Ninja Creami Mint Chocolate Chip Protein Ice Cream
Make this protein packed Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream recipe the next time you're having ice cream cravings but also need to hit your protein goals for the day. This homemade mint chocolate ice cream is dairy free, refined sugar free and made in the Ninja Creami ice cream maker.
Equipment
- Ninja Creami Machine
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk
- ¾ cup full fat coconut milk
- 2 medjool dates , or 1-2 tablespoon of real maple syrup
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1-2 teaspoon dye free green food coloring optional for color
- 1-2 tablespoon dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Make the ice cream base. Add the almond milk, coconut milk, dates, protein powder, vanilla, peppermint extract, food coloring & sea salt to a blender. Blend until smooth. You may find that a few small bits of the dates remain if your blender is not high speed; this is ok. You can strain them out or leave them in, it’s up to you.
- Freeze the ice cream base. Pour base into the ninja creami container right up to the max fill line. Place storage lid on the container and freeze for a minimum of 8 hours. Ninja recommends at least 24 hours but I don’t have that kind of patience and find that 8 hours is plenty.
- Mix the ice cream. Once the base is frozen, place pint into the outer bowl ensuring the bottom of the pint is securely in the bowl. Lock the outer bowl lid in place & place bowl assembly into the Ninja Creami motor base, locking it into place. For your first spin you will choose the “Lite Ice Cream” function.
- Respin. Once the first spin is complete, you will need to respin the ice cream mixture in order for it to become super creamy. My best creami prep tip is to add about 2-3 teaspoon additional almond milk, just enough to cover the top of the pint, before you respin.
- Add mix ins. After respinning, add the dark chocolate chips to the mint ice cream base, then place back into the creami machine & choose the "mix-ins" function.
Notes
Expert Tips, Tricks & Favorite Mix-Ins
- Be careful not to add too much mint extract! It can be tempting but I found that more than 1 to 1.5 teaspoons can lead to a flavor that is more akin to toothpaste than ice cream. Trust me, even the extra ½ teaspoon makes a huge difference!
- Add chocolate cookie pieces or this Protein Buncha Crunch as mix ins.
- Swap out the vanilla protein powder for chocolate & add 2 tablespoon of cocoa powder to make dairy free mint chocolate ice cream.
- Ninja’s instructions state that you cannot use the “respin” feature followed by the “mix in” feature. I ALWAYS respin my dairy free ice cream, because it needs this in order to be creamy, and I use the mix in function after with no trouble.
- Before respinning, I recommend always adding a little bit more almond milk, or dairy free milk of choice. Just enough to almost cover the top of the pint container is perfect, about 2-3 tsp. This is an easy way to ensure the final result is super creamy.
How To Store Dairy Free Mint Chocolate Protein Ice Cream
- If you do not finish your pint in one sitting, smooth over the ice cream that is left in the container with the back of a spoon. Place the lid back on & freeze. You will need to run the leftovers back through the same steps in the Ninja Creami when you are going to enjoy it again. Note that if you added mix ins, the machine will end up pulverizing them!
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