Try this high-protein chocolate chickpea ice cream with peanut butter swirls for a healthy summer treat! Made with only 6 accessible ingredients, this no-churn recipe requires only 10 minutes of prep time and is so good for you.
Is it time for ice cream yet? It’s easy to make your own dairy-free chocolate ice cream at home with the help of healthy ingredients like chickpeas, peanut butter and coconut milk.
This ice cream is the perfect excuse to eat more chocolate treats and get your essential nutrients along the way.
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Our recipe is sweetened with dates and a spritz of maple syrup and can be made in a food processor within only 10 minutes!
This chickpea ice cream doesn’t taste beany at all, is loaded with chocolate and peanut butter, and one of our favorite vegan ice creams.
Find more protein-packed desserts like this edible chickpea dough or our chocolate mousse cake around our website!
Why you’ll love it
- Easy & healthy homemade ice cream alternative
- Decadent, creamy and nutrient-packed
- 10-minute no-churn recipe
- 6 basic ingredients needed
- Super chocolatey & packed with fiber
- Healthy protein-rich snack or dessert
- Doesn’t melt as fast as regular ice cream
- Whole food plant-based-approved
This healthy chickpea ice cream is so good for you that you can go back for seconds or thirds!
Apart from “nice” cream, it’s definitely the healthiest frozen dessert you’ll ever make.
Ingredients needed
- Chickpeas — you won’t taste this fiber- and protein-rich base!
- Dates — wholesome sweetener.
- Peanut butter — for creaminess and delicious flavor.
- Plant-based milk — our favorite combination is soy milk and coconut milk!
- Cocoa powder — to make this a chocolate chickpea ice cream.
- Flavors —maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla are wonderful in this recipe!
We like to add different toppings like chopped dark chocolate or coarse salt to this ice cream before eating it.
In terms of kitchen equipment, you’ll need a food processor, measuring equipment, and a freezer-friendly pan; that’s all!
How to make chickpea ice cream
- Soak the dates for at least 30 minutes, better a few hours. Drain them once you’re ready to make this ice cream.
- Add dates to a food processor and pulse to obtain a smooth paste.
- Add the other components: chickpeas, soy milk, coconut milk, cocoa powder, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla, as well as half of the peanut butter.
- Process until smooth and stop to scrape down the sides as needed. Add more soy milk if necessary to obtain a great texture!
- Transfer to a freezer-friendly pan and drizzle the remaining peanut butter on top. Make little swirls using a fork.
- Freeze overnight and allow to defrost for at least 15 minutes before scooping!
Just before serving this chickpea ice cream, sprinkle it with salt or chopped dark chocolate. Find more topping ideas below!
Storage & serving
This chickpea ice cream isn’t as scoopable as store-bought ice cream when you take it out of the freezer. That’s why you need to let it defrost before serving!
The longer you store it in the freezer, the harder it’ll become — however, this frozen treat doesn’t melt as quickly once it’s out, so you can take your time eating it.
Delicious and pretty toppings for this chickpea chocolate ice cream include more chocolate (of course), maple syrup, berries, vegan caramel sauce, crumbled black bean brownies or oatmeal cookies, desiccated coconut, vegan whipped cream, and chopped nuts.
We highly suggest you try it as a topping for this skillet cookie, too!
Adjustments & tips
Flavor ideas
First of all, try to use salt-free canned chickpeas for this dessert recipe! Rinse the beans well before using.
Use more peanut butter to feature this delicious flavor more strongly!
Add instant coffee if you love coffee and increase the sweetener for this ice cream.
Make chickpea berry ice cream by adding frozen berries!
Best No-Bake Vegan Desserts →Ingredient swaps
- Peanut butter: use almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower butter instead.
- Coconut milk: use other dairy-free milk and add more nut butter!
- Soy milk: use almond, pea, oat or just more coconut milk.
- Cocoa powder: can be omitted to make other flavors.
- Dates: swap for frozen banana or omit and add more maple syrup.
How to make it nut-free
There are two kinds of nuts in this recipe: peanut and coconut. To adjust this chickpea ice cream to any nut allergies, use sunflower butter plus soy milk or pea milk!
More healthy treats
- Banana Ice Cream
- No-Bake Fruit Tarts
- Peanut Butter Stuffed Dates
- No-Bake Caramel Slices
- Tofu Chocolate Mousse
Did you make our chocolate chickpea ice cream and like it? Share with us in the comments below, rate our recipe and Pin it here!
