When in doubt, keep it simple! Following this one little suggestion has helped me tremendously in the kitchen and John used this simplistic approach over the weekend to whip up a delicious dip. We picked up a box of strawberries from the farmers market this weekend and the yummy berries were the vessel of inspiration for my husband’s simple yet fabulous creation.
Before we get into the food I must say; John, you continue to amaze and impress me with everything you do for our little family, including your fun and silly adventures in the kitchen with the kids. Also, I must point out that you have come a long way (with your cooking skills) from that burnt spam and fried rice guy that I met a long long time ago, and for that I am grateful.
Here is the recipe for John’s Decadent Fruit Dip and the two ways we enjoyed it. As you will see in the pictures below, I also made a fresh salsa that we have dumped on our eggs and just about everything else we have eaten this weekend as well. I used this recipe for the salsa but added in a few tomatillos and fresh squeezed lime juice.
Decadent Fruit Dip
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ripe bananas
2 teaspoons coconut flour
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Optional)
Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender, except for the cocoa powder, and blend until smooth. If desired, pour out half of the mixture and add the cocoa powder to the food processor with the other half of the dip. Process again until the dip is well mixed. Now you have 1 vanilla dip and 1 chocolate dip! Makes 1 cup of vanilla and 1 cup of chocolate. After some time in the refrigerator, the dip will become even thicker.
We dipped strawberries and apples into the Decadent Fruit Dip on Saturday. On Sunday morning, I made some crepes inspired by Mark Sisson’s recipe for coconut flour pancakes but I made it with 7 eggs rather then 4 to make them a bit thinner and more “crepe” like. I then spread the inside of the crepes with the dip and stuffed them with sliced strawberries. What a fun weekend treat for the boys and I hope your family enjoys as well!
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Kari says
July 25, 2011 at 9:39 amWhat did you use instead of butter?
Sarah says
July 25, 2011 at 9:47 amFor what?
Adam says
July 25, 2011 at 10:48 amDo you grease the pan with coconut oil or olive oil to ensure that the crepes don’t stick while cooking?
Sarah says
July 25, 2011 at 12:45 pmI greased my griddle with grass fed butter but you can also use coconut oil!
christina says
July 25, 2011 at 11:13 amSounds yummy! Thanks for the website recipes! What can I use as a substitute for coconut flour/milk? My son went from peanut allergy to tree nuts, coconut and mustard when we shifted to Paleo.
Sarah says
July 25, 2011 at 12:44 pmYou can try it with almond milk and try a little arrowroot powder to thicken it!
Rachel H says
July 31, 2011 at 12:07 pmAlmonds are to be avoided on Paleo, AND are tree nuts, so I don’t think so.
Flax or hemp milk, hemp flour. https://www.miraclesource.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=12 Just a source for info; check locally.
Danielle says
October 15, 2011 at 12:21 pmRachel – Check your sources. Almonds and tree nuts are absolutely ok on Paleo. It’s legumes, which include peanuts, that aren’t.
Jessica Basinger says
July 25, 2011 at 11:19 amWhere could a person find coconut flour and coconut milk? Whole foods? Trader Joes?
Sarah says
July 25, 2011 at 12:43 pmWhole foods probably carries it. Trader Joes has coconut milk but not the full fat kind. Most grocery stores have coconut milk in the Asian foods section. My favorite brands of coconut milk are Chaokoh, Mae Ploy, and Native Forest. Also, check out http://www.tropicaltraditions.com for awesome coconut products!
Gwen says
July 26, 2011 at 5:27 pmThanks for the recipe! I plan on making it for a party I’m hosting this weekend. One question about the Chakoh brand – do you know if it is reported to have BPA? Or is it BPA free?
giftty says
July 27, 2011 at 2:10 amHi,
I am Thai, so I am quite familiar with coconut milk. Chao Kao and Mae Ploy are both from Thailand, but recently I tried Aroi Dee and feel like its creamier or more ‘full fat’. (When you cook any kind of Thai curry with coconut milk, you need to cook the coconut milk until it yields its fat out. This can be noticed by seeing fat floating on the surface of the curry.)
Sarah says
July 27, 2011 at 7:14 amAwesome Giftty, thanks so much for the tip! : )
Samantha says
July 27, 2011 at 11:01 amI just recently bought the coconut milk that is in the fridge section. is that what you sued? or did you use canned coconutmilk?
