Green Smoothie Nice Cream (vegan & Paleo)
Ice cream just got a healthy little makeover in the form of Green Smoothie Nice Cream! Made with just 3 ingredients (one of them is a veggie!), this healthy dessert is DELICIOUS, naturally sweetened with fruit and it comes together in a matter of minutes in you blender or food processor! Plus, it is Paleo, vegan, and kid-friendly!
Nice cream
Once upon a time, about 8 years ago when I was just figuring out how to clean up my diet and not exist off of microwave burritos and pints of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey…..I learned about an EASY and healthy little dessert life hack that is called “Nice Cream” that was totally perfect for when you were jonesing for something sweet and frozen, but were not exactly looking to load up on dairy, refined sugar and whatever else is hiding in your ice cream of choice.
I have been making Nice Cream for years and years and love how adaptable and easy it can be! You can jazz it up by adding toppings or mix-ins (I highly suggest nut butter and high quality chocolate chips) or enjoy it as is. Plus it can be made in the moment and enjoyed straight from the blender/food processor with a spoon or made a head of time, throwing the freezer to harden up a bit and then scooped into ice cream cones or served as a healthy dessert at a later time!
Why this veggie-loaded dessert is awesome!
I love to add veggies to all the things (who doesn’t need more veggies in their life, after all), so I of course started adding spinach to my Nice Cream! The spinach flavor just disappears into those creamy, sweet bananas, but gives the nice cream a fun green color and a healthy does of potassium, magnesium, folic acid iron, calcium, and vitamins C, K B6, B9 and E. So yeah, the bottom line is that spinach is pretty awesome little veggie that we all should be consuming oodles of…..and we can do it and have our nice cream too!
What is “nice cream”?
“Nice Cream” is a magical (and SIMPLE) little treat made from 1 thing… over-ripe frozen bananas that have been blended to creamy perfection in your blender or food processor! Truly, that is it…and it is a magically wonderful and healthy stand-in for traditional ice cream that really satisfied a singing sweet tooth!
Want to make sure you always have spinach on hand for this Green Smoothie Nice Cream? Check out my tips & tricks for keeping spinach fresh all week!
Suggested Adaptations
- Make this as green ….or not green…as you want. I give the SUGGESTED amount of spinach in the recipe, but truly feel free to make this your own! If you (or your kids) are iffy about green food, maybe add less spinach so the green color isn’t so vivid.
- Make it CHOCOLATE! Love the idea of spinach in dessert but totally want to hide the green color? Add cocoa powder to taste and enjoy a different twist on this fun and healthy dessert.
- Add mix-ins or toppings. Think of your favorite ice cream accessories and add them to this recipe! I love adding frozen berries, chocolate chips, nut butter into the blender for a quick spin in the blender/food processor after the bananas & spinach have been blended! It makes for a delicious blend that reminds me of a Dairy Queen Blizzard! Or, add a dollop of whipped coconut cream and a dash of sprinkles or fresh berries and make this little treat into a healthy little sundae for some extra fun!
Other healthy frozen treats!
- Watermelon Cucumber Popsicles
- Berry Hydrating Popsicles
- Blueberry Spinach Smoothie
- Frozen Watermelon “Popsicles”
- Healthy Tropical Creamsicles (with Veggies!)
- Watermelon Mint Slushies
- Easy Green Smoothie for kids
Green Smoothie Nice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 very ripe bananas (the riper they are, they sweeter they will be), cut into rounds
- 2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk
- 2 cups loosely packed baby spinach, or to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Arrange sliced bananas in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (the parchment paper will prevent the bananas from sticking). Place cookie sheet in freezer and freeze for at least 6 hours.
- Combine coconut milk/almond milk and spinach in a food processor or high speed blender. Blend. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and blend again. Repeat until spinach is pureed.
- Add the frozen banana slices into the blender/food processor with the pureed spinach. Blend until smooth, creamy and well mixed.
- Enjoy immediately or scoop nice cream into a covered container and store in freezer to firm up or to be enjoyed at a later date!
Yum! I won’t lie, I was surprised by how good this was! But I loved it.
Omg, I can’t say enough about how delicious this turned out. I love this recipe
Yay! I am so glad you enjoyed it!