What is Aquafaba? As fancy as it sounds, the trivial it is. So Aquafaba is the viscous canned chickpea liquid, you usually throw away when using the chickpeas. And today I am going to show you how to make a heavenly, vegan and gluten-free chocolate mousse out of Aquafaba.
The mousse just consists of three ingredients. Jap, true dat! 1-2-3! So we have
Aquafaba
Raw Chocolate
Coconut nectar
and that’s it! Curious? Read along!
The most amazing thing for me was that extreme amount of fluffiness. You can hardly achieve this with an avocado or coconut cream based chocolate mousse. Aquafaba when mixed, slowly transfers into a white fluffy mass that can be used in many different ways.
According to the official Aquafaba site (yes something like that exists ;)) „Aquafaba can be used to replace egg whites in many sweet and savory recipes. Its unique mix of starches, proteins, and other soluble plant solids which have migrated from the seeds to the water during the cooking process gives aquafaba a wide spectrum of emulsifying, foaming, binding, gelatinizing and thickening properties.“
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Further, Aquafaba being very low in calorie, this dessert is not going to ruin your summer body. Well, I mean it wouldn’t anyway, because as we learned: Chocolate goes straight to the heart and nowhere else!
Talking about chocolate, do me a favor and use a good quality brand for this recipe. The recipe’s success kind of depends on a great chocolate. Also, check out my latest version of the mousse where I topped it with vegan coconut whipped cream! Delicious!
I hope you’ll be making this delicious vegan chocolate mousse soon soon! Don’t be afraid of working with Aquafaba ???? I would be very happy to see your own version on Social Media! Share it with me on my on Instagram @vanillacrunnch or leave a comment here!
- 1 can of chickpeas (you will need only the liquid which is about 1 cup)
- 1 cup (120gr) roughly chopped dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp coconut nectar (substitute with maple syrup or agave syrup)
- Check notes below before you start!!
- Melt your chocolate in a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. (or microwave)
- Add the coconut nectar (or maple or agave syrup)
- Let chocolate cool down while you prepare the next step
- Mix the liquid of your chickpeas with an electric whisk (or blender)* – whisk until the stage where you flip the bowl, the mixture wouldn’t fall out
- Gently fold in the chocolate with a spatula, and very slightly stir it.
- Pour into bowls and place in the fridge
- The mousse is ready to eat within 1 hour
*Notes:
Make sure you use soap and oil-free whisk, bowls and cuttlery
Note that if not using a strong blender or mixer you might have to mix the Aquafaba longer than the recipe instructions says. (see comment below)
Tip from my friend Lynda: „I find that beating the aquafaba cold works much faster to bring to peaks. I also added the maple syrup to the bean juice before beating so it would not seize the chocolate. Used vanilla beans instead of extract. Turned out awesome!“
Looks great Lara! I’m looking forward to trying Aquafaba!
So genial was man mit Aquafaba alles anstellen kann. So eine leckere Schoko-Mousse steht auch schon ewig auf meiner Liste 🙂 Das perfekte Dessert!
Liebe Grüße
Lena | http://www.healthylena.de
Hi Lara! How much portions You can make with water from one can? One or two?
2 big ones or 4 small ones 🙂
Would a blender also work? As it might not air the mixture as a whisk does ????
A high speed blender should work! I am happy for feedback!
where do you get your chocolate? what brand?
Ombar ????
The liquid in a can of beans can cause stomach issues for a lot of people.
Never experienced that but thanks for letting me know 😉
I’m a lil confused. The recipe states a can of chickpeas but are you using the chickpeas or only the liquid? How much liquid to use?
Thanks for asking. I clarified it in the text now. It is only the liquid and should be about 1 cup. Have fun trying 😀
Such a fun easy recipe, Lara. I have read the whisking takes a very long time. It looks so amazing in your shot! The focus on the foamy texture is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing! Dee xx.
Fair warning to the newbie re: beating Aquafaba, it takes a good 10-15 minutes to get to the soft peak form using beaters. It’s a lesson in patience for sure (for those of us without a stand mixer/blender).
My chocolate seized when I added the maple syrup and vanilla. I’m unsure which caused the seizing, could have been either.
I was able to „unseize“ it using the Hot water trick.
