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, 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 healthy ice cream from ONE ingredient (frozen bananas) I was in heaven.
SEE HOW EASY IT IS TO MAKE THIS HEALTHY CHOCOLATE BANANA ICE CREAM:
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.
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.
I used cacao powder and unsweetened chocolate almondmilk to get a chocolatey flavor without any added sugar and it worked like a charm!
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?!?
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?
If you make this Healthy Chocolate Banana Ice Cream be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting us know how it turned out. Your feedback is so helpful for the EBF team and our readers!
Print
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
Cuisine:
Print
PinDescription
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!
Ingredients
- 3 frozen bananas, chopped into chunks
- 1/4 cup Chocolate Unsweetened Almond Breeze Almondmilk*
- 1 Tablespoon almond butter
- 1/2 Tablespoon cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
- 1/2 Tablespoons cacao nibs or mini chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Place bananas, almond milk, almond butter and cocoa powder into a food processor (affiliate link).
- 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. Scoop/spoon ice cream in to a bowl and enjoy!
Notes
*You can use regular almond milk too. You might just need to add more cocoa powder to get the chocolate flavor!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 of recipe
- Calories: 240
- Sugar: 24g
- Fat: 7g
- Carbohydrates: 47g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 5g
Keywords: chocolate banana ice cream
Alyssa @ Life of bLyss says
July 21, 2015 at 12:53 pmYou keep telling me to make this, and I have no excuse now that I have a ton of frozen bananas in the freezer… Now I need to get my hands on some unsweetened chocolate almond milk (which, what the heck… I’ve never bought either.. I’m thinking it wasn’t available until recently?)!
Brittany Mullins says
July 21, 2015 at 5:36 pmDo it!!
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment says
July 21, 2015 at 1:45 pmI always crave ice ceam in the summer. My new fave is a specialty ice cream shop in Austin called Lick. It’s fabulous. But I like making my own treats too. Thanks for the recipe!
Brittany Mullins says
July 21, 2015 at 4:48 pmOh yum! I visited Austin a few years ago (and had amazing food!) but I don’t think we went to Lick.
Kim says
July 21, 2015 at 2:41 pmI didn’t even know the unsweetened chocolate almond milk was a thing! I will def have to try this.
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says
July 21, 2015 at 4:15 pmSo simple and yet so delicious. I’ve got to try this!! 🙂
Tammy says
July 21, 2015 at 4:18 pmI just bought the unsweetened chocolate for the first time last week. I didn’t think I would love it but I did. I will absolutely have to put some into my cold brew! Great idea!!
Brittany Mullins says
July 21, 2015 at 4:31 pmIsn’t it good?! Definitely try it in your coffee — you won’t be disappointed. 🙂
amanda says
July 21, 2015 at 7:18 pmI make banana ice cream all the time in the summer too. Chocolate almond milk would be an awesome addition to this and coffee! Thanks for the idea. We just moved and I can’t find my food processor blades. Of all the things to lose! I’m about thisclose to ordering new ones.
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
July 21, 2015 at 7:55 pmOhh I’ve made chocolate banana ice cream but I haven’t actually tried it with the chocolate almond milk! Definitely trying this soon!
Millie | Add A Little says
July 21, 2015 at 8:09 pmMy favourite! I also love adding a cheeky spoon of crunchy peanut butter in there!
Brittany Mullins says
July 22, 2015 at 10:25 amMe too, lady! Love me some peanut butter and almond butter. 🙂
Ashley (@healthyhappier) says
July 22, 2015 at 7:12 amAs soon as our food processor arrives I am making this! Holy YUM!!
Brittany Mullins says
July 22, 2015 at 10:25 amHow are you surviving without your food processor???
wellandfull says
July 22, 2015 at 10:42 amOoh this looks fantastic! Nice cream for the win!! 🙂
SJ says
July 22, 2015 at 12:34 pmI live in Fredericksburg so I was SO happy to see the Carl’s love lol 🙂
Brittany Mullins says
July 22, 2015 at 3:19 pmOh man, Carl’s is the absolute best!! 🙂
Barbara says
June 18, 2018 at 3:56 pmI grew up on Carl’s as well, and have many fond memories attached to it. I took my brother to Carl’s yesterday for Father’s Day (he now lives in Richmond). Unfortunately, I have developed a bad reaction to cow’s milk, so I paid the price for my scoop of strawberry creaminess. But finding this dairy free version of creamy deliciousness is making my mouth water. Thanks!
Brittany Mullins says
June 18, 2018 at 9:10 pmAwww, I love this connection! Carl’s is so good and I haven’t been in way too long. You’ll have to try this banana ice cream and let me know what you think of it. 🙂
Tessa says
July 22, 2015 at 6:28 pmWould a blender do the trick? My vitamix is currently in the mail on the way to extremely excited me! <3
Brittany Mullins says
July 22, 2015 at 7:19 pmYes! I love my Vitamix and it should definitely work for this recipe. 🙂
charliedwatson says
July 24, 2015 at 7:23 amThis sounds utterly delicious! Will definitely have to make some!
