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 followed directions, but it came out tasting so odd.
It means a lot that you tried making our recipe, Rebecca! That sounds disappointing and not how this ice cream is supposed to turn out, so we’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. In order to do so, I have some questions for you! 🙂
Could you describe what was odd about the flavor? For example, was it not sweet enough, not chocolaty enough, etc?
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? (We just wanted to double check since we did provide a few alternatives! 🙂 )
Did you use the same exact brands and products that we did for the cocoa powder, stevia, and xanthan gum? (We’ve linked to them in the Ingredients list! Our links are the pink-colored text. I know that can be easy to miss that detail though!)
If you used a different cocoa powder, what did you use instead? (Brand and product name!)
If you used a different sweetener, what did you use instead? (Again, brand and product name!)
If you used the same exact liquid stevia that we did, have you used it before? Or was this your first time?
Did you happen to taste the milk mixture before adding it to your ice cream maker, by any chance?
If so, how did it taste then? Was it okay, or did it have the same “off” flavor as when it was finished?
How was the consistency of your ice cream? Was that okay, and it was just the flavor that was off?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but we’ll have a much better idea of the culprit (and how to fix it!) once we know your answers to all of them! 🙂
Hi! Can u use regular yogurt? Plain vanilla?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Shania! If you use regular (non-Greek!) vanilla yogurt, then your ice cream may be a bit less thick with a slightly looser consistency, but the flavor should remain the same. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of this ice cream if you end up making it!
Hi! I made this and it was delicious! I’m curious though — your recipe says there are 85 calories a serving and it makes 5 servings, which would mean the whole recipe with all ingredients came to 425 cal. With my ingredients the whole recipe comes to 340 cal. (120 yogurt, 135 milk, 80 cocoa and 5 xanthum gum.) Did I miss something or are you using different yogurt? I used fage. Thx!
Sorry, 150 for the milk for a total of 355
I’m so glad you enjoyed this ice cream, Mary! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. It truly means a lot!
That’s completely true — different brands can yield different nutritional information! If you know the exact nutrition info from the labels of the ingredients that you used, then the calculation that you did for your own batch of ice cream is probably more accurate than the calories per serving that I provided. 🙂
Why do you use xanthan gum instead of guar gum ?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Dani! I keep xanthan gum in my pantry for other recipes, so I used it here as well since I already had it on hand. You’re welcome to try substituting guar gum if you’d like! I just can’t personally vouch for the results. 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of this chocolate ice cream if you end up making it!
Is Kroger no added sugar similar to yours if not what the difference?
We really appreciate your interest in this recipe, Todd! The full nutrition information is included directly underneath the recipe box. I know it can be really easy to miss though! That might help you compare what’s important to you with the Kroger no added sugar. If you decide to give our recipe a try, I’d love to hear what you think! 🙂
I have the same Ice Cream maker and found the ingredients too much for the bowl and it didn’t freeze properly. I put it in a container in fridge. Hopefully it will get harder.
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Vicki! That sounds frustrating and not like what’s supposed to happen. If we have the same ice cream maker (the 1.5-quart model from Cuisinart), the bowl should hold 6 cups. The ingredients total less than 3 cups, so the mixture should only fill the bowl about halfway. Did you happen to double the recipe, by any chance?
There’s also a chance that Amazon showed you the incorrect ice cream maker. Amazon has a habit of redirecting my links to completely different products when people located outside of the US click on them. (So frustrating — I wish Amazon wouldn’t do that!) Would you happen to be located outside of the US? If so, did Amazon show you something other than Cuisinart’s 1.5-quart ice cream maker?
If your ice cream didn’t fully set, then I highly recommend moving it into the freezer instead of your fridge! Most refrigerators aren’t cold enough to fully freeze ice cream, and there’s a decent chance it’ll melt in the fridge, rather than turn harder and solidify. The freezer would be a much better option! 🙂
Can I leave the cocoa out and just do a vanilla? How do you think it would taste? 😊
You’re in luck, Nathan! We actually have a recipe for vanilla ice cream! We’d love to hear what you think if you decide to make some!