Healthy Cookie Dough Nice Cream – This cookie dough nice cream recipe is perfect for cookie dough lovers! (Gluten-Free, Vegan & Paleo-Friendly)
Hi, I’m Emily and I’m the worst at buying bananas.
No matter how many bananas I buy, it seems like the wrong amount. I can buy a bunch and every one eats them i a flash, or I can buy fewer bananas and they’ll be hanging around uneaten, begging to be used.
Thankfully, even though I’m bad at buying the right amount of bananas, I’m excellent at *using* extra bananas. It helps when you have things like gluten-free banana muffins, chocolate-swirl banana bread, banana pops, banana cake and banana pancakes to help you along, but I’ll be honest: nice cream is one of my favorites.
I started making “nice cream” (a thick soft-serve like banana “ice cream” made from frozen ripe bananas) when my kids were tiny. It made a great healthy snack to cool off with on hot afternoons. My kids loved their ice cream, and I loved that they were getting in some bananas.
We’ve tried all sorts of nice cream recipes over the years, tossing in goodies like raspberries, peanut butter, or toasted coconut and almonds, but our healthy cookie dough nice cream is definitely the family favorite. I shared this recipe back in 2016 (when Sophie was a kindergartener!!!), but I though it was time for a glow-up.
I love that it’s simple to pull together and even though it’s definitely a treat, it’s also made from wholesome ingredients–almond flour, pure maple syrup, bananas, etc…Other than the chocolate chips, it’s remarkably healthy.
It’s also remarkably delicious.
Here’s all you’ll need to make a batch of our healthy cookie dough nice cream…
Ingredients For Our Healthy Cookie Dough Nice Cream Recipe:
- For The Healthy Edible Cookie Dough. We’re making our healthy edible cookie dough recipe, then rolling or scooping the dough into tiny bite-sized pieces to swirl into our nice cream. You’ll just need butter or vegan butter/coconut oil, almond flour, pure maple syrup, vanilla, salt, and mini chocolate chips. Easy-peasy!
- For The Banana Nice Cream. Are you ready for this? It’s just frozen bananas and whatever milk you drink at home! That’s it!
- For The (Optional) Chocolate Shell. If you’re feeling a bit extra, feel free to add some of our favorite dairy-free chocolate shell on top. It’s just chocolate chips + coconut oil, and it does that magic trick of going from warm and liquidy to crackly crunchy on top of the nice cream. Delicious!
Our Favorite Dairy-Free Chocolate Brands For This Recipe:
HU KITCHEN – This vegan & paleo chocolate is naturally-sweetened & allergy-friendly. It’s got great flavor and works well if you want to make vegan or paleo frozen hot chocolate! (I get it at Sprouts or Whole Foods)
GUITTARD CHOCOLATE CHIPS – Guittard’s semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips contain no dairy ingredients, though they aren’t vegan certified. I love their flavor and how beautifully they melt.
ENJOY LIFE – Allergen-friendly chocolate chips that come in semi-sweet and dark chocolate varieties. Pretty easy to find these days in the US!
TOLL HOUSE SIMPLY – Another allergy-friendly brand that’s getting easier and easier to find.
LILY’S STEVIA-SWEETENED – If you’re avoiding refined sugar and Hu Kitchen chocolate isn’t in your price range, you may love Lily’s stevia-sweetened chocolate chips.
How To Make Amazing Banana Nice Cream Every Time:
Banana nice cream is one of the easiest treats out there to make, but there are definitely a few tricks to help you get the creamiest, thickest nice cream recipe possible.
- Freeze Your Bananas In Slices. Whenever possible, I recommend using the tips in our How To Freeze Bananas post. Cutting the bananas into slices before freezing means they’re easier to blend which means you can…
- Use As Little Liquid As Possible. The biggest trick for thick, creamy banana nice cream is to use as little liquid as possible. The less liquid you use, the creamier and thicker your banana nice cream will be. It’s better to take breaks and stir often than it is to add more liquid.
- Feel Free To Freeze It If You Need To. I prefer it best when I can use my banana nice cream straight from the food processor or blender, since it’s got that gorgeous soft-serve ice cream texture. But if it’s getting melty or you accidentally added too much liquid, you can absolutely pop your nice cream into the freezer for 20-30 minutes to firm up a bit before serving.
How To Make Banana Nice Cream, Step-By-Step:
- Start By Adding Sliced Frozen Bananas to a food processor. (I recommend freezing them sliced, but definitely cut them into slices or chunks before blending if you haven’t already so they’re easier to blend.)
- Add Just 1 Tbsp. milk at a time and blend 2-3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides, as needed, until there are no big lumps and the nice cream looks thick and creamy.
- Remember: Add as little liquid as possible! The less liquid you add, the creamier and thicker your banana nice cream will be.
- Mix In Any Toppings Or Garnishes & enjoy!
FAQ + Tips For The Best Healthy Cookie Dough Banana Nice Cream
What’s The Best Healthy Cookie Dough For Nice Cream? We love this yummy edible cookie dough recipe made with almond flour. The flavor is delicious and I love how nutritious almond flour is!
I Can’t Have Almond Flour, Can I Use Regular Flour? NO! Not unless you heat-treat first it to kill bacteria. Raw flour is not considered safe to eat uncooked. Almond flour is made from ground almonds, so it’s safe to eat raw. If you need a nut-free cookie dough recipe, you might like this oat flour cookie dough recipe.
Ch-ch-ch-chocolate. Our favorite allergy free chocolate chips are Enjoy Life. They’re free of all major allergens and the mini chocolate chips are perfect for this recipe.
Try It With Magic Shell. Want to send things over the top? Try making this 2-ingredient magic chocolate shell to drizzle over the ice cream. SO GOOD.
Is A Blender Or Food Processor Better For Making Banana Nice Cream? I prefer a food processor. I like how it’s easy to see the texture of the ice cream, and I find I don’t have to stop to scrape down the edges as often. With a blender, sometimes the blades get stuck or pockets form and if you don’t have a tamper on your blender, it can mean a lot more stopping to scrape down the sides. We love our affordable 7-cup Food Processor for this job!
Healthy Cookie Dough Nice Cream
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2–4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This healthy cookie dough nice cream recipe is perfect for cookie dough lovers! (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Paleo)
NOTE: This will make more cookie dough than you need. Store the leftover cookie dough in an airtight bag or container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Ingredients
For The Healthy Cookie Dough Bites:
- 3/4 cup almond flour (not regular flour*)
- 1/4 cup butter, vegan butter, or coconut oil, softened
- 2 Tbsp honey (or pure maple syrup)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)
For the nice cream
- 4 frozen ripe bananas, cut into slices (we like to freeze them like this)
- 1/4 cup milk, or more if needed (I use unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk)
Instructions
For the cookie dough:
- Line a plate with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together butter/oil, honey, vanilla, and salt until well mixed and creamy. Mix in the almond flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Mixture will be fairly soft.
- Use a teaspoon to make tiny little balls. Place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes, or until firm.
For the nice cream:
- When you’re ready for the ice cream, place bananas and milk into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth, adding more milk as necessary. Stir in cookie dough balls to taste and enjoy immediately!
Notes
*Regular flour or gluten-free flour is not considered safe to eat raw. Don’t substitute it in this recipe unless you heat treat it first!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cookie dough nice cream, nice cream recipe, banana ice cream recipe, banana nice cream, healthy cookie dough nice cream recipe
Originally posted June 2016. Completely updated Oct 2021
This looks so so amazing! I can not wait to try it this weekend
I have been pining for something like this! Thank you for a simple recipe I can eat.
My pleasure! I hope you love it!