Freeze-dried strawberries in chocolate
Crisp fruit sealed in chocolate, made at home in about half an hour. Amounts in grams, temperatures in Celsius, and the moisture traps that catch people out.
- 25 minPrep
- Makes about 220g, roughly 40 to 60 coated piecesMakes
- EasyLevel
Ingredients
- 200g dark, milk or white chocolate, chopped (a good bar or couverture)
- 20g freeze-dried strawberry slices or whole berries
- 5g freeze-dried strawberry powder, to dust (optional)
- A pinch of flaky sea salt, for dark chocolate (optional)
Method
- Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Dry everything you are about to use, including the bowl, the spatula, the fork and your hands, because one drop of water will turn melted chocolate thick and grainy.
- Weigh the freeze-dried strawberries and keep them sealed until the chocolate is ready, so they do not take up moisture from the air while you work.
- Set aside about 60g of the chopped chocolate and put the other 140g in a dry heatproof bowl.
- Melt the 140g over a pan of barely simmering water, with the base of the bowl clear of the water, or in the microwave in 20 second bursts on medium, stirring between each. Do not let it go above 45°C.
- Take the bowl off the heat and stir in the reserved 60g a little at a time, until it has all melted and the chocolate has cooled to the working temperature in the table below.
- Drop a few strawberry pieces into the bowl, lift each one out on a fork, tap off the excess against the rim and set it on the paper. Work in small batches so the fruit spends as little time in the chocolate as possible.
- Check that every piece is completely sealed. A bare patch is where air moisture gets in, and that is what turns a crisp berry chewy.
- Dust with strawberry powder or a few flakes of sea salt while the chocolate is still wet, if you are using them.
- Leave to set at cool room temperature, ideally around 18°C, for 20 to 30 minutes. Properly tempered chocolate sets hard and glossy without the fridge.
- Store in an airtight jar or tub at cool room temperature.
To make freeze-dried strawberries in chocolate, melt 200g of chocolate to no more than 45°C, cool it to its working temperature of about 31 to 32°C for dark, 29 to 30°C for milk or 28 to 29°C for white, then dip 20g of freeze-dried strawberry pieces a few at a time and set them on greaseproof paper. Two rules decide whether it works: everything must be bone dry, because a single drop of water will seize the chocolate, and every berry must be completely sealed, because any gap lets moisture from the air into the fruit and the crunch is gone within a day.
Why freeze-dried strawberries work better than fresh in chocolate
Fresh strawberries are about 90 per cent water, which is why chocolate slides off them and why dipped fresh strawberries must be eaten the same day. Freeze-dried fruit has had that water removed, so the chocolate grips and the sweets keep for weeks. The catch is that the fruit now wants that water back, so the chocolate must seal it in.
Dry every bowl and utensil before you start, and never put a lid on melting chocolate: the condensing steam alone is enough to ruin it.
Chocolate tempering temperatures in Celsius
Tempering takes the chocolate through three temperatures so the cocoa butter sets in the right crystal form. Do it and the shell snaps and shines; skip it and the sweets are soft and streaky.
| Chocolate | Melt to | Cool to | Dip at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark, 55 to 70% cocoa | 45°C (never above 50°C) | 27 to 28°C | 31 to 32°C |
| Milk | 40 to 45°C | 26 to 27°C | 29 to 30°C |
| White | 40 to 45°C | 26 to 27°C | 28 to 29°C |
The middle column only applies if you cool the chocolate right down and then warm it back up. With the seeding method in the steps above you stop at the dipping temperature and go no lower. Published figures vary a little between makers, so follow your own pack if it prints its numbers.
Tempering for people who will not temper properly
Most home cooks will not stand over a probe thermometer, and the seeding method above is the honest shortcut: melt two thirds of the chocolate, then stir the remaining third in off the heat. Those unmelted pieces cool the mixture and carry the right crystals into it, without a marble slab.
Skip tempering entirely and the chocolate still tastes fine. Set the tray in the fridge for about 10 minutes, then leave it out until it is back at room temperature before sealing the sweets in a jar, or condensation will form on the cold chocolate and soften the fruit.
How much chocolate per gram of freeze-dried fruit
| Fruit | Best chocolate | Fruit per 200g chocolate |
|---|---|---|
| Strawberry slices | dark 55 to 70%, or white | 20g |
| Raspberries | dark 70% | 15 to 20g |
| Blackcurrants | dark 70% or above | 15g |
| Banana slices | milk | 20g |
| Mango | white | 20g |
Whole berries stay crunchiest; slices coat more evenly and go further. Spread leftover chocolate 3 to 4mm thick, scatter freeze-dried raspberries over it and snap it into bark once set.
How to store chocolate-covered freeze-dried strawberries
Keep them in an airtight jar somewhere cool and dark, and eat them within two or three weeks. They go soft rather than off, as the fruit pulls moisture through any thin patch in the coating. The fridge is the wrong place, since chocolate collects condensation each time the tub is opened. See how to store freeze-dried fruit and what to do when freeze-dried fruit has gone soft.
