This Dairy-free Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Recipe is the perfect refreshing treat for summer or anytime! Plus it's sugar-free and keto and has a vegan option so it works for almost any special diet.
When I was young, ice cream was one of my favorite treats - I was quite the sugaraholic and indulged a little too often. Now that we've gone sugar-free due to candida, I have turned to homemade ice creams like Chocolate Almond Chip, Mocha Chip, Lemon Poppyseed, and this recipe - Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.
I've always loved the flavor of mint and chocolate together.
My family lived on the East Coast and one of our favorite things to do was to visit the local Friendly's Restaurant. Now, when it came to dessert, I never could make up my mind which flavor of ice cream to get, so invariably I always chose The Sampler -- 4 small scoops of ice cream in a dish (so I could agonize over choosing 4 flavors instead of just one :-)!)
Mint Chocolate Chip was always in the mix.
And whenever we bought ice cream at the grocery store, it was almost always Breyer's Natural Mint Chocolate Chip that we chose.
And believe me, it never lasted very long :-).
Why I Needed to Make this Dairy-free Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Fast forward to my life now with a son who has a life-threatening allergy to dairy and a family that is almost completely off sugar.
Well, were in Chicago recently and we splurged on a pint of dairy-free, no sugar added coconut milk ice cream.
A pint was on sale for "only" $3.59 (the regular price was $6.59!). Now, I don't typically pay $3.59 for a pint of anything.
But it sure was good and was a fun breakfast (yes, we ate it for breakfast :-)!) for all of us one morning, but my mind was already thinking about how I could make my own!
(I haven't figured out the cost per pint, but I can assure you that it is nowhere close to $6.59, or even $3.59 per pint :-)!)
Now you too can make amazing vegan mint chocolate chips ice cream that is:
- dairy-free
- sugar-free
- artificial anything free (including no fake green food coloring!)
- and tastes great! Regarding the green food coloring, one of the first things we avoided when our family started to go more natural with our diets was artificial food coloring.It really amazes me how "addicited" our modern society seems to be on foods being bright and "fun." Sadly, these colors have been shown to cause issues for people. And with all of the toxins in our environment today, why add something else to the mix?I do enjoy making food fun when I have time, however, and so figuring out ways to add natural food color to dishes has been a favorite thing for me to experiment with in the kitchen. Here are some examples of that.
More Great Recipes using Natural Food Coloring
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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.
Ready? Here goes!
A Homemade Ice Cream Recipe that is dairy free and tastes amazing!
Recipe Notes
- Milk: See Easiest Homemade Coconut Milk for a great homemade coconut milk option. Other milks will work as well as coconut milk, but for alternative milks, coconut and almond are among the better choices as they have more fat content and will have the resulting product be more creamy.
- Sweeteners: I used a half and half combination of powdered xylitol and erythritol. You can use whatever you like to suit your dietary needs. Of course, with stevia extract, you will need a lot less (between 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon - see How to Use Stevia). You could also use 1 teaspoon liquid stevia (here’s how to make your own). I always find that combining alternative sweeteners results in the best flavor. You can also use honey or maple syrup for AIP.
- Chocolate Chips: Here are my Homemade Chocolate / Carob Chips and my Homemade Mint Chocolate / Carob Chips. Here is a great sugar-free store-bought option for chocolate chips.
- Thickener: You probably will be fine not using a thickener as long as you use the MCT oil. Otherwise, it is recommended, but not necessary Use arrowroot for a vegan option. Glucomannan would work as well, but the amount would have to be adjusted and I haven't tried it.
- THM: This recipe qualifies as an "S" for those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan as long as you use gelatin if using a thickener.
- Creaminess Ingredient Alternatives: Other oils will work as well but don't use an oil with a heavy flavor, such as regular olive oil.
- Topping Idea: For an extra special Mint Chocolatey treat, top with the Chocolate Mint version of this Homemade Chocolate Shell.
Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (dairy free with sugar-free option)
Ingredients
- 4 cups coconut milk
- 1 cup low-carb sweetener
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-3 tablespoons MCT oil (optional - for creaminess. See Notes)
- 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 tablespoon gelatin (optional thickener; use arrowroot for vegan)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes (optional; for coloring)
- 3/4 cup chocolate/carob chips (add more or less, to taste - you could use mint chips for a double-mint treat)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients (except chips) in blender (NOTE: if using gelatin, let it "bloom" in the coconut milk for a few minutes before you add the other ingredients).
