Banana Ghosts with Chocolate-Sweet Potato Dip

Are you ready for the spookiest, silliest Halloween treat ever? You’re in the right place!

Today I’m showing you how to make some hilariously undead banana ghosts and a graveyard of healthy chocolate “mud.”

Because there’s nothing I love more than lighthearted Halloween fun. This is no doubt thanks to my mom, who always had a blast with our Halloween parties! She made plaster of Paris pumpkin and witch ornaments for us kids to paint, laughed along as my friends and I bobbed for apples, played Monster Mash on the stereo, and served peeled grape “eyeballs” and spider-web cupcakes. She was all about yummy treats and spooky—but not scary—celebration.

So really, I’m just carrying on a proud family tradition with this ghoulish, yet goofy, graveyard dip…

Of course, since this is Veggie Quest, this tasty treat isn’t just good fun, but good for you too. We’re talking 115% of the daily value of vitamin A in a single serving of dip alone! Oh, and did I mention that the dastardly dip is low fat, gluten free, and vegan? (Not nearly as scary as store-bought Halloween treats!)

The secret? Sweet potatoes! Unlike regular potatoes, they aren’t grainy at all. So a quick trip through the food processor with cocoa, vanilla, and a hint of coffee turns these tubers into a smooth, creamy chocolate dip.

Which just so happens to be the perfect partner for banana ghosts and a yummy base for this kooky, not-so-spooky graveyard scene.

So round up your kids (or just a few kids at heart) and have a blast making this haunted Halloween treat!

Boo!

Step by step: Banana ghosts with healthy chocolate dip

What you’ll need:

• 1 recipe of Healthy Chocolate Frosting
• 4 Tbsp almond milk
• 2 c shredded sweetened coconut
• food coloring: artificial green + yellow or DIY green + blue food coloring (I used natural; DIY food coloring how-to video)
• 2 strips of fruit leather (or 4 oblong crackers/cookies)
• White decorator icing with writing tip
• 4+ bananas, depending on the size of your plate/platter
• chocolate chips (a combo of mini and regular works best)

1. Make chocolate dip

Make a batch of healthy chocolate sweet potato frosting. Add 3-4 Tbsp almond milk to the food processor at the end to turn the frosting into a dip. You’ll have about 3 cups of dip.

Place in serving bowl.

2. Color your coconut “grass”

In a pinch bowl, mix your food coloring. Use the following colors and amounts, depending on whether you’re using natural or artificial food coloring:

• DIY natural food coloring (how-to video here): 4 tsp green + 2 tsp blue. Mix before adding to coconut.
• Artificial food coloring: 24 drops green + 8 drops yellow.

In a mixing bowl, add food coloring to coconut. Stir to evenly distribute. You’ll have plenty of “grass” for even a large platter. (I had lots left over.)

3. Make your tombstones

Cut each fruit leather strip in half. Pipe on “RIP” or whatever else you’d like.

I called up Betty, and the icing is vegan. However, it does contain soy.

4. Assemble graveyard

Decide where you want your tombstones and mark those locations with the bottom of a “stone.” (Use 3 or 4 tombstones depending on how big your bowl is.) Sprinkle green coconut at those locations.

Insert tombstones.

Done!

5. Make your ghost bananas (a.k.a. boonanas!)

Cut most of your bananas into two uneven pieces, so you end up with tall ghosts and short ghosts. Cut the rest into halves (average-height ghosts 😉 ).

Place banana ghosts on the plate. I love having them fly out in all directions! You’ll want to do this at the serving table, since these ghosts like to fall over.

Now that you know which part of each banana will be facing forward, you can add faces. Gently press chocolate chips into each banana for the eyes and mouth. (I liked having the pointy part of the chip facing out on the eyes, because I thought it looked like pupils. But it’s easier to stick the chips pointy side in.) Replace each ghost as you go.

6. Add grass

Place coconut “grass” between your ghosts. A teaspoon and a clean pair of tweezers makes this easier. A steady hand helps, too—it feels a lot like the game Operation! And, like Operation, it can be a little challenging.

Especially when your husband yells “EEENH!” like the game buzzer every time you touch a banana. I’m talking to you, Jeff!

Done!

But it’s all worth it, because you did it! You’re the proud owner of a healthy, hilarious chocolate-dip-graveyard filled with goggle-eyed ghost bananas that kids and adults love.

Hope you have as much fun making this as we did!

Jeff really wanted me to put this in. Never have we looked more glamorous!

Update: Just realized I forgot something really important: Even though I’m snapping a pic in the photo above, this post marks Jeff’s food photography debut! He took pretty much all of the step-by-step photos and some of the finished pictures, too. He’s picking up food photography like a boss—I think he’s going to be better than me in no time. Let’s hear it for Jeff!

Shared on Party Gals Linky Party, Halloween Spook-tacular Linky Party, #strangebutgood, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Gluten-Free Fridays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Plant-Based Potluck Party, and VeganYoFo.