Almond Chunky Monkey Ice Cream
Vegan Chunky Monkey is a dairy-free ice cream made with just 4 simple ingredients and ready in minutes for a healthy and delicious soft-serve dessert!
We love using bananas as a base for ice creams like this Maple Butter Pecan Ice Cream, Banana Coconut Ginger Ice cream, or Banana Cherry Garcia Soft Serve.
I was just gifted a new food processor, and what better way to break it in than by making vegan chunky monkey ice cream using 4 ingredients!
Needless to say, it was delicious, super healthy, and so much better than the Ben & Jerry’s version any day. :)
Why We Love This Recipe!
- No ice cream maker required! This easy no-churn vegan ice cream is great when you don’t have an ice cream maker or just don’t want to pull it out. All you do is simply blend and enjoy!
- Refined sugar-free. Bananas act as a natrual sweetener, and you won’t miss a thing. It’s perfectly balanced and not overly sweet!
- Nutritious. Full of nutrients, healthy fats, and 100% dairy-free, this whole food plant based ice cream is a perfect alternative to dairy filled ice creams.
When the weather heats up or you simply have a craving for ice cream, this dairy-free soft serve is just what you need!
Ingredient Notes
- Banana – Use overripe frozen bananas. I like to break up my overripe bananas into 1 – 2 inch peices and place them in a sealed container to freeze. That way you always have them handy!
- Nut Butter – I used almond butter here, but any type of nut butter will do and adds a wonderful creaminess. You can use both creamy or chunky. See tips below for nut-free version.
- Almonds – I used raw whole almonds that I roughly chopped. Slivered almonds would be great too. Feel free to use toasted almonds if you prefer!
- Chocolate – Use your favorite chocolate bar chopped up or chocolate chips. Semi-sweet chocolate is typically vegan and non-dairy, but be sure check the label just in case.
How To Make Vegan Chunky Monkey
Making vegan chunky monkey is easy as 1, 2, 3!
- Start with adding the frozen bananas and nut butter to the bowl of a food processor or blender.
- Blend until creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Serve in a bowl or cup with chopped almonds and chocolate.
It’s simple, straightforward, and best of all – delicious!
Top Tips
- Enjoy right away as a soft serve or freeze to harden like ice cream. To freeze, store in sealed freezer-safe containers. It will take about 6 hours to fully harden and will last for up to 2 – 3 months.
- Serve in chilled bowls or glasses.
- Make it nut-free. For those with nut allergies, substitute the nut butter with sunflower butter (or sun butter) and omit the chopped almonds.
More Non-Dairy Ice Creams!
If you like easy, no-churn ice cream, check out these other versions. You may find a new favorite!
- Vegan Banana Cherry Garcia Soft Serve
- Maple Butter Pecan Ice Cream
- Raw Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
- Banana Coconut Ginger Ice Cream
If you try this non-dairy chunky monkey recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintVegan Almond Chunky Monkey Ice Cream
Thick, creamy, and delicious, Vegan Almond Chunky Monkey soft serve is a straightforward and non-dairy no-churn ice cream that’s easy to make!
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2 – 3 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: food processor, blender
- Cuisine: Vegan American
Ingredients
- 3 frozen bananas, cut into chunks
- 3 tablespoons almond butter, or any nut butter of choice
- 1/4 cup almonds, cut in half
- dark chocolate, either in chips or bars broken into pieces*
Instructions
In a food processor (or blender), place frozen banana pieces and almond butter, blend until a fairly smooth consistency stopping every now and then to scrape down the sides and push the mixture to the bottom of the processor.
Serve in bowls and top with, or incorporate, the chocolate pieces and almonds while blending, use as much as you like.
Serves 2 – 3
Enjoy right away as a soft serve or freeze to harden like ice cream. To freeze, store in sealed freezer-safe containers. It will take about 6 hours to fully harden. Will last for up to 2 – 3 months.
Notes
Enjoy this nut-free. For those with nut allergies, substitute the nut butter with sunflower butter (or sun butter) and omit the chopped almonds.
To make 100% raw use raw cocoa chips…find the recipe here.
Try adding a scoop or two of vanilla or chocolate flavor protein powder to really boost the nutritional profile!
If using a blender, you may need to add a splash or two of unsweetened almond milk as well to help get the mixture moving.
Updated: This recipe was originally published in December 2012. It has been retested and updated with new photos and helpful tips in July 2021.
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This was super tasty and amazingly easy. I substituted peanut butter instead of almond butter. It worked well. I also found some vegan chocolate chips that were a good too. Thanks again Julie! The whole family loved it.
Mmm, healthy ice cream. Seriously, food porn.
Made this ice cream tonight! It was good and totally satisfying!!! Thanks for the great recipe!
Do you need a food processor for this to turn out the way it is suppose to? Or is there a substitute?
Thank you!!
A blender will do the trick too! Enjoy :)
Thank you so much for this recipe!!
In love with this ice cream….
I just made this for my family a couple of hours ago. I doubled the recipe, and it was still gone within 10 minutes. Absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this:)
Super! So glad it was a success. :)
Ok, I have to try this out, soon! Yummy!
I remember a nurse telling me once, about a veganism "people's brains need animal proteins to connect cells properly! People can't think if they don't have certain things to connect them! It's chemistry!". Well! I'm not a vengeful person, but…I'm planning on eating a bowl of this and giving her the single finger salute WHILE reciting Einstein's theory of relativity.
Lol…cheers to being in the know and hopefully inspiring others to break away from the old world. Enjoy every bite and every bit of your reciting! ;)
Cheers to veganism and our brain cells connecting just fine with a diet rich in whole grains, veggies, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds. And this ice cream is a great start!
Cheers indeed! I live in a tiny town in Northern Colorado (originally from Minneapolis) and it is meat country out here. I actually did accounting at a meat processing plant for a while. It was literally like walking in to a nightmare everyday, but I NEEDED that job! I said a little prayer every morning for the animals. I just can't -and won't- be pressured anymore to consume things that are unhealthy and unethical. And I don't even enjoy them! I have heard so many people say "I can eat meat if I don't think about what I'm eating". Ugh. Glad to find like-minded communities, albeit online, to school me in the ways! Thanks for sharing your recipes and such! -Monica
We have shoved the bananas through the juicer and mixed it with different things. Yummy! I store my frozen bananas in a BIG Dole Frozen Bluberries bag. That way I can repurpose it, it has a ziplock and it's especially made to be in the freezer. = )
I don't usually enjoy bananas but this ice cream alternative sounded intriguing. I have made it several times and it is so good. In an effort to avoid dairy, I was looking for substitutes for that fleeting ice cream craving. I had just made almond butter and then found your recipe. It is really tasty; thanks for all of your work and sharing these recipes.
Thank you for the great feedback! I love this ice cream too. So glad to share and inspire others on great ice creams that are not animal based. Cheers to a really great, simple ice cream. :)