Zoodles. Kale chips. Nice cream. These are the life-changing swaps that dreams are made of. If you haven’t heard of nice cream, then let me fill you in; it’s basically like ice cream, but made with frozen bananas instead.
It’s healthier, vegan, and just as creamy. As someone that goes through more nice cream than sunscreen during the summer, I’m always on the lookout for new recipes, and these 18 nice cream recipes look pretty darn good.
These recipes can be enjoyed by anyone, but they’re especially good for vegans looking for an alternative to ice cream. Don’t go hungry while your friends enjoy their Blizzards; whip up one of these recipes instead. Some of them even have chocolate and oreos. I’ll take one of those, please.
1. Straight-Up Banana Nice Cream
Even people that have never picked up a spatula before can make this banana nice cream. With only 2 ingredients, it’s easy to throw together as a last minute dessert. This recipe forms the base of most other nice cream recipes, so it’s kinda like the holy grail of nice cream.
2. Chocolate Nice Cream
You know those days when you’re craving chocolate but you also wanna be healthy? Enter this chocolate nice cream. With only 3 ingredients, it’s a quick solution to get your chocolate fix. If you’re vegan, swap out the honey for maple syrup.
3. Rainbow Nice Cream
Are you seeing this? Are you freaking seeing this? This rainbow nice cream is like happiness in a jar. Most of those vibrant layers are made with only fruit and veg, which is pretty cool. Make sure to snap an Insta-worthy pic before you dig in.
4. Blueberry Nice Cream
Sometimes you just want some straight-up fruit. This 2 ingredient blueberry nice cream is the opposite of fussy; all the recipe calls for is bananas and blueberries. It’s the perfect light dessert for those hot summer evenings.
5. Mocha Nice Cream
I love coffee. I love chocolate. It only makes sense that I love this mocha nice cream. I’m literally drooling just thinking about it with a drizzle of peanut butter on top.
6. Key Lime Pie Nice Cream
If you’re after something citrus-y and refreshing after dinner, then this key lime pie nice cream is your answer. With lime, crumbled graham crackers, and maple syrup, it’s like a pie in ice cream form.
7. Protein-Packed Nice Cream
Imagine working out and knowing that you get to have this protein nice cream as a post-workout snack. Yes. That can actually be you. Make it ahead of time, chuck it in the freezer, and enjoy it when you need a boost after your gym sesh.
8. Peanut Butter and Honey Nice Cream
I grew up slathering peanut butter and honey on toast, and this nice cream sounds like the perfect grown-up version. If you’re vegan, swap out the honey for jam instead. Or add chunks of vegan chocolate. Peanut butter complements anything.
9. Matcha Nice Cream
Calling all die-hard green tea fans. With its vibrant green color, this matcha nice cream is sure to impress any guests that stop by this summer. Just be aware that the recipe calls for condensed milk, so it ain’t a dairy-free dessert. Sorry, vegans.
10. Oreo Peanut Nice Cream
In case you haven’t heard, oreos are vegan. This oreo peanut nice cream tastes like a Blizzard, but with only half the calories. Skip the drive to Dairy Queen and make this 4 ingredient sundae at home in your pajamas instead.
11. Coffee Chocolate-Chip Nice Cream
This coffee nice cream is the perfect snack for any caffeine addict. It has the rich flavor of coffee, but the chocolate chips and sweet banana keep it from tasting bitter. Yes, please.
12. Healthy Hemp Nice Cream
If you’ve ever wanted to eat ice cream for breakfast, then this hemp nice cream is your chance. It’s packed with goodies like hemp protein powder, spirulina, and nut butter, so you can enjoy this nice cream without feeling like it should replace dessert.
13. Mango Nice Cream
You don’t need to go on holiday this summer to feel tropical; one scoop of this mango nice cream will transport you straight to the beach. No airplane and never-ending security queues required.
14. Chocolate Cookie Dough Explosion Nice Cream
Remember when you were a kid and it was okay to eat cookie dough out of a bowl? Well, now you can eat dough out of a jar with this cookie dough nice cream. This one takes a bit more work, but it’s worth it for the peanut butter-chocolate drizzle and cookie goodness.
15. Strawberry-Banana Nice Cream
A good strawberry ice cream is as timeless as Meryl Streep. This one only calls for 3 ingredients, and chances are that you already have them in your freezer. Serve it with a green sprig of mint if you’re feeling extra.
16. Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Nice Cream
Chocolate and raspberry cake is a favorite in my family, so I can only imagine the hysteria that will occur when I whip this baby up. This dark chocolate and raspberry nice cream may taste naughty, but it’s nice; it has less fat than a regular scoop of ice cream, but it tastes just as creamy.
17. Tahini Vanilla Nice Cream with Chocolate Almond Swirl
This tahini nice cream looks so beautiful that you won’t want to eat it (but you will anyways, obvs). By swirling together two types of nice cream, you get double the flavor and double the dessert. Sounds pretty ideal to me.
18. Chocolate Biscoff Nice Cream Cake
Yes, this cake is actually made out of bananas. No word of a lie. Plus, it takes less than 10 ingredients to make this masterpiece, and it’s totally vegan. If it’s not a life-altering realization that you can make something as amazing as this cake out of bananas and cocoa powder, then I don’t know what to tell you. That’s pretty darn cool.
What are you waiting for? This summer, stock up on some frozen bananas, and get to work on these nice cream recipes. You can always experiment by adding more vegan nice cream toppings to each recipe. With 18 recipes and endless toppings to choose from, you’ll be spoiled for choice.