Description
Creamy, chocolate-covered Coconut Ice Cream Bars are a delicious and easy sweet treat. These dairy-free ice cream bars use 6 ingredients.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 Can (13.66 Ounces) Full Fat Coconut Milk (NOT Lite, see Note 1)
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (see Note 2)
- 1 cup (Packed) Pitted Medjool Dates (see Note 3)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract, for flavor
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- About 10.5 ounces Dark Chocolate or Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips (see Note 4)
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil (see Note 5)
- Flaky Salt for Topping, Optional (or other toppings)
Instructions
- Prep the Pan: Line a 8-inch or 9-inch square cake pan with parchment paper. We like to cut 2 pieces and have them going opposite directions so that we have "tabs" to pull up the sheet of frozen coconut ice cream. You can alternatively use 2 loaf tins. We just recommend using a square or rectangular pan with deep walls. Any bigger than an 8 or 9-inch pan and you'll have VERY thin ice cream bars (if you only have a bigger pan, consider doubling the recipe).
- Check Your Dates: If you have a high powered blender like a Vitamix, feel free to skip this step. Are your pitted Medjool dates dry or hard? Boil some water and place the pitted dates in a heat safe bowl or pot. Pour the boiling water over them and let them sit for 30-60 minutes. When the time is up, drain the dates and lightly squeeze (or use the back of a spoon) to press out the excess water. Move on to the next step.
- Blend: Add the pitted dates, coconut milk, almond milk (or other non-dairy milk), vanilla extract, and the 1/4 teaspoon salt to a blender (or use a food processor) and blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust as needed. If it isn't sweet enough, feel free to add a tablespoon or two of maple syrup or agave syrup and blend again.
- Add to Pan and Freeze: Pour the mixture into your lined square pan. You can use a blender spatula to get every last bit out of the blender (we love ours and use it multiple times a day, it's also great for scraping out large mason jars). Spread it out evenly on the pan (you can use an offset spatula or just the back of a spoon, or even just bang the dish on the counter a few times to settle the date mixture). Place in the freezer on a level shelf with nothing else too close to it (you wouldn't want a bag of peas to fall into your coconut ice cream bars!). Freeze for at least 4-6 hours or overnight. We have had best results freezing overnight because it does take quite a while for the mixture to become hard. You don't want the ice cream melting when you're dipping it in the hot melted chocolate!
- Melt Chocolate: When the bars are frozen, you're ready to melt the chocolate. If your house is fairly warm like ours, we advise keeping the bars in the freezer until you're ready to dunk them. Anyway, to melt the chocolate, add the broken chocolate bars (or chocolate chips) and the coconut oil to a medium bowl and microwave in 30-second increments until it's melted, stirring with a fork every so often. (Alternatively, set up a double boiler with a glass bowl that fits the top pot perfectly and add water to the bottom pot. Melt over low heat, stirring very frequently.) Let the chocolate cool for 1-2 minutes.
- Set up: While the chocolate's cooling, set up a quarter sheet pan and a small plate (that's all that will fit in our side-by-side freezer, and we did need a supplemental plate to fit everything!) with parchment paper. You can alternatively use a couple dinner plates but don't skip the parchment paper (or wax paper), otherwise the coconut ice cream bars will stick.
- Cut the Bars: Use the parchment tabs to remove the sheet of coconut ice cream from the pan and place the whole thing on a cutting board. Cut in 12 or 16 even pieces (you can do squares or bars).
- Coat in Chocolate: Working quickly (a partner can help a lot with this process), add one of the bars to the melted chocolate and use a fork to gently flip it in the chocolate. Transfer it to the parchment lined baking tray. If desired, sprinkle on a little flaky salt or whatever toppings you like. Repeat with the remaining bars, leaving a little space between each one so they don't stick together.
- Freeze: Freeze until set and enjoy! You may wish to let one sit out for a minute or two before biting into it, but we really enjoy these.
- Storage: Once the coconut ice cream bars are frozen, they're good to go. If you think they're only going to last a week or two (they last less than two weeks in our house), you can just leave them on the tray in the freezer. If you need the room or think they will last longer, you can wrap them individually in freezer paper and place in a sealed freezer bag for 6-12 months.
Notes
- Note 1: We buy organic Thai Kitchen canned coconut milk from Costco in a 6-pack and find it very economical. Most canned coconut milk should work, but do NOT use refrigerated carton coconut milk as it is very watered down. We have not tested this recipe with the canned Lite coconut milk, but we don't think the texture would be nice. The fat is what makes it really luscious and delicious. Remember that this recipe is being cut into 12 or 16 portions, so you're only getting a small amount of the fat if you're worried about it.
- Note 2: Or non-dairy milk of choice, this just allows for easier blending and the coconut ice cream bars turn out great with this.
- Note 3: This was about 12-14 dates for us. Stickier dates are easier to blend, so if you need to soak these in very hot water for a 30-60 minutes (and then drain well before blending), it will make the blending easier (especially if you don't have a high powered blender).
- Note 4: Use whatever dairy free chocolate you like! We used 70% dark chocolate bars broken into small pieces and find this makes a really nice thin chocolate and great flavor.
- Note 5: This both thins the melted chocolate and makes a really nice shell that breaks less (in fact, dark chocolate and coconut oil ARE the ingredients that make a magic shell for ice cream!). It's a small amount and it really makes the chocolate much nicer.
- Note 6: There's another version of this recipes with cashews instead of coconut milk and it's also delicious! Scroll up just a little to the "Cashew Version" section for the slightly modified recipe.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Refrigeration Time: 4 hours
- Category: Dessert, Snack
- Method: Freezer, No Bake
- Cuisine: American, Ice Cream