I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. I am not a doctor; please consult your practitioner before changing your supplement or healthcare regimen. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
4-Ingredient Dark Chocolate Ice Cream is literally as good as it gets. Perfect for Paleo, Keto, Vegan, GAPS and Low Carb, this ice cream is hard to stop eating! Indulge in the best with happily one of the easiest ice cream recipes! (AIP easy variation included.)
All of the versions of this ice cream are dairy-free. You’ll never miss the dairy!
The variations are mostly about the sweetener used, plus the AIP variation.
Keto and Low Carb version of 4-Ingredient Chocolate Ice Cream
When I made this ice cream for our café, I’d use hardwood derived xylitol. But today most low carbers much prefer erythritol products, so I recommend Powdered Erythritol, because it dissolves the best (this one).
The nutrional data below is for the low carb version of this recipe.
Paleo and Vegan version of 4-Ingredient Chocolate Ice Cream
For the Paleo and Vegan versions of this recipe we’ll use pure maple syrup. It’s hard to beat pure maple syrup with dark chocolate and full-fat coconut milk. These flavors are so rich and special together.
GAPS and AIP variation of 4-Ingredient Chocolate Ice Cream
For GAPS, we’ll use honey as our sweetener, super lovely.
My family ate this ice cream for years while on the GAPS diet. I’d make special GAPS waffles from my cookbook, or the crêpes, and we’d eat this for breakfast. Yep. Not sure what Mom award that earns me (bad or good?), but we deeply enjoyed ourselves. 😉
For AIP, we’ll sub roasted carob (find it here) for the cocoa.
Quick Step
Although I’m a big fan of making ice cream without a custard (no pot, no heating), part of this recipe needs a brief heating. We heat because that’s how the cocoa flavor blooms (and digests best). Taking the time to heat the cocoa means we get the deep, dark chocolate flavor that makes this ice cream so transporting.
We don’t heat all of the ingredients, so the whole recipe still comes together super fast, no long cooling period.
4-Ingredient Dark Chocolate Ice Cream {dairy-free, refined sugar-free}
Equipment
- blender (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 cans coconut milk full-fat, 14 oz. each, or 3 cups homemade high-fat coconut milk
- ¾ cup low carb powdered sweetener for Keto OR maple syrup for Paleo (Powdered Erythritol for Keto and Low Carb, see link in Recipe Notes); honey for GAPS
- ½ cup cocoa (not Dutch process); use ⅓ cup roasted carob powder for AIP (see link in Recipe Notes)
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the cocoa in a small heatproof bowl.
- Add the boiling water and whisk until well mixed. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.
- Place coconut milk, cooled cocoa “ganache”, sweetener and vanilla in a blender. Purée until smooth, scraping down the sides, if necessary.
- Freeze in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Notes
Nutrition
Chocolate Ice Cream’s History
17th century Italy is where chocolate ice cream first came to be! Ices per popular in the day, as were hot chocolates, often spiked with spices, so the two came together eventually.
Chocolate ice cream hit America in the late 1800s.
Today, the best thing we can do when enjoying chocolate is to always buy Fair Trade. Hard to believe, but there are still children enslaved in West Africa for companies like Hershey’s. Do your part when you adore treats like this one, and choose Fair Trade for the love of our fellow humans and to change suffering. HERE‘s a great cocoa powder to enjoy! I’ve got mine on auto-ship, so it keeps arriving every couple of months. 🙂
What’s your favorite way to eat ice cream?
This recipe is SUPER good on its own. But if you love ice cream as much as I do with waffles, here are some great Paleo, GAPS, Keto waffle recipes for a breakfast feast:
- Paleo, GAPS, Keto Waffles
- Chocolate Chaffles
- Chaffle Ice Cream Sandwiches … try make them with this Chocolate Ice Cream!
Anne says
Forget making it! I’m heading over to Vanilla Jill’s indulge now…hoping desperately you’re serving ***right this very minute!!!*** ;o)
Megan Stevens says
We’ll have to make it soon! Now you inspired me; good idea!! 🙂
Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., author of The Business of Baby says
Double yum! I saw someone making ice cream on a cooking channel and got totally inspired.
Jessica says
Yum!!!!
Ann Bartholomew says
Can this be made with carob powder instead of the cocoa?
Megan Stevens says
Ann, I don’t actually know! Surprisingly. 🙂 Our family has just started baking more with carob, as it was too starchy for us until recently. I will have to try it and see. My suspicion is that you could do it but that you would need to use less carob than what this recipe calls for, since this is a very dark chocolate ice cream. Maybe 1/3 cup carob. I do think it would work then. 🙂 Let me know if you try it before I do!
Ann Bartholomew says
Megan;
I did make it. It was very good, even if I did forget the vanilla. Will make a mental note to ‘churn’ before freezing.
