These easy dark chocolate covered strawberries are topped with crushed walnuts for a healthy and delicious treat! Perfect for Valentine’s day, Mother’s Day or other special occasions, these gorgeous strawberries can be whipped together in less than 30 minutes for a low-fuss snack or dessert! {Dairy-free, gluten-free & vegan}
Dark chocolate covered strawberries are the perfect healthy treat and make such a great homemade gift to share with family and friends. And with only three simple ingredients, they couldn’t be much easier to prepare!
Simply melt the dark chocolate in the microwave, dip the strawberries in and sprinkle with walnuts for the perfect chocolate covered strawberries. Such a simple bite that’s sweet and rich with just the right amount of crunch…and totally has that wow factor too!
Due to its simplicity, this is a fun recipe to prepare with the kids, and I guarantee that they’ll love to clean up that chocolate and devour the strawberries when they’re done! ;)
For more strawberry-infused treats, be sure to try this Strawberry Mocktail Spritzer and Heart Healthy Trail Mix with Dark Chocolate too!
Why we love this chocolate strawberry dessert
- Healthier: Made with dark chocolate and walnuts, these chocolate dipped strawberries are loaded with fibre, antioxidants and heart-healthy fats! Plus, they’re dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan-friendly, so they work for a wide variety of dietary needs. This is one tasty way to eat your fruit!
- Make-ahead: Make up a batch of these strawberries earlier in the day and enjoy them for an effortless dessert after a romantic dinner or serve them up as a fun snack for the family!
- Simple ingredients: Did I mention that you only need three ingredients to make this recipe?! So easy! Plus, these strawberries are super simple and fun to adapt to suit your tastes and dietary needs.
Ingredient notes
- Strawberries: Use fresh ripe strawberries for the best flavour. They should be a bright red but still firm, with nice vibrant green stems for the nicest presentation. Frozen strawberries shouldn’t be used in this recipe as they’ll be too mushy when thawed.
- Dark chocolate chips: For the most health benefits and convenience, I like to use melted dark chocolate chips (50% cocoa or higher) to cover the strawberries. I love how easy the chocolate chips are to melt and how the bitter sweet dark chocolate compliments the sweet juicy strawberries so nicely. You can also use dark chocolate from a bar, but you will have to chop it before melting.
- Walnuts: Chop the walnuts into small pieces and sprinkle over the strawberries once they’ve been dipped in the chocolate. You can also sub in other nuts as well such as finely chopped peanuts or almonds.
How to make chocolate covered strawberries – step by step instructions
This delicious treat can be made in just five simple steps!
1. Wash & Dry
Wash strawberries and thoroughly pat them dry with paper towel. Allow them to air-dry if time allows.
2. Melt Chocolate
In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips in 30-second increments until it’s smooth and melted (mine took about 1 minute 30 seconds). Each time you check on it, stir well so that the chocolate doesn’t burn to the bottom of the bowl.
3. Dip strawberries
Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Dip strawberries in melted chocolate so that they’re about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way covered.
4. Sprinkle with nuts
Place on lined baking sheet and sprinkle with walnuts, pressing gently to help the nuts adhere to the chocolate.
5. Allow strawberries to set
Allow the chocolate to harden at room temperature or place the chocolate dipped strawberries in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. Once firm, remove from the parchment paper and serve or store in an air-tight container in the fridge for later.
Tips for Perfect Chocolate Covered Strawberries:
- Thoroughly dry the strawberries after washing, otherwise the chocolate won’t adhere properly.
- For best results, use strawberries that are at room temperature to help prevent condensation from forming between the strawberries and chocolate.
- Be sure to check the chocolate frequently when melting to prevent it from burning to the bottom of the bowl.
- Chop walnuts fine enough so that the little pieces stick to the chocolate. If the pieces are too large, they will overtake the strawberries and may not stick very well to the chocolate.
- If you’ve got some extra time, allow the strawberries to set at room temperature for best results.
- These strawberries are best consumed within 12 hours of preparing (although they’re still delicious past that time frame)!
Best chocolate to use
There are a number of different types of chocolate that you can use when making chocolate covered strawberries.
