This Vegan Superfood Ice Cream is an easy and healthy ingredient made with only 5 clean, real food ingredients. It's the perfect plant-based dessert that can be enjoyed in about 20 minutes and contains 3 different superfoods!
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- Can Be Made With or Without An Ice Cream Maker - Can be ready in as little as 20 minutes with an ice cream maker or about an hour without!
- Has 3 Different Superfoods - Take regular plant-based ice cream to the next level with the addition of moringa powder, baobab powder, and cacao nibs superfoods!
- Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients - Only 5 nutrient-dense and healthy ingredients are needed to make this recipe!
You can feel good about making my healthy, plant-based recipe because it's vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, nut-free, no-cook, no refined sugar, lectin-free, paleo-friendly and Medical Medium compliant.
How To Make This Recipe: Step-by-Step Instructions
Here is how to make this recipe and I'll show you how easy it is with step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1: Prepare The Ice Cream Mixture
Firstly, add all ingredients for the ice cream mixture to a Vitamix and blend until well blended.
Step 2: Prepare With Ice Cream Maker
Secondly, if you will be making the ice cream with an ice cream maker, simply pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and proceed according to your machine's directions.
Add the cacao nib add-ins at the appropriate time according to your machine's directions for add-ins.
This method will give you a "soft-serve" ice cream and can be enjoyed immediately.
Step 3: Prepare Without An Ice Cream Maker
Thirdly, if you will be making the ice cream without an ice cream maker, simply pour the mixture into a 9 x 5 loaf pan and sprinkle in the cacao nibs.
Cover the pan tightly and place in the freezer for approximately (1) hour, or until it gets to the consistency you prefer.
This method will give you a traditional "scoopable" ice cream that will need to firm in the freezer before enjoying.
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Coconut Milk: The fat in coconut milk is what takes the place of heavy cream in traditional ice cream. You will need to use "full-fat" coconut milk in this recipe and not "reduced-fat" or "light". In addition, you need coconut milk in a can and not boxed coconut milk to make this recipe.
Granular Sweetener: I used an organic vegan granular sweetener, however, you could also use organic coconut sugar or organic maple syrup but it will slightly affect the color of the ice cream. Another option is to use a low-carb sweetener like non-GMO xylitol. In addition, this is not an overly sweet ice cream. I only used 1/4 cup of sweetener, but take a taste after blending the ingredients and if you'd like yours a little sweeter, just add an additional 1/4 cup of sweetener.
Moringa Powder: If you like the pretty green color, you could also use organic matcha as a substitute.
Baobab Powder: I added this to increase the nutritional profile, but it could be omitted.
Cacao Nibs: These can also be omitted or substituted with semi-sweet mini chocolate chips.
Medical Medium: To make this recipe 100% Medical Medium compliant, omit the raw cacao nibs and substitute the organic granular sweetener with 1/4 cup organic maple syrup.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Moringa?
It's a plant-based nutrient-dense superfood which provides (gram for gram):
- 17 x the calcium of milk
- 25 x the iron of spinach
- 10 x the vitamin A of carrots
- 9 x the protein of yogurt
- 15 x the potassium of bananas
Where Can I Buy Moringa + Baobab Powder?
You can find these two superfoods online at Amazon:
Do I Need An Ice-Cream Maker To Make This?
No, you can make it with or without an ice cream maker!
- With an ice cream maker - your ice cream will have a soft-serve consistency and can be enjoyed right away.
- Without an ice cream maker (no-churn method) - your ice cream will have a more solid, traditional ice cream consistency. Instead of pouring the ice cream mixture into an ice cream maker, you will pour it into a 9 x 5 loaf pan and place it in the freezer to firm for approximately an hour. This will give you "scoopable" ice cream without an ice cream maker!
Can I Make This With A Regular Blender?
Yes! While a Vitamix is my blender of choice and I use it for everything, it is not a mandatory appliance for this recipe since there are no nuts or hard to blend ingredients.
Since the ice cream mixture is just liquid and powder, it can be mixed in a regular blender.
Can I Make Popsicles With This Recipe?
Yes! Simply pour the ice cream mixture into BPA-free ice cream molds and place them in the freezer. The cacao nibs will sink to the bottom, but you could leave them out if you prefer.
Want More Healthy Plant-Based Ice Cream Recipes?
Check out these:
- Creamy Mango and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Popsicles
- Black Forest Ice Cream
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream
- or my CLEAN DESSERTS Cookbook with 72 plant-based no-bake dessert recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Did You Make This Recipe?
I'd love to hear about it! Please give it a rating and leave a comment below...it would make my day! 🙂
Vegan Superfood Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
For the ice cream mixture:
- 1 can organic full-fat coconut milk (13.5-ounce can)
- 1/4 cup organic granular sweetener
- 2 teaspoons organic moringa powder
- 1 teaspoon organic baobab powder
For the add-in:
- 1/2 cup organic raw cacao nibs
Instructions
Prepare the ice cream mixture:
- Add all the ingredients for the ice cream mixture to a Vitamix and blend until it is well combined and smooth.
- Adjust sweetener to your preference, especially if you prefer sweeter ice cream.
- Pour the ice cream mixture into your ice cream maker and prepare according to your machine's directions.
Add the add-in:
- When the ice cream maker has finished making the ice cream, stir in the cacao nibs by hand.
Serving Options:
- Option 1: For a soft-serve type ice cream, serve and enjoy.
- Option 2: For a firmer ice cream, cover the inner container of the ice cream maker and place in the freezer for approximately 1 hour, or until it gets to the consistency and hardness that you prefer.
- Store in an air-tight BPA-free container in the freezer.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Hi, I'm Karielyn! I'm the published cookbook author of CLEAN DESSERTS and content creator of The Healthy Family and Home™ website since 2012. I specialize in creating easy, healthy plant-based and Medical Medium® compliant recipes that are gluten-free + vegan and made with clean, real food ingredients that you can feel good about eating.
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