This Healthy Blueberry Ice cream is bursting with antioxidants and creamy goodness made with juicy blueberries, frozen banana and coconut cream. It’s the perfect refreshing and nutritious homemade treat to cool you down on a hot summer day.
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Updated June 2023
Healthy Blueberry Ice Cream recipe
Looking for a delicious and healthy way to beat the summer heat? Our blueberry ice cream recipe is just what you need and doesn’t requir an ice cream maker. Packed with antioxidants and bursting with natural sweetness, this homemade treat will satisfy your cravings while providing a nourishing twist.
Made with just three ingredients and makes a yummy vegan ice cream using your food processor. It’s sweet, creamy and the perfect way to cool down on a hot summer day! All you need to make this blueberry nice cream recipe are some frozen bananas, blueberries and coconut cream. Everything blends up in less than 5 minutes and you can either enjoy it right away like soft serve or store in your freezer until ready to enjoy.
What is Nice Cream?
If you haven’t already heard of the banana ice cream trend, you are definitely going to love how simple it is to make! Nice cream really calls for one main ingredient. All you need to make a vegan ice cream recipe are some frozen bananas. Once you have your sliced frozen bananas, blend them up in a food processor or a high-speed blender. What you’ll get is a creamy soft serve ice cream that is totally guilt-free!
Plus, it’s completely dairy-free, paleo-friendly, vegan, low carb, refined sugar-free and can be customized into a ton of different flavors with add-ins you have in your kitchen.
Why This Recipe is Healthier
Unlike traditional store-bought ice creams loaded with artificial flavors and excessive amounts of sugar, our homemade blueberry ice cream offers a healthier option that doesn’t compromise on taste. By using natural ingredients and minimal sweeteners, you can indulge guilt-free while reaping the nutritional benefits of fresh blueberries. These little berries are renowned for their high antioxidant content, which helps protect your body against free radicals and inflammation. Additionally, our recipe replaces heavy cream with lighter alternatives, reducing the saturated fat content without sacrificing creaminess.
Ingredients you need
This blueberry sorbet comes together easily with just three main ingredients in your blender or food processor. We make a batch of this every few days and it’s such a great way to use up those extra ripe bananas sitting on the counter.
- Frozen Bananas – to create optimal rich flavors. We like to use ripened spotty bananas for this frozen banana ice cream recipe. Do not try to use green or yellow bananas for any nice cream recipes as you will be pretty disappointed.
- Blueberries – we like to use frozen blueberries or you can use fresh blueberries and freeze them ahead of time.
- Canned coconut cream (only use brands (like Trader Joe’s, Aroy-D) containing coconut milk & water – no Guar gum or other fillers or the ice cream will not turn out properly). If you don’t have coconut cream, you can also spoon out the thick part of a chilled can of full-fat coconut milk.
OPTIONAL:
- Vanilla extract – optional, but used for additional flavoring
- Liquid sweetener of your choice – we don’t typically add any sweeteners or sugars since we find this sweet enough but you can definitely add some to suite your taste. A few options: Maple syrup, honey (if not vegan), liquid monk fruit, sugar-free maple syrup or other liquid sweetener of your choice.
How to make Blueberry Ice Cream
To make this creamy blueberry ice cream recipe without an ice cream maker:
- Slice bananas: Slice up your banana into one-inch thick coins.
- Freeze bananas: Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Freeze for about one hour or until frozen.
- Blend: Place the frozen banana slices, blueberries and coconut cream in a food processor or a high-speed blender. Blend until the mixture resembles soft serve ice cream. Scrape the sides of the processor as needed. After a few minutes, the ice cream should have the correct creamy texture.
- Eat right away or freeze: Enjoy immediately or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1 hour or until desired consistency.
A Few Tips For This Nice Cream
Here are a few tips to make the perfect blueberry ice cream every time:
- Slice and freeze ripe bananas: Slicing bananas into smaller chunks helps the bananas blend easier once they are frozen. When you place the sliced bananas into the freezer, be sure to line the plate or tray with parchment paper or they might get stuck.
- For a sweeter ice cream, use bananas that are very ripe: If you use unripe bananas, you may need to add a preferred sweetener, such as monk fruit sweetener, coconut sugar, or maple syrup.
- Once frozen, toss into a food processor or a high powered blender (Vitamix, Blendtec etc.): At first, the frozen bananas will turn into a crumbly texture and then all of a sudden, will transform into a dreamy-licious soft, and fluffy soft-serve ice cream texture.
- Choose ripe and juicy blueberries: They will give you the best flavor and texture in your ice cream.
- Prior to blending, freeze your blueberries to enhance the creaminess of the ice cream.
- For an extra touch of freshness, add some lemon zest to the mixture.
- Allow the ice cream to firm up in the freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight to achieve the perfect consistency.
Ice Cream Variations
Play around with flavor combinations!
- Use frozen strawberries to make Strawberry Nice Cream
- Swap frozen mango chunks for a delicious Mango Nice Cream
- Stir in some peanut butter for a yummy Peanut Butter Nice Cream (or any other nut butter you like)
- Add some crumbles of Edible Cookie Dough to make a delicious Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Some cacao powder for a delicious Chocolate Nice Cream
Storage Info
Store this healthy blueberry sorbet in an airtight freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to three months.
When serving from the freezer, let it soften for a few minutes to make scooping easier. If you prefer a softer texture, you can churn the ice cream in an ice cream maker before transferring it to the freezer.
More Healthy Ice Cream Recipes you will love:
This Healthy Blueberry Ice cream is so easy to make with just 3 ingredients with no churning or ice cream maker needed! Blueberry nice cream is the perfect healthy summer treat to satisfy that ice cream craving! Vegan, dairy-free, paleo and refined sugar-free.
- 3.5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 frozen banana , cut into slices
- 1 cup Canned coconut cream Only use brands (like Trader Joe’s, Aroy-D) containing coconut milk & water – no Guar gum or other fillers or the ice cream will not turn out properly). If you don’t have coconut cream, yu can also spoon out the thick part of a chilled can of full-fat coconut milk.
- 3 tbsp maple syrup , can sub with Lakanto SF maple syrup or preferred liquid sweetener of choice
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Place the frozen banana slices, blueberries and coconut cream plus optional vanilla and sweetener (if using) in a food processor or a high-speed blender (such as a Vitamix or Blend-tec). Blend the ingredients together until the mixture resembles soft serve ice cream. Scrape the sides of the processor as needed. After a few minutes, the ice cream should have the correct creamy texture.
Transfer the ice cdream mixture to a 9x5 loaf pan. Place the loaf pan in the freezer and fro 2 hours or until frozen (or desired consistency). Before serving, remove from freezer and allow to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften.
Disclaimer: This updated post was generated on June 2, 2023 by ChatGPT, an AI language model, and all info should be reviewed and validated by a human for accuracy and relevancy before implementation.
Irene -
This was so yummy! Perfect way to use up my blueberries, thank you!