A no churn Dairy Free Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is something anyone can make. This vegan dairy free mint ice cream is made from pure coconut cream, fresh spinach leaves and peppermint extract.
It’s freezing but I can honestly say, ice cream is great all year round. And mint ice cream is the best kind. Have I told you how excited I get when things work out the way I expect them? I’ve been dreaming of this ice cream, I love mint with chocolate and this recipe has been in my head for nearly 2 years. I’ve always wanted to create an easy no churn (no machine) ice cream that had the same texture as ice cream. Coconut was on our allergy list for such along time I thought we’d never be able to enjoy it.
If you remember, I’ve done a banana chocolate chip ice cream cake and strawberry banana ice cream cake. But honestly, I felt like that was cheating a little since there was no cream in either of them. Still really great if you have food allergies and can’t have dairy. So here’s a real ice cream, using coconut cream, that’s still food allergy friendly.
It’s time to unleash the coconut cream fantasy. 😀
I recently asked my readers on Facebook what recipes they wanted and couldn’t find in stores. I offered my wish of a Shamrock Shake but another reader mentioned how expensive coconut ice cream was (close to $6 a pint) and how that was limiting her decision to make a shake.
I don’t know about you but $6 seems a bit pricy for a small pint of ice cream,especially if you’d be using most of it for a shake. Just recently I found that Trader Joe’s started carrying their own version of coconut ice cream for only $2.99 a pint, so at least that’s an option if you live near one. And summer will be here (and hopefully sometime soon).
This recipe, uses a fairly economical canned coconut cream found at Trader Joe’s for $1.99 a can. Not cheap but certainly not $6. If you had an ice cream maker, you could probably add some extra coconut milk to stretch it a bit farther without an icy texture.
I ended up changing my method a bit after I found the texture froze really well without ice crystals. I You’ll notice in the picture there are not chips. Originally I planned on throwing it back into the blender after it was frozen to smooth it out but found it didn’t need any. It’s probably due to the high fat content in the coconut cream vs coconut milk. Be sure to buy the cream and refrigerate at least overnight to make the cream solid. Go figure all that cream it makes it extra creamy. I haven’t use other brands but heard it can vary a lot with at the amount of cream. The Trader Joe’s is literally all cream with only 1 T of water at the bottom of the can. Other brands would work just be sure to only use the cream (solid) part.
- 1 can coconut cream (NOT milk see note)
- ½-3/4 cup fresh spinach leaves (see note for using frozen)
- 6 Tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp peppermint extract
- ½ cup mini allergy friendly chocolate chips
- Combine spinach and ¼ of coconut cream in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Add sugar, vanilla, remaining cream, peppermint extract and blend again until smooth. Mix in chocolate chips.
- Pour into an metal bread pan and place in freezer until set (2 hours if cream was already chilled or up to 6 hours)
- Scoop and enjoy!
Some other things you may like:
Gluten Free Dairy Free Samoa Ice Cream Cake (aka Carmel deLites)
Blueberry Ice Cream (dairy free vegan) No machine
Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cake (Dairy Free)– egg free nut free soy free
Easy 5 minute Coconut Whipped Cream- Vegan, dairy free
Mint Chocolate Brownies (gluten free Vegan)– egg free dairy free soy free
Hello, I’m Laura! Thanks for stopping by… I hope this blog will help you or someone you know and love. 
Hi, how long will this keep in the freezer? I’m going to be making it for a vegan friend who is going to be house/kitty sitting for a few days. I always make her some vegan food and dessert as payment and she was VERY excited about this!
As long as it’s frozen and in an air tight container, I’d say at least a month… but chances are it won’t last that long once you taste it.?
Would mint leaves work instead of mint extract?
Yes, real mint leaves could be used but it will alter the taste. I found that real mint has so many different varieties of flavors; the main flavor is usually more spearmint than the peppermint. I’d love to hear if you try it!
I boil my coconut cream to break down the fats, then let it sit to cool with a big bunch of mint steeping in it. It’s lovely..very fresh tasting. (I lift out the mint after it’s steeped.)
I think adding the spinach, both for color and for the nutrients, is genius!
That sounds delicious! I bet the infused flavor would be amazing! Thank you so much!
Doesn’t chocolate contain dairy? Making the recipe not vegan friendly?
Regular chocolate contains milk; allergen friendly chocolate such as Enjoy Life brand is dairy free, soy free, peanut/ tree nut free and Vegan. Most Vegans usually know this but I’d added this info to make it clearer.
Is it possible to use one avocado and/or spinach in this recipe?
I think you could use avocado with spinach but the results will be dramatically different without an ice cream mixer. The water content in the avocado will make this very icy and will influence the sweetness of the recipe. There are avocado ice creams out there but I have not personally attempted this…yet 🙂
Hi, could you substitute honey instead of sugar?
Absolutely! You probably wouldn’t need the full 6Tbsp of honey since I remember honey being very sweet.
Yum! Looks so good. I love the addition of spinach for some green color rather than artificial dyes!
what it’s coconut cream?
can i use coconut milk from fresh grated old coconut mix water for coconut cream and boiling for 5 minute for coconut cream?
and for natural green colour, can i use suji leaves + pandan leaves mix to blender?
because i don’t like spinach.
for peppermint extract, can i use mint leaves grated from dried mint leaves? and how much?
for vanilla extract, can i use vanilla bean organic + salt + water? i don’t like use alchohol in my vanilla extract.
sorry for my bad english.
Hi Debby, Coconut cream is the fat rendered from real coconuts. In the USA we can purchase coconut milk in cans (tins) which contains both coconut milk and coconut fat. We can also buy the full coconut fat. I’m not familiar with pandan leaves but the spinach is used only for coloring and the leaves should do the trick if they are very green. I have not tried dried mint leaves so I’m not able to give you a ‘guess’ on how much, same with real vanilla bean. Sorry. I hope you can try this recipe with your substitutions. 😀
Can I use an icecream maker if I have one?
Hi Bree! Absolutely. An ice cream maker would make things creamer and extra smooth.
Quick question when you said substitute the spinach for 3T milk, is that 3 tazas (cups?) or 3Taespoons?
Thanks
A capital “T” is for tablespoon in silly American units. 🙂
Hello I discovered your blog and I find it great
I would make this ice but I would like to know how one can measure
is what this corresponds arount 400ml coconut cream ( i live in france)
Thank you<
My can of coconut cream is 14 ounces or 414ml. Sounds like its just about the same size. 🙂
Thanks Laura. this is the same size. I can try the recipe
Hi! I’m going to make this but was wondering if you have ever substituted stevia instead of sugar? Or coconut sugar?
I haven’t tried those but I think they could work. I know coconut sugar is dark brown so it will influence the color.
Sooo this is amazing! I find a lot of the best vegan ice cream recipes require an ice cream maker so it’s awesome you could achieve such a great texture without one! Can’t wait to try. Mint chocolate is the best!
This recipe was great! So easy and tasty. Thank you, I will do it again and again 🙂
Super simple to make and tasted good before I put it in my ice cream maker. I’m excited to taste it after supper!! Spinach is in it so I know I get to eat extra. Instead of chocolate chips, I like to put in my own crumbled up whoopie pie cookies!!