Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Published by Gwen Leron on July 31, 2020 (Updated May 28, 2021)

4.3 from 3 ratings

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One of the best things about this aquafaba chocolate mousse is that NO ONE will know it's made with chickpea water (unless you tell them!). It's rich, creamy, and you can even transform it into a black forest mousse (I'll show you how!).

This 4-ingredient vegan chocolate mousse is THE dessert to make if you want to impress everyone you serve it to.

A close up shot of vegan chocolate mousse in a glass bowl, mousse has whipped cream and a cherry on top.

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This is one of those "happy accident" mistake recipes. No, I didn't invent aquafaba chocolate mousse but I was trying to make it by following a recipe and expected it to turn out the way you would expect a vegan chocolate mousse to turn out:

Light, fluffy, airy, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, and lots of bubbles.

But I made an error when measuring the chocolate and what I ended up with was actually better than what I had originally set out to make.

My version is still fluffy, it has lots of bubbles, it's creamy, and definitely melts in your mouth, but it doesn't have the same light airy texture that a regular mousse does.

THIS one is thicker and a little more dense, and that may sound less than ideal, but stay with me. You're going to have to trust me when I say that this is one of the best chocolate vegan desserts you will ever make.

It contains NO coconut, NO avocado, NO tofu, NO eggs, and definitely NO dairy and all you need is just four-ingredients to pull it all together.

One other thing you'll love is that you're going impress everyone you serve it to. And like I said above, NO ONE will know it contains chickpea water...unless you decide to tell them!

So let's go, let's discuss how to make chocolate mousse with aquafaba so you can also dig in and enjoy this rich, chocolaty beauty of a dessert.

Ingredients You'll Need

You just need four of them: aquafaba, melted chocolate, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar.

Overhead shot of the four ingredients needed to make aquafaba chocolate mousse (chocolate, aquafaba, vinegar, and vanilla).

Ingredient Notes

Aquafaba - You can make your own or get it from a can of unsalted chickpeas. Make sure that it is room temperature before starting. There is no substitute for aquafaba in this recipe.

Apple Cider Vinegar - This is used to stabilize the aquafaba, if you don't have any, white vinegar or lemon juice can be used instead.

Vanilla - A little is needed to further enhance the flavour of the mousse.

Melted Chocolate - I weigh out and melt vegan semisweet chocolate chips when making this recipe but chopped and melted chocolate can also be used. Weighing your chocolate is highly recommended for accuracy. Cocoa powder will not work as a substitute for the melted chocolate. I always use dark chocolate chips / semi-sweet.

Make sure the chocolate chips you use are vegan. Read my article about vegan chocolate chips to find some brands to look for.

How to Make It

(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions at the end of this post.)

Before you start, and this is very important, make sure all of the tools that will come into contact with the aquafaba are free from any oil residue.

I also highly recommend using an electric hand mixer to whip it, a stand mixer can also be used, but an electric hand mixer is my preferred tool

The first thing you need to do is melt the chocolate and set it aside to cool.

Next, you'll whip the aquafaba with the vinegar until it gets to the soft peaks stage. When it gets to soft peaks, add the vanilla and continue whipping.

(I go through everything you need to know about working with aquafaba in my how to whip and use aquafaba post which is a great resource if you're new to working with it.)

Note that the timing I mention below may be different for you depending on the tool you use to whip, what speed you have it set to, and the state of your aquafaba. I use my electric hand mixer and I set it to the highest speed.

1. Within the first few seconds of whipping, the aquafaba will start to form bubbles.

2. After about a 30-seconds, it will start to get foamy and after about a minute, all of it will be foam.

3. After about a minute and a half (or longer), you will be at the soft peaks stage. This is when the aquafaba sticks to the beaters, but flops down when the mixer is held up.

4. After about two and a half minutes of whipping (or longer), you’ll reach the stiff peaks stage, this is when the aquafaba is stiff and it sticks straight out from beaters when the mixer is held up.

A collage of four images showing the progression of aquafaba when whipping it.

After you have reached the stiff peaks stage, whip for another 2 minutes. Next, add the melted chocolate to the whipped aquafaba and mix again.

After you add the chocolate and begin to whip again, you'll notice the aquafaba deflate and become watery, but soon after, the mousse will start to thicken, once that happens, stop whipping. The mousse will be thick, similar to the consistency of buttercream.

For this particular recipe, I don't recommend whipping the aquafaba by hand. It's going to take you a VERY long time to get to the stiff peaks stage and there's the chance your aquafaba will just not be as stable and as strong as it needs to be. You really need a hand mixer or a stand mixer to make this recipe.