- For the healthiest options, stick to semisweet or bittersweet dark chocolate that consists of 50% cocoa solids or higher. You can use dark chocolate chips or a bar of dark chocolate that’s finely chopped.
- If possible, avoid candy melts since they tend to be more processed options.
- Overall, look for chocolate that contains minimal ingredients, is free of added colours and melts easily.
How to dip strawberries
The easiest way to dip them is to hold the strawberries by the leaves or stem and dip them into the melted chocolate on an angle, rotating the strawberry until all sides are covered.
You want them to be covered about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way so that you can still see the vibrant red strawberries peaking through.
If you have too much chocolate on the strawberry, it helps to flip it upside down to catch any excess chocolate before placing on the parchment paper.
Expert Tip: If the chocolate starts to harden while you’re dipping the strawberries, microwave it for another 20 seconds or so to help it soften up again.
How to store
Once made, you can store these dark chocolate covered strawberries in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Recipe FAQs
In order to get the chocolate to stick, it’s really important that your strawberries are fully dry before dipping them in the melted chocolate. After washing the strawberries, dry them thoroughly by patting them down with a paper towel before using. If there’s any water on the skin of the strawberries, the chocolate will slide right off.
They will keep well, when stored correctly, for up to 2 days.
I recommend enjoying these strawberries within 12 hours of making them. Make them earlier in the day and enjoy them right away or later in the afternoon or evening for the best flavour and texture.
Yes, for best results, keep them covered in the fridge. This will stop the strawberries from ripening too quickly and will help keep the chocolate solid.
The sweat on chocolate is from condensation. This happens when the temperature changes suddenly. For best results, allow the chocolate on the strawberries to cool at room temperature before storing in the fridge. You can also line your storage container with paper towel, top and bottom, as this will help to protect them a little.
You can leave them on the counter for a day, but keep in mind that the strawberries will ripen much quicker.
How to decorate
I love to top these dark chocolate covered strawberries with walnuts since they contain that extra dose of omega-3s, but you can easily decorate them with other things like….
- Coconut flakes
- A drizzle of white or milk chocolate
- Sprinkles
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Chocolate shavings
- An assortment of nuts
- Hemp hearts
Recipe variations
- Use different chocolate. Dairy or white chocolate both work great.
- Use different nuts. Crushed pecan, peanuts, almond and pistachios are all awesome choices!
- Try a different fruit. This recipe is great with strawberries, but you can also try it with banana halves or apple slices!
More similar recipes
- Chocolate Covered Pecans
- Strawberry Chia Jam
- Healthy Chocolate Baked Donuts
- Chocolate Dipped Clementines
- Chocolate Nice Cream
- Dark Chocolate Stuffed Raspberries
- Chocolate Coconut Balls
- Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries with Walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 pound container of fresh strawberries
- 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips (I used 50%)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Wash strawberries and thoroughly pat them dry with paper towel.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips in 30-second increments until melted and smooth (mine took about 1 minute 30 seconds). Each time, stir well so that the chocolate doesn't burn on the bottom.
- Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Dip strawberries in melted chocolate so that they're about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way covered. Place on lined baking sheet and sprinkle with walnuts, pressing gently to help the nuts adhere to the chocolate.
- Allow the chocolate to harden at room temperature or place the chocolate dipped strawberries in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Once firm, remove from the parchment paper and serve, or store in an air-tight container in the fridge for later.
Notes
- Thoroughly dry the strawberries after washing, otherwise the chocolate won’t adhere properly.
- For best results, use strawberries that are at room temperature to help prevent condensation from forming between the strawberries and chocolate.
- Be sure to check the chocolate frequently when melting to prevent it from burning to the bottom of the bowl.
- Chop walnuts fine enough so that the little pieces stick to the chocolate. If the pieces are too large, they will overtake the strawberries and may not stick very well to the chocolate.
- If you’ve got some extra time, allow the strawberries to set at room temperature for best results.
- These strawberries are best consumed within 12 hours of preparing (although they’re still delicious past that time frame)!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted February 2016 and was updated February 2022 to include more helpful tips and photos.
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