I must say that it was exciting to see it come together as I LOVE chocolate mousse and haven’t had any since becoming vegan (2 years ago). I couldn’t resist dipping my finger into the batter and the taste was divine. I can’t wait until it sets.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
My recipe (1 cup aquafaba, 1 cup of chocolate) made 10-125ml servings.
Thanks so much for this comment. I was not aware of the fact that beating without a stand mixer takes that long! I will for sure add it in the notes. Thanks a lot for letting me know and I hope your mousse sets soom so you can enjoy it. P.S. Sometimes when you use a vanilla extract with alcohol the chocolate can seize..I am glad you could help yourself to solve the problem 🙂
It looks awesome!! Too bad that I just had chickpeas yesterday- it seems like I need to eat them again! What a shame 😀
Help please. I was so excited to try this recipe but I ran into a few problems. The first chocolate hardened when I added maple syrup. The second time I only used vanilla extract. It didn’t harden as much but the consistency of the cooled mousse is very grainy. Any suggestions please?
Hi Maude, I am sorry to hear you experienced these problems. But sounds like we can easily solve them. Make sure you melt your chocolate really slowly and NOT on hot temperature. Add the maple syrup slowly and combine. Don’t use vanilla extract with alcohol as is makes things grainy 🙂
I hope that helps. Let me know
Hi Lara, at home I started to make my own chickpeas* instead of buying them in a can, did u ever do that and used the water u boiled them in for the mousse?
Thanks!
*i buy dry chickpeas and put in a big bowl of water for 12 – 24 hours, room temp‘, and changing the water 2-3 times. then I boil them for ~3 hours till softened.
Hello Enabel, to be honest I have no idea about home made ones as I used a can from the supermarket. I am happy to hear your results when you try it ????
Hi! I’ve tried making something with the liquid from a can of chickpeas before, and the liquid itself was super salty. It wound up tasting a lot like sea foam. Is there a specific brand or something I should look out for when purchasing the chickpeas? Thank you!
Hi Ber, Thanks for reaching out. I totally understand your concern. To be honest I don’t know about the different levels of saltiness from different brands. I am using one that I bought in a swiss supermarket called „Cirio“. Maybe you could watch out for a can that says low in sodium. Overall don’t worry about the taste. It is normal to have a slightly salty note but you will love it combined with the sweetness of the chocolate, trust me 🙂
Hi!! I just tried this, the taste is awesome!! However, a small liquidy pool formed at the bottom of my pots, any idea what could have gone wrong?? Thanks!!
Hi Anto, thanks a lot for your comment. And I am sorry this happened! To be honest it happened to me once as well, but actually I never figured out why it happened. I guess it could be either the kind of chocolate (so I suggest you try another one) or the type of aquafaba (try different brands) or maybe you did not beat the liquid long enough so it separated? In any case please let me know if you try it again. I am curious!
I find that beating the aquafaba cold works much faster to bring to peaks. I also added the maple syrup to the bean juice before beating so it would not seize the chocolate. Used vanilla beans instead of extract. Turned out awesome!
Thanks so much Lynda! I will add your tip to the post asap!
Will coating chocolate work?
Never tried but it should 🙂
Definitely would LOVE to try this one day! Amazing!!
I made this a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t let the chocolate cool enough and I mixed it in with the blender so it all collapsed. I put it into dishes and into the fridge anyway. I’m told that the consistency was perfect and it tasted great; even my anti-vegan husband loved it. Maybe I’LL get some this time ????
Hi Wendy, thanks a lot for letting me know! I agree it takes some patience to wait for the chocolate but I am glad it turned out well anyway <3
Alright. So I tried this once and I’m a terrible cook so the chocolate heated to fast and turned into a paste. I tried to mix it anyway and it turned into a lumpy liquidy mess. I tried it again this time with properly melted chocolate and the chocolate melted down my peaks and i had a pool of chocolate at the bottom. Its in the fridge now. I’m hoping the top part will turn out and maybe I’ll end up with a hardened chocolate bottom. idk we shall see
Hey Lara, ich habe versucht deine Mousse au chocolat zu machen, habe erst zu spät gemerkt, dass man Schokolade brauchte. Also habe ich Kakaopulver genommen… das Endresultat war nicht ganz so lecker, aber um es nicht zu verschwenden, habe ich dann Haferflocken reingemischt und daraus Granola gemacht, welches ich im Ofen gebacken habe… BEST CHRUNCHY GRANOLA EVER!
ohne die Idee, was Aquafaba zu schlagen, wäre ich nie darauf gekommen! Vielen Dank <3
Hey Lisa! Mega coole Idee ich bin so stolz auf dich hadt du das nicht weggeschmiessen sondern so tolles Granola gemacht! 😀
I just have to say that this mousse has changed my life. It’s pure sorcery that you can make this diabolical dessert from leftover bean water- it has blown me away and I have a feeling that I’ll be eating substantially more chickpeas in the future just so I can make more mousse. Thanks again for this great recipe!
