For everyone who loves mint-chocolate ice cream, here is a version with no dairy and no refined sugar, ready in minutes. The base of blended frozen bananas gives a strikingly creamy texture, lifted by fresh mint leaves and a touch of spirulina that lends it that bright green shade, along with a welcome nutritional boost. A drizzle of melted chocolate finishes the dessert on an indulgent note.
Mint chocolate nice cream
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Ingredients
For the nice cream
- 3 frozen bananas, cut into slices
- 1/4 tsp spirulina powder
- 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1/4 cup almond milk
For the chocolate drizzle
- 1/4 cup raw dark chocolate pieces, melted
Preparation
- Put the frozen bananas, the spirulina, the vanilla, the mint and the almond milk into a powerful blender.
- Blend until creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides if needed.
- Divide the nice cream between bowls.
- Gently melt the dark chocolate in a bain-marie and drizzle it over each portion, then serve at once.
Tip
For an even smoother, gelato-like texture, freeze your bananas in slices rather than whole: they blend far more easily.
For ice cream that turns out right every time: with the Ninja CREAMi Deluxe ice cream maker, there is no more stirring every hour or keeping an eye on the freezer. You freeze the mixture in its pint, choose the program (ice cream, sorbet, gelato or slush), and in a few minutes the machine gives you a smooth, creamy texture with no ice crystals. It is the appliance we adopted this summer for our plant-based ice creams.
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FAQ: your questions about mint chocolate nice cream
How do you make a dessert with frozen bananas?
The frozen banana is one of the few fruits that, blended on its own, gives an ice-cream texture - its starch and pectin content does all the work. The basic rule: slice it before freezing, leave it at least 4 hours in the freezer, then blend it with very little liquid, two or three tablespoons are enough. Beyond nice cream, it is the base for mousses, thick milkshakes or smoothie bowls. And if the blender struggles, leave the slices 5 minutes at room temperature before starting again.
What is the best chocolate for homemade ice cream?
For a drizzle that stays supple, choose a dark chocolate rich in cocoa butter rather than a very hard couverture: on contact with the cold, the latter sets into a brittle sheet. Raw chocolate works particularly well here, since the dessert is never heated beyond melting in a bain-marie. Aim for at least 70% cocoa so the bitterness can stand up to the sweetness of the banana. And melt over a very low heat: above 45 °C, raw chocolate loses precisely what sets it apart.
What is the recipe for mint chocolate?
The simplest version comes down to three ingredients: melted cocoa butter, raw cocoa powder, a liquid sweetener, then a few fresh mint leaves infused in the warm cocoa butter for about ten minutes before being strained out. You then pour it into a mould and let it set in the fridge. That infusion is what makes the difference from a shop-bought flavouring: the scent is more discreet, more herbal, and it leaves none of that artificial minty sensation at the end.
Which ingredient stops ice cream turning into a block of ice?
In a classic ice cream, fat and sugar are what stop water crystallising into large ice shards. Here the banana plays both roles at once: its sugars and its fibres hold on to the water, which explains the creamy texture without any cream. If you make a larger batch to store, add a tablespoon of nut butter or full-fat coconut milk: that small amount of fat markedly limits the crystals. And take the ice cream out 10 minutes before serving, so it has time to soften again.
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