Healthy Ice Cream Recipes
by Chocolate Covered Katie
4.98 from 38 votes
This delightfully healthy mint chocolate chip nice cream recipe is naturally gluten free, dairy free, and vegan. And it can be made with just FOUR ingredients!
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
If you can only choose ONE flavor?
Without even thinking, I’ll tell you mine is—and has always been—mint chocolate chip.
While I do also love plain chocolate, and I did go through this weird phase in elementary school where I’d order black raspberry ice cream with gummy bears (which is so unlike me), mint chocolate chip has withstood the test of time; it’s still the first flavor to always catch my eye.
This healthy mint chocolate “nice” cream is sweet, creamy, nourishing, and incredibly simple– You can make it without an ice cream maker!
Trending Now: Keto Ice Cream
My favorite mint-chocolate combination has made multiple appearances on the blog before – in the Healthy Shamrock Shakes, the Mint Chocolate Fudge Pie, or in the Thin Mint Overnight Oats…
Sometimes I use spinach or avocado to achieve the green hue; other times I will skip the coloring altogether.
For this particular recipe, you can opt to skip it or you can play around with either natural food coloring or a combination of blue and green spirulina until you’ve found the perfect color balance.
Also try this Oat Milk Ice Cream
After making my nice cream a little too dark at first, I decided to add somecoconut cream in order to lighten it.
As a happy accident, the coconut cream ended up not only lightening the ice cream to the perfect shade green, it also made the recipe even more delicious than it already was!
Certainly better than black raspberry with gummy bears…
The recipe was adapted from my Banana Ice Cream.
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Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream
This secretly healthy mint chocolate chip nice cream recipe is naturally gluten free, dairy free, and vegan!
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Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes minutes
Total Time 5 minutes minutes
Yield 1 – 2 servings
5 from 38 votes
Ingredients
- 2 overripe frozen bananas (For banana-free, try this Almond Milk Ice Cream)
- pinch of salt
- 1/8 tsp pure peppermint extract, or more as desired
- optional pinch spirulina or natural food coloring
- optional 1/2 cup coconut cream or raw cashews for a richer taste
- 2-3 tbsp chocolate chips or sugar free chocolate chips
Instructions
*Be sure to buy pure peppermint extract, not mint or imitation peppermint. Add more extract for a more powerful mint flavor, adding slowly because a little goes a long way. If using the optional nuts, soak them 6 hrs to soften, then drain completely.
Start with bananas that are turning brown. Peel and cut into pieces, then freeze in an airtight bag or container. To make the ice cream, blend all ingredients until completely smooth. You can add the chocolate before or after blending. Serve immediately in a bowl, or transfer to a container and freeze until firm, then scoop out with an ice cream scoop.
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Notes
The ice cream is fantastic topped with Coconut Whipped Cream!
Have you made this recipe?
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More About The Cookbook
More Healthy Ice Cream Recipes:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream
Dole Whip Recipe
Healthy Chocolate Ice Cream
Coconut Ice Cream
You are here: Home / Healthy Ice Cream Recipes / Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream
Published on May 22, 2017
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Meet Katie
Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC's 5 O’Clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.
Learn more about Katie
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Reader Interactions
54 Comments
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Emily says
I haven’t seen a mint version of banana whip before. This looks perfect!
xo,
EmReply
I love the idea of using spirulina as coloring. Mint is by far my favorite ice cream flavor! I’m a weirdo that doesn’t love the chocolate in it, glad I have a recipe I can customize 🙂
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Jason Sanford says
Until you just mentioned it, I never thought about mint chocolate chip ice cream without the chocolate chips, but why not? Maybe even adding something else entirely like shredded coconut or pistachios?
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Angel says
Spirulina does not make it this colour green. I made this today and it’s more of a pale grey/green. If I added any more it would have tasted like the bottom of the ocean ?
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Mary Jane says
Here’s a tip for mega creamy ice cream. Use Katie’s four ingredient ice cream : 2 cups of milk (full cat canned coconut or I use 1 1/2 cups almond and 1/2 non dairy creamer to keep it semi low-cal) , 1/3 cup sugar (use less if using a sweet creamer), pinch salt, freeze in ice cube trays overnight. The next day at the ice cubes to a food processor with 2 frozen bananas, and flavoring of choice (in this case, mint) don’t add any extra milk or it will become too watery. It’s much more like a rich ice cream with way! I’ve even made a nutella version by using 2/3 up hazelnut spread and some cocoa powder.
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Jason Sanford says
That sounds amazing, especially the Nutella version.
