The dog days of summer are here. Where I live, it’s hot. If I close my eyes and walk outside, I could mistakenly think I walked into a sauna. The last thing I want to do is turn on my oven and bake.
But I still need dessert. Oh, yes, dessert still needs to be had.
My sweet tooth is kind of in full force lately. Not sure why, but I can’t fight it. What’s a girl to do when she needs something sweet, but just got back to her pre-pregnancy weight and doesn’t want to load her family up with too much sugar or junk?
You know me. I find a healthy alternative. A healthy, cold alternative. Bring on the vegan mint chocolate chip ice cream pie.
We love making banana ice cream over here, and this uses that concept and brings it to the next level. If you are a mint-chocolate lover, you will love this healthy summer treat. There is a subtle banana flavor, but the fresh mint mostly covers it.
The crust could not be simpler to make. It’s gluten-free, made from just brown rice cereal and melted chocolate chips. By the way, I know this could be much healthier without using chocolate chips. But come on. It’s an ice cream pie made from bananas. We can afford to have a few chocolate chips with it.
I love eating foods with contrasting textures and this healthy dessert has them: the hard, crunchy crust against the soft, creamy filling. With a short ingredient list, this dessert is not only a healthy alternative to traditional ice cream pie, but it’s super quick and easy to boot! Make it this weekend. You know you want to.
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Vegan mint chocolate chip ice cream pie
- Yield: 1 pie - 10 slices 1x
Description
A vegan friendly dessert to feed a crowd
Ingredients
- 4 cups crispy brown rice cereal
- 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips, divided (make sure they are dairy-free to keep it vegan)
- 5 medium/large bananas, cut into chunks and frozen
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4–8 mint leaves, chopped
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk*, optional (omit to keep it totally nut-free)
- 1/4 cup xylitol or sugar**, optional
Instructions
- Melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips. (I melt my chocolate chips in a glass bowl in the microwave. I start with 45 seconds, then stir, and continue with 10 second increments as necessary. No double boiler necessary!) In a large bowl, stir the melted chocolate chips with the crispy rice cereal. Once the cereal is completely coated, press the mixture into a 9 inch round pan (I used a springform pan). Use a rubber spatula to press the mixture down in the center and up the sides of the pan about an inch. Set aside.
- In a food processor, process the bananas until they become the texture of ice cream. Be patient–it will happen! Add in the mint a little at a time, tasting until it reaches your preferred level of minty-ness. Add the vanilla, coconut milk, and xylitol or sugar, if using, and process until just combined. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Spread the ice cream mixture on top of the crust and use a rubber spatula to even the top.
- Cover and freeze at least two hours before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
*I added the coconut milk to give the pie a creamier, more ice-cream like texture. It is not necessary, though, and is still good without this addition.
**I think the pie is sweet enough with just the bananas, but it depends on how sweet you like your desserts. Taste it as you are preparing it and add the extra sweetener if you prefer.
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 27.6g
- Sodium: 2.9mg
- Fat: 11.7g
- Carbohydrates: 49.1g
- Protein: 4g
Have a great weekend, friends! I’ll be back Monday with an Operation Eat More Vegetables update!
This is genius! You are so creative with your healthy recipes…..I do love mint & chocolate so I’m definitely gonna try this one 🙂
Oh my goodness, this is awesome!! It’s been hotter than usual here, I could really use a dessert like this. I’ve been living off banana soft serve after noon, haha.
Oh my goodness that looks so good and I love the crispy crust. Nice work. 🙂
It is soooo hot here too, 95-100. YUK!
Just made it!
Soooo delicious – even if it’s cold and rainy outside like here ^^
Love your recipes.
I’m so happy to tried it already! 🙂
It’s like you can read my mind, Maryea! Bananas are my favorite, mint chocolate chip anything is my favorite… you made my weekend— I’m so excited to make this!
🙂
I need to make another one this weekend–Meghan asked for a piece of this pie instead of a piece of Daddy’s birthday cake (real, full sugar…I can’t get away with “healthy substitutes” for my husband’s birthday), but it was all gone! She had to settle for the cake. 🙂
I’m impressed you created this on your own…..very creative! I’m always looking for a “pretty”, crowd-pleasing, and allergy-friendly dessert, so I’m definitely going to try this. We’ve been to a few friends houses lately for dinner, and I was supposed to bring dessert. This would have been great, so I will definitely test it out soon. Thanks.
You’re welcome! Enjoy!
So funny you posted an ice cream pie recipe, because I’m making one tomorrow for a birthday party!
Ok, that looks way, way too good to be something I could actually make! But…I’m going to give it a try. I’ll let you know how it goes!
This is definitely one of those desserts that LOOKS way more difficult than it is. This is super easy! Can’t wait to hear how you like it. 🙂
I love this! I make banana pie all the time with a nut-based crust, but I’ll have to try the melted chocolate and crisp trick….using unsweetened chocolate, of course! I just love my bitter chocolate 😀