On a spur-of-the-moment whim last Sunday, my mom and I decided to attend an Oakland A’s baseball game. We purchased season tickets for the past two years, but because we skipped this season, we’ve start to go through withdrawals… We let three weeks go by since our last baseball game, and that was far too long!
We picked seats in our favorite section (just beyond the A’s dugout and even with the bag at third base), directly on the aisle to avoid climbing over other fans for bathroom and concession stand breaks. After greeting our favorite usher with big smiles and hugs, we settled in to cheer on our boys with the rest of the crowd.
As a pitchers’ duel (aka a low-scoring game, for those of you not quite as obsessed with baseball as I am!), we saw plenty of spectacular defensive plays from both teams. Diving catches, leaping grabs, speeding fastballs, line-drove comebackers… It felt like we applauded for something amazing at every other at-bat (oops… every other player’s turn, if you aren’t familiar with baseball terms!), which really worked up our appetites!
With the temperature above 80°F and not a cloud in the sky, vendors walked up and down the aisles offering plenty of cold, refreshing treats to the fans sweltering in the heat. Snow cones, iced tea, frozen lemonade, bottles of soda… But as huge chocoholics (I inherited that from my mom!), the chocolate malts, Häagen-Dazs dark chocolate ice cream bars, and Nestlé ice cream drumsticks really caught our eye!
Although the fans around us readily caved and purchased those sweets, Mom and I tried to summon the willpower to avoid the temptation. Although it felt virtually impossible…
It was a lot easier when I remembered I could make a batch of this Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Ice Cream when we returned home! It’s rich, smooth, and creamy, just like anything you’d find at an ice cream parlor. It’s also super easy and quick to make — and secretly full of protein!
I think I’ll celebrate that with another scoop! 😉
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM
For the base of your healthier ice cream, you’ll use Greek yogurt and 2% milk. If you’ve been around AHB for a while, you know how much I love Greek yogurt! It’s thick and creamy, making it perfect for this ice cream, and it also adds a big protein boost. One cup of Greek yogurt contains about 21g of protein!
I highly recommend that you use 2% milk, as the recipe calls for. This is because ice cream needs a certain amount of fat in order to be smooth and creamy. Without it, your ice cream would be grainy and icy. I explain more about that (and why it’s so important!) over here.
Note: I do not recommend substituting almond milk or cashew milk. These have a high water content, so they would have the same effect on your ice cream’s texture as nonfat or 1% milk.
For the chocolate flavor, you’ll mix in cocoa powder. Yes, just regular unsweetened cocoa powder—no melted chocolate! I wanted to make this ice cream recipe as easy as possible for you to whip up. You’ll add in a full ½ cup of cocoa powder, so your ice cream will still taste very rich and decadent.
Tip: I don’t recommend substituting Dutched or special dark cocoa powder. These have a different acidity level, which can affect the flavor and consistency of your ice cream. They also tend to make this ice cream taste more muted and bland, compared to the really decadent and rich flavor of regular unsweetened cocoa powder.
To sweeten the ice cream, you’ll use another one of my favorite ingredients: liquid stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s highly concentrated. You’ll only need 1 ½ teaspoons for this entire batch of ice cream—that’s the equivalent of ¾ cup of sugar! This is the kind that I buy because I love its sweet flavor, and I don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I usually buy it online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
There’s one last important ingredient in this ice cream base. Eggs act as a natural “glue” that helps hold together traditional ice cream bases and therefore create that perfect smooth, creamy texture. Because we’re skipping the eggs (I’m impatient and don’t want to heat my ice cream base—I just want to eat my frozen dessert as soon as possible!), you’ll use a different “glue” called xanthan gum. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, as well as online. Do not skip the xanthan gum. Your ice cream will taste icy and hard without it. (You can read more of my nerdy explanation of that here!)
Now all that’s left is to turn on your ice cream maker (I own this one — it’s really inexpensive and I love it!), pour in that chocolaty milk mixture, wait for 20 minutes or less, and…
Serve yourself a big scoop! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees that I’ll see the notification from you! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your ultimate healthy chocolate ice cream!
The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (270mL) 2% milk (see Notes!)
- 1 cup (240g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this – and see Notes!)
- 1 ½ tsp liquid stevia
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- The night before you plan on making your ice cream, place the bowl of an electric ice cream maker in the freezer. Freeze for at least 12-16 hours.
- Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute or until very frothy.
- Working quickly, remove the ice cream maker bowl from the freezer. Place it on the ice cream maker, attach the paddle and the lid, and turn it on. With the ice cream maker turning, pour in the milk mixture. Let the ice cream maker churn for 15-20 minutes or until the ice cream is frozen and has reached your desired consistency. For the best texture and taste, serve immediately.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Vanilla Ice Cream
♡ Healthier Cookies ‘n Cream Ice Cream
♡ Healthy Chai Spice Ice Cream
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream
♡ Healthier Brownie Bark Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches
♡ Skinny Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Greek Yogurt Sandwiches
♡ Healthy Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt
♡ Lightened Up Mini Hula Pie Ice Cream Desserts
♡ Lightened Up Blueberry & Cherry Ice Cream Sandwiches
♡ Healthy Fudgy Triple Chocolate Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
I made this today and did not care for it, I think primarily because of the weird after taste. Next time, I’ll use Swerve confectioner sugar instead of the liquid stevia. Also, the ice cream was extremely dense and didn’t even fill a 4 cup plastic container.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Carmen! Did you use an ice cream maker? If so, which one? Did you make any modifications to the recipe, whether the ingredients or instructions? We’ll sort out the texture so it turns out better next time, and I hope you like the Swerve sweetener version better! 🙂
Hi Amy! I ve tried your recipe with all the same materials and an ice cream maker. To say the truth the liquid stevia you recommend (which I bought it from Amazon) gives it a sour flavor. I ‘ve tried again with less quantity of it and the taste was improved but still no ideal. I prefer the bitterness of cocoa than the sour flavor of stevia. Do you have any other idea for sweetener?
