Healthy Chocolate Ice Cream with only 3 ingredients and completely refined sugar-free. Made with no banana, this vegan ice cream has rich chocolate flavor and creamy texture that will surprise you!
You might also love my viral cottage cheese ice cream recipe and date bark!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Crowd pleaser: Airy, creamy and full of chocolate, this healthy chocolate ice cream is our family’s favorite healthy dessert. It’s so good, I make it all winter long!
- Easy to make: Just blend and churn. It’s much easier than traditional ice cream with eggs and sugar.
- Only 3 ingredients: You have on hand right now or can buy in any grocery store.
- Delicious: No one will know this ice cream is good for them, it tastes like “real deal”.
- Healthy: Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free and refined sugar free chocolate ice cream. Also packed with antioxidants from cacao powder.
- Naturally sweetened: Dates are so sweet (from fructose), you don’t need to add honey or maple syrup (sugar is sugar). Naturally occurring fructose has lower glycemic index than coconut palm sugar, honey or maple syrup.
Ingredients for Healthy Chocolate Ice Cream
To make this healthy chocolate ice cream, you will need only 3 ingredients. Other 2 ingredients are optional but make it taste even better!
- Coconut milk: What coconut milk you use makes or breaks the deal with this ice cream recipe. Use full-fat coconut milk, from a can, with guar gum on ingredients list. I love Thai Kitchen, Trader Joe’s or Compliments brand. Please avoid low quality brands and even many organic brands as their texture is gritty.
- Medjool dates: “Meaty”, large in size, very soft to the touch and moist dates. Their skin is a bit crinkled. You have to use this kind of dates to end up with soft ice cream.
- Cacao powder: You can use cacao powder or cocoa powder. The only difference is that cacao powder is less processed and contains more antioxidants.
- Optional ingredients: Pure vanilla extract and chocolate chips.
How to Make Healthy Chocolate Ice Cream
To make healthy chocolate ice cream at home you will need a blender and an ice cream machine. You can use regular blender but ice cream will not be as creamy.
Here is a quick overview how to make it. Full recipe card is located below.
Prep the ice cream machine: The night before, place ice cream machine bowl in a freezer. It is best to chill it for 18 – 24 hours. This step is necessary to ensure ice cream will firm up during churning.
Blend all ingredients: In a high speed blender, add coconut milk, cacao powder, pitted dates and vanilla extract (if using). Blend on the highest setting until very smooth. Takes about 3 minutes.
Churn it: Pour mixture into an ice cream machine and churn for 45 – 60 minutes or until thick and fluffy. Stir in chocolate chips, if desired.
Enjoy or freeze more: Right after churning, chocolate ice cream will be of soft serve consistency. It is absolutely my favorite way to enjoy it! If you like more traditional ice cream and firm enough to scoop into a cone, place ice cream machine bowl in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
Tips for Best Results
- Use high-speed blender: You need high speed blender like Blendtec or Vitamix to puree dates and incorporate into smooth consistency with other ingredients. Mixture should be silky smooth.
- Use quality coconut milk: Buy tried and true coconut milk that you know produces creamy results.
- If using food processor: You could use food processor. Chocolate ice cream will not be as smooth but recipe will turn out.
- Use high-speed blender: Regular blender is not powerful enough to turn dates into fluffy consistency. High-speed blender like Blendtec or Vitamix is equipped with a fan that is cooling off the machine while it’s working hard. You can use regular blender but be ready for less stellar results.
- Chocolate chips options: For 100% vegan chocolate ice cream, be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips. For low sugar ice cream, add sugar-free chocolate chips like Lily’s.
Variations
What is nice about homemade chocolate ice cream is that you can add your favorite flavors right when blending, churning or into individual bowls.
- Peanut butter: Add spoonful drops of peanut butter during last minute of churning to create swirls.
- Chocolate chips: Just like with peanut butter, add at the very end of churning just enough to mix in.
