Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut Ice Cream

Enjoy a flavorful and refreshing homemade dessert with this Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut Ice Cream recipe! Made with only 7 ingredients including bananas, peanut butter, and cocoa powder.

The most delicious chocolate and coconut ice cream

What do you do when an ice cream craving strikes, but your freezer is empty and it's too late to go to the store? You make your own, of course. And when it's this good and healthy, you'll be preferring it over storebought versions anyway!

This chocolate peanut butter coconut ice cream uses a delicious blend of 7 ingredients to create a creamy and sweet dessert. The base is made of bananas, so you know it's good.

Ingredients in chocolate peanut butter coconut ice cream

You will need seven ingredients to make this chocolate ice cream. Using a banana base, we'll add flavor with coconut cream, peanut butter, maple syrup, and a few more dessert staples!

• Bananas: First up, you will need 4 small frozen bananas.
• Coconut cream: From there, grab 1 can (5.4 oz) of coconut cream. This will thicken up the ice cream.
• Peanut butter: Add flavor with ¼ cup of natural peanut butter.
• Maple syrup: Next, sweeten up the ice cream with 3 tablespoon of maple syrup.
• Vanilla: 1 teaspoon of vanilla makes all of the difference!
• Cocoa powder: To get that delicious chocolate flavor, use ¼ cup of cocoa powder.
• Chocolate chips: Last but not least, use ½ cup of chocolate chips.

Tools needed to make homemade ice cream

To make your own "nice" cream from scratch, you'll only need four items: a food processor, spatula, bread loaf pan, and parchment paper! For measuring ingredients, set aside the following sized cups: 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, ¼ cup, and ½ cup.

How to make homemade chocolate peanut butter ice cream

Making ice cream is easier than you may expect. For this recipe, we'll simply process the ingredients and let them freeze.

To begin, blend the bananas in a food processor. You can use a blender, but a food processor is preferred.

Then, add the coconut cream, peanut butter, and maple syrup. Blend until smooth.

Add the vanilla and cocoa powder and blend again, scraping down the sides until everything is well incorporated.

Once totally smooth, pulse in the chocolate chips until everything is slightly blended.

Finally, pour the batter into a parchment-lined bread loaf pan. Freeze for 4-6 hours. Thaw for 15 minutes before scooping, and enjoy!

Optional mix-in ideas

Looking to add some more yummy mix-ins to your ice cream? Try these!

• Pretzels
• M&Ms
• Crushed Oreos
• Sprinkles
• Dried fruit
• Crushed Twix bars

How this ice cream is healthier

Banana-based ice cream is often referred to as "nice" cream, and that's exactly what this recipe is! Because it's made with a group of healthier ingredients, this is truly a "nice" version of America's favorite dessert. Here are the key ingredient changes that it uses.

Bananas
First up, the banana base! Using bananas is a wonderful alternative to using a typical ice cream base including of lots and lots of heavy cream and condensed milk.

Natural peanut butter
Next, natural peanut butter adds all-natural protein and delicious flavor without the addition of preservatives!

Maple syrup
To sweeten the ice cream, we're using maple syrup. It's a great sugar alternative because it's just as sweet but lower glycemic, and of course, all-natural!

Cocoa powder
Finally, we're able to achieve the chocolate ice cream flavor by using cocoa powder. Though the cocoa powder is processed, many stores sell clean versions made without chemicals.

After enjoying a heaping bowl or two, leftover ice cream should stay good for a little over a month. Be sure to keep it frozen in an airtight container to lock in those yummy flavors!

If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!

It's always a good time for dessert. Here are some more chocolate ideas to try!

• Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Healthy Chocolate Fudge Recipe
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
• Chocolate Caramel Pecan Pie Bites

Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photos by The Mindful Hapa