- June 24, 2022
- by Amy Gorin, MS, RDN
- 0 Comments
Chocolate Nice Cream
Here’s a two-ingredient chocolate nice cream you can whip up in minutes. The dairy-free ice cream is so tasty!
How to make dairy-free ice cream? I’m about to tell you how. This chocolate banana nice cream recipe is so delicious and healthy. And you can whip up a batch in just minutes.
Love a good ‘ol chocolate ice cream cone? Well, here’s a sweet dessert with no added sugar and a whole lot of vitamins and minerals. This dairy-free ice cream recipe is super easy to make and requires almost no cooking know-how.
Why nice cream is healthy
I like ice cream a lot. My go-to is mint chocolate chip—it’s so delicious! I tend to not keep any ice cream in the house, though, because that would be super tempting.
While I love hitting up my neighborhood ice cream shop, I’ve recently enjoyed making my own fruit-based ice cream.
It’s typically a frozen fruit-based dessert (try tossing frozen sliced bananas in a food processor—it’s delicious) and it sometimes includes dairy, like Greek yogurt. Or it may have a be coconut based and be made with coconut milk
Nice cream is a healthier alternative to ice cream: A ½ cup serving of chocolate ice cream has 143 calories, but most fruit-based ice creams have many less calories. This chocolate nice cream contains just 106 calories and a minimal amount of fat.
Fruit-based frozen treats are growing in popularity, with almost 45 percent of U.S. consumers saying they’re buying non-dairy frozen treats, per a survey by research firm Mintel.
Ingredients
For this chocolate banana nice cream, I made a really simple, yet delicious, frozen fruit ice cream with frozen banana slices and unsweetened cocoa powder.
You only need two ingredients to make chocolate nice cream. Here they are:
Bananas: These make the nice cream creamy. To get them perfectly frozen, I recommend peeling, slicing, and freezing them the night before.
I eat so many bananas that my husband jokingly calls me a monkey. Bananas are just so versatile and convenient. I can slice one and add it to my morning Greek yogurt parfait, and I can easily stick one in my bag for an afternoon snack.
The bananas in this vegan chocolate ice cream provide a lot of nutrition, offering blood-pressure-helping potassium, as well as cholesterol-helping fiber. Plus, eating this alternative ice cream counts toward your daily servings of fruit.
Unsweetened cocoa powder: This is my secret ingredient for getting the healthy ice cream chocolatey without any added sugar.
Plus, I love using unsweetened cocoa powder as a sweetener because it’s naturally sweet so contains no added sugar—yet provides a whole lot of antioxidants.
Step-by-step instructions
When I want a dessert with a similar texture to ice cream, I use my food processor or a powerful blender to whip up a fruit-based version. You don’t need a fancy ice cream maker!
To make chocolate nice cream, simply place bananas and cocoa powder in a food processor or high-speed blender.
Process or blend until completely smooth, pausing if necessary to push the ingredients toward the bottom of the processor or blender.
You don’t need toppings, but you can dust with a sprinkle of cocoa powder or vanilla extract, add dried fruit toppings, or top with fruit like berries.
Helpful kitchen tools
The only absolutely necessary tool is a food processor, but these other items will come in handy for making chocolate nice cream.
Recipe FAQ
Pretty much anything! If you’d like a little extra sweetness, add a drizzle of maple syrup, a scoop of peanut butter, or a sprinkle of coconut sugar on top.
You can also add toppings of dried fruit, or even a sprinkle of unsweetened cocoa powder or dried edible flowers, if you’d like.
Very! Each serving of this dairy-free chocolate nice cream contains just 106 calories and has no fat! Plus, it’s dairy free, which makes it great if you’re lactose intolerant or have an allergy.
Yes, it is! Chocolate nice cream contains just banana and unsweetened cocoa powder, both of which are vegan ingredients.
More dairy-free ice cream recipes
One of the best things about fruit-based cream is there are so many different ways to enjoy it!
To help bring the trend to your kitchen, I’ve compiled a list of more of my favorite ice cream alternatives. Enjoy my chocolate nice cream one day, then one of these other dairy-free ice creams the next.
Nice cream recipes
- Wild Blueberry Nice Cream from my kitchen
- Banana Fudge Vegan Ice Cream from Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, author of The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club
- Cinnamon Banana Ice Cream from Stephanie May, RD
- Mango Mint Frozen Yogurt from Christy Wilson, RDN, culinary dietitian and owner of Christy Wilson Nutrition
- Cantaloupe Banana Nice Cream from my kitchen
- Strawberry Banana Soft-Serve Ice Cream from Chrissy Carroll, RD, author of Dairy-Free Cookbook for Beginners
Popsicle Recipes
- Peaches & Cream Pop from Tammy Lakatos Shames, RDN, CDN, CFT and Lyssie Lakatos, RDN, CDN, CFT, co-authors of The Nutrition Twins’ Veggie Cure
- Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Yogurt Pops from Lauren Pendergast, RDN, a dietitian in Jersey City, NJ
- Fruity FroYo Popsicles from Ann Dunaway Teh, MS, RDN and Lesley Baradel, MBA, MS, RDN, co-owners of My Menu Pal
Sources
- Ice Cream Insights and Consumer Perceptions: 3 Trends Impacting the U.S. Market, Mintel.com
- Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, author of The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club
- Stephanie May, RD
- Christy Wilson, RDN, culinary dietitian and owner of Christy Wilson Nutrition
- Chrissy Carroll, RD, author of Dairy-Free Cookbook for Beginners
- Tammy Lakatos Shames, RDN, CDN, CFT and Lyssie Lakatos, RDN, CDN, CFT, co-authors of The Nutrition Twins’ Veggie Cure
- Lauren Pendergast, RDN, a dietitian in Jersey City, NJ
- Ann Dunaway Teh, MS, RDN and Lesley Baradel, MBA, MS, RDN, co-owners of My Menu Pal
Chocolate Nice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 bananas, sliced and frozen
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- Dried fruit toppings, as desired
Instructions
- Place bananas and cocoa powder in a food processor or high-speed blender. Process or blend until completely smooth, pausing if necessary to push the ingredients toward the bottom of the processor or blender.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
I’d love to hear from you! Let me know what you think when you whip this chocolate nice cream. What are your favorite ice cream and sorbet toppings?
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