- Mint: Add peppermint extract to a blender.
- Pitted cherries: Fresh or frozen, add at the end of churning.
How to Store
Transfer ice cream into airtight container and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
When ready to enjoy again, it takes 15 minutes to defrost this healthy chocolate ice cream. And it will be still creamy and not icy. Thanks to Medjool dates!
Enjoy at holidays, summer cookouts, or even a birthday party with healthy vanilla cupcakes!
FAQs
Unfortunately not. Small dates are very popular dates in our supermarkets. They are much smaller in size than Medjool dates, and more hard to the touch and are dry.
You have to use Medjool dates. They prevent ice cream from freezing into a solid ice rock thanks to their “meaty” texture. They also add a lot of volume to this chocolate ice cream recipe.
Yes, you can use canned coconut cream like Trader Joe’s. But only from a can and not from a small carton box. They are a bit different.
No, unfortunately I do not recommend to use low fat coconut milk as I am afraid recipe will not work.
Unfortunately not. Coconut milk from a carton is not nearly the same as from a can. It is mixed with water for drinking purposes.
Unfortunately not. Ice cream machine churns the ice cream. It prevents a solid blob of frozen mixture but rather produces a smooth consistency of ice cream.
Yes, you can use a food processor to blend ice cream ingredients. Final result will not be as creamy as with high-speed blender but still recipe will work.
More Chocolate Recipes to Try
- Healthy chocolate frosting
- Healthy chocolate cake recipe
- Healthy chocolate muffins
- Chocolate coconut balls
- Chocolate zucchini bread
More Healthy Frozen Desserts
- Vegan vanilla ice cream
- Frozen banana snickers
- Dole whip
- Coconut mango ice cream
- Coconut oil fudge
- Healthy homemade popsicles
You can also browse through all my healthy frozen desserts or my entire healthy dessert collection!
Healthy Chocolate Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14 ounces can coconut milk full fat
- 3 tablespoons cacao powder
- 10 large Medjool dates pitted
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract optional
- Chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Place ice cream machine bowl in a freezer for 18 – 24 hours.
- In a high speed blender, combine coconut milk, cacao powder, dates and vanilla (if using). Process until smooth.
- Turn on ice cream machine and pour mixture into it. Let ice cream churn until soft serve like consistency (my machine takes about 45 – 60 minutes).
- Add chocolate chips ( if desired) and let machine incorporate them into the ice cream.
- Serve immediately. Ice cream will be of soft serve consistency (my favourite) but you can place it in a freezer for a bit to firm up.
Do you have a recommendation on an ice cream machine? I don’t know anything about them and would love to know what you use. This ice cream looks delicious, as are all of your recipes I have tried!
I go over some recommendations in this vegan vanilla ice cream post, but really any electric 1 1/2 quart make will work, if you plan to make alot of homemade ice cream, you many want to invest in a better one, but for the most part an inexpensive one works, too!
Can I use maple syrup instead of dates? My blender just isn’t up to this challenge
Very good flavor. Added ghirardelli mini chips. Nice sweet treat. 3 oz cup.
What a great addition to the ice cream. Yum!
this is a good recipe for vegan ice cream! tastes amazing, and easy to make. Thank you!
Your work is awesome
Hi there! Im always looking for vegan ice cream as my son is allergic to milk and eggs. Do I need to use an ice cream machine??? Can I just blend with my blendtec and freeze?? Thank you!!
You have to use ice cream machine because otherwise ice cream will be rock solid frozen blob. Sorry!
Made this, used organic coconut milk with fur gum, not Asian and medjool dates, I have a nutra ninja but mix came out grainy, maybe I did not puree long enough. Taste was ok but not creamy like I was hoping. Maybe my blender is not high power enough.
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You need blender like Blendtec or Vitamix for this recipe.
Healthy chocolate ice cream my kids gobbled up. Wow, thank you!