Guilt-Free Keto Chocolate Mousse

Only a handful of desserts fall into both the "delicious" and "easy to prepare" categories. Usually, it's one or the other. You might make something that tastes great, but it takes hours or requires too many ingredients. Or you find a dessert that's easy to prepare but isn't very memorable.

This keto chocolate mousse recipe is the best of both worlds.

You can make it in 15 minutes, and it's loaded with  quality fats to make for an impressive dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Before we show you the recipe, let's look at a few guidelines you can use to prepare low-carb treats and the benefits of using grass-fed dairy for this recipe.Go straight to recipe

What To Look For In a Keto-Friendly Dessert

One perceived hiccup to going low-carb is that you can't have dessert anymore. "Desserts have too many carbs," you think. But that's not always the case, and this recipe proves it.

With only 5g of net carbs, you can have a serving (or two) while sticking to your diet and staying in ketosis.

Before we look at the recipe, check out these general rules of thumb to consider when preparing keto-friendly desserts:

• Base desserts around healthy fats: Since most conventional desserts are made with sugar and other forms of carbs, and eating too many carbs makes it hard to stay in ketosis, you can’t really rely on traditional desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth.. But with a few tweaks, you can base desserts—like this chocolate mousse recipe—around healthy fats and low-carb fruits instead. There are tons of dessert options you can whip up that include full-fat dairy products, coconut, and low-carb berries like blueberries or raspberries. (By the way, feel free to add coconut and berries to this recipe!)
• Use antioxidant-rich chocolate or cocoa: Chocolate is rich in polyphenols, an antioxidant that helps prevent aging and rids your body of cancerous cells [1]. Look for regular cocoa powder or dark chocolate powder with no additives or extra sugars. Or try a keto-friendly chocolate. Weave that into your recipe and you're bound to find something delicious and nutritious. 
• Search for variety: Keto dieters eat a lot of the same foods—low-carb veggies, lean proteins, and healthy fat sources like keto-friendly nuts and oils. This isn't a bad thing, more just a reality of the diet. Most experienced keto dieters know that variety of any kind is really helpful, and dessert is a perfect opportunity to experiment. For example, you can add a tablespoon of instant coffee to this chocolate mousse recipe for a mocha flavor. Yum!

In the next section, we'll look at why you should use grass-fed dairy in your keto desserts when possible.

Benefits of Grass-Fed Dairy

This keto chocolate mousse recipe uses dairy products like cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, and butter. You don't have to make this recipe with grass-fed dairy, but we highly recommend it. Here's why:

#1: Grass-fed is Nutritionally Superior

Grass-fed cows eat a natural diet, not processed corn that's loaded with steroids and antibiotics.

Studies show that this leads to healthier development for the cow, which leads to healthier dairy products that humans consume [2]. For example, the fatty acid profile (omega-3 to omega-6 ratio) is better in grass-fed cows, as is the number of antioxidants [3][4].

#2: Grass-fed Dairy is Vitamin-Dense

Vitamin A and E are found in more abundance in grass-fed cows as compared to grain-fed [5].

Because vitamin A plays a large role in immune system health and eye function, and vitamin E supports reduced inflammation in the body, this is a major health benefit [6][7].

#3: Grass-fed is More Environmentally Friendly

A large portion of our carbon footprint on the planet comes from the mass production of various meat products across the world [8].

Sustainably raising dairy cows decreases the amount of land, water, and fossil fuels that must be used to produce things like butter, milk, and beef.

Basically, healthier cows produce more nutritious products. Grass-fed products may cost a little more, but you can save money by purchasing in bulk or buying from a local farmer.

Now without further adieu, here's the recipe!

Guilt-Free Keto Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 1/3 cup granulated KetoLogic erythritol
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee (optional)
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, and butter with an electric mixer (at a lower speed) until smooth; about 2 minutes. Then add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, erythritol, cocoa, and instant coffee (if using) and blend until fully incorporated.
2. In a separate bowl, blend the heavy cream at medium-low speed until soft peaks form. Add the remaining teaspoon of vanilla extract and continue beating until stiff peaks form and you have a thick whipped cream.
3. Slowly fold the whipped cream into the chocolate cream cheese mixture about 1/3 at a time until it is fully incorporated.
4. Transfer the mixture into serving dishes and refrigerate until it sets, about 2-3 hours.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 4