Thank you!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Nena! I completely understand. Some people are more sensitive to stevia than others — it sounds like you might be one of those “lucky” ones! 😉 I’ve addressed other sweeteners in the Notes section underneath the Instructions. It can be easy to miss! 🙂 Did you have a preferred sweetener in mind?
I made this with a few modifications.. I used light vanilla regular yogurt (We HATE greek), I used truvia stevia sugar blend, and added a couple tbsp of peanut butter. The Stevia blend is 2x as potent as sugar so I used 1/4-1/3 cup since you recommended 1/2-3/4c sugar. I added the pb because 1) pb+choc=yum 2) I hate artificial sweetener taste and hoped it’d help cover it and 3) helps make up for the protein we missed not using greek yogurt. My ice cream maker made it like a Wendy’s frosty consistency but it froze to ice cream texture in the freezer. My kids are loving this healthier ice cream so I’m a happy momma! Thank you!
I’m so glad you and your kids enjoyed the homemade ice cream Alycia! Thanks for including your modifications too — I always love hearing what tweaks work! 🙂
I followed the recipe TO THE LETTER, using the recommended ice cream maker, too. Half cup of cocoa was WAY too much, and the result was very dark and bitter with only a slight hint of sweetness. I tried again with 1/4 cup cocoa AND 2 tsp Stevia: The resulting chocolate taste was still very rich and rather dark but acceptable — however, the sweetness was still lacking and was nowhere near a commercial rich/dark chocolate frozen yogurt (which is, of course, what this recipe is intended to produce, rather than ice cream). So I’m stumped — what’s the answer? Will even less cocoa allow 2 tsp Stevia to be enough? From looking at other recipes, my feeling is 2 tsp Stevia should be enough (maybe plenty).
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Mark! My family and I all prefer our chocolate ice cream on the dark chocolate side (similar to the flavor of 72% dark chocolate!), rather than the milk chocolate side. If you prefer your ice cream on the sweeter and milk chocolate side, then try 2 ¼ teaspoons stevia and 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder. 🙂
What should I do if I want to use eggs instead the glue you recommend? (hard to find in Thailand).
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Esteban! I haven’t tried using eggs, so I’m honestly not sure what you’d need to do. I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try this ice cream! 🙂
Very heavy stevia after taste- which I am sensitive to- so will try the sugar stevia blend that someone mentioned in their comments the next time I try this recipe. I’m wondering if anyone else has tried the blend and whether there is any issue with it dissolving?
Thanks for the recipe
It’s my pleasure, Denise! I’m excited to hear how the stevia blend turns out for you! 🙂
Hi Amy,
Could you tell me how long it will be edible for please? I am getting an ice cream maker for Christmas and I plan to make single little cups of it and keep in the freezer as I live alone. I have bought everything listed plus liquid Stevia in ‘coconut ‘ flavour. I adore coconut flavour chocolate ice gelato !
Watch this space !
That’s so fun that you’re getting an ice cream maker for Christmas Jude! I’ve actually covered how long it will last in the paragraph directly underneath the recipe title in the recipe box. I know it can be easy to miss! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this ice cream!
Sorry for the delay in replying. I have found the recipe doesn’t sit well with me. The chocolate reduced to one third was better. It still leaves an after taste. I have tried using coconut milk, coconut sweetener and tropical flavour yoghurt (sugar free, low fat) and its luscious!
No need to apologize Jude — I know how hectic life can be! I’m so glad you were able to modify this recipe to suit your tastes. Thanks so much for including your tweaks! I love hearing what modifications work! 🙂
Hey Amy, could this base be used for other ice creams? I’m thinking the cocoa with it’s fiber also probably keeps it heathy, and also helps keep the ice cream together. Do you have a recipe of a base maybe with psyllium husk? Have you tried Carob gum or any of the ingredients in Halo Top?
Oh one other last question. I just had non-fat greek yogurt on me. To me it tasted really good but curious what you used.
Thanks! I made this and it was very tasty.
Oh I see you do use it as a base on other items. I wonder if maybe a healthier oil could be added as well in place of fat like MCT oil? Experimenting around!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this ice cream Jeff! You can find all of my ice cream recipes here. I haven’t tried MCT oil, psyllium husk, carob gum, or any of the ingredients in Halo Top. I’d love to hear how your ice cream turns out if you decide to try any of those! 🙂
Hi Amy,
I have tried this recipe twice now but am wondering if it is failing because I don’t have an ice cream maker. I whip it to the right contingency but both times it has frozen solid and is not a scoopable consistency. Do you have any advice?
Thanks,
Allie
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipe Allie! Yes, the lack of an ice cream maker definitely negatively impacts the texture. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t get as smooth and creamy without an ice cream maker. 🙁 Did you follow the “No Ice Cream Maker Method” that I described in the Notes section of the recipe?
Can you use Cacao Bliss for the cacao?
I just responded to the comment you left on my one-bowl chocolate cupcakes Celeste! 😉 I don’t have any experience with Cacao Bliss, so I’m not sure how that would turn out. I’d love to hear what you think if you try making this ice cream recipe though! 🙂