Dreamy Chocolate Ice Cream {vegan, low-carb, delicious!}
The ingredients might surprise you in this super creamy chocolate ice cream! This ice cream looks and tastes like your favorite decadent chocolate ice cream, but it is actually vegan, low-carb, and packed full of protein. If you think “vegan” and “ice cream” can’t be one in the same, don’t run away. Give this recipe a try. We think you will be glad you did! With only 4 ingredients, it’s so easy to make. Enjoy!
New to making ice cream at home? We love our Cuisinart ice cream maker, but you can use any ice cream maker of your choice. The Cuisinart ice cream maker comes in a fun variety of colors to suit your kitchen decor, and has optional additional freezer bowls so that you can make multiple batches of ice cream the same day. Another great ice cream maker option, if you don’t want to add additional appliances to your kitchen is the ice cream maker attachement for your KitchenAid mixer. Though we have not tried this one, we think it sounds like a great idea!
We use a blender to mix our ingredients. If you are looking for a great, dishwasher safe blender, we recommend the Oster dishwasher safe blender. We went for many years without a blender, just because I never liked cleaning the blade and jar by hand. I’m so glad Oster has a blender that is dishwasher safe. It makes clean up so easy!
Note: It is possible to whisk the ingredients together in a bowl if you do not have a blender (we used to to this), but a blender does the job so much faster. If you do whisk your ingredients in a bowl, be sure to use a very drippy creamy peanut butter. Also, mix all of the ingredients with only a small amount of milk at first, then add more milk as the peanut butter begins to incorporate into the milk.
Be sure to use a protein powder you like, as this will impact the taste of the ice cream. The sweetness in this ice cream comes from the protein powder, so if your protein powder is not sweetened, you will need to sweeten it to your liking. Keep in mind you can taste the “ice cream” before you put it in the ice cream maker and make any flavor adjustments before you start to freeze the ice cream. The Orgain Protein Powder we use is sweetened with stevia. It works well to use chocolate or vanilla flavor protein powder for this recipe.
This ice cream is easiest to serve right when it is done being churned. If you would like it to be a little more firm, you can place it in the freezer for a short time before serving. If you make the ice cream to serve for another time, or if you have leftovers, keep in mind this ice cream will have to sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes to soften. We like to store our ice cream in a protein shaker or a Pyrex glass container. This 28 oz. Contigo protein shaker fits the whole batch of ice cream. We like the protein shaker because the plastic is thick and will not crack in the freezer (we do not recommend disposable plastic containers, as they tend to crack when frozen). Storing ice cream in a Pyrex dish with a cover can also be a great idea – this way, you can microwave the bowl for a few seconds if you don’t want the wait time to let your ice cream soften.
Ready to make ice cream?
Gather your kitchen supplies:
- Ice cream maker
- Blender (optional, but very helpful)
- 1 cup measuring cup
- 1/4 cup measuring cup
- liquid measuring cup (if not using the blender to measure the milk)
- Large plate
- Container for finished ice cream (if not serving right away)
- Spoons
- bowls for serving
- Spatula for scraping bowl if needed
Gather your ingredients:
- about 2.5 cups unsweetened almond milk, vanilla or plain (you can use as little as 2 cups or as much as 3 cups, depending on the consistency you like for your ice cream)
- 2 scoops (46 g) Orgain Chocolate or Vanilla protein powder (or your favorite sweetened protein powder)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup creamy natural peanut butter (our favorite is Organic Cream Peanut Butter from BJ’s Wellsley Farms, but any very creamy, drippy, natural peanut butter will work)
Let’s Make Ice Cream!
Step 1
Pour 2.5 cups of unsweetened almond milk into your blender.
Step 2
Add 2 scoops (46 g) protein powder into the blender.
Step 3
Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder into the blender.
Step 4
Measure 1 cup creamy natural peanut butter, and add into the blender.
Step 5
Blend until smooth.
Step 6
Turn on your ice cream maker and pour in the mixture. Let the mixture churn for about 20 minutes.
Step 7
Ice cream is ready when it looks creamy and firm. You may need to stir the ice cream once in a while as it churns to keep it moving.
Step 8
Remove the ice cream from the ice cream maker and place it on a large plate.
Step 9
Scoop the ice cream into bowls to serve immediately, or scoop the ice cream into a storage container to serve later.
And of course... you can always add sprinkles!
This ice cream has no refined sugar and is packed full of protein, so when the question is, “Mom, may we have more ice cream?” the answer can be “Yes!”
P.S. Looking for low sugar sprinkles? Find our suggestion from our cut-out cookie recipe.
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