Chocolate Nice Cream Recipe
This healthy chocolate n’ice cream is a delicious, dairy-free, gluten-free, soft serve that isn’t really ice cream at all!
If you love chocolate but don’t love the calories, and you love banana but don’t love the mushy texture, and you love n’ice cream but don’t love processed sugars, then this chocolate banana nice cream is for you! Chocolate n’ice cream is a frozen dessert that is practically guilt-free.
What Is Nice Cream?
Banana nice cream is a dessert dish made of very simple ingredients. Namely, sliced and frozen bananas. When blended, it produces a consistency very similar to dairy-based ice cream.
Is Nice Cream Healthier?
That depends on your definition of healthy. But generally speaking, yes. It’s much healthier than regular ice cream.
Why Do They Call It Nice Cream?
There are two reasons it’s called “nice cream”.
- It’s a term coined by vegans who avoid animal products such as dairy in the interest of reducing the mistreatment of animals. So in this case, it’s a “nicer” ice cream because no cows were mistreated in getting their milk to make the ice cream.
- Because it is non-dairy and plant-based, and because it is already blended, it tends to be very easy on your digestion, making it a “nicer” dessert for your tummy.
Does Nice Cream Taste Of Banana?
Yes, no and it depends. Ha! The truth is, the riper your bananas are, the more your nice cream will taste like bananas. So if you want to avoid the flavor of bananas, it’s best to use green bananas. Green bananas also have a lower number on the glycemic index, so they are much friendlier to your blood sugar.
How To Make Chocolate Banana Nice Cream In A Food Processor
A food processor is the easiest to use because you can dump everything into it and turn it on. You will, however, have to scrape the sides from time to time to keep things moving. A little bit of liquid will go a long way to not burning out your processor motor. But don’t overdo it or you will have a soft yogurt consistency instead of ice cream. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of liquid at a time, at most.
How To Make Chocolate Banana Nice Cream In A Blender
In a blender, you’ll want to work in smaller batches. And just like in a food processor, you’ll need to stop the blender occasionally to scrape the sides. You may also need to add a small amount of liquid here too. Although, in general, a blender will be a bit stronger than a food processor. But that will depend greatly on your appliances.
Topping Ideas
If you want to top this, you can try a few of these delicious ideas!
- Cacao nibs
- Maple syrup (great if you used less sweet bananas. Use in place of honey)
- Chocolate chips
- Peanuts
- Pecans
- Walnut
- Pistachios
- Chunks of fresh berries such as raspberries or strawberries
- Slices of fresh, ripe bananas
Recipe Variations
You can add a few extras to give this extra or different flavors. Try adding:
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter for chocolate peanut butter ice cream
- 1 tbsp. almond butter (no sugar added)
- ¼ cup nuts – stir in when you pour the ice cream into the loaf pan.
- ½ cup chocolate chips – stir in when you pour the chocolate banana ice cream into the loaf pan.
🥣 About The Ingredients
Sliced bananas – Slice them, freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and then use them for making this n’ice cream.
Milk – This amount you use will vary based on your appliance and how much liquid it will need to get the job done. Just remember to use a little at a time so you don’t add too much liquid and end up with a smoothie instead of ice cream. You can use any type of milk! Try soy milk, almond milk, or even coconut milk for a non-dairy version.
Unsweetened cocoa powder – Make sure it’s unsweetened.
Honey – This is optional and should be added to taste.
How Do You Make Chocolate Nice Cream?
Collect all your ingredients and add them to a blender or food processor.
Blend well. You will need to stop the processor or blender a few times and adjust things with a spatula just to be sure you got all the bananas blended. There are always a few rascals in there that like to hide.
Pour this into a loaf pan or other freezer-safe container.
Place in the freezer for up to 2 hours, or until it reaches a scoopable consistency. Note that this will be more on the level of soft-serve ice cream. If you freeze this for too long, you’ll have a hard block that will need to thaw again on your counter. DO NOT OVER-FREEZE!