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Barbara P. Turner says
I agree! I added about a 1/3 cup whole milk (just didn’t have what you had) and that made the nice cream a bit creamier and I did add about 2 tblspns sugar and it turned out great! I’m thinking about trying the almond coffee creamer next time OR the coconut cream – pretty sure that wd be perfect! Thanks for the tips!
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Miriam says
In that childhood break the ice game where you have to say your favorite ice cream flavor, mint chocolate chip was always the most common answer!
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Whitney says
I think I just figured out what’s going on top of my birthday cake next week. :-9 I LOOOOOOVE mint chocolate chip ice cream! It’s always been my favorite. Always. I’m curious to try this recipe with some of your cashew cream recipe, instead of coconut cream or just the cashews. I’m trying to experiment with the cashew cream more; it makes a fabulous thickener/butter substitute for healthy brigadeiro.
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Kathryn says
I am totally going to make this this week, and use a few leaves from our peppermint plant! So excited and my son’s been asking me to make banana ice cream for a couple weeks now!
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Heidi Kokborg says
This looks heavenly, Katie! I love the pretty green colour. I will need to make this ice cream this summer 🙂
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Amy Babb says
This looks so yummy! I am going to try this with a couple drops of peppermint essential oil. Thank you Katie!
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Becky says
I think I am going to put this in a crust and make an ice cream cake. Delicious. Great photos, too.
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Lisa says
One question: What is coconut “cream”? Is it different from coconut oil? In what department should I look for coconut cream? (For example, in what department does Trader Joes sell it?)
I just came over from the”Food Babe” blog where she explained all the harmful ingredients in most commercial ice creams. This recipe is perfect. Thank you so much for sharing you time and expertise and creativity with us!Reply
Jason Sanford says
They are not the same, here’s a great post explaining: http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-coconut-m-75446
Do you have a Trader Joes near you? They sell canned coconut cream that is unsweetened. Whole Foods does as well, or some grocery stores. Or Amazon.
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haviva says
would this work if i used a can of coconut milk rather than the coconut cream..? thanks!! 🙂
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Jason Sanford says
I’ve done it, and it works great!
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Barbara P. Turner says
You’re thinking like me! I keep C milk on hand usually but I’ve never even heard of the C cream. Gonna def look for that next trip out.
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mary says
Hmm sounds interesting I would forgot the coconut cream though. Ww here. I have found that freezing chocolate milk low to nonfat plus some almond or cashew milk in a ninja makes a real close frosty.
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Izzy Bruning says
This looks AMAZING!
I love nice cream so much 🙂
Izzy | Pinch of delightReply
Jen says
So I tried the recipe, and I can’t seem to cover the taste of the banana 🙁 I even doubled the extract (and used the coconut cream). Any hints? Thank you! 🙂
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Jason Sanford says
If you don’t like banana (or don’t want any banana taste at all) I’d recommend this recipe instead, using the coconut milk: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/07/06/mint-chocolate-chip-ice-cream/
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Whitney says
I made it with 1 1/2 bananas, a big splash of vanilla extract, a splash of mint extract, and about 1 1/2-2 Tbsp of frozen cashew cream. Couldn’t taste the banana at all. Maybe try adding a little milk to it to dilute the flavor more (only a little)? Hope all that helps.
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PAUL GARVEY says
I did the mint chocolate ice cream, then put it into a graham cracker pie crust, then into the freezer. Totally my kids hero now.
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Barbara P. Turner says
Bet my little granddaughter would love that! Great idea! And sooooo easy!
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Sergio says
Hi Katie can I tell me the name of characters font of the words and ?
Thanks
SergioReply
Julie says
Sounds good! Does this taste like bananas though?? Or just minty?? Thanks.
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Kristi says
Where did you find dairy free sugar free dark chocolate chips??? I’ve been searching for these forever.
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Liv13 says
Lillis, make a great brand. milk chocolate, dark chocolate and whitechocolate! sugar-free and organic.
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Kelsey B says
Hi Katie,
I would like to make this recipe but I am curious what the actual serving size is? I see that it makes 1-2 servings but I am trying to think about how to multiply that for a group of people and decide whether there will be enough based on how you have portioned it.
Thanks!
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Mary says
I just made this and used 1/4 tsp. Simply Organic peppermint flavor, I can still taste the banana a bit. Maybe because it’s flavor and not extract. I’ll have to play around with it. Enjoy Life makes the Allergy friendly chocolate chips. I used a good amount of Watkins green food coloring, but couldn’t achieve that beautiful green in the photo. How much spirulina (and what brand) did you use? Thanks in advance!
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Sue says
Super yummy! I will try matcha powder next time for color. Ate the whole thing.
