Chocolate Almond Chip Ice Cream - dairy free, low carb, AIP
This Chocolate Almond Chip Ice Cream is rich and loaded with the healthy crunch of nuts and chocolate chips--delicious clean-eating at its best. It's sure to please and is much cheaper than store-bought dairy-free ice cream.
Plus, as an added bonus, it works for almost any special diet since it's dairy-free with vegan, paleo, low carb, & AIP options.
Here is another dairy-free ice cream recipe that will surely satisfy your sweet tooth!
I mentioned in my post on Mint Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream that I never could make up my mind about which flavor to get whenever we went out for ice cream.
Well, after writing about our trips to Friendly's and the Sampler of four small scoops that I would always get, I remembered that my other favorite flavor had always been Chocolate Almond Chip.
I even checked out Friendly's website and though I couldn't figure out what other flavors I used to get, the Chocolate Almond Chip ice cream is still there.
There's a reason :-).
Now, I've never been one to turn down ice cream in any form (someday I'll share the gorey details of my summers working in an ice cream parlor), but ice cream full of chunks has always been a favorite of mine.
If you feel the same way, then do I have a treat for you.
Chocolate Almond Chip Ice Cream, full (really full) of almonds and chocolate (or carob) chunks.
(And absent of dairy and sugar, for those on special diets :-)!)
This whole dairy-free ice cream adventure started on our recent trip to Chicago. My family always likes to visit Whole Foods and Trader Joe's whenever we visit to grab some food to get us through our trip (since we never go out) and to stock up on a few things.
Well, this time we got the chance to sample some coconut milk, no sugar-added ice cream. And we were hooked.
And wouldn't you know it - it was on sale.
Good thing it was on sale, because the regular price was something horrendous. Even on sale, it was $3.59 / pint.
Well, though I am not one to spend $3.59 a pint on anything, I splurged on Mint Chip as well as Chocolate flavors and some gluten-free cones. Guess what our breakfast was the next day :-)!
The consensus in our family was that the chocolate was a bit too bitter, but that didn't stop us from eating it.
Well, that was not the case with this chocolate ice cream. It was gone-gone-gone in a flash!
Oh, and since you're here, I'm sure that you'd be interested in the other dairy-free ice cream treats on the site. How about.....
More Dairy-free Ice Cream Treats:
- Mint Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream
- Mocha Chip Ice Cream
- Lemon Poppyseed Ice Cream
- Sugar-free Fudgesicles - they taste like the real thing!
- Key Lime Pie Popsicles
- Homemade Magic Shell - not ice cream but it makes any ice cream better.
Ice Cream Maker Tips:
I used the Cuisinart Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker to make this, and it turned out great, but you really have to follow the directions with this machine. The bowl needs to be completely chilled in the freezer first, used immediately, and the mixture needs to be chilled. Otherwise, it's "soft serve city" :(.
If you decide to freeze it and it gets too hard to scoop, try this handy anti-freeze ice cream scoop.
Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Carob: You can use organic carob powder instead of cocoa for AIP.
- Coconut Milk: My Easiest Coconut Milk is a great homemade option. You can, of course, substitute dairy or other milk alternatives as you like. Among the dairy-free alternatives, almond will be one of the better options to promote creaminess of the final product, and my Easiest Almond Milk would work great if you would like to make your own.
- Sweeteners: Along with xylitol, organic erythritol is a good low-carb sweetener option. Use either maple syrup (here's how to choose a good brand), honey, or 1/2-3/4 teaspoon powdered stevia (here's a post on how to use it) for paleo -- maple syrup, honey, or organic coconut sugar for AIP.
- Chocolate Chips: You can use carob chips instead of chocolate chips for AIP. Use my Homemade Chocolate / Carob Chips for a low-carb option.
- Almonds: Soak and dehydrate your nuts if possible. Omit for AIP, or use chopped organic tiger nuts.
- Thickener: It would probably be OK to not use a thickener as long as you use MCT oil. If you do not use MCT, using gelatin or arrowroot will definitely improve the texture of the ice cream, but it will taste good either way.
