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    Home » kid friendly

    Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream

    November 13, 2021 by Agnieszka 9 Comments

    32 shares
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    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream is so smooth and creamy, you won’t miss traditional ice-cream! Made with only bananas, cherries, chocolate and vanilla, this is a healthy vegan alternative to regular dairy ice-cream. If you like Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia flavor, you will love this recipe!

    chocolate cherry nice cream in a small white bowl.
    Jump to:
    • Why this recipe works
    • What is nice cream?
    • Ingredient notes
    • How to make chocolate cherry nice cream
    • Storage and serving tips
    • Recipe FAQs
    • You may also like
    • Recipe
    • More ideas to try
    • Meet the Author

    Why this recipe works

    • It is way healthier than traditional ice-cream made with cream and sugar.
    • It’s dairy-free, refined-sugar free, oil-free, vegan and paleo.
    • Made with only a few simple ingredients.
    • Nice cream has a texture and creaminess of ice-cream but it’s essentially only made with fruit and a couple mix-ins.
    • It’s a fun, kid-friendly frozen dessert that won’t disappoint when you crave ice-cream.
    • The cherry chocolate combo is just the best!

    What is nice cream?

    Nice Cream is essentially healthy ice-cream but made with no cream. The base of nice cream is usually blended frozen bananas with or without add-ins. It’s amazing how much frozen dessert made with only bananas tastes and feels like ice-cream.  If you haven’t tried making it yet, think no more!

    Ingredient notes

    cherry chocolate nice cream ingredients with captions.
    • Frozen Bananas: I recommend using ripe bananas with lots of brown spots on the skin. Overripe bananas equal best flavor and sweet nice cream. Just peel them, slice and freeze on a flat surface, such as a cookie sheet.
    • Frozen Cherries: I buy mine at Trader Joe’s but most grocery stores carry pitted frozen cherries.
    • Vanilla: I like to use vanilla bean paste because I like the look and feel of black vanilla beans in the nice cream. If you don’t have the paste, use real vanilla extract.
    • Dark Chocolate: use good quality chocolate with high cacao content. I like dark chocolate from Lindt.
    • Milk: use any unsweetened plant milk (almond, coconut, soy, oat) or cow’s milk to help blend the nice cream.

    How to make chocolate cherry nice cream

    Step 1: Freeze the ingredients. Bananas and cherries need to be completely frozen before blending. Freeze bananas in slices for at least a couple of hours.

    Step 2: Chop cherries and chocolate. Frozen cherries are quite soft and easy to slice. Roughly chop the chocolate on a cutting board. Place both cherries and bananas in the freezer until ready to be added.

    frozen bananas, cherries, chocolate pieces, vanilla and milk in bowls on a pink tray.

    Step 3: Blend the bananas. Place all banana slices in the food processor (or standup blender) with vanilla and a bit of plant milk. Blend until smooth and creamy, stopping the engine and scraping the sides, if needed.

    making cherry chocolate banana nice cream in the food processor in two steps.

    Step 4: Incorporate mix-ins. Add frozen cherry and chocolate pieces and pulse just a couple times to fold. If you blend too much, the mix-ins will lose their texture and you will end up with a smoothie bowl.

    making cherry chocolate banana nice cream in the food processor.

    Step 5: Freeze it! Pour the mixture into a loaf pan lined with parchment or wax paper and cover the surface of nice cream with plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn. Freeze for at least 4 hours, then scoop and enjoy!

    making cherry chocolate banana nice cream in a loaf pan in two steps.

    Storage and serving tips

    Store nice-cream in the loaf pan covered with plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn. You can also transfer nice cream to an airtight container. Either way, you can store it in the freezer for a couple months (up to 3 months).

    Serve nice cream like you would traditional ice-cream – in a cone or in bowls. When you first take it out of the freezer, it may be quite hard so give it a couple minutes to soften before scooping. I like serving mine in a bowl with an additional square of chocolate.

    chocolate cherry nice cream in a small white bowl.

    Recipe FAQs

    Is nice cream healthy?

    Yes! Since it’s only made with bananas and a bit of plant milk, there is no fat or added sugar in this frozen dessert.

    Can I serve nice cream right after blending?

    If you like the texture of soft serve ice-cream, then yes! This nice cream will have similar texture to soft serve or a very thick smoothie right after blending. Personally, I prefer to freeze it for 4 hours and scoop into a bowl.

    Can I make ice cream with whole frozen bananas?

    Yes! For best blending results, I recommend using banana slices but you can actually easily slice frozen bananas because they are still relatively soft. Just slice them on a cutting board using a sharp knife and you’re good to go!

    Is nice cream vegan?

    Yes it is, as long as you use plant milk as your liquid and dairy-free chocolate. I usually go for unsweetened almond milk but any plant milk will do. For extra creamy nice cream, try full fat canned coconut milk.

    Can I make nice cream in a standup blender?