Alison @Food by Mars says
July 24, 2015 at 10:24 pmThis is some smart nice cream! Almond butter?! I’m sure it makes it extra creamy… thanks so much for this, it is pinned and getting made!!
Brittany Mullins says
July 24, 2015 at 11:11 pmYay! Hope you like it, Alison.
daniela says
March 2, 2016 at 4:20 pmLooks amazing! How long can you keep this in the freezer for?
Brittany Mullins says
March 2, 2016 at 4:30 pmThanks Daniela! It tastes the best when served right away, but I’m sure you could store it in the freezer for a few weeks. It does tend to get really hard when frozen so you’ll need to take it out of the freezer to thaw a bit (like 15 minutes or so) before serving.
Heather says
April 12, 2016 at 4:11 pmThis looks delicious and I would love to try it. I have evrything other than the chocolate almond breeze but I’m down for a quick grocery store trip. Quick question, can you double check the nutrition on this? The carbs and sugars seem off. 7 g carbs, 47 g sugar?
Brittany Mullins says
April 12, 2016 at 4:25 pmHi Heather! I hope you love the ice cream!! The nutrition info is confusing, the amount comes after the term so there’s 7 grams of fat, 47 grams of carbs and 24 grams of sugar. I put lines in so it’s easier to tell which number goes with which!
Heather says
April 12, 2016 at 9:17 pmWe just tried it and it’s delicious! My daughter especially loves it. Thank you for clarifying 🙂
Cassie says
May 20, 2016 at 1:11 pmYES, absolutely YES. I love adding chocolate protein powder in my banana ice cream to add some more protein and thickness too!
Laura Hudlow says
June 3, 2016 at 4:53 pmThis is amazingly delicious!!! I actually used chocolate cashew milk instead of almond…..soooooo delicious! I also sprinkled some wheat germ on top …..even better!
★★★★★
Tina says
July 3, 2016 at 5:26 pmOMG!!! I was looking for a low cal sweet treat. This was so good! I’ll make it over and over again!
Brittany Mullins says
July 5, 2016 at 10:39 amOh yay!! I’m so glad you liked it, Tina!! Enjoy.
Maya says
July 8, 2016 at 7:04 pmWhat if I don’t find Almond milk and almond butter…..can I substitute with normal milk and butter ?
Brittany Mullins says
July 9, 2016 at 11:16 amHi Maya! You can use regular milk and another nut butter like peanut butter in place of the almond butter.
Sandy Beach says
August 20, 2016 at 11:06 pmThis is quite amazing! I make it all the time to cure my sweet tooth. ☺️
Brittany Mullins says
August 22, 2016 at 9:43 amYay! So glad that you like it, Sandy. Enjoy.
Teresa says
October 23, 2016 at 9:59 pmThis was so good. My husband and I enjoyed this with our evening tea. My 8 year old son was eating his Reese’s peanut butter cup ice cream sandwich and tasted ours. Now he wants some next time. Yeah, healthy ice cream snack.
★★★★★
vegan17 says
July 2, 2017 at 9:35 amHi! I am really planning to add this on my list for my soon-to-be business 🙂 I hope its okay to use this as part of my food testing and tasting hehehe but i should ask, if i put this in freezer how many days it would last?
G says
July 22, 2017 at 8:06 amI’m allergic to almonds and coconut while trying to go Paleo. Any suggestions for this recipe?
Fit_lady says
July 31, 2017 at 1:49 pmI’m sure you could use any other kind of nut butter. I’m going to try this with chocolate protein powder/shake instead of the chocolate almond milk. I’m not allergic, but I like the idea of adding a little protein.
Brittany Mullins says
August 1, 2017 at 8:05 amLove this idea! Let me know how it turns out.
Sheby says
August 24, 2017 at 4:46 pm…I love this idea….sounds so yummm. However, theres very litle ” almond’ in Almond Milk that you buy, and you can actually make your own. I lived in CA, in the area where there was Blue Diamond Almond Farm and Plant, but I did research on it, and havent used Blue Diamond in a long time…; I am not criticizing, I am only stating an option. I realize the post was in partnership with Blue Diamond, and I respect that,to the end that it helps make your site possible…that is the reason I stated it was not to criticize, only to share information.
Donna says
November 23, 2017 at 11:36 amTell me what food processor you recommend for something like this some of them are so expensive
Brittany Mullins says
November 24, 2017 at 1:04 pmI have a Cuisinart 9 cup food processor and use it all the time. Here’s the one I have: http://bit.ly/2zW5QMZ