This Chocolate Chip Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream is an easy and healthy recipe made with only 4 clean ingredients! It's the perfect plant-based dessert that can be prepared in about 5 minutes, is banana free, and can be made with fresh or frozen raspberries!{ Plant-Based | Vegan | Gluten-Free | Dairy-Free | Soy-Free | Egg-Free | No Refined Sugar | Paleo-Friendly }
Pre-freeze the inner container of your ice cream maker overnight.
Prepare the ice cream:
Add all ingredients for the ice cream to a Vitamix and blend until everything is well combined.
Pour the mixture into the pre-frozen inner container of your ice cream maker and proceed using your machine's directions (mine is ready in about 20-30 minutes).
Add the add-ins:
When the ice cream is ready, add in the add-ins and gently stir them in by hand. Take care to not over stir the raspberries (especially if they are frozen) because they will "bleed" and turn the ice cream pinkish. It won't affect the flavor, just the appearance.
Serve immediately as a "soft-serve" ice cream or transfer the mixture to a 9 x 5 loaf pan, cover tightly, and place it in the freezer for 3-4 hours for traditional "scoopable" ice cream.
Notes
Raspberries: I've used both organic frozen raspberries and fresh organic fresh raspberries and both work fine. However, frozen raspberries may "bleed" into the ice cream and might turn it pink. It wouldn't affect the flavor but may change the appearance slightly.Cashews: Make sure you use "raw" cashews and not "roasted + salted". In addition, It is not necessary to soak the cashews before adding them to your Vitamix, but you can if you have extra time. Simply add the cashews to a bowl filled with filtered/purified water and allow them to soak for 30-60 minutes. Drain and rinse them before adding to the Vitamix.Sweetener: Make sure your sweetener is vegan, as most sugar is whitened with animal bone char. The brand I use is 100% vegan and made without animal bone char. You can also substitute the cane sugar with organic maple syrup in the same amount.Coconut Cream: Add the entire can to the Vitamix. This can be substituted with coconut milk. Just make sure you use "full-fat" coconut milk in a can and add the entire can to the blender with the coconut fat + coconut water.Coconut Oil: If you don't like the taste or smell of coconut oil, use organic refined coconut oil which has zero coconut taste or smell. Chocolate Chips: I find the "mini" chocolate chips work better since they're smaller, but you could also use standard-size chocolate chips.Arrowroot: I added this ingredient to thicken the ice cream mixture. It can be omitted or substituted with organic cornstarch.Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, but it can always be substituted with sea salt.No-Churn Method: You could also make this recipe without an ice cream maker. Just pour the ice cream mixture into a 9 x 5 baking dish and gently stir/swirl in the raspberries. I've tried to make no-churn ice cream with chocolate chips before and they all just sink to the bottom. If you want to make it without an ice cream machine, you can add the chocolate chips and let them sink, or just sprinkle them on top right before you serve it.Serving Size: This recipe will make approximately (3) cups of ice cream. Nutritional information is for 1/2 cup which is (1) serving.