Scoop and serve.
Recipe Supplies
For this recipe, you’ll need either a good food processor or a good blender. A high-speed blender is best, such as a Vitamix.
More Healthy Vegan Ice Cream Recipes:
Chocolate N’ice Cream Recipe Card
Chocolate N’ice Cream
Equipment
- 1 food processor OR blender
Ingredients
- 6 cups sliced bananas (frozen)
- ½ cup milk (give or take)
- 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp. honey
Instructions
- Collect all your ingredients and add them to a blender or food processor.
- Blend well. You will need to stop the processor or blender a few times and adjust things with a spatula just to be sure you got all the bananas blended. There are always a few rascals in there that like to hide.
- Pour this into a loaf pan.
- Place in the freezer for up to 2 hours, or until it reaches a scoopable consistency. Note that this will be more on the level of soft-serve ice cream. If you freeze this for too long, you'll have a hard block that will need to thaw again. DO NOT OVER-FREEZE!
- Scoop and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted 5/5/2010.
Okay…just looking at this makes me hungry right now! I have to go grocery shopping tonight or tomorrow night, so I am getting the bananas and doing this!
Yeah! Let me know how you like it.
And just an FYI, I have another version coming up in a few days. So pick up a can of light coconut milk too. You’ll love it!
My hubby and I made this last night – and it was SOOOO good. Thank you 🙂
Also – we used a blender – and it worked fine…and my bananas were whole not sliced. Took a bit of work to get it smooth – but it was worth it!!
Hi Kerry,
That’s great! I’m thrilled you liked it! I don’t have a blender at the moment, so I’m glad you gave me some feedback there.
It does make it a bit easier if they are sliced though.
Thanks for trying one of my recipes!
Tiffany
I just blogged about this a couple weeks ago, too. We LOVE it. But ours was plain, now I can’t wait to try it with chocolate!
Oh, and try it with peanut butter sometime, too! MM!
Hey Katrina!
Wait till you see the next recipe!
This was really good. My 6 year old loved it and it was something he could make from start to finish with a little guidance. The only thing that went wrong was that I did not cut the bananas up before freezing and the food processor flopped all over the place and sprayed us with milk out the top, LOL. Totally my fault, but it was worth the laugh. I’ll try the coconut tonight.
Leigh!
That sounds like a hoot! Definitely important to slice them!
Also, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. You won the Beach Body Contest! Please contact me for your prize!
Tiffany
My hubby and I made this last night – and it was SOOOO good. Thank you 🙂
Also – we used a blender – and it worked fine…and my bananas were whole not sliced. Took a bit of work to get it smooth – but it was worth it!!
Hi Bruce,
I guess I’m lazy that way. I don’t like to do any extra “work” in the kitchen. That’s why I slice them. Either way, it’s a really yummy treat. So happy you liked it!
This is amazing, but I tweaked it a little bit to make it even better. I bought some Jay Robb chocolate protein powder a while back because it’s sweetened with Stevia and doesn’t have a lot of nasty chemicals. Unfortunately, the stevia made it too sweet for me! So I followed your ice cream directions minus the honey plus 1/2 scoop of the protein powder. It was perfect! 10 extra grams of protein, and the coco powder made it less sweet and SUPER chocolately (which is how I like my ice cream!)
Fantastic Millason! Great idea! I love Jay Robb products. Especially their protein bars! Yum!
just cut my bananas to make thie either tonight or tomorrow depending when they freeze! Honey or agave is better? I have both. I have been slipping because of sweet cravings so I am really trying to search some of the desert type recipes on here for those cravings! It looks yummy:)
Angela,
You can use either honey or agave. Doesn’t matter. Just know that if you use honey, it will have a slight honey flavor to it. It will also increase the glycemic index. But either one will work just fine.
Let me know how you like it!
yes very delicious…My girls and me loved it:) My so does not like bananas so he wouldn’t try it. We will be making this again!