- THM: If you are using a thickener and are on a low-carb plan (like Trim Healthy Mama), use gelatin, or about ½ the amount of organic glucomannan.
- Nut-free: Substitute sunflower seeds for the almonds.
Recipe
Chocolate Almond Chip Ice Cream made with Coconut Milk (sugar-free option)
Ingredients
- 4 cups coconut milk
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup low-carb sweetener
- 3/4 cup cocoa
- 1-3 tablespoons MCT oil (optional--for creaminess)
- 1 tablespoon gelatin (or arrowroot; optional thickener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup almonds (chopped)
Instructions
- Add coconut milk, sweetener, cocoa or carob powder, MCT oil, gelatin (or arrowroot), vanilla, and salt in blender or food processor (NOTE: if using gelatin, add to coconut milk and let it sit for a few minutes before adding other ingredients). Mix well.
- Add mixture to ice cream maker and process following manufacturer's instructions.
- When mixture starts to thicken, add almonds and chocolate chips.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Let me know how long it lasts (or doesn't) in your house!
What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
Can you use coconut oil instead?
If you mean instead of the MCT oil, you could try. My understanding is that the MCT oil is better for ice cream not hardening as much later and for extra creaminess. Would love to hear how it goes if you try it!
I had asked if the coconut milk was carton or canned. Which is it please? You answered "yes" and suggested your recipe. If not using your recipe, which would work best please? Carton or canned?
Hi there. Sorry for the confusion. I took your question to be asking me if you could use either one of those, so I said yes and offered you the homemade version as another option that would be cheaper. I don't know which would work best but it will for sure depend on the brand and fat content. Typically the higher the fat content, the creamier the resulting ice cream will be. Hope that helps!
When you. Say coconut milk, would it be the equivalent of carton milk or canned milk?
Yes there's a link in the post to an example. You could use this homemade version as well: https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/easiest-coconut-milk-recipe-improved/
Arrowroot? Not listed in the ingredients? Can sub for the gelatin?
Hi there - we just updated the recipe to make it more clear. Please check it out and let me know what you think.
Hi there, I'm noticing comments about MCT oil, is it no longer part of the recipe? Thanks!
Hi there. Sorry it should be in the post now. Let me know if you don't see it.
Thanks! I made it with 3 TB mct oil and it was a hit! Super creamy 🙂
So great - thanks!!!
What is MCT oil? I’m new to making vegan ice cream and not familiar with the terminology.
We just put a link to MCT oil in the post. Hope that helps!
It really is looking delicious! Thanks for the tips about the arrowroot! I must try using gelatin in my recipes too!
Hi Edi - thanks for reading and commenting. I am sorry but I don't allow people to promote their blog names in comments so I had to remove that from your name. I'm getting those more and more so I'm not tolerating it any longer. Thanks for your understanding.
No problems! I guess this is how it goes when everybody is having a blog 🙂
Sorry about that. I assume that wasn't your intention now. It has been happening a lot to me lately and most of the comments seem very stilted so they seem to be being made for the purpose of site / link dropping. I am going to think on this and figure out my policy going forward. Yes, a lot of people have blogs these days :).
Yeah, probably people try to promote their sites here but I guess it's harmless as long as those sites are real foodie sites.
Have you tried adding a google recaptcha v2 plugin for the comment form? It reduced my spam greatly and it's not a hassle for real users.
You might be right on the comments w/ the URLs. It can be a mixed bag. I don't know that I have tried that - thanks!
Does anyone have a nutrition or carb count on this ice cream?
You don't specify the actual carbs in your recipes
Yes, I don't at this point. I'm working on getting a way to do that for you. Thanks for your patience.
Hi, just wanted to let you know (you probably already do since you offer alternatives in the recipe) that gelatin isn't vegan, in fact it isn't vegetarian either since it comes from animal's bones. Thanks!
Hi there. I have alternates listed in the recipe for vegan options. Thanks for reading!
Hi. Thanks for the recipe. It was really good. I found the trick to making dairy free ice cream to be MCT Oil, which is extracted from Coconut Oil. I bought the NOW Brand. I added 3 Tbs to your recipe and it was just great.
