This no bake Healthy Chocolate Tart is my most requested recipe because it’s so decadent with deep chocolate flavor. It’s also super easy to make and naturally gluten free, dairy free, vegan, and paleo! This simple dessert is easily made ahead which makes it perfect for dinner parties, birthdays, and holidays.
Envision a sticky, chocolate cookie dough crust with a satin smooth chocolate filling. This no-bake wonder of a tart has been a long-time favorite in our house and one of our oldest recipes ever published.
It’s back again with new photos and all the tips and tricks I’ve learned in 10 years of making this recipe. So if you haven’t made this one yet, add it to your ‘must-make’ list right away.
And I mean… just look at that filling. It looks amazingly fudge-y, and it’s everything you might think. Ultra smooth mousse-like deliciousness. The word luscious comes to mind.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pecans – I use pecans specifically because they’re a great flavor pairing with chocolate. But you can use cashews in place of this or try unsweetened coconut flakes instead. I’ve also had readers write in to say they’ve had success with sunflower seeds as well. I’ve tried this recipe with walnuts, but they tend to be too oily.
- Cocoa Powder – this is what brings all the deep chocolate flavor! I’ve been using Nativas and Dagoba which both have great flavor.
- Maple Syrup – I love using Grade A amber pure maple syrup because it has a lighter maple syrup flavor which is perfect in this chocolate tart.
- Avocado – This is what makes up the base of the chocolate tart filling. And don’t worry about ‘avocado flavor’ in the final product. I’ve fed this tart to avocado haters and they’ve never known there was avocado in this!
- Vanilla Extract – I add vanilla to the crust and the filling because it enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Coconut Oil – This is essential to the silky texture of the filling, and it adds to the flavor of the filling perfectly.
How to make this Healthy Chocolate Tart recipe step by step
Step 1: Start by adding all the ingredients for the chocolate filling to a food processor and blend until completely smooth.
Scrape the filling out into a medium-sized bowl and return the food processor bowl to the base to make the crust. (No need to wash the food processor in between the filling and the crust.)
Tip: for an extra chocolatey filling, melt 1/4 cup chocolate chips and add it to the food processor with the filling.
Step 2: refit the bowl back on the base and process the nuts and cocoa for the crust. Check out the above photo for the texture you want to see before adding maple syrup to the crust.
Step 3: Lin the tart pan with plastic wrap and pat the chocolate crust mixture evenly into the 9-inch tart pan.
Step 4: Finally, spread the filling over the crust, and voila, chocolate decadence. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, 4-6 hours or overnight.
Tip: This tart really is better after it’s been refrigerated, it needs the time to chill to bring out the chocolate flavors.
Ways to serve this
- Topped with Homemade Whipped Cream or Coconut Whipped Cream.
- Add berries when they’re in season. Fresh raspberries are our favorite, but strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries are really good as well as pitted fresh cherries.
- When berries aren’t in season, try my Berry Sauce recipe instead which is made from frozen berries.
FAQ’s
One main difference is a tart is shorter in depth than a pie at around 1 – 1.5 inches deep where most pies are 2.5 – 3 inches. Also, a tart only has a bottom crust which is much thicker than a pie crust.
This chocolate tart will last 4-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
I recommend using dates in place of maple syrup only in the crust because they’re not smooth enough for the filling. 10-12 Medjool dates are usually enough to sweeten the crust.
Tips & Tricks
- If you want to cut down the sweetener in this tart, cut back in the crust. If the crust isn’t coming together with less sweetener, add just a touch of water until it is like cookie dough.
- You can sub in dates for the syrup in the crust. I’ve used Medjool dates for the crust sweetener with great results. And dates really are a great variation because they add a caramel-like flavor to the crust.
- I wouldn’t cut back the sweetener in the filling because you really don’t want to taste the avocado – just the sweet chocolatey-ness!
- Flavor Tip: for an extra chocolatey filling, melt 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and add it to the food processor with the filling.
I really hope you enjoy this Healthy Chocolate Tart. It’s become a family classic over the last 10 years, and I know it will be a hit for you too! If you do make this tart, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. I always love hearing from you here.
Healthy Chocolate Tart
INGREDIENTS
Chocolate Filling:
- 2 avocados - not over-ripe, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil - room temperature
Tart Crust:
- 4 cups pecans - unsalted, not toasted
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
Toppings:
- fresh berries
- Whipped Cream or Coconut Whipped Cream
INSTRUCTIONS
- Line a 9” removable bottom tart pan with plastic wrap.
- Place the ingredients for chocolate filling in a food processor fitted with chopping blade and process until smooth. Scrape the filling into a bowl and set it aside.
- Fit the bowl and blade back onto the food processor (no need to clean the bowl in between). Place all ingredients for tart crust except maple syrup into food processor.
- Process until fine textured with small bits of pecans. Measure out a 1/4 cup of the crumbs and sprinkle them across the bottom of the tart pan.