Carol says
January 5, 2013 at 11:20 pmI recently found a recipe for making your own coconut milk that looked pretty easy. I haven’t tried it though. Just BING or GOOGLE “homemade coconut milk” or “make your own coconut milk” or something along those lines.
anya says
July 25, 2011 at 11:26 amcoconut milk from the can or “so delicious” from box? I never know which kind when it says coconut milk! 🙂
Sarah says
July 25, 2011 at 12:42 pmI use from the can. My favorite brand is the Chaokoh brand.
Veronica says
July 25, 2011 at 11:55 amLooks amazing! will have to try this weekend 🙂
Mrs. F says
July 25, 2011 at 12:11 pmHi Sarah, I made your basil walnut pesto this weekend, and it came out rather bitter. Have you had this experience? Any recommendations on how to avoid that? Toast the walnuts? Roast the garlic? I was thinking of doing either of those or maybe adding a dab of coconut milk or heavy cream. Thanks for your inspiring recipes!
Ivy (aka Mrs. F.)
Debra Ann says
July 25, 2011 at 12:23 pmI bought some fresh blueberries yesterday and made blueberry crepes and stuffed also with blueberries and toped with blueberry butter.. Love the dip that has been something I was meditating on also salsa..
Stacy says
July 25, 2011 at 12:39 pmsounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it.
Angela S. says
July 25, 2011 at 4:29 pmhmmm, I’ve been looking at your book and trying to decide if I want to buy it. What I’m concerned about is it looks like a lot of paleo recipes call for coconut products. My household does not do coconut. At all. My husband is the least picky eater I know and he won’t eat coconut. Is there another way to get the creamy texture for some of the meals or to add the sweetness to desserts?
Sam says
July 26, 2011 at 2:02 amSee above comment on using almond milk.
Painful being paleo sometimes, huh?!
Rachel H says
July 31, 2011 at 11:41 am“My husband is the least picky eater I know and he won’t eat coconut.”
Has he ever tried coconut milk, flour or oil?
If he hates the flavor of coconut, then he may not like them. If he hates texture of coconut, then he won’t know.
And if he’s your least picky eater, then life must be difficult for you. Coconut tastes yummy.
Gluten intolerance, corn allergies and a pathological hatred of liver lives in my house. Gluten and corn avoidance is sometimes difficult, but to avoid coconut, too? OUCH!
Kari says
July 26, 2011 at 2:15 amThe crepes recipe calls for butter. What did you use instead?
Sarah says
July 26, 2011 at 7:24 amOhhh, you must have been looking at his coconut bread recipe, there’s no butter in the pancakes. This is the recipe right below it on the page for the pancakes, I just added 3 more eggs to this same recipe to make them thinner like crepes. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/coconut-flour/
Coconut Pancakes
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup coconut milk (full fat)
Method:
Mix these ingredients and let them sit for five minutes. Oil or grease up your pan and heat over medium heat. Pour about a 1/4 cup of batter for each crepe, allowing each side to brown before flipping it.
Matt says
July 26, 2011 at 9:10 amHere are the coconut pancake ingredients. No butter needed.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup coconut milk (full fat)
Matt says
July 26, 2011 at 9:12 amI missed Sarah’s comment .. oops!
I just ordered some coconut flour from Amazon to make these. Can’t wait!
Gwen says
July 26, 2011 at 6:05 amHey Sarah! Thanks for the awesome recipe! I can’t wait to try it, especially with the crepes. Speaking of crepes, do you think you could use the same recipe to make coconut quesadilla shells? I looove mexican food and am constantly doctoring up mexican recipes to make them paleo. I have a quesadilla maker but wonder how the batter would do….what are your thoughts?
Sarah says
July 26, 2011 at 9:34 amI don’t think the batter would hold up in a quesadilla maker but I think you could for sure use it as a base for Mexican inspired dishes!
Charlotte says
July 26, 2011 at 6:24 amGood god that looks A-MAZ-ING. Droooool.
David says
July 26, 2011 at 7:34 amWow, this looks great. I might even be able to get my kids(the pickiest eaters in the entire world) to eat those crepes. My wife will love them, too. She gets bored with my typical breakfast, which is just some combination of meat and eggs.
