This delightfully healthy mint chocolate chip nice cream recipe is naturally gluten free, dairy free, and vegan. And it can be made with just FOUR ingredients!
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
If you can only choose ONE flavor?
Without even thinking, I’ll tell you mine is—and has always been—mint chocolate chip.
While I do also love plain chocolate, and I did go through this weird phase in elementary school where I’d order black raspberry ice cream with gummy bears (which is so unlike me), mint chocolate chip has withstood the test of time; it’s still the first flavor to always catch my eye.
This healthy mint chocolate “nice” cream is sweet, creamy, nourishing, and incredibly simple – You can make it without an ice cream maker!
Trending Now: Keto Ice Cream
My favorite mint-chocolate combination has made multiple appearances on the blog before – in the Healthy Shamrock Shakes, the Mint Chocolate Fudge Pie, or in the Thin Mint Overnight Oats…
Sometimes I use spinach or avocado to achieve the green hue; other times I will skip the coloring altogether.
For this particular recipe, you can opt to skip it or you can play around with either natural food coloring or a combination of blue and green spirulina until you’ve found the perfect color balance.
Also try this Oat Milk Ice Cream
After making my nice cream a little too dark at first, I decided to add some coconut cream in order to lighten it.
As a happy accident, the coconut cream ended up not only lightening the ice cream to the perfect shade green, it also made the recipe even more delicious than it already was!
Certainly better than black raspberry with gummy bears…
The recipe was adapted from my Banana Ice Cream.
Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 overripe frozen bananas (For banana-free, try this Almond Milk Ice Cream)
- pinch of salt
- 1/8 tsp pure peppermint extract, or more as desired
- optional pinch spirulina or natural food coloring
- optional 1/2 cup coconut cream or raw cashews for a richer taste
- 2-3 tbsp chocolate chips or sugar free chocolate chips
Instructions
- *Be sure to buy pure peppermint extract, not mint or imitation peppermint. Add more extract for a more powerful mint flavor, adding slowly because a little goes a long way. If using the optional nuts, soak them 6 hrs to soften, then drain completely.Start with bananas that are turning brown. Peel and cut into pieces, then freeze in an airtight bag or container. To make the ice cream, blend all ingredients until completely smooth. You can add the chocolate before or after blending. Serve immediately in a bowl, or transfer to a container and freeze until firm, then scoop out with an ice cream scoop.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
More Healthy Ice Cream Recipes:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream
I haven’t seen a mint version of banana whip before. This looks perfect!
xo,
Em
I love the idea of using spirulina as coloring. Mint is by far my favorite ice cream flavor! I’m a weirdo that doesn’t love the chocolate in it, glad I have a recipe I can customize 🙂
Until you just mentioned it, I never thought about mint chocolate chip ice cream without the chocolate chips, but why not? Maybe even adding something else entirely like shredded coconut or pistachios?
Spirulina does not make it this colour green. I made this today and it’s more of a pale grey/green. If I added any more it would have tasted like the bottom of the ocean ?
Here’s a tip for mega creamy ice cream. Use Katie’s four ingredient ice cream : 2 cups of milk (full cat canned coconut or I use 1 1/2 cups almond and 1/2 non dairy creamer to keep it semi low-cal) , 1/3 cup sugar (use less if using a sweet creamer), pinch salt, freeze in ice cube trays overnight. The next day at the ice cubes to a food processor with 2 frozen bananas, and flavoring of choice (in this case, mint) don’t add any extra milk or it will become too watery. It’s much more like a rich ice cream with way! I’ve even made a nutella version by using 2/3 up hazelnut spread and some cocoa powder.
That sounds amazing, especially the Nutella version.
I agree! I added about a 1/3 cup whole milk (just didn’t have what you had) and that made the nice cream a bit creamier and I did add about 2 tblspns sugar and it turned out great! I’m thinking about trying the almond coffee creamer next time OR the coconut cream – pretty sure that wd be perfect! Thanks for the tips!
In that childhood break the ice game where you have to say your favorite ice cream flavor, mint chocolate chip was always the most common answer!
I think I just figured out what’s going on top of my birthday cake next week. :-9 I LOOOOOOVE mint chocolate chip ice cream! It’s always been my favorite. Always. I’m curious to try this recipe with some of your cashew cream recipe, instead of coconut cream or just the cashews. I’m trying to experiment with the cashew cream more; it makes a fabulous thickener/butter substitute for healthy brigadeiro.
I am totally going to make this this week, and use a few leaves from our peppermint plant! So excited and my son’s been asking me to make banana ice cream for a couple weeks now!
This looks heavenly, Katie! I love the pretty green colour. I will need to make this ice cream this summer 🙂
This looks so yummy! I am going to try this with a couple drops of peppermint essential oil. Thank you Katie!
I think I am going to put this in a crust and make an ice cream cake. Delicious. Great photos, too.
One question: What is coconut “cream”? Is it different from coconut oil? In what department should I look for coconut cream? (For example, in what department does Trader Joes sell it?)
I just came over from the”Food Babe” blog where she explained all the harmful ingredients in most commercial ice creams. This recipe is perfect. Thank you so much for sharing you time and expertise and creativity with us!
They are not the same, here’s a great post explaining: http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-coconut-m-75446
Do you have a Trader Joes near you? They sell canned coconut cream that is unsweetened. Whole Foods does as well, or some grocery stores. Or Amazon.