I absolutely love this recipe….just made some again tonight, and it totally hit the spot for both the chocolate and ice-cream cravings. My kids loved it too, which is an added bonus!
I love the idea of adding protein powder….although if this gets too healthy, I might start eating it for breakfast!
Melissa – LOL!!! Ya, the thought has crossed my mind on multiple occasions.
i made something similar to this, although i wasn’t too fussed about running it in the blender (don’t have a food processor). what i needed was a frozen banana + 20g peanut butter + 45g of light cottage cheese. it was so decadent! frozen bananas are heaps concentrated than unfrozen ones that i don’t need to add any sweetener at all. (although they were pretty ripe when i froze them. hehe!)
Steph – Sounds good! I’ll have to try it that way. Thanks
Hi Tiffany, it’s late so I am sorry if I have missed the recipe but is there a coconut ice cream recipe you have that excludes bananas? Husband and one child out of 3 don’t like bananas WTH? Otherwise I am on a mission to find a way to make this dessert as clean as possible. Thanks for your website, you’re such an inspiration xo D
Hi Dani,
This ice cream is made out of bananas. It doesn’t work any other way. I have a strawberry smoothie that can sometimes substitute as ice cream. It’s under the craving busters category.
I’m currently working on a “banana-free” ice cream recipe. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.
Good luck!
I just tried this recipe for the first time, and I’m eating it now. Oh, yum! It’s got exactly the texture and consistency of soft serve ice cream. I can’t wait to experiment with other flavors! (By the way, I used your clean coffee creamer instead of the milk. Very rich and good!)
Linda – Fabulous!!! I always get so excited when I get people to love the clean version of something. Yay!
when I bring home bananas once they start to get a little too ripe ( not yucky or anything) I slice them and freeze for fruit/protein smoothies, thanks to you Tiffany, now I have another wonderful way to not only save money but to have a special treat, Thank you so much
Trude – You’re welcome! This is one of my little guy’s favorites, and I always feel okay about giving it to him. So happy you enjoyed it!
I made this today it was so good. I garnished it with pieces of a mocha protein bar, it was great!!!!
Sheri – Oooh! What a great topping idea!
This was delicious! Just curious…how did you figure out that it would stay thick and cold?? We will definately be making this one again!
Sarah – Well, it won’t stay that way for long. Like anything, it melts. Only with this, it can’t be stored in the freezer. It turns yucky. I’m not sure what you mean when you ask how I knew. The bananas are frozen, so like anything frozen, they would have to stay that way for a little while at least. Sorry, not sure if I’m understanding the question. But I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
I just made this and all I can say is YUMMY!!!! I have been craving frozen yogurt for a while and this really helped to hit the spot! Unfortunately, I had frozen all 4 bananas in one container so I had to spend a while breaking it all down. Since it makes such a large portion, I’m going to freeze baggies with 1 banana sliced in them so I can make single serving portions whenever I want!
I’m just starting to transition our home to a clean eating one, so I can’t wait to try more of your recipes out!
Marny – What a great idea! I’ll have to try that myself! I’m so used to cooking for an army around here, it never dawned on me to separate stuff in baggies! Thanks for the idea!
Hi ,
I made this recipe last night for the first time and it was delicious.
Can’t wait to have this again.
Thanks for the recipe Tiffiny.
Jeanne
Jeanne – I’m happy you enjoyed it!
I made this using my small magic bullet cup & using only 1 frozen sliced banana & 1/4 other ingredients. I eat it right out of the cup. Soooooo good that I now keep at least 1 or 2 frozen bananas on hand so I can whip up “icecream” when I get the urge!
Bridget – Good for you! My freezer is never without a large container of frozen bananas! 🙂
I have been working on breaking my sugar addiction for the past week, and was really craving something sweet tonight, so I made this, minus the agave/honey, and it was still absolutely amazing, I didn’t miss the agave, and it crushed that craving! Thanks for the awesome recipe Tiffany!
Court – Fabulous!!! I’m so happy it helped!