Chickpea-nut butter ice cream: Ice cream that’s made with chickpeas, plant-based milk, dates and peanut butter. This frozen dessert is vegan, gluten-free, high in fiber, healthy fats, protein and sweetened with fruit. I promise, you won’t taste the chickpeas!
What started as an attempt to make freezer fudge a few years ago ended up being the best homemade ice cream alternative I’ve ever made.
This recipe is not only nutritious, but it’s also as easy as homemade ice cream can get. There’s no ice cream maker needed. Just a blender and a dish. All the ingredients are blended together until smooth, then added to a dish to freeze overnight or for at least 12 hours. Easy!
This has been one of the top recipes on the blog since it was first posted in 2018. Try it and see why it’s loved by so many.
Here are the simple steps that you need to make chickpea ice cream at home.
Add all the ingredients to a high-speed blender, including the chickpeas, dates, peanut butter, vanilla and milk of choice. Blend for 30 seconds or until smooth.
Transfer to a dish and freeze overnight or for at least 12 hours, covered. Serve with a drizzle of peanut butter and chocolate if desired.
This recipe has been tested with low-fat coconut milk, high-fat coconut milk, cashew milk, almond milk and oat milk, all of which turned out great. My personal favorite is coconut milk due to the light coconut flavor it adds to the recipe. Simply choose what you have on hand.
This recipe is sweetened with dates, which might not be overly sweet, depending on your preference. If you like a sweeter ice cream, feel free to add a drizzle of maple syrup (or honey if not vegan). Taste the ice cream before freezing and adjust the sweetness as needed. You can also check out some of my ice cream recipes linked below for a sweeter option.
You don’t need an ice cream maker to make this recipe. However, if you want to speed-up the freezing process, you can try making it with an ice cream maker. I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t guarantee it will work just as well, but it’s worth a try!
I really hope you’ll give this recipe a try and if you do, I would love to know what you think! Leave a comment and a rating below to share your thoughts.
If you make this chickpea-nut butter ice cream, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you try this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
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Gotta love chickpeas!! Just put a batch of this in the freezer - used chocolate hemp milk and got a super nice, chocolate PB taste (my favorite! :)). Fingers crossed it freezes well! Thanks for the inspired recipe!
Hi Krystal! I hope you loved the end result. Using chocolate hemp milk sounds like a great idea! :)
How would you change it to make other flavors?
I've been thinking of trying different flavors lately, but haven't tried anything yet. I would say the easiest flavor would be to add cocoa powder and make chocolate peanut butter ice cream. If you don't want the peanut butter flavor, you could try other nut/seed butters. Maybe add some chopped nuts or chocolate chips. A fruit jam could maybe be swirled in it. Hope this helps a bit! If you try something new, let me know how it turns out!
Ice cream is the best! Healthy ice cream is even better!
Would another dried fruit work for this? I am not a fan of dates, I find their flavor over powers everything when they are in a recipe... Or is the flavor of dates not strong in this? I would love to make this! :)
Hi, I wouldn't use another dried fruit as dates are actually the dried fruit that hides best in recipes. Figs, apricots, prunes and raisins have a stronger fruit taste, while dates have more of a caramel-like taste that goes well in this recipe. If you want an alternative, you could always try honey or maple syrup, although you'd need to adjust the amounts. I would start small and increase to taste. I can't guarantee the texture will be the same though! Hope this helps a little. :)
This recipe was delicious and so creative!
Thank you, I'm happy you liked it! :)
Can’t wait to try this! Would it work in an ice cream maker?
I honestly don't own an ice cream maker, so I haven't tried it! I can't guarantee it would work, but it would be worth trying. :)
Instead of peanut butter can you use ground peanuts?
Hi Miriam, the peanut butter is an important part of the texture in this recipe. It helps it be creamy and not crystalize. You could make homemade peanut butter using peanuts if it's just a matter of not having peanut butter on hand. If you can't have peanut butter, you can try other nut or seed butters or you can try it without (the texture might just be affected). Hope this helps!
Delicious... honestly better than most store bought ice creams including the high end brands
I had this with a bit of honey on top - perfect
Thank you so much! I'm happy that you enjoyed it. :)
I just tasted the blended concoction before putting it in the freezer - it's DELICIOUS!!! I cannot wait to try this. I didn't know how versatile chickpeas are - thanks for your recipes!!
I am wondering, do you know if the dates add not just the caramel-y flavor, but also an important texture? I love dates but want to make a lower carb version of this, and dates are so high in carbs. I am wondering if I just put in erythritol or monkfruit instead of dates next time, if that would be ok....
Hi Regina, thank you so much for the sweet comment! I'm glad you like it! As for the dates, I do believe they add an important texture. They don't freeze solid, so it does help the ice cream texture once frozen. I can't say for sure though as I've never tried it without dates. I don't think it would hurt to try! If you do, let me know how it turns out, it could help others. :)
This is AMAZING!!!
1. Everything in it is healthy
2. It is easy to make and clean up
3. It is SUPER DELICIOUS!!!!
Thank you so much! You make eating no sugar easy.
That's so sweet of you! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. This is definitely an old favorite of ours. :)
I absolutely love this recipe! I had only ever made it with peanut butter, but decided to use Ground Up PDX's Matcha Latte nut butter this time. It gave the ice cream a delicious matcha flavor! So, I think to change the flavor you could use different kinds of nut butter, or even add different flavored extracts, etc. Thank you for the wonderful recipe, Caroline!!
I'm so happy you like it! And that nut butter sounds amazing. What a great idea! Thank you for the feedback. :)