Summer is here, which means ice cream season! Let’s also be clear, I have vegan dairy-free icecream ALL through the year - there are no restrictions for me in this area. What I love about this Vegan Chocolate and Nut Butter icecream is that it is made from 3 pure ingredients plus water, takes just a few minutes, is totally dairy-free and gluten-free, has no added sugar and is high protein! It is chocolatey, smooth and nutty. I never dreamed I could eat such healthy but delicious ice cream as a plant-based vegan, or make it so quickly in my blender for instant gratification!
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The trick with making vegan icecream is to freeze the main ingredients (in this case, bananas) and have a good blender. Blenders are probably my favourite piece of kitchen equipment as I use them for hummus, smoothies, soups, milling up linseed, dressings and of course, vegan icecream!! You probably need a more powerful blender to make dairy free icecream. The one I’ve had for about 6 years (and isn’t too pricy) is the JTC OmniBlend (affiliate link). I have literally used this at least once a day from the moment I bought it. I love it! I’ve recently been introduced to an amazing high powered, smart Greenis blender which is quick, quieter and more energy efficient (this is great if you have less of a budget to stick to!). But both are good, and go with what works for your budget.
The fun bit is choosing what to add to the bananas for both the main part of the vegan ice cream and the toppings! For the ice cream itself, I chose nut butter and chocolate because I’m a total addict for both. The icecream also works perfectly well if you just use bananas and water for a plain vegan icecream; maybe if you’ve got a big indulgent Vegan Chocolate Cake and want something to serve it with. Chocolate and nut butter are the perfect combination for a plant based icecream. You can use any vegan dairy-free chocolate you want; I tend to just use a vegan dark chocolate (affiliate link) as it contrasts very nicely with the sweetness of the bananas. But if you want to use a dairy-free milk chocolate or even white chocolate you can - there are so many scrummy vegan chocolate bars out there now!
Of course you can use chocolate as part of the toppings too; ignore anyone who tells you that you can have too much chocolate! I used Prodigy Chocolate (a new vegan plant-based chocolate brand Louise and I have been gorging on!); their Peanut Caramel Cahoot bar (affiliate link) is literally like a Snickers bar and is melt-in-the-mouth! These have blown me away as they are so indulgent but made from natural ingredients, are refined sugar-free and even have compostable packaging.
With the nut butter, this can be any type you choose! You probably already know nut butters are one of my favourite foods in the whole world and I use them everyday on my high protein breakfast. They are yummy and great source of vegan plant based protein. Peanut butter is the most widely available, but there are tones are great brands out there doing different flavours and using various nuts (great if you have a peanut allergy). I am so nuts (yes, I went there!) for nut butter that I put together a post of my favourite nut butter brands who have the most innovative sweet and savoury flavours.
For the ultimate vegan dairy-free ice cream treat, drizzle our 4 Ingredient Chocolate Salted Caramel Sauce over your 3 Ingredient Vegan Chocolate and Nut Butter icecream. Enjoy with friends or just for yourself!
Love Vanessa xx
4 Ingredient Vegan Chocolate and Nut Butter Icecream
Equipment
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 3-4 frozen bananas
- 50g vegan chocolate chunks / chocolate chips ( (⅓ cup ))
- 1.5 tablespoon nut butter
- 225ml water ((¼ cup))
Optional toppings
- 3-4 Strawberries
- 5-6 Chopped nuts (handful)
- 25 g Chopped chocolate bar of choice (Handful)
Instructions
- Put the bananas, chocolate, water and nut butter into a blender. Blend using the manipulation stick to fully combine all the ingredients
- Once the mixture is nice and smooth, put in bowls and top with yummy things like fruit and nuts!
David says
Great base recipe to adapt for different toppings and additional nuts.