Cherry Chocolate Chip Nice Cream is dairy-free and vegan, with a creamy banana and cashew butter base, and loaded with sweet cherries and dark chocolate chips. You need just six ingredients to make this no-churn cherry nice cream!
If you’re new around here, hi, my name is Leanne, and I’m obsessed with nice cream! Summer or winter, it doesn’t matter. There are always frozen bananas waiting in my freezer to be whipped into some flavour of nice cream!
While my favourite flavour is chocolate peanut butter, this time of year, it’s all about the cherries. The season is short, so you really need to enjoy them in whatever way possible! And cherry chocolate chip nice cream is a delicious way to indulge in nature’s candy!
What is nice cream?
I’ve explained it on the blog before, but if you aren’t sure, nice cream is just frozen bananas, blended up with your choice of dairy-free milk, maple syrup, fruit, cocoa, herbs, spices, extracts and/or nut butters. It’s an ice cream alternative for those who are vegan or have difficulty digesting dairy, or in particular, dairy ice cream. You can enjoy it as soft serve or freeze it so it resembles the texture of hard serve ice cream. Or you can pour it into popsicle molds and enjoy it as nice cream pops.
While I usually go for nice cream pops, because they make a quick grab n’ go treat, today I’m serving up some hard serve nice cream.
So grab your bowl and spoon, and I’ll quickly run through how to make this banana ice cream!
Ingredients to make cherry chocolate chip nice cream
- Bananas, sliced and frozen
- Cherries, pitted and halved, fresh or frozen
- Cashew butter (for added creamy texture)
- Maple syrup (for added sweetness)
- Almond extract (for some extra flavour)
- Vegan dark chocolate chips
How to make cherry nice cream
- Start by slicing and freezing your bananas. This will create the creamiest nice cream texture. I usually freeze the cherries too, but you can also use fresh. Just make sure they are pitted and halved.
- Add the frozen bananas to a high-powered food processor or blender, along with the cashew butter, maple syrup and almond extract, and blend on high until a creamy texture forms. This will take a few minutes, and you will need to stop a few times to scrape down the sides and loosen up the mixture.
- It may look like it needs more liquid in order to start blending together, but resist the urge. The more liquid you add, the icier your nice cream will get, and you want the creamiest texture possible.
- Once the mixture is thick and creamy, add the cherries, and blend/process until they are well incorporated but little pieces still remain. Next, add in the dark chocolate chips, and pulse until they are broken apart. Don’t worry if some full chips still remain. Just don’t blend/process the mixture too much or it will get too soft and runny.
- At this point, you can serve the nice cream as soft serve, or pour it into a loaf pan and place in the freezer for 3-4 hours to set up as hard serve.
Some tips for making this vegan cherry ice cream
- You will definitely need a high-powered blender or food processor to blend up the frozen bananas. If your blender or food processor is less powerful, you can add a little bit more liquid, but keep in mind this will impact the creaminess of the nice cream.
- For the best taste and texture nice cream, I like to use bananas that are firm and ripe. If they are not quite ripe, the nice cream will taste too much like bananas, and if they are overripe, the nice cream will lose some of its creamy texture.
- You can use fresh or frozen cherries. I’ve used both with the same results. The only difference is that you will need to freeze the nice cream for a little longer if you use fresh cherries.
- I like to use cashew butter as it adds extra creaminess without having an overpowering taste, but you can use another nut butter of choice.
- To keep this nice cream vegan and dairy-free, use vegan dark chocolate chips.
- If the nice cream gets too hard in the freezer, just let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before scooping up and serving.
Some other banana-based ice creams you might like:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Mocha Nice Cream Pops (you only need six ingredients, and they remind me of a fudgsicle!)
- Raspberry Chocolate Chip Nice Cream Pops (these easy pops are a fun summer treat with a secret ingredient!)
If you make this Cherry Chocolate Chip Nice Cream, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below!
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Cherry Chocolate Chip Nice Cream (Vegan)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Blend, Freeze
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
Cherry Chocolate Chip Nice Cream is dairy-free and vegan, with a creamy banana and cashew butter base, and loaded with sweet cherries and dark chocolate chips. You need just six ingredients to make this no-churn frozen summer treat!
Ingredients
- 4 large bananas (firm and ripe), sliced and frozen
- 1/4 cup cashew butter
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups cherries (pitted and halved), fresh or frozen
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips, vegan
Instructions
- Add the frozen bananas to a high-powered food processor or blender, along with the cashew butter, maple syrup and almond extract, and blend on high until thick and creamy. This will take a few minutes, and you will need to stop a few times to scrape down the sides to loosen the mixture.
- Add the cherries, and blend/process until well incorporated but little pieces still remain. Add in the chocolate chips, and pulse until they are broken apart.
- Pour into a loaf pan, or container with a lid. Cover and place in the freezer to set for 3-4 hours.
Notes
- I recommend a high-powered blender or food processor to blend up the frozen bananas. If your blender or food processor is less powerful, you can add a little bit more liquid, but keep in mind this will impact the creaminess of the nice cream.
- For the best taste and texture, I like to use bananas that are firm and ripe. If they are not quite ripe, the nice cream will taste too much like bananas, and if they are overripe, the nice cream will not be as creamy.
- You can use fresh or frozen cherries. I’ve used both with the same results. The only difference is that you will need to freeze the nice cream for a little longer if you use fresh cherries.
- I like to use cashew butter as it adds extra creaminess without having an overpowering taste, but you can use another nut butter of choice.
- To keep this nice cream vegan and dairy-free, use vegan dark chocolate chips.
- If the nice cream gets too hard in the freezer, just let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
1. If I doubled the recipe, would the 2nd batch keep in the freezer for a month or more? (i.e., like commercial vegan frozen dairy products)
2. Can a different nut butter (e.g., almond) be used instead of cashew? Cashew butter is very pricey.
Hey there! I don’t recommend storing this nice cream in the freezer for that long as it will get icy. You can definitely substitute with another nut butter. Almond butter works well.
Aww Leanne! This looks so so delicious! I just used all my ripe bananas to make delish banana pancakes so the next time I get some I’ll definitely try this one 🙂
xo Ros
Thanks Ros! Hope you get to make it! I always have a stash of bananas in my freezer for nice cream!