Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Creamy vegan mint chocolate chip ice cream made from raw cashews and coconut milk. Super refreshing and perfect to cool off with on a hot summer day!
I’ve been so excited to share this recipe with you guys!
I know, it’s kind of silly considering that there are probably over a thousand other vegan mint chocolate chip ice cream recipes on the internet. But I can’t help it. This is my first EVER batch of homemade ice cream and I am in LOVE.
It’s so creamy and dreamy and you would never know that there’s not an ounce of dairy in it.
I’m just kicking myself for not making it sooner. I won an ice cream maker from a giveaway on Julia’s blog last year and it was sitting in my dining room for almost 9 months before I finally cracked it open last week. It’s such a shame because it was so much fun to make and the result tastes way better than anything you can buy from the freezer section at the grocery store.
It’s super easy too! The hardest part is deciding what flavor to make first. Ultimately I went with mint chocolate chip because it reminds me of eating ice cream with my mom as a kid. It was her favorite kind and she would always share little bites with me. I’ll never forget how cool and refreshing the minty flavor tasted as it melted on my tongue!
Oh, that reminds me. While I was making this gorgeously delicious batch of mint ice cream, I did the dumbest thing on the face of the planet.
I licked the side of the churn bowl.
What happened next was similar to that scene in a Christmas story where they dare the kid to lick the pole except I didn’t have the fire department come to rescue me. Instead I pulled my head away as fast as I could and left several of my precious taste buds behind. Sigh…people like me are the reason you see all of those ridiculous warning labels on everything you buy.
So take my word for it, if you spill any of the liquid on the churn bowl as you pour the mixture in, DO NOT LICK THE BOWL.
Trust me, it’ll taste much better if you wait to lick the spoon. :)
Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 1 and 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight (or for at least 6 hours)
- 1 (15 ounce) can room temperature coconut milk (full fat yields creamier results)
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (or agave/honey)
- 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I like to use non-alcoholic extract)
- 3 teaspoons peppermint flavoring (not extract!)
- 1/4 cup baby spinach
- pinch sea salt
- 3/4 cups dark mini chocolate chips
Directions:
Transfer your ice cream churning bowl to the freezer to chill overnight. Place the cashews in a shallow bowl and cover with several inches of water. Allow them to soak overnight.
The next day, drain the soaked cashews then add them to a high-speed blender along with the coconut milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, cane sugar, vanilla extract, peppermint flavoring, salt and spinach. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes, until mixture is as smooth as possible, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed.
Once mixture is smooth, place the blender in the freezer for 15-30 minutes to allow it to chill until very cold, but not frozen. Pour it into the ice cream churning bowl and churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Mine took about 25-30 minutes. Add the chocolate chips and churn until combined.
After the ice cream is firm enough, transfer it to a large freezer-safe container and smooth the top with a spoon. Seal the top tightly and freeze for 4-6 hours, or until firm. Allow to sit out for 15-20 minutes to soften before serving. Store in the freezer for up to 1 week.
Adapted from Minimalist Baker
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below or sharing a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #makingthymeforhealth. I love hearing your feedback! 
haha oh my gosh that must have hurt!! I can just picture the scene … thankfully I’ve never tried licking the churning bowl – I just scrape it all out and eat it after churning! for quality control obviously :) This sounds so so good! Happy weekend friend!
hahaha! This is something I would totally do myself. I’ve gotten my tongue stuck on ice cubes and Ice packs way too many times. Blonde moments!
I’VE TOTALLY LICKED THE ICE CREAM BOWL! More than once…this girl never learns her lesson. Congratulations on your first ice cream! That ice cream maker has been a hoot for me, so I’m glad you’re having a ball with it too!! I’d say this is a fabulous what to start the summer of ice cream making. Mint chip has always been one of my faves too and now I’m dying to try it homemade. Have a marvelous weekend, dear!
I can see why you’d be excited to share this recipe. It sounds amazing! Also, spinach in ice cream?! That’s so awesome. I need to try this next time I buy cashews!
Okay so when I get an ice cream maker I’m going to come straight to this recipe, not only for the minty chocolatey vegan deliciousness, but also because I need to remember not to lick the bowl. Which I would TOTALLY do, too! :) Pinning!
This is the way to my heart!! And what a coincidence that you posted this on my bday because we also hand-churned mint chocolate chip ice cream on my bday as a kid :)
Ow.ow.ow. That doesn’t sound pleasant at all — and I speak from personal experience :P But this ice cream seriously looks divine. I keep telling myself that I need to invest in an ice cream maker, but I somehow manage to forget every.single.year. The same thing goes with a crock pot. I just hate clutter, so I’m super picky about want appliances I keep in my kitchen :lol: And I seriously love mint chocolate chip ice cream — definitely one of the best flavours there is!
There can never be too many versions of lovely vegan mint ice cream on the web! Yum!
Pinning. This. Right. Now. How did you know mint chocolate chip ice cream is MY FAVORITE of all time favorites. This looks absolutely divine, and I love that it’s dairy free! Win!