Haha I feel you Courtney! I am experiencing the same feeling! Happy you found your happy chocolate mousse place ????
Today as I was making chilli with red kidney beans, decided to try it with kidney bean water and it worked awesome. I had someone come to the door so left the beaters running and it may have been beating for half an hour…. and the melted chocolate I did for 1:11 on my microwave and it was cool but not solid again… still stirred up. It wasn’t folding in, so I put the bowl under the mixer on slow and it worked fantastic… it’s in parfait glasses waiting dessert time… I’m amazed!
Now I just need a gluten/egg/milk free cake for my sons birthday next week!
Thanks for sharing your feedback Carolyn. Great to know that kudney bean water works as well <3
I just made this tonight! I was successful in making the mousse light and fluffy, but I think I should have waited for the chocolate to cool before I folded it in – after refrigerating it, the chocolate was a little crunchy. Would letting it cool help? Thanks!
Yes this will help!:) try it again hun <3
A word of advice if using agave syrup – i added it to the chocolate and it really stiffened it up, making it hard to fold into tbe aquafaba. I had to use the whisk more which i think knocked out some air.. perhaps would be better to add it to the aquafaba instead
Great advice I will change that thanks!
I ended up having to start the folding process with the hand mixer first then I was able to fold in with the spatula the rest of the way currently it’s in the fridge resting hopefully it works and it tastes amazing.
Loved this…was super easy. I used salty chickpea brine so I used 1 tbs more of maple syrup. Also added the maple syrup and vanilla extract to the chickpea water before mixing as mentioned. After it was refrigerated the mousse had a gritty texture and there were small chocolate pieces in it although it did have the amazing light and airy texture. I’m wondering if that happened as the cocolate wasn’t cool enough, I’m assuming it needs to be room temperature or cooler. Or maybe I should mix with an electric mixer once the chocolate has been incorporated? I’m DEFINITELY going to try this again and I’m desperate to get it perfect as it satisfies my sweet tooth.
Mine was a total fail! 🙁 it tastes fantastic but it was a total flop! I used maple syrup and when I added it to the choc it totally ceased up! And so I folded a little bit of the Aquafab mix into the chocolate to loosen it up and then started to fold it all together and it completely lost all its air. Anyone know what I’ve done wrong??
Hi Emily I am sorry to ehar that could it be that you added it to the chocolate when it still was hot?
Thanks for the recipe, I’m sure it’s great when it works but the chocolate seized as soon as I added the maple syrup. Maybe you could add your note at the bottom about adding it into the aquafaba into your recipe.
I will thanks Gina!!
Is this mousse stiff enough to hold its shape once removed from the mold?
It should be! The stiffness I guess depends a little on the brand of chocolate\consistency and the brand of chickpea can you use. I think experimenting should help ????
Hello, i only have 90% dark chocolate at home and would normally prefer to use 70%. Is it still okay for this recipe? Should I just put more sweeter in it??? Thanks 🙂
I think it will be ok. Don’t add more liquid sweetener as it could get to runny 😉
My first attempt was a fail ???? The taste was great but had a couple of seemingly major issues. After refrigerated for a few hours, it was still runny. Also, when I added the vanilla extract to the chocolate it seized and made incorporating it to the whipped Aquafina REALLY difficult. A couple of questions:
– when whipping aquafaba, should it form stiff peaks? I’m thinking I possibly overwhipped or didn’t whip enough– can’t figure it out.
– would this recipe work better if I added the maple syrup and vanilla to the aquafaba pre-whip?
The flavor was so great and I really want the consistency to be great as well. Thanks!
Hi Erika, really sorry to hear this. So what I would try is different chickpea cans (brands) Because the Aquafaba really needs to be stiff!You can add the maple syrup and vanilla prior to whipping and try! Also maybe your chocolate wasn’t cooled down enough?
