You won’t believe how delicious this vegan Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream is. What’s not to love about cherries and chocolate? They’re divine on Valentine’s Day or tasty with a BBQ. Both are considered superfoods.
Cherries are a nutritional powerhouse, being, first of all, anti-inflammatory. In fact, according to nutritionfacts.org, cherries are “so anti-inflammatory they can be used to treat gout, a painful type of arthritis.” Studies have shown that as little as a half cup of cherries, or two tablespoons of cherry juice a day, may significantly lower the risk.
And chocolate is full of antioxidants and may improve blood flow and blood pressure. (1)
Plant-based Cherry Ice with Chocolate Chips
This vegan cherry ice cream recipe is totally plant-based and good for you. It’s reminiscent of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia Ice Cream, and it doesn’t disappoint.
You can add mini chocolate chips if you want, although they do have sugar and fat.
Or, you could use these cacao nibs, which have no sugar. They’re a tad bitter if you eat them by themselves.
But, when added to this cherry and chocolate ice cream or a smoothie, you don’t notice the absence of sweetness in them at all.
If you have a craving for some more sweet recipes, have a look at these:
- Peach Crisp with Oats
- Baked Apples with Cashew Cream
- Spicy Molasses Bars
- Cherry Vanilla Swirl Cake Bites
- Carrot Chai Pudding with Indian Spices
What is it about dessert? It’s so hard to resist, so it’s great to have something on hand that satisfies, yet is nutritious.
Frozen bananas make up the bulk of this vegan cherry recipe. I like to keep them on hand and I usually have enough.
When bananas become too ripe and I’m not going to eat them, I just peel them, break them into pieces, and pop them into a baggy and into the freezer. Added to a food processor with non-dairy milk and some vanilla, and you have your vanilla “ice cream” base.
I also use organic frozen cherries that are easily found in the freezer section of most grocery stores.
Once you have the vanilla banana ice cream base, add the frozen cherries and the cacao nibs. Pulse the food processor a few times to break up the cherries while still leaving them in chunks. I think you’ll enjoy this delicious, nutritious cherry chocolate ice cream dessert.
I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Vegan Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream recipe! If you have a photo, post it on my Facebook page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking
(1) https://authoritynutrition.com/7-health-benefits-dark-chocolate/
This recipe is Certified Plantricious because it meets the following guidelines.
The Trusted Seal for
Plant-Based Nutrition
- Must be whole food plant-based, contains no animal products
- May be minimally processed
- No added oil
- No added sugars
- No artificial additives or preservatives
- Sodium (mg) to Calories ratio, 1 ≤ 1
- Total Fiber to Calories, 2g ≥ 100 calories
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Vegan Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 frozen bananas broken up
- 1/3 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract non-alcoholic preferred
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs
- 1 1/2 cups frozen cherries
Instructions
- Place the frozen bananas in the bowl of your food processor and add the non-dairy milk and vanilla. Pulse to begin incorporating the bananas with the milk. Add more milk, if necessary, to create an ice cream consistency.
- Add the cacao nibs and frozen cherries and pulse a few more times to break up the cherries while leaving them chunky.
- This creates a soft-serve type of ice cream. You can freeze it, covered, and it will produce a harder ice cream which you'll need to defrost a few minutes on the counter before eating.
How do you freeze it? How long will it last frozen? Do you need to cover it?
I’m not sure how long it’ll last frozen, but I’ve left it in the freezer at least a few weeks. You should cover it to prevent freezer burn. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect this. Thanks for your question.
So delicious! I love this so much lol never made it to the freezer!
Ha, I feel ya, it’s hard to resist. So glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
How much is one serving? I’m watching my calories….
Hey Monika, This probably won’t help much but it’s 1/6 of the recipe… Ha, ok well I haven’t made it in a while so I’ll have to do that and measure. My best guess is 2/3-1 cup if you add all of the ingredients together. Google says that 3 medium bananas are equal to 1 cup, but that doesn’t quite seem right to me. It would also depend on the size of your bananas. I hope that helps.