Stir together a super creamy, super delish Chocolate Frosting with cocoa powder—and without butter—in minutes. (And with less sugar too!)
Chocolate Frosting with Cocoa Powder
I love eating baked goods but honestly, I kind of hate how many things I have to pull out and wash when making them at home. To help, enter this super simple, one-bowl, no-electric-appliances-needed chocolate frosting!
All you need to make this is a bowl and a spoon and it’s a perfect recipe to cook with the kids too because they can make the whole thing…it’s that easy!
Can you really make chocolate frosting without butter?
Oh my, yes you can! Honestly, I discovered this by mistake. I wanted to make frosting for a cake and was out of my usual cream cheese and butter. But I did have Greek yogurt so I figured it was better than nothing.
And I was SO pleasantly surprised by how good it was that it’s now become my go-to chocolate frosting!
Ingredients You Need
To make this recipe, you’ll need:
- Plain Greek yogurt: I prefer whole milk so it’s as creamy and thick as possible.
- Confectioner’s sugar: This is also known as powdered sugar. It helps the frosting thicken nicely.
- Cocoa powder: Look for an unsweetened variety.
TIP: There’s not a lot of confectioner’s sugar in this recipe, but the amount that’s there helps thicken the frosting and provide just enough sweetness.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the general process for making this easy frosting for cakes or cupcakes. Scroll down to the bottom of the recipe for the full information.
- Add the ingredients to a medium bowl.
- Stir together with a spoon or spatula.
- Use on a cake or cupcakes!
TIP: If your yogurt has any liquid on top, drain it off before you measure out the yogurt.
How to Store
You can make this up to 3 days ahead. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Drain off any liquid, stir together, and add to your cake or cupcakes.
Best Tips for Success
- Dairy-free: Use a dairy-free Greek style yogurt if needed.
- You can try making this with 2-4 tablespoons honey instead of confectioner’s sugar if desired. (I prefer confectioner’s sugar as it makes it more of a traditional frosting consistency. Honey will make a slightly softer frosting.)
- I usually make this with Cabot brand whole milk plain Greek yogurt and it’s delicious.
- I like using SACO brand cocoa powder or Hershey’s special dark.
- This makes enough for my Healthy Chocolate Cake or 10-12 cupcakes. (If you like a lot of frosting on your cupcakes, you may want to do 1.5 times the recipe!)
- Spread onto Healthy Chocolate Cake or Football Cake.
- Or spoon into a zip top storage bag, seal, and trim off one corner. Pipe onto Vanilla Cupcakes, Chocolate Cupcakes, or Banana Cupcakes.
If you try this recipe, please comment and rate the recipe below—I love to hear from you all!
Quick Chocolate Frosting with Cocoa Powder
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4-1/3 cup confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to a medium bowl.
- Stir together with a spatula until uniformly mixed (and a uniform color).
- Spread onto cake. Or spoon into a zip top storage bag, seal, and trim off one corner. Pipe onto cupcakes..
I used 2 Tb. Powdered sugar + 2 Tb. Stevia/monkfruit blend. With 1 c. Whole milk greek yogurt + 1/4 c. Cocoa this was an absolutely perfect frosting. Beautiful creamy texture, beautiful tangy taste – I’ll use this any time I want a chocolate frosting. Thanks a million for posting!