Mine was a complete fail too, as soon as i mixed the chocolate through the Aquafaba it seized, so i have a kind of salty foam with chocolate grainy lumps through it… 🙁
Have you cooled down the chocolate? Either your aquafaba wasn’t stiff enough or your chocolate was too hot and killed the aquafaba. I encourage you to try it again as so many made it and succeded ????
Amazing!
I heated the good quality chocolate slowly, and the (refrigerated) maple syrup seized it, like others have found. And reheating the seized mixture did almost nothing.
But Carolyn Bradford’s tip of beating the chocolate and aquafaba in the mixer was awesome. I let it run for maybe five minutes and the whole mixture thickened up again beautifully. Epic save, Carolyn!
Not sure yet whether it’ll turn out gritty but that can add to the charm. The mixture looks wonderfully smooth though.
How many mousses does this make?
2 big portions or 4 small ones 🙂
I hope there’s a better recipe soon, without the can! Also the comment section here would be a great place to put the ’notify me‘ check boxes of new comments via e-mail after ‚post comment‘ query. Some suggestions… :3
What so you mean without the can? Also I am happy for you to advise me with the check box as I am not a technic person 🙂
It’s something that is a prompt after someone submits the form (which is the message) you simply remove it from the page and make the screen prompt a message instead of in laid on the text of the site.
So delete the prompts with (cut) so some of the text, such as the check box information that sends the information by email to the wordpress member. Doing this afterword, it makes more sense because you can’t reach the button to be e-mailed afterwords writing a message, and more people will be able to keep in contact.
Example/site info link:
if (confirm(„Press a button!“) == true) {
txt = „You pressed OK!“;
} else {
txt = „You pressed Cancel!“;
}
The words you type in the quotes will matter and you can insert the same system prompt (which is how the user is e-mail), I believe that you would have from pressing cut, it should still be on your (clipboard) paste command.
Here’s a link directly to the information you would need but I’ll do it on my site myself this afternoon and send you some screenshots… glad I ran into this.
Tell me if you can’t understand I will be able to reword shortly! Nice support on the Django ! I read your about me.
Thanks! I feel like some screenshots would help I am more of a visual person :)! Thanks for taking the time!
Also, without the can, a much more intrinsic Vegan lifestyle zero waste method IS available. I will post later on my site in the afternoon! I hope your curiousity is sparked! I’ll have pictures but can’t find the link atm to the first site with the recipe… but I don’t think I should advise quite yet. Hint:
It has to do with your own homemade soak.
Cool sounds very interesting and I am always interested in less waste ????
Um, there’s no vanilla in the ingredients and then it’s in the directions with no measurement. And therefore not 3 ingredients.
How much vanilla?
The vanilla is optional and it‘s 1/4 tsp
Hi Lena
The mousse tasted great, but I noticed that after @ 24hrs in the fridge liquid began to separate out from under the mousse. Is this a fault in my preparation, or should this mousse be eaten within a few hours perhaps?
Thanks in advance
Ed.
hi Ed thanks for sharing this information. I actaully also ate it after two days in the fridge…I can imagine the separation could come from not beating the aquafaba long enough? But it is hard to tell from distance maybe you try again or be safe and eat it right away 😉
Hi.
Do you use electric whisk or a blender?
I own a vitamix but I read it should not work
I tried both and it worked however there are different brands and they might be different ‚strong‘ I guess best is you experiment and tell me afterwards 🙂
Different brands of what? 🙂
Of blenders and mixers 🙂 for example we also have another VOLT. Amount. I think best is you aim for something that is strong enough like a hand mixer but maybe not a blender you would use to crush ice or make smoothies or nut butter 🙂 does that make any sense?
Omg this recipe looks so good!!!! Do you have the nutrition facts on this recipe??
I don‘t but you‘ll enjoy it anyway ????
I made this for an Easter desert. It was my first attempt using aquafaba. Yum! I had trouble with the chocolate seizing, but that was my fault for not reading the note about adding the syrup to the aquafaba, instead of to the chocolate. I simply started a new batch of chocolate and saved the seized batch; I’ve been putting it in yogurt, on ice cream (it’d be great as “brownie batter” in nice cream), and on the mousse itself. I will definitely make this again. It was interesting watching the change in the aquafaba’s structure while I whipped it. My kids thought it was pretty cool. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you aquafaba, and thank you Lara. I made this last night, and was trying to not touch it till after dinner tonight but I couldn’t wait to try it. Down right deeeelicious! I love dark chocolate so used 85% cacao in mine and now have a new mousse and one I can still eat. Who knew you could make it with just a couple ingredients. I use to make it the more common way which of course has a lot of steps and a lot of sugar and etc. Not anymore! Lol again thanks for this recipe.
