat will keep the whites from whipping into a meringue. If an egg breaks, don’t use it, just get a new egg.
- Place the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl and melt in a microwave on HIGH, stirring after each 30-second increment, until smooth. Let it cool slightly. Meanwhile, dissolve the espresso powder in 1 tablespoon of boiling water and allow to cool slightly.
- Stir in the olive oil, rehydrated espresso, vanilla extract, and salt into the melted chocolate until combined. Set aside.
- Place the egg yolks and ¼ cup sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the mixture is pale yellow. Add the yolk mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.
- Beat the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or with a hand mixer) until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining ¼ cup sugar and beat just until stiff peaks form.
- Add a generous spoonful of the egg white mixture to the chocolate mixture. Stir gently until completely incorporated. Transfer the chocolate mixture into the bowl of egg whites. Gently fold with a large spoon or rubber spatula until completely combined.
- You can store it in a single bowl to portion out later or divide the mousse into 6-ounce ramekins and cover with plastic wrap. Wipe up any drips, cover with plastic wrap, and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
- To serve, garnish with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream, a light sprinkling of cocoa nibs and/or sea salt. Serve and enjoy!
- Storage instructions: The mousse can be stored in the refrigerator in a container with a tight fitting lid for 1 week, and in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Make-ahead instructions: This recipe can be made up to three days ahead.
- This chocolate mousse is very rich, and a little goes a long way. Depending on your portion sizes, you can get 6 to 8 generous servings from the recipe as written. The recipe can also be easily doubled.
Landon says
Due to recently learned of food allergies I'm looking for alternatives and excited to try this recipe. It is the best looking one I've found yet for chocolate mousse that doesn't contain milk, soy or coconut. I can have chocolate that does not contain milk or soy, so will use that. Everything else I've used it in has turned out excellent. My question is, when cold does this mousse firm enough to use between the layers of a cake that will be kept in the refrigerator? I'm altering a favorite tuxedo cake recipe to be allergy friendly for a birthday.
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Landon, that's a good question! This mousse isn't a cooked custard that's thickened with cornstarch, so I don't believe it wouldn't set firm enough to hold up cake layers. If you've found a milk substitute that work for you, you might try to make a chocolate pastry cream instead (see the recipe notes in the recipe for the chocolate variation). Let me know how it goes for you, and happy baking! 😉
Landon says
Thank you so much for your response, Tammy! I will look into the pastry cream.
Larry says
Hi,
Can you use Italian meringue to make this mousse? Is it safe to heat the yolk-sugar-chocolate mixture to 149 degrees F?
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Larry, these are interesting questions. I haven’t tried to make an Italian meringue with the amounts of sugar & egg whites in the recipe, so I can’t say for certain it would work. Also, eggs are supposed to reach 160degF to be considered cooked, so I don’t think 149degF would do the job. If you do try it, I’d be interested to hear your results.
Mo says
DAIRY-FREE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
looks delicious! I've got a question. In the directions, it says,
"Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add in the sugar and whip until you have STIFF peaks. Don't over whip the meringue because it will start to separate, and you need all that air to lift the mousse."
Then it says,
"Whip your egg whites to SOFT peaks, but not beyond"
Is it stiff peaks or soft peaks?
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Mo, good spot! In the picture caption for the egg whites, it should say, "Whip your egg whites to stiff peaks, but not beyond." The point is not to overbeat the meringue because it will start to separate and weep. I've corrected the caption. Mea culpa, and thanks!
Cherwyn Ambuter says
Absolutely REMARKABLE!!! You're right - I never missed the dairy!! This will now be my go-to chocolate mousse recipe, which I will make and present proudly for general consumption and not just for those who have to "go without" dairy. There is literally no sacrifice in savoring this mousse without the dairy. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this!!! I may add just a bit of rum the next time for a little more complexity of flavor. I usually make choc. mousse with a touch of rum, but wanted to make the "pure version" of this recipe first to see if I would like it that way. Really, really nice, a very substantial and rich mousse - just the way Iove it!.
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Cherwyn, I’m so glad you liked it, and adding rum sounds like a great idea! Thanks for sharing 🙂
allergy mom says
Do you know how well this holds up if it's made in advance? I'd like to make it Christmas Eve but bring to a party Christmas night. I would keep it cold the whole time but I'm not sure if it keeps its texture that long. Do you happen to know?
Tammy Spencer says
This mousse is pretty sturdy, especially if you keep it cold. I've made it a day ahead without any problems.
Leslie says
This was amazing! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Tammy says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! 😉