- Blend until smooth (if you do not have a high-powered blender [aka Vitamix] and you are using a granulated sweetener, you may wish to heat the milk and sweetener in a pan until the sweetener is dissolved).
- Place in ice cream maker and process according to directions.
- When ice cream is starting to solidify, add chips and allow maker to mix in chips thoroughly.
- Scoop up and enjoy!
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.
What is YOUR favorite ice cream flavor?
This is great! Thanks for giving the many options of how it can be made. Anyone can substitute what they need to make it a great recipe for them. Thanks for the inspiration. I am sorry you got so many negative responses. This is great! I can't wait to try a version that suits me. I appreciate the effort you have made in putting it together and sharing it.
Thank you
Thank you so much! I'm going to hopefully be reworking the recipe to make it better but I so hope that you enjoy it :)! Thanks for the support!
Gelatin is animal based and not vegan.
Hi there. Yes, you are correct. I think you missed that I offered a vegan option in the post. Hope that helps!
Nobody missed that. Right off the top you refer to the recipe as dairy free, so having to swap out an ingredient to make it such is disingenuous. That would be like me posting a recipe for a VEGAN omelette and having the standard ingredients including eggs and dairy cheese, then suggesting readers simply swap out those ingredients for plant based alternatives to make it truly vegan.
Hi there. I'm sorry that you feel that way but on the home page of my blog, and elsewhere, I talk about my recipes being special diet-friendly and I have tried to make every single recipe easily adaptable for people who would like options. I have had compliments over and over about that. In many families, people are struggling to know what options they have with a recipe, so I try to provide that. I, for one, (and clearly many of my readers feel the same way) that having options makes cooking for themselves and/or for a variety of needs easier.
What exactly are you referring to when you say that calling it "dairy-free" and then having to swap out an ingredient to make it such is disingenuous? I'm not following you there.
Saying that something is dairy free makes it sound like it is free of any cow ingredients. Not everyone is aware of where gelatin comes from and need clear direction. Perhaps it would best be described as free of lactose, with an option to make it vegan.
Hi again. Actually that is incorrect. Dairy-free relates to milk. Bovine-free would be cow but no one really uses that kind of a label for recipes or food products. I am not perfect but I have been dealing with food allergies and special diets for 21 years and actually longer than that. I know that topic so well that my allergist trusted me, I think, more than all of her other patients, and she is very well respected in her field.
This post shows how people are often confused about food groupings. https://wholenewmom.com/is-coconut-a-nut/
Also, gelatin can be made from chicken as well as marine animals and pork, so your information is inaccurate in that way as well.
Hope that helps!
If you really want to get technical, it would be "Free of lactating bovine secretions mint chocolate chip ice cream"
*Drops the mic and walks away
So may I ask if you typically have this hard of a time admitting that you are wrong?
If you really want to get technical, Gelatin is not dairy. Never has been and never will be. Same with eggs.
I'm happy to entertain questions, but no, I'm not going to be putting that kind of title on any of my recipes anytime soon. How about never :).
You can come back and get your mic off the floor. Take care.
Let me Google that for you, Chris.
....Google... "define: dairy" (Feel free to try it, since I can't post an image here.)
Top results:
1. Oxford dictionary
"noun: food made from or containing MILK" (emphasis added)
"adjective: containing or made FROM MILK" (ditto)
2. Wikipedia
"Dairy products or milk products are food products made FROM MILK." (ditto again)
Not "from cows." From MILK. Hence, milk = dairy. (Regular) yogurt = dairy. Cheese = dairy. Sour cream = dairy. Conventional ice cream = dairy. Gelatin = not dairy.
Yes this which is exactly why eggs shouldn't be in the dairy section. However that's not everywhere -- at least my experience was that in Ireland, years ago, eggs were on the floor because they had never been refrigerated. I don't have a bone to pick about that with grocery stores but it sure has led to a lot of confusion. I don't think I have ever heard of someone saying that gelatin is dairy--but I could be wrong about that. See - I'm able to admit that I'm wrong and it's OK.
This recipe is most certainly NOT vegan, because gelatin is made from cows! There's so many vegan alternatives to gelatin.
Hi there! The gelatin is listed as optional with a vegan alternative. Hope that helps.....Perhaps you missed that in the recipe card. I try hard to offer alternatives in almost every one of my recipes. Thanks for reading!
Hi! Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip is a favorite here too. I'd like to try this. I was wondering what would happen if I used spinach for coloring instead of parsley flakes?
I think you could do that! This ice cream uses mint :). https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/vegan-mint-chocolate-ice-cream/
I found this recipe on Pinterest marketed as being vegan, but it clearly is not as gelatin is an animal byproduct!