Omigosh, I definitely need to get an ice cream maker. I adore vegan ice creams, and I haven’t found a good place in SF for them yet (crazy, right?!)
omg thanks for sharing!! mint ice cream is my all time favorite :)
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Oh my gosh, I need an ice cream maker asap!! My hubby convinced me we didn’t need one and at the time I thought he was right, but now I just think that he was trying to avoid packing on some ice cream pounds with all of the deliciousness that I would make with it!? It was be trouble in our house! BUT, this looks so delicious. Chocolate mint is my favorite :) I’m constantly making chocolate mint smoothies and eating chocolate mint protein bars. I’m all about the mint!
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe how cream this looks!! I love that you use coconut milk and cashews, I’ve been wanting to try making my own cashew ice cream after buying some wicked expensive version at the grocery store a few months ago.
P.S. Congrats on being a full-time blogger!
That looks fab! With cashews AND coconut milk, it must be super creamy.
Thanks June! I was surprised by how creamy it was! :)
Oh my gosh, this looks so divine! I love mint chocolate chip ice cream! It’s my all time favourite flavour. Mint brings such a great refreshing taste, and works so amazingly with chocolate! The addition of the coconut sounds amazing too – I just got out my ice-cream maker from hiding away on a shelf, so I will definitely have to try this!
That’s so funny because I’ve been dreaming of making a cashew and coconut ice cream for a while now and I have an ice cream maker that has just been sitting around for so long now, haha! This looks awesome and I want to make it right now!! It looks like the perfect way to celebrate the first day of summer :)
If anyone knows how to work cashew magic, it’s you Izzy! :)
I swoon over the fact that you put baby spinach in there to make it green!! Your pix are so gorgeous and mint chip is my fave! Gonna try it out asap. Thanks! Btw I totally relate to your licking mishap- ow!! Hope you recovered quickly. :)
Thanks Rebecca! I love using spinach to add a green hue to my recipes. You can’t taste it all!
YaY, Yay, YAYYY! Sarah! You did it and it’s fabulous! Love the flavors you chose as your first, too, a delightful combination! You know, once I discovered cashew ice cream, I’ve never made anything else. It is amazingly smooth and fabulous.. and plant based! Isn’t making your own the best?! I hope your tongue is okay. I’ve done that and it’s terrible! Good thing you’ve got this ice cream on hand! It makes everything better!
OHHH my gosh mint chocolate used to be my favorite ice cream, but I haven’t had anything like it in years since going dairy free. made my day!
Thanks Amanda! I actually like it better than the dairy version!
I hate to admit that I’ve never made homemade ice cream either…eeek! The combo of cashews and coconut milk sounds absolutely epic. Making stat!
oh no! (love that movie by the way), hope your tongue is okay and thank you for the sage advice… I think I’d be right there with you licking up the drips :) I don’t have an ice cream maker but you make a strong and delicious case for it! I’m growing closer. Love how food can remind us of precious moments with our moms… xx
I always feel better about eating Mint Choc. Chip ice cream, over other flavors. It’s so refreshing, so it can’t be as bad/unhealthy right? That’s what I am going with. ;) Love the recipe by the way!
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If I wanted to avoid using cane sugar, could I just add in more maple syrup? I know I would have to use less liquid, I could cut down on the coconut oil, maybe?
Hi Paige! So the coconut oil solidifies at cold temperatures which helps the texture of the ice cream. The maple syrup, however, doesn’t so they are not equally interchangeable. I think you could try just adding more maple syrup and see how it goes. Maybe start with 1/4-1/3 cup and taste test it in the blender before adding to your ice cream maker. I hope that helps!
Has anyone duplicated this with any success? I made it today and it did not turn out. I was excited because I could tell that it was going to be super creamy and thick (not icy), but when I stuck my spoon in the freezer to have a taste, I was very disappointed. Maybe my blender is not powerful enough to get the cashews smooth or maybe my peppermint extract was too old, but the ice cream was grainy and the alcohol taste from the extract was overwhelming. I was so excited to sneak spinach into the ice cream for my kids. Any thoughts?
Hi Allison! I’m sorry to hear this didn’t turn out for you. You do need a high speed blender (like a Vitamix or NutriBullet) to break down the cashews properly so that is definitely the culprit with the texture.
As far as the extract, I just realized that what I used is actually peppermint flavoring from the brand Simply Organic. It is a mixture of sunflower oil and peppermint oil without alcohol. I’m so sorry for the confusion. I will update the ingredients now so that no one else runs into this problem. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
I’m so excited to try this but want to make it today – can you use roasted cashews and do they have to be soaked?! Thank you!!
I haven’t used roasted cashews but my suspicion is that it would alter the flavor. They do need to be soaked but you can do it faster by boiling a pot of water, removing it from the heat then adding the cashews to soak for 30 minutes. Just be sure to drain and rinse them before adding to the blender! :)
What is the purpose of the spinach in the recipe? I was hoping to make this as a vanilla icecream instead of choc chip :)
It’s just to give the ice cream a green hue. You can sub vanilla extract (ideally non-alcoholic extract, otherwise you will need to use less) and leave out the spinach/choc chips to make it vanilla. :)
Simple question: When do you add the chocolate chips?
You add them towards the end of churning. Sorry for leaving that out!
Made this many times…..one of our favorites! My 10yo daughter loves the process, the look AND the taste! Me too!