Dairy-free Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (low-carb)

Posted onJune 29, 2011September 29, 2022 Updated onSeptember 29, 2022

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.

Dairy-free Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. Vegan, low carb, AIP, paleo, and THM:S!

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

Check out my posts on:

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!

dairy-free mint chocolate chip ice cream in a glass bowl

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 in glass bowls

Recipe

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?