Megan Stevens says
Oh great, good to know! I need to make my kids that version. Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Irena Macri says
Love a good simple ice cream recipe and you can’t go wrong with just those 4 ingredients. I already have them in the pantry! Thanks for sharing.
Raia Todd says
I love that this is healthy enough for dinner. Haha! ‘Cause it’s so hot out all I want is ice cream!
Jean Choi says
I’ve been obsessed with homemade ice cream ever since I got an ice cream machine and this one is definitely next on my list. Can never go wrong with classic chocolate ice cream!
ChihYu says
Delicious! And so easy to make!
Megan says
So glad you liked it, and thanks for sharing, ChihYu!
Cathy says
I love ice cream, but really shouldn’t have dairy. This is perfect! Even with the heating, it’s very simple to make!
Megan says
So true. Thanks for the feedback, Cathy! 🙂
STACEY CRAWFORD says
Oh my, this looks so darn yummy! My mouth is watering. I have all the ingredients, yay!
Megan says
Yay, Stacey! Thank you and enjoy!
paleoglutenfreeguy says
I had no idea chocolate ice cream had such a long history! Love how easy this is and you don’t have to bother with egg yolks!
Jenni LeBaron says
I’ve never thought to use hot water to melt and combine the cocoa powder first when I’ve made chocolate ice creams, but I bet that makes a great difference in how it blends and gets smooth. Great recipe!
Megan says
Thanks Jenni, it does really help with the texture and the flavor! Much better flavor.
Linda says
Chocolate ice cream is always a favorite in our home, especially the weather now gets 100F. And this super easy ice cream needs to happen soon.
Zuzana says
I so wish I can have a scoop of this. Love the chocolate flavor and beeing keto just makes me want to have it even more.
heather says
Girl, you totally had me at chocolate! I’m coming over and I’ll bring the ice cream scoops, okay?
Sabir Icy says
This ice cream is good as gold. I’ve made it every other day for the last few years. Batch lasts me two days, otherwise it would be part of my daily routine. Love everything about it – the chocolateness, the health factor, and most of all, adding walnuts and marshmallows.
Megan says
Thanks for sharing, Sabir! Wow, that sounds amazing. I love walnuts and chocolate ice cream LOL! 🙂
Sarah says
Megan, could I use cacao powder instead of cocoa? It worked well in your amazing Triple Chocolate Muffins, but I have never tried it in ice cream. Would you recommend I use the hot water to allow it to bloom?
Megan says
Yes, Sarah, what you said 🙂 perfect! The “cocoa” I link to is actually cacao powder.
Sarah says
Thank you for responding, Megan! I made this for my nephew’s birthday and it turned out perfectly – a big hit!
Megan says
Hi Sarah, great to hear! What a fun birthday dessert!! Thank you so much for sharing! Blessings!
valerie suzette jones says
Any suggestions on how to make without the ice cream machine?
Megan says
Hi Valerie, great question. Two options… There’s the freeze and stir method: Put ice cream in a deep baking dish of stainless steel or durable glass. After about 45 minutes, when it starts to freeze near the edges, stir it vigorously with a spatula or whisk. Beat it up and break up any frozen sections. Then return it to the freezer. Continue this every 30 minutes, stirring it vigorously as it freezes. If you have one, you can even use a hand-held mixer. It will likely take 2 to 3 hours to be ready. Option 2 is to pour the ice cream mixture into ice cube trays. When they’re frozen, put them in a food processor. Pulse and blend until you have a scoopable ice cream. This actually works great, and is a lot less work, if you happen to have a food processor. I hope you get to make this and have fun and success!
KT says
Looks great, about to make it now. I do find it ironic that you link to amazon in a section about caring for your fellow human being- talk about irony. There are very few things that can’t be gotten elsewhere, often from small family-run companies that don’t routinely abuse their employees and damage US economic viability by centralizing wealth more than any other entity ever has. Do right- boycott amazon. Support small businesses.
Megan says
Hope you love the ice cream, KT, and thanks for sharing your opinion. I understand.
Sandra Weingartz. says
I do not have an ice cream maker – will a food processor, or Ninja suffice?
Megan says
Hi Sandra, you still need that freezing feature. One option with your situation is to freeze the “mix” into ice cube trays, and then, Ninja the ice cubes into ice cream. I don’t think it will end up as creamy, but it could work. I don’t have a Ninja, so I don’t know how it does with pulverizing ice cubes into something smooth without adding more liquid …
Darlene says
I haven’t made this yet, so I’m wondering if anyone has made with almond, oat, or cashew milk instead. I don’t like to use coconut because the flavor of coconut overpowers everything and that’s all you taste.
Megan says
Hi Darlene, you could try with an extra thick/creamy homemade cashew milk and have success; you can also increase the sweetener just slightly.