Chocolate Chickpea Ice Cream (High-Protein)
Try this high-protein chocolate chickpea ice cream with peanut butter swirls for a healthy summer treat! Made with only 6 accessible ingredients, this no-churn recipe requires only 10 minutes of prep time and is so good for you.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry dates (100 g), pitted & soaked*
- ½ cup soy milk (120 ml)
- ½ cup full-fat coconut milk (120 ml)
- ½ cup natural peanut butter (130 g)
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas (165 g), drained & rinsed well
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional Toppings
- ½ tsp coarse salt
- Chopped dark chocolate
Instructions
- Drain the pitted dates and add them to a food processor. Pulse to obtain a smooth date paste.
- Add the chickpeas, soy milk, coconut milk, cocoa powder, cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla and half of the peanut butter, then process again until smooth.
- Transfer the chickpea mixture into a freezer-friendly pan and drizzle the remaining peanut butter on top, then make little swirls using a fork.
- Freeze overnight and allow for 15 minutes of defrosting before scooping.
- Serve cold and topped with salt flakes for an enhanced taste or add your favorite dark chocolate for some extra texture.
Notes
- *for the best texture, try to soak your pitted dates for at least 30 minutes
- This chickpea ice cream offers the best texture around 12-15 hours of freezing when it’s easily scoopable and creamy — freezing it longer than that means it’s getting a little harder and you need to let it defrost at room temperature for a few more minutes before eating it.
- Find many more tips & customization ideas in the article above.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 248Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 63mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 6gSugar: 19gProtein: 9g
Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated automatically, their accuracy is not guaranteed. Just focus on whole plant-based foods and eat until satiety!
Alena Schowalter is a Certified Vegan Nutritionist who has been a vegetarian since childhood and vegan since 2012. Together with her husband, she founded nutriciously in 2015 and has been guiding thousands of people through different transition stages towards a healthy plant-based diet. She’s received training in the fields of nutrition, music therapy and social work. Alena enjoys discussions around vegan ethics, walks through nature and creating new recipes.
Hi Alena, thank you for this recipe. I have two questions:
1. Can soy milk be used instead of almond milk?
2. Why does the icecream have a marbled look?
Thank you,
Mary
Hi Mary,
thanks for the comment! Yes, you can use any plant-based milk you want for this recipe :) the chocolate ice cream has a peanut butter swirl (optional!) which makes it look marbled. Hope this helps, let us know how you like it!
Best,
Alena
Is there any chance lentils could be used in place of chickpeas? I’m trying to incorporate more Iron.
good question! I haven’t tried that but can imagine that red lentils would work :) as long as you use plenty of cocoa, peanut butter and dates, the lentils’ taste will be disguised!
Hi. Just wondering if you tried this recipe in an ice cream machine. I have a compressor one. Thanks
Hi Carolyn,
sorry we don’t have such a device so I cannot give you any information about this! Let us know if you try it, though :)
Best wishes
This sounds delicious! Just wondering… The ingredients mention full-fat coconut milk but the Instructions don’t mention when it has to be added. Does it just have to be blended along with everything else or does it get added later? Thank you. ????
thanks for letting me know! It needs to be added with the almond milk and rest of the ingredients in step #2 — I’ll write it down for anyone else trying this recipe. Let me know how you like it!
G’day Alena
just like to let you and your readers know that a much lighter version of this ice cream can be made without buying any additional ingredients (assuming that one is using tinned chickpeas).
Am sure you have heard of the properties of “agua faba”, the liquid in which tinned chickpeas are carried. When whipped, they take on characteristics not unlike egg white. So, this recipe, with the addition of whipped agua faba, would be not unlike say a nice Italian gelato, yet still provide that rich creaminess, and be totally vegan.
cheers
love this idea so much, Steve! I need to try it asap and perhaps adjust the recipe accordingly :) what a great thought.
Do you know the nutritional facts?
sure, you can find them at the end of the recipe card!
Hi! Wondering about omitting the maple syrup. Would it be sweet enough? Would the consistency change? Thanks!
Hi Ali, thanks for the question! For me personally, the ice cream would be sweet enough. But I don’t have a huge sweet tooth! The consistency won’t change very much. You could also add some frozen banana for a healthier sweetener or a calorie-free sweetener, depending on your preferences. Let us know how you like the recipe!