Hi Chris! Thanks for reading and for commenting. I have vegan alternatives in the recipe. Perhaps you missed that? I try to do that kind of thing with all of my recipes so that no matter what your special diet is (almost) you can have an option. Hope that helps! Let me know. Pinterest doesn't list the alternatives so it's hard to represent that there. Thanks again!
Gelatin is made by boiling of skin, cartilage, and bones from animals. Please don't call this recipe 'vegan' when it includes animal-based gelatin, even as an option. (If you've ever seen the clear jelly on cooked meat when you take it out of the fridge, yup. That's gelatin.)
Hello Joy - thanks for reading. I label my recipes with the dietary options to be of help to my readers so that they can adjust the recipe to their needs rather than have them be limited to only reading vegan blogs. Hope that helps. 🙂
Im AIP and want to use honey. How much do I use in place of the Xylitol?
Honey is sweeter than sugar so you would need less. 1/2 to 3/4. This post should help: https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/baking-with-honey-sugar-for-baking/
Thank you very much !!
Thanks for a Great Ice cream recipe. Do you have any other dairy free and egg free recipes that would work for a Keto diet? I am really struggling with going egg free. Thanks for your help
Hi there! Welcome, Sharon. Almost my whole site is egg free and it is completely dairy free (or has dairy free options). What type of recipes are you looking for?
I also wanted to tell you that I have a new Healthy Living Community on Facebook and we were just talking about putting together a file of an assortment of low carb and dairy free summer treat recipes so if that interests you we'd love to have you!
Welcome again and hope to see you around again.
Alright, I just added gelatin to my cold liquid and it's all clumps. Now what? I simmered my coconut milk with fresh spearmint and started it cooling before I added the gelatin. Is this still going to work out and make more scoopable ice cream?
I don't know. Typically you can bloom gelatin in cold water? Maybe take the gelatin out and make it without? I have been trying adding 3 T MCT oil to the ice cream and it's working out very nice.
How is the MCT effecting the ice cream? Is it to make it scoop better or some how thicken it, since you mentioned it in reply to a question about thickener?
It makes it creamier.
This recipe mint chocolate chip is NOT SUGAR-FREE, as it contains maple syrup or honey..
.
Hello Kathleen. We wrote "sugar free option" so you could choose the sweetener that works for you. Hope that helps.
Are you up for a butter pecan challenge???? I am craving some so bad and have no idea how to go about getting that taste!
I LOVE Butter Pecan! Will see what I can do!
I made this. The only change I would make next time is using less mint extract. Maybe it depends on what brand extract? I typically use 1/8 teaspoon mint extract so 3/4 teaspoon was way too much. I love mint but it was overpowering. I'll definitely make this again tho!
Maybe it does. Glad you liked it otherwise!! I need to make some soon myself!
Just tried this ice cream. VERY dissappointed. Turned into a rock and is more sherbert-like in taste than ice cream. Not creamy at all.
Hmmm..wonder what went wrong. did you change the recipe at all? It does get hard if it refreezes.
Hey Adrienne! I just wanted to hop on here and tell you you're doing a great job and offering so many options and alternatives for people and dealing with their questions! I'm sorry you're having to deal with some of this negativity and craziness!
Aww thank you! It was pretty odd for sure. I understand that people get confused about whether things like eggs are dairy (because we all know that the grocery stores make that confusing by putting them in the dairy section) but this was crazy. I get confused about things too--but the right thing to do is admit you're wrong and learn and move on. Thanks again ??.
Hi Adrienne, I sometimes use arrowroot & it always seems to be heated. I notice that you did not mention heating the arrowroot or similar products. Can you say whether it needs to be heated or not. Thanks for any further information you can give.
From what I have read, you don't need to heat it when using it to thicken ice cream. Thanks!
I grew up in CT and my parents used to take me and my brothers and sisters to Friendly's ALL THE TIME!
Mint Chocolate Chip was always one of my favorites! Thank you, for posting this recipe:)
You are so welcome!
The parsly didn't make it very green, so I added 1/2 tsp of spirulina and that did the trick. using 2 T of arrowroot made it a bit creamier the second time around. In the spring, I may try this with actual mint from my garden. I think that would make it green and flavor it in one fell swoop.
Nice tip!
This looks yummy! I'll have to try it.
You do not know what a bad reaction to a sweetener is unless you cannot digest xylitol, as my grandson's and I CANNOT. Never again!