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Pamela says
Does the 2 bananas and other ingredients together make the amount of ice cream as pictured above in the container your blog?
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Pamela says
Sorry, I meant …..”in the container in your blog entry.”
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Amy says
Made this today and while the taste is pretty good, it is not nearly as green as the picture and is very “frosty” in texture. I added probably 5-6 drops of green food coloring and no luck on the color. I used a food processor since I don’t have a blender or Vitamix, it was creamy before I put it in the freezer. Any tips?
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A Magical Life says
Made this recipe this morning for my kids as a soft serve “ice cream for breakfast” treat. I put in a very small handful of spinach & kale for a light green, which you couldn’t taste at all but was a little too olive green for aesthetics. I did add some full fat coconut milk and some peppermint Nu Naturals stevia in addition to the other ingredients to try to balance the banana flavor. It was just okay. The bananas still seemed overpowering. My kids love green smoothies and usually I have to make two blenders full, but nobody wanted extras and my youngest child didn’t want to finish hers (she’s picky about everything though). They all agreed that the chocolate chips were a fail in it because regular chocolate chips get too hard in cold recipes. I see in your pictures that your ice cream looks like store bought, with the thin square chocolate chips. That would probably have made a big difference, having smaller and softer chocolate chips made for ice cream. My 15 year old asked me if I’d just go back to making green smoothies for breakfast since he likes those better. 🙂 I’ll continue to tinker.
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Santini says
Love it! I love ice creams! I’m going to try this on the weekend! Pics look so tantalizing! Thanks for sharing this!
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Danna says
I just tried this, and the peppermint extract was so overpowering I had to throw the whole thing away. And I didn’t even use a full 1/8 tsp! I’ll try this again some other time and seriously only add a single drop at a time.
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Jason Sanford says
Hi, just checking, did you use pure peppermint extract? There are two different types, and the one that doesn’t say pure on the label is absolutely overpowering in any recipe and tastes artificial. With some brands, it’s so hard to tell. I’m not sure if that is what happened to yours but figured I’d throw it out there as a possibility in case!
JasonReply
Barbara P. Turner says
I am a “huge” follower of CC Katie and this is one of my favorite recipes of her’s. Another is her Black Bean Brownies! OMG soooooo good! Although my 6 yr old little granddaughter tasted them and said “GRAMMA! Are these my box brownies?!” “Uh no, they’re Black bean brownies.” “Next time can we make my fav fudgy box brownies?” LOL But yeah I love her recipes! She really knows her stuff! Keep those healthy recipes coming Katie! Thanks! (P.S. I’m Type II Diab.) I try to follow you, a little keto plus the gluten free and a bit of the Mediteranean diets. Works for me. Oh I’ve also made the bakeless brownies as well as the chocolate fat bombs and the bakeless oatmeal bars. All great!
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Chocolate Covered Katie says
Thank you so much for making the recipes!! 🙂
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Emma says
thanks for the great recipe! I was wondering if you taste the banana in the finished product?
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Jason Sanford says
Probably a little bit, but if you don’t want any banana flavor then use either the coconut milk version she mentions or this almond milk one! https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/almond-milk-ice-cream-recipe/
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Jordyn says
Hi Jason!
I’m not sure why, but I tried making it today, and the peppermint is way too over powering. What should I add to tone it down?Reply
Jason Sanford says
Hi, did you use pure peppermint extract, and how much? What brand?
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Jordyn says
I added an 1/8 teaspoon of pure peppermint extract from McCormicks brand
Jason Sanford says
Sounds good! You can definitely use less if you want it even less strong for your personal tastes – with pure extracts, a little goes a long way!
Mint Banana says
This is really gross and it tastes like bananas mixed with mint. Too confusing- the tastes don’t meld well together. I truly hate it. And so did my partner. It’s a mistake.
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CCK Media Team says
It’s perfectly ok if the recipe isn’t for you. But it doesn’t mean there is a mistake. Not everyone will like every recipe or food because we are all different.
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Brenda says
Your instructions are horrible just saying add this add this add this am i blending in a blender a Cuisinart how are we mixing this all together Very confusing
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Random. says
Be kind.
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Hilary says
I used half an avocado rather then the coconut cream and to give it both a creamy texture and to make it green, it turned out great.
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Donna says
Pandan makes a beautiful green color in recipes.
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Callie says
We have a Hamilton Beach blender. Does that work? Also, when creating, do you just make the ice cream liquid then blend or freeze before blending? Can you freeze in a Snap-ware container or do you need ice cream trays? Then after blending do you freeze it again and serve? How do you make it so creamy without coconut cream?Reply
