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!

Two scoops of cherry chip nice cream in a small dark bowl.

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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!

Ingredients to make cherry nice cream arranged on a pink surface.

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!

Overhead view of the creamy banana mixture in the food processor.

Ingredients

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

Overhead view of chocolate chips being added to cherry nice cream in a food processor.

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.

Up-close view of vegan cherry ice cream spread out in a loaf pan.

Recipe tips

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.

A scoop of cherry chocolate chip ice cream resting on top of nice cream in a loaf pan.

Up-close view of two scoops of cherry nice cream in a black bowl.

If you make this recipe, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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