Healthy Cookie Dough Nice Cream

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!

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.

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!

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Originally posted June 2016. Completely updated Oct 2021