These delicious frozen banana pops covered in chocolate are the perfect semi-healthy treat for a hot summer day. Or any day, really.
The frozen bananas taste so similar to ice cream (especially when you use super ripe bananas), but you get the benefit of potassium, no added sugar and no dairy. The Ghirardelli chocolate candy shell is just icing on top.
The Dilly Bar
Does anyone know what I’m talking about when I say Dilly Bar?
Dilly Bars are a sweet treat from good ol’ Dairy Queen that consist of ice cream on a stick, dipped in chocolate. Sounds good, right?
I remember walking down to the Dairy Queen when we were little (probably a 2 mile walk—but at the time, it seemed like an eternity) and it was probably the highlight of the month.
Sitting on the wooden picnic benches, trying to skillfully eat whatever ice cream treat we had chosen without making a giant mess. The Dilly Bars were especially tricky because you bite into the chocolate and the thing starts to fall apart. But who cares? It’s yummy and a perfect reward for walking 2 whole miles in the hot summer sun to get there. 
I won’t try to tell you a frozen banana tastes exactly like ice cream, but it’s a pretty dang good and healthy substitute. If you’ve ever tried out banana froyo, you will know what I mean. The texture is so similar and if you use super ripe bananas, they will be extra sweet and delicious.
It’s also a great substitute for those of us with a lactose aversion. (note: this isn’t a completely dairy free recipe due to the chocolate)
Summer, Please Stay Forever
Summer is slowly slipping away, which is painfully obvious when I’m running outside in a jacket in the morning and my teeth still chatter for the first few minutes. Or the fact that my allergies are going crazy right now (yay running outside with fall allergies).
To pretend like summer is here to stay forever…I’ve created the perfectly semi healthy frozen treat. It’s also super simple and might just trick people into thinking what they are eating isn’t healthy at all. Sneaky sneaky.
Frozen Banana Pops Covered in Chocolate Recipe
These adorable banana pops really aren’t super complicated. It’s a bit of a messy process, but a fun one. Like making cake pops, only wayyyy less time consuming.
Pop pro tip: You will definitely want to freeze the banana pieces before covering them in chocolate. Otherwise the chocolate will take forever to harden and ain’t nobody got time for that. It’s much better to stick the pieces in the freezer for an hour and walk away than stand there for 2 minutes twirling each banana pop around. Just trust me. Plus the sprinkles or whatever you put on the chocolate will slide all over and you will have a giant mess. As is evidenced by the first two that I did.
What You Need:
3-4 bananas
chocolate candy melts –I used these uh-mazing Ghiradelli chocolate candy melts (<-affiliate link. because Ghirardelli is the best. just saying the name makes my mouth water.)
sticks –I used Wilton candy sticks (<-affiliate link. because Wilton is a good brand and you might not know where else to get these bad boys)
chopped nuts or sprinkles for topping
pan + waxed paper for the freezer
coffee cups or something to hold the pops while they harden
optional: a fluffy cat to supervise frozen banana pop making
How to Make:
Slice each banana into 4-5 pieces.
Put each piece onto a stick.
Place all of the banana pieces on the sticks into the freezer. Freeze for an hour.
Melt Ghirardelli chocolate candies according to the package.
Coat the banana pieces with the melted chocolate. Quickly add the chopped nuts or sprinkles.
Twirl the pops to get all of the chocolate drips off. Place pops into coffee mug until they harden.
Storage:
Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two weeks. (maybe longer. mine didn’t last longer than this though.)
[Tweet “I gotta try these frozen banana pops covered in chocolate. #imasemihealthnut #nom”]
Tell me…
Have you ever tried a frozen banana?
Are you hanging on to summer or slurping pumpkin lattes today? (I may be hanging onto summer, but I’m not opposed to pumpkin everything!!)
PS I would LOVE IT if you could pin one (or two!) of these images! You should also check out my pumpkin board…because it’s almost pumpkin season!!
Follow Diary of a Semi-Health Nut’s board Food [ Pumpkin ] on Pinterest.
Linking up to: Fitness Friday, Weekend Potluck (All of the lovely link-ups I participate in here.)
Dilly bars were a part of my childhood! I only ate the butterscotch flavored Dilly bars though. It was my favorite. Hmmm, maybe one could melt butterscotch chips and freeze that coating onto a frozen banana…
I feel like you might need to try the butterscotch thing and report back. 😉
My mom used to make us these as kids. SO good. Sometimes i get the premade kind at the store, but they’re so much money for something so easy to make!
Your mom sounds like an awesome lady, Morgan! I’ve never seen pre-made ones! When I saw frozen banana pops on Pinterest my mind was blown haha.
YUM! Pinned these 🙂
Yay! Thanks so much, Jess! <3
Yessss. So good! When I tried making banana pops recently, I didn’t freeze the bananas first, and it was a wee bit difficult to not destroy them. Haha. They turned out, but this makes much more sense.
Yes!! I think using smaller portions of banana helps too. I saw full banana pops on Pinterest, but I feel like those would fall off the stick more easily.
Loved your list of things to make with frozen bananas BTW!! So many possibilities!
I’ve never tried eating a frozen banana but your recipe makes it tempting. Imagine it dipped in peanut butter. Yum! Have a great weekend Amanda.
You should really try it, Jill! I think I need to try the peanut butter thing…banana, peanut butter and chocolate?? DROOL.
We love frozen chocolate dipped bananas! I think we over did it on them a couple summers ago so we haven’t been eating them as much though. We love to add peanut butter or chopped nuts to ours!
Peanut butter sounds amazing!! Thanks for the suggestion, Sarah!
Thankfully this is my first time trying it so I’m not sick of them yet haha.
Healthy dessert that still includes chocolate? Gotta love it! Thanks for linking your great recipe to Merry Monday! Hope you’ll come back and party with us this week!
Yesss. Chocolate is totally healthy. Antioxidants and whatnot. 😉
The rcipe and photos look great, Nice work Amanda
Thank you so much!