Healthy Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
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Published Jun 08, 2020, Updated Jan 21, 2024
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Make healthy chocolate banana ice cream with frozen bananas, cacao powder, almond milk and almond butter. It’s absolutely delicious, healthy, dairy-free and doesn’t require an ice cream maker!
Throughout the summer months I seem to crave ice cream. Maybe it’s childhood memories of chocolate and strawberry cones from Carl’s Ice Cream, the best soft-serve ice cream shop ever. Or maybe it’s the fact that it’s blazing hot outside and I need something to cool down. Either way, I could eat ice cream every day. It’s always been my favorite dessert so when I found out you could make banana ice cream from ONE ingredient (frozen bananas) I was in heaven.
I actually have to thank my mother-in-law for the idea because she was the first person to introduce me to it. This was years ago — way before the land of Pinterest. Now everyone knows about frozen banana ice cream, which is awesome!! I’m just waiting for someone to open a shop with healthy fruit-based ice creams here in Richmond.
Anyhow, this summer I’ve been on a banana ice cream bender… again. I’ve been making a bunch of different combos and have found a new favorite.
Here’s What You Need:
- frozen bananas – I recommend peeling and chopping your bananas before freezing so they’re easier to blend! Check out my how to freeze bananas guide for tips and tricks!
- almond milk – I used unsweetened chocolate almond milk for more chocolate flavor without adding sugar and it was delicious! Unsweetened vanilla almond milk works great too.
- almond butter – any brand of almond butter works – just make sure the only ingredients are almonds and salt! I like the Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s brands.
- cacao powder – or cocoa powder works!
- cacao nibs or chocolate chips – optional but I love the texture it adds. If you use chocolate chips, I recommend Lily’s chocolate chips as there is no added sugar.
We all know banana and chocolate go well together, but you introduce a little almond butter to the mix and things get real. Chocolate, banana and almond butter = the trifecta.
Of all my years buying Almond Breeze this was my first time buying the unsweetened chocolate. Crazy, right? I’m excited I finally decided to try it because I can definitely see myself buying it again. I’ve actually been using it as creamer for my iced cold brew coffee and it’s quite delicious. Like a mocha iced latte. 🙂
See how smooth and creamy it turns out?!?
Get Creative!
I added in a few cacao nibs for a little crunch, but they’re totally optional. Isaac hates crunchy things like nuts and chocolate chips in his ice cream (or brownies) so I get that some people won’t be a fan.
Nibs or no nibs, this healthy ice cream is soooo good and incredibly easy to make! Ready for the recipe?
Healthy Frozen Treats To Try
- Blueberry Frozen Yogurt
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Ice Cream
- 3 Ingredient Icebox Cake
- Frozen Banana Snickers
- Mint Chip Avocado Ice Cream
- Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- Greek Yogurt Popsicles
- Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 frozen bananas, chopped into chunks
- ¼ cup almond milk, unsweetened chocolate or vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon almond butter
- ½ – 1 Tablespoon cacao powder, or cocoa powder
- ½ Tablespoons cacao nibs or chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Place bananas, almond milk, almond butter and cocoa powder into a food processor or high speed blender.
- Pulse/process until smooth and creamy. You may need to turn off the motor and stir the mixture a couple times while processing.
- Add in cacao nibs or chocolate chips (if using) and pulse once more. Spoon ice cream in to a bowl and enjoy! If you want to be able to scoop the ice cream you can place it in the freezer for 2 hours so it’s solid enough to scoop.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We love this recipe. So easy and delicious!
Yay! I am happy that you are loving this recipe, Jo. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, I so appreciate it!
Thanks for the recipe! I make it all the time now and experiment with different mix-ins. It’s even creamer if you use coconut milk or coconut cream instead of almond milk.
Oh, coconut cream is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing and leaving a review, I appreciate it so much, Lauren!
excellent post thank you for sharing