A collage of four images showing the second sequence of steps needed to make aquafaba chocolate mousse.

Finally, divide your mousse into separate serving bowls and serve immediately or refrigerate it for later. (I usually split it into four servings, but it can be stretched out to six if you want smaller portions.)

Note that when you refrigerate it, it will firm up a little bit. If you want it to be less firm, remove the bowls from the fridge well before serving time and let them come to room temperature.

When you're ready to serve, you can serve it plain or you can dress it up with a dairy-free whipped cream like coconut whipped cream, fresh berries, or cherries.

A vegan chocolate dessert in a glass bowl topped with dairy-free whipped cream and a fresh cherry.

And look at that texture in the picture below! Soft, bubbly, rich and chocolaty. Not quite like classic chocolate mousse, but better!

If you want to make your mousse a little fancier (if it wasn't already fancy enough!), you can do that by turning it into black forest chocolate mousse. Keep reading to learn how!

A close up shot of dairy-free chocolate mousse on a spoon to show the fluffy, bubbly texture.

Switch it Up: Vegan Black Forest Chocolate Mousse

When I have the time and some frozen cherries in my freezer, I like to make a cherry compote / sauce to layer with the mousse to make an even more decadent, fancy treat.

I've included the recipe for the cherry compote in the recipe below, so pick which version you like, based on the time you have and which version you're craving more. You'll be happy with either result.

A collage of four images showing the second sequence of steps needed to make black forest chocolate mousse.

Expert Tips Before You Start

I've made this aquafaba mousse recipe countless times and when I first started, I had a few mishaps, but I've ironed them out over the past year and I get perfect results every time.

Follow these tips to make sure your recipe turns out perfectly every single time:

Use a glass or metal bowl to whip the aquafaba. Plastic can hold on to oil residue which will cause your aquafaba to not whip properly.
I prefer to use an electric hand mixer any time I whip aquafaba, because I find that it whips faster, and because I'm controlling it, I have a better feel for when I reach the soft and stiff peak stages (see above).
Make sure your aquafaba is room temperature before you start whipping. If it's too cold, the chocolate will seize when it's added and the recipe will not work or you will end up with mousse that's grainy.
After you melt the chocolate, wait until it cools almost all the way down before adding it to the whipped aquafaba. You don't want it to be too hot, but you don't want it to get so cold so it hardens, you want it to be almost room temperature.
I always use a good quality dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate that has a percentage of 51% cacao for this recipe, I find it works perfectly and provides the best balance of sweetness. Stick with a brand that falls within the 50-55% range for best results. However, you can go with a higher cacao percentage if you'd like (the lower the percentage, the sweeter the chocolate). Keep in mind that this may affect the texture of your mousse. You may have to experiment to see what you prefer.
After you hit to stiff peaks stage, make sure to continue mixing for another 2 minutes. If this step is skipped, the mousse will remain watery and not firm up as it should.
Don't skip the apple cider vinegar! This is used as a stabilizer to make the aquafaba whip quicker. It also helps the aquafaba to be strong and not deflate when you stop whipping. And don't worry, the vinegar taste will not come through in your final mousse.
If you plan on making this recipe for a special occasion, practice beforehand so you're comfortable with the recipe.
Read this post from top to bottom before you start. I’ve included a lot of tips and tricks so you get things right. Also read through the actual recipe before getting started.
Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.

Troubleshooting

Aquafaba can be tricky to work with, so read the expert tips above before getting started and if things still did not work out, read through the following to diagnose what went wrong.

My Aquafaba Didn't Whip

Several things could be going on for this to happen:

There was oil on something that came into contact with the aquafaba;
Your aquafaba was too watery;
You didn't whip the aquafaba for long enough or you mixer's speed was not set high enough;
You left out the apple cider vinegar stabilizer;
You made ingredient substitutions or added something extra. It's important to follow this recipe exactly as it's written for it to work. (and no, cocoa powder will not work as a substitute for the melted chocolate)

My Mousse Turned out Grainy

Your chocolate was too warm or your aquafaba was too cold.

My Mousse Turned Out Watery

You added the chocolate too soon before the aquafaba reached stiff peaks or you did not whip the aquafaba for long enough after it reached the stiff peaks stage.

A dessert glass filled with vegan chocolate mousse layered with cherry sauce and whipped cream, and topped with a cherry.

Looking for more vegan desserts to impress? How about this easy vegan crème brûlée? For more ideas, look through all of my vegan dessert recipes.

If You Make This Recipe

Please leave me a comment and rating below and/or post a picture on Instagram and tag me so I can see! (I’m @delightfuladventures on Instagram!)

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