Chocolate lasagna usually means a pan of cookie crumbs, instant pudding, whipped topping and crushed candy canes. This sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna keeps the layered look and the cool, creamy bite, and rebuilds every layer from scratch in a small 5Ć5-inch pan that never sees the oven.
One thing to clear up before you start: the red-and-white bits in the photo are not candy canes. They are homemade flecks made from powdered allulose, alcohol-free peppermint flavoring and sugar-free red food coloring, and there is no candy cane anywhere in this sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna.
Each square of this sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna lands at about 137 calories with 4g net carbs, 7g protein, 9g fat, 2g fiber and 6g total carbs. The 5Ć5-inch square pan, two and a half inches deep, gives nine squares, which is a good size for a Christmas dessert table.
Why Youāll Love This Sugar-Free Chocolate Peppermint Lasagna
Three distinct layers do all the work: a cocoa almond crust that is pressed and chilled rather than baked, a dense chocolate cream, and a tall peppermint cream lightened with whipped cream and set with gelatin. Each layer is chilled before the next one goes on, so the squares cut clean all the way down.
The finish is deliberately quick. A thin drizzle of melted Lilyās dark chocolate chips runs over the top, and the homemade flecks go on last, so decorating this sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna takes about as long as melting the chocolate.
If you like the same cold-set approach, sugar-free chocolate chip cheesecake bars also come out of a 5Ć5-inch pan, with nine bars and a cold cheesecake filling.
For something you can hand out as candy instead of slicing, our sugar-free peppermint bark breaks into twelve pieces from an 8Ć8-inch pan.
Ingredient Notes
The crust is chopped roasted almonds, unsweetened cocoa, oat fiber, melted butter and powdered allulose. Pressed firmly into the pan and chilled for 20 minutes, it sets into a firm, nutty base that anchors the whole sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna without any oven time.
Both cream layers start the same way. Philadelphia NeufchĆ¢tel is beaten with powdered allulose, then loosened with FAGE Total 0% Greek yogurt, which keeps the filling light enough to stay creamy in the fridge instead of turning dense.
Two teaspoons of unflavored gelatin, one for each cream layer, do all the setting in this sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna. Blooming them in cold water and dissolving them gently is the step that decides whether your layers slice cleanly.
Heavy whipping cream goes into the peppermint layer only, whipped to soft peaks and folded in for an airy texture.
Lilyās dark chocolate chips appear only in the drizzle. They are sugar-free dark chocolate baking chips, melted gently and loosened with warm unsweetened almond milk stirred in gradually.
The flecks are 1 tsp powdered allulose, a tiny amount of alcohol-free peppermint flavoring and sugar-free red food coloring. They are dropped in tiny pieces and left to dry, which is why they hold their shape on top of the squares.
Allulose is a rare sugar, not a sugar alcohol, and the FDA allows it to be excluded from the total sugars and added sugars lines on a nutrition label. Reference values for the almonds and plain Greek yogurt used here are in the USDA FoodData Central database.
How to Make Sugar-Free Chocolate Peppermint Lasagna
Press and Chill the Chocolate Almond Crust
Line the pan with parchment. Mix the crust ingredients together, press the mixture firmly into the pan and chill it for 20 minutes. The parchment makes it easy to lift the squares out later, so cut it to the corners and let the sides stand up a little.
Make the Chocolate Cream Layer
Bloom 1 tsp unflavored gelatin in 1 tbsp cold water for 5 minutes, then dissolve it gently without boiling.
Beat 3 oz NeufchĆ¢tel with 3 tbsp powdered allulose, then mix in the Greek yogurt and unsweetened cocoa until smooth.
Temper the dissolved gelatin with two spoonfuls of the filling, then mix it into the chocolate cream.
Spread this chocolate cream over the chilled crust and chill for 30 to 40 minutes, until it is lightly set.
Make the Peppermint Cream Layer
Bloom and dissolve the second teaspoon of gelatin in cold water, keeping it separate from the chocolate layer. Gelatin that has already been tempered cannot be revived, so give each layer its own small bowl.
Beat 3 oz NeufchĆ¢tel with 2Ā½ tbsp powdered allulose, the yogurt and the peppermint flavoring.
Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks and fold it in. Temper the gelatin with a little of the filling, then incorporate it.
