Curb your ice cream cravings with this 3 ingredient ice cream that can be enjoyed guilt-free at only 96 calories per serving! Sprinkle with your favorite toppings!
No, you haven't died and gone to heaven. And no, "dairy-free" and "guilt-free" do not mean flavor free! Let me tell you how this recipe came about...
I've been hearing a lot about almond milk and how it is a healthier alternative to cow's milk so I finally decided to give it a try. And guess what?!....I hated it. Not for me. It tastes like a melted milkshake which sounds better than it really is. So I'm going to continue to drink my skim milk until another contender comes along, but almond milk is definitely not my morning substitution.
So this whole disappointing debacle left me with a half-gallon of almond milk to use up. The option of using it in smoothies is always there but I wanted to see what else it could be used for which lead me to finding this intriguing recipe!
DAIRY-FREE GUILT-FREE ICE CREAM
96 calories per serving
So if you've been following my social media accounts you know I'm obsessed with Halo Top ice cream. They have multiple flavors and only about 60-90 calories per ½ cup. And the flavor is very similar to real ice cream. I'm not about to claim this recipe is as good as Halo Top because if it was I'd be selling ice cream for a living right now! However, some diets call for something even more stripped-down than Halo Top which is where this comes in!
You still get the texture and consistency of ice cream but at only 96 calories per serving (about ¾ C, and most of those calories come from the bananas!) So if you're looking for a very healthy ice cream alternative, or if you are on a special diet that won't even allow you to have the typical low fat ice cream options, this recipe is a good one to have on hand for when you have those unquenchable ice cream cravings!
This recipe is so easy my sous-chef could make it on his own. (And he doesn't have thumbs...since he's a dog...so I'd say it's pretty easy!)
You're going to add ½ C unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 C almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla) and 2 bananas to a blender and blend on high until smooth.
Pour into a freezer-safe, sealable container and freeze until solid. When ready to serve, allow to thaw for about 10 minutes to make it easier to scoop, then scoop and serve!
Sprinkle with any toppings you choose! I liked it with some semi-sweet chocolate chips on top, just be careful how many you use because the calories/points add up quickly!
Enjoy! (Quickly! Because it will start to separate and get weird if you let it sit out too long! This doesn't melt like normal ice cream 🙂 )
Looking for more healthy chocolate treats? Check out these Dark Chocolate Discs!
PrintRecipe Card

Dairy-Free Guilt-Free Ice Cream
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
Curb your ice cream cravings with this 3 ingredient ice cream that can be enjoyed guilt-free at only 96 calories per serving! Sprinkle with your favorite toppings!
Ingredients
- ½ C unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 C almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla)
- 2 bananas
- Toppings of choice
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth.
- Pour into a freezer-safe, sealable container and freeze until solid. When ready to serve, allow to thaw for about 10 minutes to make it easier to scoop.
- Sprinkle with any desired toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Eat immediately, due to ingredients it won't melt like normal ice cream!
Keywords: healthy ice cream, low calorie dessert, chocolate ice cream substitute, kid-friendly healthy dessert
What do you think? Did this recipe make the cut for you or did it crumble? What would you do differently? Leave a comment below! 🙂
monika says
won't this just freeze to a solid block in the freezer...?
i have made this type of thing in the past...
cutsandcrumbles says
Hi Monika!
It does get pretty solid in the freezer, which is why I recommended letting it thaw for about 10 mins before scooping! Otherwise it’s almost impossible. After about 10 mins it was thawed enough to scoop! (The time frame always made me stop to think if I realllly wanted ice cream that bad which wasn’t a bad side effect, either ????)