Karen says
July 26, 2011 at 1:33 pmI made the dip right after reading your post yesterday and then the crepes this morning for breakfast, I just could not wait! My crepes turned out more like pancakes, I forgot an egg :D, but they were still delicious. I topped them off with the dip and some strawberries. I have to say I think this is a new favorite in my house! I’ve enjoyed making many of the recipes in your book and from your blog, they’ve all been wonderful. Thank you so much for everything; your blog posts, informational and recipes, as well as your book have made my new lifestyle change much easier then I anticipated it to be!
Sincerely,
Karen
PJ says
July 30, 2011 at 9:54 amDaughter is highly allergic to coconut. Is almond milk a good substitute? Sorry for asking this, but I couldn’t find the comment about almond milk that is referred to in Sam’s reply to Angela S. :/
Sarah says
July 30, 2011 at 5:46 pmYes, you can use almond milk!
Primal Toad says
July 31, 2011 at 5:32 amLooks absolutely phenomenal!
Savannah Salmans says
August 1, 2011 at 6:19 pmSarah,
This fruit dip is GREAT!!! My family loves it. I also want to thank you for your blog. I have been following you for a few months (when we started Paleo) and Everyday Paleo has become my food bible and I have pretty much made EVERYTHING in it. You have helped our family easily change to this lifestyle. Keep up the great work.
Katie says
August 5, 2011 at 6:35 amIs there anything you substitue for coconut flour in the pancake recipe? I see you suggested arrowroot flour for the dip would this be the same for the pancakes?
Thanks!
Sarah says
August 10, 2011 at 10:14 pmYou can always make almond meal pancakes instead, they won’t turn out as crepe like and you’ll need to use a different recipe. You can also do one with almond butter, bananas, and eggs like this one here if you like. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/almond-banana-pancakes/
Jennifer says
August 6, 2011 at 11:33 amThese crepes are fantastic! I used leftovers wrapping almond butter and fruit for my daughters lunch – those will be a lunch box staple 🙂
Sarah says
August 10, 2011 at 10:12 pmGreat idea!!
Julie says
August 14, 2011 at 12:05 pmTried the fruit dip yesterday for a party I was going to – it was a HIT! Most of the people there were more-or-less paleo, and even the people who weren’t-so-much thought the dip was divine. Perfect sweetness and great taste. I made one small adjustment however: I added a heaping spoonful of coconut butter to the food processor since I thought it was a little thin and runny (maybe cos it was really hot here yesterday!) The coconut butter made it perfect, almost custard-like.
Thank you again – I like to refer people to you for site – the way you explain things is really accessible to just about everyone and your recipes are amazing.
Niall says
August 18, 2011 at 5:33 amMade the pancakes today. They were not bad but almost had the crunchiness of a toasted tortilla. I tried to make them thicker and they were a bit softer. Very savoury though. Definitely need more vanilla and definitely need some honey or fruit.
Natalie says
August 30, 2011 at 6:40 amHi There!
I have been toying with the idea of becoming paleo. I’m not too far off currently but haven’t been able to kick a few of my bad habits (dairy). I see that coconut milk is used in a lot of recipes, and while I love the flavor I’m a little worried about the fat content. It is very high in saturated fat which is bad for my gentically high cholesterol. What are your thoughts?
Sarah says
August 30, 2011 at 8:08 amBy switching to paleo you will be amazed at what it will do for your “genetically high cholesterol.” Believe it or not, it’s the sugar, grains, and starches that contribute to high cholesterol and not eating foods with naturally occurring cholesterol or eating saturated fats. I urge you to read Robb Wolf’s book The Paleo Solution and start by first checking out these articles as well.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/the-cholesterol-myth-that_b_676817.html
http://paleodietlifestyle.com/fear-of-saturated-fat-and-cholesterol/
http://thepaleodiet.blogspot.com/2010/03/paleo-diet-q-saturated-fat.html
Suzanne says
September 9, 2011 at 7:38 amA friend of mine made this dip and said it was amazing, and that if she had an ice cream maker, she’d make Paleo ice cream with it. I *DO* have an ice cream maker, so I’m curious — do you think that’d work? 🙂
Brenda says
January 4, 2012 at 10:24 amwill definately make this today. Thanks
Ashley says
February 4, 2012 at 2:25 pmCan I use strawberries instead of bananas for the fruit dip? It didn’t tasted like Vanilla, only bananas. I like bananas but not for a fruit dip lol. Thanks!