    Yes. I find that food processor does the best job blending frozen bananas with minimal liquid but it’s also possible to make it in a powerful standup blender. Just be patient, add a little more milk, if needed (1 tablespoon at a time) and stop the blender to stir and scrape the sides until you end up with the right consistency.

    Can I use chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate?

    Yes but the texture of the nice cream will be different. Chocolate chips are rounded and rather large. When frozen, they may become too hard. Chopped chocolate provides a nice crunch and adds a lot of chocolaty texture to each spoonful of nice cream. If you want to use chocolate chips, I’d go for the mini ones. Cacao nibs will also work.

    Will fresh cherries work in this recipe?

    No. All ingredients should be frozen (chocolate can be chilled). If fresh cherries is all you have, pit them and freeze for at least 1 hour on a flat surface before making nice cream.

    You may also like

    Vanilla Coconut Smoothie Bowl
    Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Smoothie Bowl
    Chocolate Bliss Balls
    Peanut Butter Bliss Balls
    Flourless Avocado Raspberry Brownies

    If you’ve made these Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream, I would love for you to leave me a comment! If you want to connect with me, you can find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

    This post includes affiliate links. 

    Recipe

    Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream

    Cherry Chocolate Nice Cream is so smooth and creamy, you won’t miss the real deal! Made with only bananas, cherries, chocolate and vanilla, this is a healthy vegan alternative to traditional ice-cream. If you like Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia flavor, you will love this recipe!
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: banana nice cream, Cherry Garcia nice cream, nice cream
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 15 minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 158kcal
    Author: Agnieszka

    Ingredients

    • 4 cups sliced bananas frozen
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
    • 1 cup frozen cherries
    • ½ bar dark chocolate
    • 3 tablespoons plant milk

    Instructions

    • Chop the chocolate and frozen cherries into pieces. If you are not making the recipe immediately, place the chocolate and cherries in the freezer until ready to use.
    • Place the frozen banana slices in the bowl of a food processor with vanilla and 3 tablespoons of cold plant milk. Process until smooth and creamy.
    • Add chopped chocolate and frozen cherries and pulse a couple times until just incorporated.
    • Enjoy immediately or transfer into a metal loaf pan, smooth out the surface and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for 4 hours, then remove the plastic wrap, leave for a couple minutes at room temperature to thaw slightly before scooping out with an ice-cream scoop.

    Notes

    If your food processor or blender has trouble blending frozen bananas, add a little more plant milk but no more than 1 tablespoon at a time.
    Chopped chocolate can be swapped for mini chocolate chips.
    For vegan nice cream use dairy-free chocolate.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 158kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 0.3mg | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 469mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 82IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

    More ideas to try

    • Smoothie Bowl Without Banana
    • Nutella Smoothie Bowl
    • Thick and Creamy Snickers Smoothie Bowl (Vegan, GF)
    • Blue Spirulina Smoothie Bowl

    Meet the Author

    Hi, I'm Agnieszka. I'm a mom of three and recipe developer, writer and photographer behind Wholly Tasteful. I love creating comforting, delicious, family-friendly recipes that you can feel good about.

    Learn more about me →

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tyanne

      November 17, 2021 at 10:43 pm

      5 stars
      I love a cherry ice cream! Super tasty vegan dessert anyone will like.

      Reply
    2. Natalie

      November 18, 2021 at 7:29 am

      5 stars
      So simple and so delicious. I love added cherries. I'm going to make this for sure.

      Reply
    3. Kayla DiMaggio

      November 18, 2021 at 9:49 am

      5 stars
      Loving this nice cream! I love the flavors of chocolate and cherry together so this was amazing!

      Reply
    4. Amanda Scarlati

      November 18, 2021 at 12:37 pm

      5 stars
      So delicious! love the flavor and texture

      Reply
    5. Jeri

      November 18, 2021 at 2:25 pm

      5 stars
      I had the exact same Lindt bar in my pantry so I had to make this nice cream! My son is allergic to cherries so I substituted raspberries instead. It was so good! Thanks!

      Reply
    6. nancy

      November 18, 2021 at 4:26 pm

      5 stars
      Super tasty vegan dessert that i'm making tonight in my vitamix!

      Reply
    7. Genevieve

      November 19, 2021 at 5:00 pm

      5 stars
      Oh this chocolate Cherry ice cream looks delicious! I’ve always wanted to make my
      Own, thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
    8. Lee-Ann Grace

      November 19, 2021 at 11:28 pm

      5 stars
      I ate way too much of this...such a problem! And I love chocolate and cherry together. Thanks

      Reply
    9. Anna

      February 12, 2022 at 5:30 pm

      5 stars
      so delicous!

      Reply

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    Hello and welcome to Wholly Tasteful, a healthy food and lifestyle blog! My name is Agnieszka and I am a busy mom of 3 living in and renovating a 1852 farmhouse in Maine. My recipes use ingredients that are healthy, whole and family friendly. More about me

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