Chocolate Ice Cream that's good for you?
That's right.
When it's this Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream, you've got a super healthy treat.
Totally different than the ice cream that I grew up on.
I've shared other Delicious Vegan Ice Creams on the blog before, like Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Dairy-Free Chocolate Almond Chip Ice Cream, Lemon Poppyseed Ice Cream, and Mocha Chip Ice Cream, but today I'm sharing one of the best – just basic Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream.
Ice Cream Memories
When I was young, ice cream was my treat of choice.
I think I've mentioned this before, but I was a total. ice. cream. addict.
If there was ice cream around…
I would eat it.
And if you asked me what food I would want if I could have one food and no other?
It was ice cream.
Always.
I would sit and eat Breyer's Natural Mint Chocolate Chip in front of the TV while doing homework, we'd head to a local ice cream stand for swirled cones, and a trip to the local Friendly's® was always a favorite!
But no more.
Since getting candida, going sugar-free, and going more and more low carb, and since my oldest has a life-threatening food allergy to dairy, things had to change. No more trips to Mickey D's for soft serve cones, and well, you won't see us in the local ice cream parlors (though we have on occasion taken a coupon and headed to a TCBY for a treat, but don't tell, OK :)? It's not exactly on the whole-foody acceptable list.
Anyhow, though I am still tempted by all the lovely ice creams I see sometimes when we are out, you really can make amazingly good ice cream at home — and when it's this healthy, no need to feel bad about eating it, even if you do overindulge.
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How this Dairy-free Chocolate Ice Cream is Healthy
Instead of feeling guilty after eating a pint, you can enjoy the chocolate creaminess in this dessert while knowing that it is full of nourishing ingredients.
What You Will Need
- Full-Fat Coconut Milk (or use my Easiest Coconut Milk)
- Cocoa (for more health benefits, use raw cacao, or for AIP, use carob)
- Powdered or Liquid Stevia (or other sweeteners)
- Vanilla Liquid Stevia (or you could use powdered stevia or any other sweetener and add a splash of vanilla)
- Lemon Juice (I recommend Dream Foods)
- Salt (I recommend Real Salt)
- Arrowroot Powder
- Gelatin (optional)
Coconut –
Coconut oil (unrefined) is all the rage these days and with good reason. Coconut oil contains Lauric Acid, which can kill bacteria, fungi and viruses — including candida. Coconut milk's saturated fats might actually be protective against heart disease (source), and has been shown to promote brain health. (source)
Cocoa –
I'm sure most of you have seen articles touting cocoa's benefits, but did you know how broad they are? Cocoa is thought to have cardiovascular protective benefits, may fight cancer and other diseases with inflammation or impaired immune function, and may relieve diarrhea. (source)
Cocoa is also loaded with antioxidants, (source) and might improve brain function. (source)
Stevia –
Of course, you can use whatever sweetener works for you, but we use a lot of stevia in our home. Stevia has been shown to help manage blood sugar, has no calories, and has 720 ppm iron. It might help with weight control, and has high levels of sterols and antioxidant compounds such as triterpenes, flavonoids, and tannins. (source)
Lemon –
Lemon can help with constipation and indigestion, has flavanoids, which have antioxidant and cancer-prevention qualities, might help prevent kidney stones, and helps alkalinize the body.(source 1), (source 2)
So I say, bring on the Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream now.
Coconut milk contains lauric acid as well (albeit not as much as the oil) and is thus beneficial in killing candida. Lucky for us coconut milk is super delicious and makes fantastic ice cream that is rich, creamy, and a decadent treat.
It makes killing off candida and being healthy overall a tasty experience.
Could it get any better? An easy peasy ice cream that is both delicious and beneficial — not too shabby.
The texture of this chocolate coconut milk ice cream, freshly churned, resembles the soft serve variety, but once frozen it will be closer to traditional ice cream. While the gelatin keeps the ice cream from getting too icy in the freezer, it still freezes pretty hard, so I recommend having it sit out about 15 minutes before serving.
Ice Cream Maker Tips:
I used the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker for this recipe. It worked fine, but you really have to have the mixture chilled prior to making desserts in this maker. Otherwise, it will be quite runny (albeit yummy) and will need to be solidified in the freezer if you want it to be scoopable.
If you decide to freeze it and it gets too hard to scoop, try this handy anti-freeze ice cream scoop.
- 2 (398ml each) cans full-fat coconut milk (or use my Easiest Coconut Milk)
- 13 Tbsp cocoa (for more health benefits, use raw cacao, or use carob for AIP)
- ½ tsp sea salt (I use Real Salt)
- 82 drops vanilla liquid stevia (or about 6 scoops total powdered stevia) or to taste (use honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar for AIP, and if using a sweetener other than vanilla liquid stevia add a splash of vanilla - see next ingredient for notes on amount)
- 13 drops plain liquid stevia extract (or about ½ tsp powdered stevia), or to taste (use a total of about 9 Tbsp honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar for AIP)
- 2½ tsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder (omit for low-carb)
- 1 tsp gelatin, optional
- Chill coconut milk prior to starting, if possible.