Sarah says
February 5, 2012 at 8:03 amSure, you can give it a try with strawberries but it probably won’t have the same consistency.
Angela says
June 3, 2012 at 7:43 amI use a similiar recipe and it works great as a pudding. Replace the bananas with an avocado, the consistancy is great and flavor amazing when I have a chocolate craving! 🙂
Sarah says
June 3, 2012 at 8:54 amThanks for the tip with the avocado Angela, yum!!
Michelle says
February 10, 2012 at 2:02 pmCan not wait to try this!!!
Cindy says
March 3, 2012 at 11:25 amSarah,
I’ve often lamented that breakfast is difficult for my granddaughter because she is allergic to eggs. I’ve also been craving Waldorf Salad, but the mayo has eggs in it, so didn’t want to eat in front of her. Problems solved! Your fruit dip as a substitute for Mayo allowed me to make either Vanilla or Chocolate Waldorf Salad AND is a perfect accompaniment to any breakfast meat! MAHALO!
My granddaughter loves Chocolate Waldorf Salad!
michelle says
May 1, 2012 at 1:47 pmI’m going to make this for Moms Group on Friday morning! I LOVE your blog and I LOVE your FB page! Thank you for sharing!!! xoxo
Cindy M says
June 9, 2012 at 2:22 pmCan you tell me if you can use Stevia on this “diet”? It is a plant.
Janelle says
July 20, 2012 at 7:08 pmI made this dip for my gluten-intolerate boyfriend. I toasted coconut and toasted almond slivers to “double-dip” with. The dip is a little runny so I like the previous post about adding coconut butter to thicken it up. I’m excited to make it again!
JamieW says
August 14, 2012 at 1:41 pmHow do the “pancakes” do in the refridge for a day or 2? I’d love to make these ahead of time for school days.
Sarah says
August 15, 2012 at 8:16 amI haven’t kept them in the fridge to know how well they keep – when I do make these, they all get eaten the same day…. : (
Whitney says
August 24, 2012 at 10:18 amCan you replace coconut flour with almond flour for the fruit dip? I’ve called around everywhere and looked everywhere for coconut flour and Whole Foods is the only one that sells it & that’s 1 1/2 hours away! I would LOVE to make this fruit dip but aren’t sure how I can adjust it to leave out the coconut flour? Please help! 🙂 🙂
Sarah says
August 24, 2012 at 4:58 pmYou can always order coconut flour from Tropical Traditions! I haven’t tried to make this dip with almond flour so I’m not sure what it would do to the consistency but as far as taste is concerned I’m sure it would be fine! I say experiment away and see what happens, either way, it will by yummy! : )
tiffany says
March 23, 2013 at 6:46 amHow long does the dip keep in the refrigerator?
Deb says
May 9, 2013 at 11:10 amWondering about changing up the recipe a little bit. I haven’t been a huge fan of coconut milk, but perhaps that will change in time. I’m starting the Whole30 plan and they encourage us not to use coconut flour. So I’m wondering if you could use almond milk instead of coconut milk and instead of the flour use frozen bananas to give it a whipped texture for dipping? Thoughts?
Sarah says
May 10, 2013 at 7:38 amWell, since I haven’t done it that way I can’t say for sure it would work but I have a feeling whatever consistency you end up with the TASTE would be very yummy! Maybe more smoothie like?? Let me know how it turns out if you try it!!
Crystal says
October 13, 2013 at 9:22 pmI’m starting a paleo life style tomorrow and I just know your site is going to be my new go to site! Love it already and gives me hope that I can really change my whole family (2kids and hubby) paleo.
Tara says
January 14, 2015 at 10:39 pmI am always looking for a quick dessert recipe to take to gatherings. I’ve spent crazy amounts of time preparing amazingly awesome desserts for other people that are gluten & dairy free or Paleo and they just slap it down on their plates next to the big slice of gluten-filled cake! It drives me crazy because they can’t appreciate how hard life is having Celiac Disease. So instead of frustrating myself, I usually end up bringing a fruit tray now because it’s something I can eat along with everyone else. This dip should make the perfect addition and I am going to try this next week at my next gathering! Thanks so much for sharing this great idea!
Sarah says
January 16, 2015 at 7:54 amSo glad this simplified things for you Tara, let me know what you think? Thank you!!