Silken Tofu Chocolate Mousse (Vegan)

This velvety smooth Silken Tofu Chocolate Mousse is incredibly rich and creamy yet egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan. It's also made without cream or butter and much lower in fat than regular chocolate mousse recipes. The best part is that the basic recipe for this creamy chocolate mousse consists of only 3 ingredients and is ready in 15 minutes!

For more silken tofu recipes check out 35+ Silken Tofu Recipes (Savory & Sweet).

For more vegan chocolate treats check out Oat Milk Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies or Peanut Butter Chocolate Cups.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• This tofu mousse recipe includes caramelized cherries for some extra flavor which could also easily be omitted.
• There's no eggs, no cream, no dairy, no gelatine and no coconut included.
• It's much lighter than traditional chocolate mousse recipes and makes a great healthy (ish) treat.
• It's a vegan dessert recipe that's ready in less than 15 minutes!
• It's a great make-ahead dessert and perfect for busy holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Ingredients & Substitution Notes

• Silken Tofu: It's the secret ingredient that makes this chocolate tofu mousse so incredibly creamy and velvety. For best results, it's important to use soft silken tofu, not regular tofu that you would use in savory recipes. Bigger grocery stores usually have it so make sure to carefully read the label. Alternatively, you could order silken tofu online.
• Chocolate: For an extra rich chocolaty taste I recommend using dark chocolate. To keep this a dairy-free chocolate mousse, choose a dairy-free or vegan chocolate of choice. Alternatively, you could use dairy-free chocolate chips or any chocolate of your choice such as vegan milk chocolate.
• Cherries: Could be omitted but I highly recommend adding them for some extra fruity flavor and texture. Chocolate and cherry makes an amazing flavour combination! 
• Maple Syrup: Is used to help sweeten and cook the cherries. Could be replaced by agave syrup or honey if not vegan.
• Brown Sugar: This recipe uses dark chocolate so we added some additional brown sugar to end up with a sweeter mousse. Could be replaced with coconut sugar or white sugar. If you feel that the chocolate mousse is sweet enough without any sugar because you used a pretty sweet type of chocolate, feel free to omit the sugar altogether. 

How to Make Vegan Tofu Chocolate Mousse

With only 5 simple ingredients, this creamy eggless chocolate mousse is super easy to make. The only equipment needed is a high-powered blender (or food processor). Skip steps 1 + 4 if you don't want to include the cherries. 

Step 1: Prepare cherries (optional).

If you decide to include the cherries, then start by preparing them first. If you only want to make a basic 3-ingredient vegan chocolate mousse, then simply skip this step!

Pit cherries and place them, together with the maple syrup and brown sugar into a small saucepan. Let simmer on low heat until cherries are soft.

Once soft, place them into a colander to drain any excess liquid. We want the cherries to be soft and moist but not watery.

Step 2: Melt chocolate.

Put chopped chocolate into a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water (water bath) and let simmer until the chocolate is melted. Alternatively, you could melt the chocolate in the microwave using a microwave-safe bowl

Step 3: Whip up mousse.

Place tofu, melted chocolate and sugar into a food processor (or high-speed blender/ stand mixer) and blend until smooth.

Step 4: Add cherries (optional).

Transfer the chocolate tofu mixture to a large bowl using a rubber spatula. Fold in cherries and mix until well combined. Scoop the mixture into ramekins or glasses and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight for a firmer consistency.

Serve with toppings of choice.

Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Tips for Making this Vegan Chocolate Mousse

• Type of Tofu: It makes the creamy base of this dairy-free chocolate mousse. For the perfect texture, choosing the right type of tofu is crucial! There are different kinds of tofu but this recipe calls for silken tofu, not traditional, firm tofu. They have a very different consistency. Check out the ingredients photo to get an idea of the consistency you should be looking for. I've tried using firm tofu but the chocolate mousse didn't nearly turn out as smooth and velvety. For this recipe I used organic tofu.
• Drain Tofu: If your tofu sits in a lot of water, you'll need to drain it first. Mine didn't have much excess water so I used it right out of the package. 
• Chocolate: I recommend using dark chocolate (I used 70% dark chocolate, dairy-free). It results in an ultra-chocolaty mousse. Also the colour of the mousse looks more chocolate-like.
• Texture: This mousse could be enjoyed right away or stored in the fridge. If you like a firmer consistency, put it in the fridge for a couple of hours and it will thicken up even more. It makes the perfect dessert for when you're short on time because it could be made the day before and refrigerated overnight.
• Serving: Leave some of the cherries for garnish and top with additional toppings of choice such as chocolate chips.

Optional Add-Ins & Toppings

• Vanilla Extract: Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract for some additional vanilla flavours.
• Nut Butter: Adding a tablespoon of Homemade Almond Butter or peanut butter adds some nice nutty flavours.
• Sea Salt: If you're into salty-sweet flavours like me, add a pinch of sea salt!
• Fresh Fruit: The options for toppings are endless. Besides the cherries you could add even more fruit such as fresh berries.
• Homemade Vegan Whipped Cream: I highly recommend adding a big scoop of plant-based whipped cream to make this delicious chocolate mousse even more decadent.
• Nuts: Nuts such as walnuts or roasted hazelnuts would make a great topping!
• Caramel Sauce: For some salty caramel flavours, drizzle Homemade 2-Ingredient Caramel Sauce!

Storage & Freezing

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