Variations on chocolate-covered freeze-dried fruit
- Salted dark. Sea salt flakes pressed into dark chocolate and strawberry while it is wet.
- Double-dipped. White chocolate, set, then dusted with 5g of strawberry powder.
- Buttons. Discs of chocolate with two or three berries pressed into each.
More ideas are in baking with freeze-dried fruit, and for icing rather than coating there is strawberry buttercream.
Sugar, portions and teeth
These are sweets, and worth treating as sweets. Freeze-dried fruit is concentrated fruit: fresh strawberries are about 90 per cent water, so roughly 10g of freeze-dried fruit is what is left of about 100g of fresh, a concentration of around ten to one. Weight for weight the dry fruit therefore carries far more sugar and calories than the fresh fruit it came from, and the chocolate adds more of both.
As typical values, plain freeze-dried berries commonly land somewhere around 330 to 380 kcal per 100g and plain chocolate around 500 to 600 kcal per 100g, which puts one 4 to 5g coated piece at roughly 20 to 30 kcal. Those are typical ranges rather than figures for any particular pack: products vary with the fruit, the chocolate and the producer, so the label on your own pack is what counts. The fresh to freeze-dried converter does the weight sums for other amounts.
The NHS counts 30g of dried fruit as one of your 5 A Day and advises eating dried fruit as part of a meal rather than as a between-meal snack, to reduce the risk of tooth decay. That portion figure is for plain dried fruit: a chocolate coating is added sugar and fat, it counts as free sugars, and it makes these a treat rather than a way to reach a fruit target. More in freeze-dried fruit and teeth and freeze-dried fruit and 5 A Day.
Children and pets. Crisp, chocolate-coated pieces are a choking risk for babies and young children, and are not a weaning food: follow NHS weaning guidance on freeze-dried fruit for babies and toddlers and ask your health visitor or GP. Chocolate is toxic to dogs and cats, so keep the jar out of reach, and grapes, raisins, sultanas and currants are toxic to dogs too, a dried grape being a raisin. See freeze-dried fruit and pets, and speak to your vet.
Buying chocolate-covered freeze-dried strawberries in the UK
British specialists and health food shops are the place to look: the big supermarkets rarely stock them, and much of what comes up about Aldi or Lidl versions is American rather than British. UK specialists typically sell 50g and 100g bags, and across those sellers chocolate-coated freeze-dried berries have generally worked out at roughly £3 to £6 for a 50g bag and £6 to £11 for 100g (last checked September 2026; prices and stock change constantly), so compare the price per 100g rather than the price on the front of the bag. Our supermarket guide to freeze-dried fruit covers what British shops carry, and the freeze-dried fruit range covers plain fruit if you would rather coat your own.
Crispberry's own shop is not open yet, so nothing on this page is for sale here and we have no prices, stock or delivery times of our own to quote. You can join the list below to hear when it opens.
Start with 200g of dark chocolate and 20g of freeze-dried strawberries, keep every tool dry, seal each berry completely and set the tray on the worktop, not in the fridge. Get those four right and the rest is decoration.
Good questions, short answers
How do you make freeze dried strawberries in chocolate?
Melt 200g of chocolate to no more than 45°C, cool it to its working temperature by stirring in more chopped chocolate, then dip 20g of freeze-dried strawberry pieces a few at a time and lift them out on a fork onto greaseproof paper. Leave them to set at cool room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. Every tool must be completely dry and every piece completely coated.
Which chocolate is best with freeze-dried strawberries?
Dark chocolate of about 55 to 70 per cent cocoa solids gives the best balance, because the sharpness of the fruit needs something to push against. White chocolate is the sweetest pairing and the prettiest, and milk chocolate sits between the two. Buy chocolate rather than cake covering if you want a proper snap.
Do you have to temper chocolate for freeze-dried strawberries?
No, but untempered chocolate sets soft, dull and streaky and melts on your fingers. The easiest way round it is the seeding method, where you melt two thirds of the chocolate and stir the remaining third in off the heat. If you skip tempering altogether, set the tray in the fridge for about 10 minutes, then let it come back to room temperature before you seal the sweets in a jar.
Why has my chocolate gone thick and grainy?
It has almost certainly seized, which happens when a small amount of water gets into melted chocolate. A wet spoon, steam from the pan or a damp bowl is enough. Seized chocolate cannot be dipped, but it is not wasted, as you can stir it into a hot drink or a ganache with milk or cream.
How long do chocolate-covered freeze-dried strawberries keep?
In an airtight container at cool room temperature they usually stay crisp for two to three weeks, as long as every berry is fully sealed in chocolate. They soften rather than spoil, because the fruit slowly takes up moisture from the air. Do not keep them in the fridge, where condensation makes the problem worse.
Can you buy freeze-dried strawberries in chocolate in the UK?
Yes, mainly from specialist freeze-dried fruit shops and health food shops rather than the big supermarkets, and 50g and 100g bags are the usual sizes. Much of what comes up online about Aldi or Lidl versions is American rather than British. Crispberry's own shop is not open yet, so we have no prices, stock or delivery times of our own to quote; you can join the list to hear when it opens.
