Do the Dip: 12 Chocolate-Covered Fruit Recipes You’ll Love
Updated: Feb. 01, 2022
Chocolate-dipped fruit is a classic Valentine’s Day dessert that’s delicious, decadent, and, yes, potentially healthy.
Can chocolate-dipped fruit really be healthy? Yep, because fruit is naturally low in fat, sodium and calories. It’s also high in the good stuff, like vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
And while it’s true that chocolate is high in calories, fat and sugar, some studies suggest that a moderate amount of high-quality dark chocolate may help prevent heart disease and promote artery health. That’s because the cocoa beans used to make chocolate contain flavanols, which are beneficial antioxidants and known to prevent or delay damage to cells. There’s also evidence that flavanols help lower blood pressure.
The trick is to go with dark chocolate with at least a 70% cacao content; it has the highest amount of flavanols.
After you have your chocolate, choose your fruit. Any kind is a perfect match for chocolate. For inspiration, check out these 12 much-loved recipes.
Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
It’s easy to make this traditional Valentine’s Day dessert extra special: Just roll the berries in sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, nuts, or edible glitter before the chocolate sets.
Chocolate-Dipped Apple Rings
For something different, try dunking baked apples in chocolate. A pinch of cayenne in the cinnamon mixture will add a kick if you like a little heat.
Chocolate-Covered Pomegranate Seeds
Antioxidant-rich pomegranates are in season during winter. They taste amazing when drizzled with your favorite melted chocolate. Don’t stress about extracting the seeds—it’s actually very easy to deseed a pomegranate.
Salted Caramel & Dark Chocolate Figs
This recipe is more involved but well worth the effort. That’s because the sweet and savory ingredients work together so incredibly well. Plus, the finished product looks really pretty!
Frozen Chocolate Monkey Treats
Frozen bananas are the star fruit in this easy treat. It’s a great one to make with kids since they can spear the fruit with toothpicks before dipping and decorating.
Nutella-Stuffed Strawberries
For an elevated spin on chocolate-covered strawberries, try this recipe. It involves two extra steps from the traditional one: piping Nutella into the tops of cored strawberries and sprinkling the dipped berries in chopped hazelnuts. Tip: If you don’t have a piping bag, try snipping the end off a plastic sandwich bag.
S’mores-Dipped Apples
Bring the campfire favorite indoors with this no-fuss recipe. In addition to melted chocolate, the fruit also gets dipped in a melted butter and marshmallow mix.Chocolate Citrus Wedges
While this recipe calls for lemons or tangerines, any citrus fruit will work. Just don’t forget the nut topping—it adds a nice textural contrast to the soft fruit.
Truffle Cherries
This recipe ups the decadence factor with extra-sweet maraschino cherries and a double dipping of chocolate.
Pistachio Cranberry Bark
Don’t relegate this recipe to just the holidays, because it’s great all winter. And it lasts a lot longer than fresh fruit recipes since it calls for dried cranberries.
Candied Fruit Platter
Can’t decide which fruits to dip? Then do a mix of your favorites. Citrus fruit, grapes, pineapple, kiwi—anything is game. For even more variety, mix fresh fruits and dried fruits.