I made it with success, but only the second time around. The first time it turned out watery, just as how some other comments have noted. I then looked on youtube, viewed several videos on how to correctly beat the AF, and voila, the texture I had on the second attemp was exactly as shown on the picture. First of all, I just wanted to say that I liked this recipe bc it is simple, and no stablizers were needed formthe AF, as cream of tartar is quite pricy, and I am not a regular dessert making person, and I don’t even know how often i will be making desserts with AF, so why spend the money? So after much research, i realized that my biggest mistake was following the recipe too loyally, as it calls for beating the AF to soft peaks form, and I did just that. But after much research, I realized that you have to beat it to the stage where if you flip the bowl, the mixture wouldn’t fall out, which is actually closer to stiff peaks. It takes min. 15 min of beating using high speed with an electric beater. The good thing about AF is that unlike eggs, you cannot overbeat it! So I added maple syrup vanilla essence, and a tad of cinnamon into the AF towards the end, then the melted chocolate, and it was all wonderful from there. So I gave it a three not bc the recipe was not good, but bc instruction was not as clear as i would have liked. Also, if you had a watery mixture like I had the first time, I’d suggest instead of calling it waste, put it in a blender with a banana or whatever fruit you like, and you’ll end up with the best tasting smoothy, which was a surprise discovery for me! Have fun with it!
Hi Jenny, Thanks so much for this very in-depth feedback. I actually adapted the recipe based on your research. Thanks a lot and good luck with other aquafaba experiments 🙂
Hey there!
All was looking great, strong peaks, but I ran into an issue; I used cocoa powder in place of chocolate, and as soon as it was added the mousse turned to water. Any reason for that?
I don’t know I haven’t tried with cacao powder maybe I would just use chocholate 😉
Amazing. Thank you. My wife said she’d happily pay for that in a restaurant (although she didn’t specify which one). Going to try it with orange next time.
I whisked it for about 15 mins. I melted chocolate and then added maple syrup but that made chocolate stiff. Once I folded it look still good. I noticed that there is water on the bottom of all the bowls though. Not sure if I over stirred at the end but it was tough with stiff chocolate.
I triwd your recipe a ling time ago and it was a success! My dad was so confused that it was made of beans‘ water 😂
Now, I was wondering. I’ll be making a vegan cake soon, but the person receiving it doesn’t really like dark chocolate…Do you think the nousse will hold on as a frosting and decoration if I use white (soy milk based) vegan chocolate?
Thanks!
I think it is definitely worth a try. I haven’t so far but let me know how it goes!
Do you have any macaroon or cookie recipes using aquafaba??
I had a macaroon made of such atvsn event but can’t find a recipe for one!😥
Mine also came out grainy and took a lot of folding to get it chocolatey and lost some of the fluff. It was delicious. I also put half of the batch in the freezer for just over an hour and that was excellent too. Will make this again.
Hi Lara. First of all thanks for the original and sugarefree recipe! Just a question though, I once read somewhere that the water from the canned beans contains bad chemicals and preservatives therefore it’s advisable to wash the chickpeas before using.
So is this information false? Pls do get back to me as I never heard of using the water from the canned chickpeas before thank you 🙂
Hi An! I live in Switzerland so the chickpeas we have in the cans are not ‚unhealthy‘. If you wash them the aquafaba mousse will not work. I hope this helps. All the best. Lara
This is amazingly good! I added some Cointreau as well although directly to the melted chocolate rather than mixing in to the acquafaba, simply because I hadn’t thought about it in advance! This made the chocolate seize up a bit but the end result was a few small chunks of chocolate in the mousse – no bad thing!
Hi! Does the aquafaba out of the can need to be reduced for making mousse? I’ve heard that it should be reduced for macaroons. Is that the case for a mousse recipe as well? Also, does it need to be chilled?
It only needs to be chilled. good luck 🙂
Absolutely fantastic! Followed all instructions and ended up with gorgeous vegan dessert! Chilli flakes gave it special zing!