Strawberry Nice Cream – A Delicious Fruit Based Dessert

Strawberry Nice Cream,” or dairy free ice cream, is the perfect fruit based dessert for summer! No ice cream machine needed.

If you're looking for healthy frozen treats to make this summer, it's hard to beat strawberry nice cream!

I love making “nice creams” and this is one of my favorites. Made with a base of bananas, frozen strawberries and coconut milk, chocolate chips really take this one over the top. This is every bit as delicious as traditional ice cream. If you have kiddos, this is also a great recipe to make with them!

I strive to make sure my recipes are accessible to everyone and this one does not need an ice cream machine. All you need to make strawberry nice cream is a few basic ingredients and a blender or food processor.

I hope you love it!

 

What is “nice cream”?

“Nice cream” is just a fun term for dairy free ice cream, often made with a base of bananas.

Unlike coconut milk ice cream, you don't need an ice cream maker to make it set. If you're dairy free, nice cream is an excellent way to enjoy a frozen treat!

If you love it as much as I do, make sure to try my Peanut Butter Banana Nice Cream and my Chunky Monkey Nice Cream as well.

(Psst! if you're dairy free or looking for more dairy free alternatives, make sure to check out my YouTube video on 10 Dairy Free Alternatives to Your Favorite Foods!)

What is the nutrition like for this Strawberry Nice Cream recipe?

For a dessert, this Strawberry Nice Cream recipe is quite healthy! It gets almost all of its sweetness from fruit and you can leave out the small amount of honey if you wish. You can also sub cacao nibs for chocolate chips if you want an entirely fruit-sweetened dessert.

This isn't just a healthy strawberry ice cream alternative, it offers some substantial nutritional benefits as well. Here are a few of the highlights:

Bananas (Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Manganese, Potassium)

You've likely heard that bananas have potassium but did you know that they're also a great source of vitamin B6, manganese and vitamin C? Bananas also have a lot of fiber, which is good for healthy digestion and blood sugar regulation. The potassium in bananas is excellent for your heart, for healthy blood pressure and for kidney health.

Strawberries (Antioxidants, Vitamin C, Manganese, Folate, Potassium)

A good source of vitamin C, manganese and antioxidants, strawberries may help prevent heart disease, aid in blood sugar regulation and reduce inflammation. Strawberries are also one of the lowest carb fruits, making them perfect for anyone following a low carb diet.

Coconut Milk (Manganese, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Selenium, Potassium, Vitamin C, Folate)

Made of the white flesh of coconuts mixed with water, coconut milk is high in manganese, copper, iron, magnesium and selenium. It's also a good source of potassium, vitamin C and folate. Some studies have shown that coconut helps to reduce inflammation, fight bacteria and viruses and fight stomach ulcers. It's of course also an excellent substitute for milk in many dairy free recipes!

Honey (Antioxidants)

Honey has antibacterial and antioxidant properties, which are strongest in darker honey. Buy raw local honey when possible as filtering the honey can diminish its nutrients.

Tips for How to Make Nice Cream

Nice cream, or dairy free fruit-based ice cream, is actually quite simple to make. Still, if you've never made it before, I wanted to provide a few tips for success.

• Taste the “batter” for sweetness. Fruit varies greatly in sweetness. You may want to try tasting the mixture before adding the honey, and then add until you reach your desired level of sweetness.
• Experiment with mix-ins. Have fun playing around with the mix-ins in your strawberry nice cream! toasted walnuts, slivered almonds, chopped macadamia nuts. cacao nibs and shredded coconut would all be delicious additions.
• Freeze fully before enjoying, but then let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before enjoying. I know it's super tempting to dig into this lovely dessert but I recommend freezing for 8 hours or, even better, overnight for maximum deliciousness. You will want to let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes when you're ready to enjoy though, to make it easier to scoop.

FAQ – Everything You Need to Know to Make Strawberry Banana Nice Cream

What is nice cream made of?

Nice cream is made of frozen bananas, often with other flavors and add-ins mixed in.

Does nice cream taste like bananas?

That depends! If you make nice cream with only bananas, it will of course taste like bananas. Alternatively, with something like this strawberry nice cream recipe, the other ingredients overpower the banana flavor. Strawberry nice cream tastes much more like strawberries than bananas. Still, if you hate bananas, you may have more luck with coconut milk ice cream for a dairy free alternative to ice cream.

What is the difference between nice cream and ice cream?

Nice cream is made with a base of frozen fruit while ice cream is made with milk, heavy cream, and often egg yolks. In addition, nice cream is generally mostly sweetened with fruit while ice cream calls for granulated sugar.

Do you need an ice cream maker to make nice cream?

Nope! No fancy equipment needed. All you need to make nice cream is a quality blender.

I want more delicious, fruit-based desserts!

While I am a chocolate lover at heart, I do have a strong love of fruit-based desserts. There's so much natural sweetness in healthy fruit, why not take advantage of it instead of using less nutritious sweeteners?

I've actually recorded two episodes of my podcast, Meal Prep Monday on this very topic. Listen to Episode 35 on Fruit Based Desserts for Summer and episode 56 on Fruit Based Desserts for Winter.

If you enjoy healthier desserts like these, our weekly Gluten Free and Paleo meal plans always include a delicious dessert made with clean ingredients. You don't have to choose between denying your sweet tooth and eating healthily!