I used toasted carob powder, arrowroot, and did not add the almonds nor the carob chips (but I will be making those soon!). I also added Sunflower seed butter swirl from another website. Make the sunbutter swirl while the ice cream is churning and then place it in fridge to harden. Once ice cream is done, pour it in the bowl you'll be storing the ice cream in, and use a spatula to mix in the sunbutter swirl.
Sunbutter Swirl
½ cup sunbutter (or peanut butter)
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp Stevia powder
c/o https://mariamindbodyhealth.com/dairy-free-bulletproof-ice-cream/
I had the ice cream with blueberry carob brownies, which were so delicious. I'm a brownie fanatic and I like these even better than the chocolatey gluten variety. Recipe here: https://www.grazedandenthused.com/single-post/2015/04/26/AIP-PMS-Brownies
Wow - great addition. I was working on a swirl too- can't wait to try this - thanks!
I meant to say the MCT Oil makes the ice cream smooth, as I saw you mentioned you were working on perfecting that aspect.
Yes, this is so perfect. Ice Cream on the menu for tomorrow! Or maybe tonight!
Yup. I plan on it too! Gonna make more brownies too. ?
I have a busy few days but I might just have to do that as well. Thanks! Did you use Homemade Coconut Milk for the ice cream?
No I used store bought.
It seems to do better but I will try the Homemade to see how the MCT works with that. Thanks again!
Hi! My ice cream didn't thicken. I used tapioca flour instead of arrowroot. Could this have been the problem?
I'm not sure but I have tried adding 3 T of MCT oil to the recipe has worked well. I'm going to add it to the post.
Can you substitute almond milk, half-half, or whipping cream for the coconut milk? I'm feeling lazy and don't want to go to the store.
Yes you can do that. The whipping cream will make it very thick so I would maybe combing it with one of the others or do 1/2 and 1/2 combined with the almond milk or coconut milk. Enjoy!
This looks really yummy! I will try it later this week. I have made salted caramel coconut milk ice cream, but it was definitely more labor intensive!
Hope you like it! We're planning on working on some more recipes soon!
My stomach won't tolerate zylitol, so I use Erythritol and Stevia. I bought this Cuisinart maker and using Erythritol, the ice cream froze solid to the sides of the bowl of this ice cream maker. It can't even be chiseled away. The rest of it freezes hard as a rock once it's been in the freezer. I've tried three recipes, and it does it ever time. Has anyone else have this trouble? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Yikes. I have no idea! I have seen others make recipes that are dairy free and made with erythritol so I am not sure. Did you try one of the thickeners like the gelatin? I have seen others use vodka.
great recipe! Thanks 🙂 I haven't read all the comments but I would put half an avocado in this for creaminess. It really works and you can't taste the avocado at all!!
Sounds GREAT!!!
You actually found Coconut milk ice cream with no sugar in it at Whole Foods? What was the brand?
Yes! It's So Delicious--good, but pricey!
Thanks for posting this recipe. We have been doing a blend of GAPS/PALEO for 2.5 years and getting bored of the food. Sometimes something just as simple as adding almonds to our basic ice cream recipe is just the change that is needed. Made the ice cream this morning. It's chilling in the freezer, but my 9 year old gave it the thumbs up from licking the bowl! 🙂
So glad! We were just talking about making more ice cream here. I do NOT want to pay for the local shops and the stuff is so bad for you!
I've followed the recepi and it came out very oily when I tasted it it was like I was eating butter
Why ?
I'm so sorry - should have tasted more like coconut milk? Did you use homemade coconut milk?
I love chocolate and coconut! I just had a version at Graders that had shaved coconut in it. It was a little too textured for my taste. The almonds sound like a great alternative. Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
Thanks for linking at Trim Healthy Tuesday! We love coconut milk.
Quick questions: Your instructions say 1/2 c. to 3/4 c. sweetener. I understand you can leave it out but what would you recommend as the sweetener? Thanks in advance for your answer!
Do you mean can I leave the sweetener out completely? I wouldn't do that. I think it depends on your diet. I use stevia or xylitol or erythritol b/c of our issues w/ candida. Let me know if you need more help :).
Looks like a great recipe and I can't wait to try it 🙂