Spread the peppermint cream over the set chocolate layer and refrigerate at least 5 hours. This is the long wait in the sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna, and it is what gives you a slice that holds its shape instead of slumping on the plate.
If you would rather serve one tall slice than nine squares, sugar-free mint chocolate cream pie is built on the same NeufchĆ¢tel, yogurt and gelatin base.
Add the Chocolate Drizzle and Cut
Melt the chocolate chips gently. Warm the almond milk before stirring it in gradually, because cold milk will seize the chocolate.
Mix the remaining powdered allulose, peppermint flavoring and red food coloring into tiny decorative flecks and let them dry. These flecks are what you see in the photo, and they are not candy canes.
Cut the set sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna into 9 squares, drizzle with the chocolate, add the flecks and chill for 10 minutes before serving.
Success Tips
Temper the gelatin to prevent lumps. Mixing the dissolved gelatin into two spoonfuls of filling first, then folding that back into the bowl, keeps a grainy or stringy layer out of this sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna.
Chill each layer for clean separation. Twenty minutes for the crust and 30 to 40 minutes for the chocolate cream give the top layer of the sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna something solid to sit on.
Keep the chocolate drizzle thin. A little goes a long way on the nine squares, and a heavy pour sets hard and hides the flecks.
Add the decorations just before serving. The flecks soften if they sit on the surface for a long time, and the drizzle keeps its shine.
Warm the almond milk first. It is the smallest step here and the one that most often turns a smooth drizzle grainy.
Storage
Refrigerate the leftovers of this sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna covered, up to three days. The recipe gives no freezer times, so treat this as a refrigerator dessert and cut squares as you serve them.
For another Christmas dessert built on the same NeufchĆ¢tel and Greek yogurt base, sugar-free yule log cake rolls that filling into a sponge and frosts it like bark.
FAQ
Do I need to bake this chocolate lasagna?
No. The crust is mixed, pressed into the pan and chilled for 20 minutes instead of baked, and both cream layers are set cold with gelatin, so nothing in this sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna goes in the oven.
Are the red and white bits candy canes?
There are no candy canes in this recipe at all. The bits on top are homemade flecks made from powdered allulose, alcohol-free peppermint flavoring and sugar-free red food coloring, which is how the classic version gets its red-and-white look without the sugar.
How long does the lasagna need to chill?
The crust chills for 20 minutes, the chocolate layer chills for 30 to 40 minutes until lightly set, and then the assembled sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna refrigerates for at least 5 hours. The recipe lists total chill and rest time as 5 hours 30 minutes on top of 30 minutes of prep.
How many servings does the 5Ć5-inch pan make?
Nine squares from this sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna. Each one is about 137 calories with 4g net carbs, 7g protein, 9g fat, 2g fiber and 6g total carbs.
What is the chocolate drizzle made from?
Sugar-free dark chocolate baking chips (Lilyās) melted gently and loosened with 1 tsp unsweetened almond milk, poured thin over the squares of this sugar-free chocolate peppermint lasagna just before the last 10-minute chill.
Sugar-Free Chocolate Peppermint Lasagna (No-Bake)
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Line pan with parchment. Mix crust ingredients, press firmly into pan and chill 20 minutes.
- Bloom chocolate-layer gelatin in cold water 5 minutes; gently dissolve without boiling.
- Beat chocolate-layer Neufchatel and allulose. Mix in yogurt and cocoa until smooth.
- Temper gelatin with two spoonfuls of filling; mix into chocolate cream.
- Spread over crust. Chill 30-40 minutes until lightly set.
- Bloom and dissolve peppermint-layer gelatin separately.
- Beat peppermint-layer Neufchatel, allulose, yogurt and peppermint flavoring.
- Whip cream to soft peaks; fold in. Temper gelatin with filling, then incorporate.
- Spread peppermint cream over chocolate. Refrigerate at least 5 hours.
- Melt chocolate chips gently. Warm almond milk before stirring in gradually.
- Mix remaining allulose, peppermint flavoring and red coloring into tiny decorative flecks; let dry.
- Cut into 9 squares. Drizzle chocolate, add flecks and chill 10 minutes.
Notes
- Temper gelatin to prevent lumps.
- Chill layers for clean separation.
- Keep chocolate drizzle thin.
- Add decorations just before serving.
- Refrigerate covered up to 3 days.