Double Dark Chocolate Ice Cream – Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegan

This tasty double dark chocolate ice cream is dairy free, gluten free and also great for those on a vegan diet.

The warm summer months are the time for a big helping of your favorite cold desserts.  It is loads of fun (not to mention tasty) to dig into a bowl of creamy, rich and cold ice cream.

It’s meatless Monday today and we just finished a delicious Thai peanut stir fry. Both my husband and I are in the mood for something sweet. This vegan ice cream is the perfect choice.

Even though this double dark chocolate ice cream tastes like the real deal, it is made without dairy products and does not require sugar.  

Can you guess what makes the base of this delicious recipe?  

If you guessed BANANAS, congratulations! You’re the winner! If you guessed correctly, it might be because you and your friends are vegan, gluten free, dairy free or sugar free eaters.

One might think that bananas would end up icy like other frozen fruits. But take it from me, they don’t.  

Bananas make a creamy, rich ice cream, thanks to their high pectin content. I use them all the time instead of ice in smoothies with great results.

This double dark chocolate ice cream is a cinch to make, too.  All you need are these five ingredients (sprinkles make it six but they are optional!):

• Dark cocoa protein powder
• frozen bananas
• Almond milk
• Cashew milk
• dark chocolate chunks(check your label to make sure they are vegan)
• Optional: Chocolate sprinkles, and dark chocolate shavings for serving (check your label to make sure they are vegan)
• Optional: If you like a sweeter ice cream, agave nectar can be added to the mixture and still keep it gluten free and vegan.

One of the beauties of this delicious ice cream is that you don’t need an ice cream churn.  Just put everything into a blender, mix up all the ingredients, and freeze the mixture until it is solid.

It is so super easy to make that you can even let the kids help.

Start by adding the first four ingredients to the blender.  It mixes up very easily and is easy to pour into a container for freezing. Look at this luscious mixture!  

I can’t wait until I can dig into a big bowl of it once it freezes. In fact, the texture of it right now would make a perfect milk shake.

Oh dear…I got side tracked there for a minute!  I’d better forget about my thoughts of a milk shake, or I won’t get my ice cream!
If you wish, you can add the chocolate chunks at the beginning, and blend them really well, but I wanted a slightly crunchy texture to the ice cream, so I added them just for the final few seconds of blending.

Adding the extra chocolate to the blender also makes the ice cream a darker chocolate color, as well. You can taste the mixture at this point to see if it is sweet enough for you.  

It has a very rich dark chocolate flavor which my husband and I love, but if you want extra sweetness, agave nectar is a good option to keep this ice cream vegan and gluten free.

If you follow a normal diet, then a bit of sugar will sweeten the taste if you are not fond of the rich, dark chocolate taste (It was an acquired taste for me but I love it now.  

A little goes a long way and this saves on calories for me.)  Into the freezer this delicious mixture will go for a few hours to freeze.
Some dark chocolate shavings with a grater, and a few chocolate sprinkles add a nice touch to the presentation of the dark chocolate ice cream, because you can never get too much chocolate!

This double dark chocolate ice cream just went into the triple category! If you are following a gluten free or vegan diet, be sure to check your ingredients list to make sure they will comply with the diet.

Many do but some also contain ingredients that are not allowed on these eating regimes, or are made in factories where dairy products are used.

The flavor is so rich and creamy, chunky and sweet that I cannot believe it does not have milk or cream in it!  It is the perfect ice cream to celebrate the dog days of summer.  

I love knowing that I can indulge in one of my favorite treats without guilt, since the ingredients in it are so good for you.  And the taste?  Mmmm Mmmm GOOD, as the saying goes!TIP:  If you don’t often use almond milk and cashew milk, don’t worry. Both of them can be purchased in a shelf stable version so that you don’t have to worry about the refrigerated versions going bad before you use them all.

I keep them handy in my pantry and have actually found many uses for these dairy free milks over time.

Another tip:  This ice cream freezes quite solidly since it has so much fruit in it.  That will make it a bit hard to scoop.  A trick that I have found is putting the whole container in the microwave for about 30-40 seconds to soften it and make it easy to scoop and serve.

And now…time to dig into this double dark chocolate ice cream!  Enjoy!

You can also visit me on Facebook for additional good for you cooking tips.

For another great ice cream dessert, check out these almond ice cream sandwich cookies. So YUMMY and easy to make!

Yield: 6

Double Dark Chocolate Ice Cream - Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegan

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Enjoy the days of summer with this double dark chocolate ice cream.

Prep Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dark cocoa protein powder (I used Kashi GoLean
• 3 frozen bananas
• ½ cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk
• ½ cup unsweetened cashew milk
• ½ cup dark chocolate chunks
• Optional:
• Chocolate sprinkles, for serving, dark chocolate shavings to garnish.

Instructions

1. Place the protein powder, frozen bananas, Almond milk, and Cashew milk in a blender and blend until the mixture is smooth. I blended my bananas first before adding the other ingredients.
2. Add the chocolate chunks in the last few seconds of blending if you like a crunchy texture to your ice cream.
3. Pour into a freezer safe container and freeze until solid - about 3-4 hours.
4. Place in the microwave for about 30 seconds to soften at serving time.
5. Scoop the mixture into serving bowls, add some sprinkles to the top and enjoy! Makes 6 -1/2 cup servings.

Notes

If you like a sweeter ice cream, add a bit of agave nectar at blending time.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 293Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 50mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 4gSugar: 30gProtein: 3g

Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.

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