- Add the maple syrup to the remaining crumbs and process 1-2 minutes until the tart crust becomes as thick as cookie dough. Pat crust into tart pan.
- Spread the chocolate filling over the crust. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Serve with your choice of fresh berries and whipped cream.
NOTES
For dessert recipes I use Grade A amber maple syrup, it has a much lighter maple flavor. Regular pancake kind of syrup is Grade B and is darker and richer in maple flavor.
nutrition facts
This recipe was originally published in 2013 but has been updated with new photos, tips, and information in 2023.
Can’t wait to try this out for the holidays!I love that avocados are used too, such a great way to get in more fruit– yum!!
I sure hope you enjoy it!
This is incredible! The avocado makes it so smooth and creamy!
So smooth and creamy! 🙂
I love the recipe 🙂 very simple and straightforward. I’m going to make the almond tart today !
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! This was one of the first recipes I ever put on the blog, and my husband still requests it for his birthdays and at holidays. I sure hope you enjoy the almond tart as well! 🙂
I made this, and I mostly liked it, but I’m not crazy about pecans, and I definitely could taste them. Do you think the crust would turn out ok with almonds?
You can definitely leave out the pecans, I would go with a mix of cashews and almonds instead. Straight almonds can be really crunchy in a dessert, but cashews add a soft texture and buttery flavor. I hope this helps, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions! 🙂
I am so not doing that again, but I guess it’s going to taste wonderful. It’s not your fault that the food processor I have not used since the last time I made a dessert, must be 15 years ago, turned out to be dead, so I had to use my Bamex hand mixer and an electric mixer. It’s also not your fault that I put the bag of pecans on a hot burner, but I caught them just as the bag started to melt. I used the extra 1/4 cup of chocolate that someone recommended. The crust seemed more the consistency of drop cookies, but I think you must have meant cookies that you roll and slice. It was sort of disgusting trying to spread that out. And the pecans kept getting stuck in the Bamex blade, so that was difficult. Anyway, I had lots to eat up from my various bowls and fingers and it all tasted wonderful, and so nice to no worry about eating batter with uncooked egg. If it doesn’t look like a tart tomorrow, it will be a glob of chocolate on a plate topped with raspberries, and everyone is going to love it. Thanks for the recipe. I will have a friend make it for us next time.
I’d give it 5 stars, but am using the Edge browser and that’s not working for me.
I’m so glad it tasted wonderful even though it sounds like you had the worst time making it, and I appreciate that you’d still give it 5 stars after all the headache! I hope you have good luck in getting someone else to make it for you because this is one dessert you’re going to want again! 🙂
When you say coconut oil do you mean it in the solid form or do i warm it up in the microwave to make it liquid coconut oil?
I mean solid form but at room temperature so that it will blend together nicely with the other ingredients. I hope you enjoy the tart, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions!
This looks so delicious, and unlike many of the recipes on here, all the ingredients can be bought here easily in the UK, I’ve already half of them in my cupboard already.
I’m on a Paleo diet and my wife is just cutting back o lose the last few lbs, but she LOVES chocolate, so I’m going to make this as a nice treat for her.
Thank you for taking the time to share this lovely recipe.
Joe, Belfast, N.Ireland.
I hope you enjoy it, this tart is a favorite with my family and friends, and my husband always asks for it on his birthday!
My BF alergic to nuts. Do you think I can use roasted sunflower seeds instead of pecans?
Im looking for alternative to your nut butter brownie as well. Any thoughts?
I think you could sub sunflower seeds for the pecans, or you might try a mix of sunflower and pumpkin seeds so that it isn’t too strongly flavored either direction. Some people have wrote in to tell me that they’ve used sunflower seed butter in my brownie recipe, I haven’t tried it myself but a few people have said that it turned out good. I hope this helps, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions!
That method worked well and it is easier to work with once refrigated. Everyone that tasted this loved it! It tastes even bette after two days in the refrigerator- which is great because you can make it ahead! I served it with fresh raspberries, I love that taste combination.
It does firm up quite a bit in the fridge. I’ve had it in the fridge for up to a week and it still tastes amazing, but it rarely lasts that long!
I made this last night and I’m just wondering if there are any tips for serving. Does it come off of the pan easily? I did line it with Saran wrap as in the directions. I must say it did taste great as I was preparing. Thanks!
The way I transfer it to a cake stand or serving plate is to pull up the sides of the plastic wrap so that it’s no longer sticking to the edges of the tart pan. Next, holding the tart pan with 1 hand flat on the bottom, slide the ring up your arm. From there I tuck the extra plastic wrap under the base of the tart, (with the tart still on the metal base) and slide it carefully onto a cake stand. This is the best method I’ve come up for for the the serving part because it’s really too soft and sticky to try and remove it from the metal base. I hope this helps and be sure to let me know how it goes and if you have anymore questions! 🙂