Chocolate mocha nice cream in bowl on blue and white towel

Chocolate Mocha Nice Cream

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Chocolate mocha nice cream is creamy, delicious chocolate dessert you can easily make at home. There is no need to wait until the summer to enjoy this healthy chocolate mocha ice cream substitute. Bananas and peanut butter are the base instead of cream.

Why This Recipe Works

This is homemade without the need for an ice cream maker. The peanut butter gives it a creamy texture without using cream. It is dairy-free and egg-free, and is a great way to use up extra bananas too.

chocolate mocha Nice cream in bowl with strawberry
chocolate mocha nice cream

What is Nice Cream?

Nice cream is traditionally a blended fruit dessert. Bananas are generally the base, and then other fruits can be added. They may be made with fruit or coconut milk in place of dairy products. This recipe is a terrific and easy ice cream option for vegans. It is easy to make and very low in added sugars. In fact, I have accidentally made it without the maple syrup and it was just as good: feel free to omit it if you want to skip a little added sugar.

Some types of nice cream even contain spinach! Others contain coconut milk or fat. But, the bananas make it so creamy, that it’s not necessary at all for this frozen treat. The main source of fat in this recipe is peanut butter. And that is unsaturated, mainly monounsaturated: a much better choice than dairy fat.

Chocolate mocha nice cream in bowl on blue and white towel
chocolate mocha nice cream


Nutrition in Chocolate Mocha Nice Cream

The calories are a bit lower in this nice cream recipe than in chocolate ice cream (I compared it to Walmart brand chocolate ice cream). This recipe is also significantly higher in potassium than ice cream. As you can see, it is much lower in both total fat and saturated fat. In addition, it contains less total sugars. The added sugar data wasn’t available in the database as this is a newer term on food labels, but it is lower in the nice cream as well. In summary, this is a healthier treat: nice!

The nutrition data is from VeryWell Fit.

Chocolate Mocha Nice CreamChocolate Ice Cream
Calories104130
Potassium367 mg.230 mg.
Total fat3 gm.7 gm.
Saturated fat0.8 gm.4 gm.
Total sugars10.6 gm.15 gm.
nutrition comparison for half cup servings


Nice cream may also be less expensive than ice cream. We buy bananas for $0.39 – $0.49 per pound, so the main ingredient is cheap. Vegan ice cream sells for $5 – 6 per pint! And, you don’t have to worry about it melting on the way home from the store.

Ingredients

  • Ripe bananas 
  • Natural peanut butter
  • Cocoa powder
  • Vanilla soy milk (I have not tried it with oat milk or almond milk yet but these may work equally well)
  • Instant coffee crystals
  • Maple syrup

How to Prepare this Nice Cream

Choose some nice ripe bananas. Peel and slice the bananas into chunks of a half to a quarter inch thick. Freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

slices of bananas on cookie sheet for making nice cream
slices of bananas on cookie sheet

After a few hours, I pull them out for about 15 minutes so they are semi-soft for blending. As an alternate method, you could use whole bananas that are already frozen. I often keep these in my freezer for making muffins and bread. I pulled out 4 and let them sit for about 20 minutes. Then, I sliced them in half, squeezed the insides into the bowl of the food processor, and blended them with the other ingredients.

4 bananas defrosting on white cutting board
defrosting bananas

In the meantime, I heat the soy milk in the microwave for 20 seconds (careful, it gets hot!) and then mix in the coffee crystals. Then, add the bananas, cocoa powder, soy milk, maple syrup, and peanut butter to the food processor and run on high for 20 seconds. You can use a blender if you prefer.

bananas, cocoa, and other ingredients in food processor bowl
ingredients in food processor

Just pour the mixture into a waxed paper-lined loaf pan and freeze it for a few hours.

Nice cream in loaf pan
nice cream in loaf pan

I take it out of the freezer before dinner so it is soft enough to scoop for dessert.

Flavor Variations and Mix-ins

For this chocolate flavor, you could add in a little cinnamon. If you like chunks, try folding in dark chocolate pieces, crushed Oreos, or chopped nuts.

Instant espresso can be substituted for instant coffee.
You can top this with whipped cream made from aquafaba, which is the liquid from canned chickpeas, or coconut whipped cream. I have garnished this with shaved dark chocolate. It is great with fresh berries, too!

How to Store Nice Cream

After you have taken out the nice cream for a meal and have some to save, I suggest transferring it to a plastic container with a lid to keep out any off-flavors. The longest I have had it in the house is a few days so I can’t say how long it will last from personal experience.

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Chocolate mocha nice cream in bowl on blue and white towel

Chocolate Mocha Nice Cream

Melissa Altman-Traub
Chocolate mocha nice cream is creamy, delicious chocolate dessert you can easily make at home. There is no need to wait until the summer to enjoy this healthy chocolate mocha ice cream substitute.
5 from 6 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
freezing time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 7
Calories 104 kcal

Equipment

  • Food processor or blender

Ingredients
  

  • 4 ripe bananas sliced into 3/4" chunks
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter natural
  • Ā¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 3 tablespoons soy milk vanilla
  • Ā½ teaspoon instant coffee crystals
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Instructions
 

  • Place the banana pieces on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and freeze for at least an hour.
  • Heat the soy milk in a microwave safe container for 20 seconds. Stir in the coffee crystals until dissolved.
  • Remove the bananas from freezer and let sit out for about 15 minutes.
  • Place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. Process on high for 20 – 30 seconds until smooth, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Pour the mixture into a waxed paper lined loaf pan. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
  • Remove from freezer for 15 minutes before serving.

Video

Notes

Based on a half cup serving.
Nutrient data is from VeryWell Fit.
This made 7 servings, using 4 medium bananas.
May substitute any plant-based milk for the soy milk.

Nutrition

Calories: 104kcal
Keyword Dairy-free, Gluten-Free, Nice cream, Vegan
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Nutrition facts label for chocolate mocha nice cream
pin of chocolate mocha nice cream in bowl on blue and white tea towel
chocolate mocha nice cream

Have you tried this Chocolate Mocha Nice Cream? Please leave a rating and let me know in the comments how you liked it.

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14 thoughts on “Chocolate Mocha Nice Cream”

  1. 5 stars
    I love anything about chocolate!:) What I love about this is I don’t need an ice cream maker, plus it’s dairy-free and egg-free and it has peanut butter and bananas which makes it so delish!:) Thanks!

  2. 5 stars
    I make a lot of ice cream as all my family love it but mine is usually not too healthy! I am really intrigued by this recipe and feel inspired to try and make a version that is a bit healthier. Good way to use up slightly squishy bananas too!

  3. This looks great! I love the flavor profiles of banana and cocoa when mixed together! The banana really enhances the flavor of the cocoa. I will definitely be trying this!

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