- Mix the coconut milk (reserving ¼ cup), cocoa (or carob), salt, stevia (or other sweeteners), lemon juice, and arrowroot powder (if using it) in a blender (like a Vitamix or a Blendtec, with a mixer or by hand.
- Take 3 tbsp of the above ice cream mixture and place it into a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the mixture (do not pour into a clump) and let soften for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, stir the gelatin in (it should have the consistency of applesauce.
- Heat up the reserved ¼ cup of coconut milk (until steamy, but not boiling).
- Slowly pour the heated coconut milk into the gelatin mixture from step 3, whisking while you do. Continue to whisk until gelatin is dissolved.
- Pour gelatin mixture into the ice cream mixture from step 2 slowly, stirring to combine.
- Follow manufacturer's directions for your ice cream maker.
- Store in the freezer -- if you have an left over, that is :).
Can you use the frozen setting on vitamix to make ice cream
Yes, but you need frozen cubes / fruit to do so.
So is the gelatin only for texture purposes? I’m trying to go with items I already have at home without an extra shopping trip! And guess which one item I don’t have? LOL!
Yes, it is only for texture but it adds a little protein. You can add about 1 T of vodka if you like to keep it from getting too firm in the freezer.
I’m probably going to freeze it in silicone baking cups for portion control or as popsicles, so not too overly concerned with how hard it is. Means it’ll not melt as fast! 🙂
Sounds great – I just will say that ours froze really really hard so it would probably be a good idea. We typically eat it all, though :).
I have a question regarding the sweeteners and one regarding the gelatin…we can’t use stevia so I was wondering if you could estimate amounts of the coconut sugar (as that is what we would most likely use) or maple syrup. As far as the gelatin, I have both the kind that works in hot things and the one for cold things, so if I used the “cold” variety could I skip the heating of the 1/4 cup of coconut milk? This would greatly help to know! Thanks much!
This post should help w/ the stevia. https://wholenewmom.com/kitchen-tips/stevia-what-it-is-and-how-to-use-it/ Coconut sugar is 1:1 with sugar.
Maple syrup is about the same.
I would not do the collagen – you want the gumminess of the gelatin to make it work w/ the ice cream. Otherwise you are just adding protein and not the “gummy” properties. Hope that helps!
Thanks much for your speedy reply! I did read the post, but unfortunately I could never find info on exactly how to convert the tsp of Stevia to sugar – it talked about scoops rather than tsp. Am I missing something obvious? 🙂
Sorry – I will try to make the post more clear. 1/32 of a tsp of stevia extract is equivalent to 2 Tbsp of sugar.
Hi there – Thank you for the recipe, but I’m having issues with coconut milk and wonder if this will work with tigernut milk? I’ve just started making this and love the taste. Just a thought for those of us with coconut/almond issues! Your thoughts would be very helpful.
Hi Louise. Yes, I think it would. I was thinking about trying that. Higher in carbs but I bet it would be yummy. I will add it to the post. Thanks!
Thank you for replying so quickly. You are a real blessing to all us recipe challenged people out here. Thank you so much.
You are so welcome. You made my day. I was honestly doing a lot of questioning about the blog and such….so thank YOU for coming back to comment. Enjoy the ice cream! I have some tiger nut flour here. I need to make something with it soon. I LOVE the nuts myself.
I just love that you can use the “meal” just like the flour after you make the milk (I made pancakes with it the next morning) – it’s amazing! Good luck with your experimenting. Keep up the great work 🙂
Thank you!! So you blend the nuts in the water and use the leftovers that you get out w/ a nut milk bag?
Yes, 2 cups (soaked for 24-48 hours in refrigerator) tigernuts. Rinse well after soaking. Place in high speed blender with 2 cups water. Blend for 2-4 minutes. Strain in nut milk bag until almost all moisture is out. Do this up to 3 times to get the most out of the tigernuts. Then place in a container in fridge and use as any other milk. Store the “meal” in a container in the fridge and use in recipes that use the flour or in you smoothies.
I find the meal is much better in my recipes because I found the flour “gritty” for some reason! Saying this, I’ve only made the milk twice now, but plan on much more as I’ve just bought 2 more bags of tigernuts.
Hope this helps.
Great! Do you use a high powered blender or regular? Thanks!
Sorry, I should say that you should use filtered water in all cases above.
I use my Ninja Kitchen blender for mine – am on a fixed income so can’t afford one of the big guys (Blendtec or Vitamix). I’m sure it doesn’t matter as long as you use a high powered one though. The meal should be very fine.
Good to know – thanks!