Vegan Mint Matcha Ice Cream with Cacao Nibs

Vegan Mint Matcha Ice Cream with Cacao Nibs

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Containing cacao nibs and matcha, this healthy alternative to mint chocolate chip ice cream is simple to make, nutritious, and tastes amazing. It’s a perfect vegan summer recipe!

It’s made from bananas instead of heavy cream, so it’s full of nutrients and lower in fat and calories than traditional ice cream.

And, because it’s made by blending frozen bananas, it can be made without an ice cream maker and doesn’t require you to spend time checking back hour after hour to give it a churn. Just blend, set, and enjoy!

The cacao nibs in this vegan mint matcha ice cream don’t just add a satisfying crunch, they also offer the rich flavour and health benefits of chocolate in its purest form.

The combination of matcha and mint give this vegan ice cream a fresh, earthy flavour while the natural sweetness of maple syrup balances the bitter notes.

The best type of matcha for recipes:

Matcha is a wonderful ingredient to add to desserts, baked goods, and mixed drinks and for these purposes it’s best to use a culinary or ingredient grade matcha. This should be pure, 100% matcha green tea powder.

Take care not to use a matcha latte powder for this recipe, as it could affect the flavour and texture of your ice cream and may contain dairy.

Matcha is available in a variety of grades, based on the age and quality of the green tea leaves when they are harvested.

Ceremonial grade matcha is the highest quality, and is significantly more expensive than the matcha used in food and drink recipes.

It’s made from the youngest leaves of green tea plants grown in the shade, giving the powder a vibrant green colour, and creating a silky smooth, sweet drink with no hint of bitterness.

Of course, you could use ceremonial grade matcha in this vegan mint matcha ice cream recipe without any negative impact on the flavour or texture, but since it can be many times more expensive than the culinary grade matcha, it may have a negative impact on your wallet!

Although culinary grade matcha is considered ‘lower quality’, that doesn’t actually mean that is is a poor quality product. In fact, it can offer many benefits.

The more affordable matcha varieties have a slightly duller colour and a more bitter flavour profile than ceremonial grade, which is rarely an issue when the matcha is being combined with other ingredients.

Nutritionally, the different grades of matcha are very similar and the antioxidant levels in the cheaper, later-harvested varieties is actually higher. For those who want to avoid the jitters, the lower caffeine content of culinary grade matcha can also be an advantage.

Recipe substitutions:

Maple syrup can be pretty pricey, and if it’s not something you usually have in the cupboard you may prefer to avoid buying it for just one recipe.

If that’s the case, you can use another healthy sugar substitute instead.

Liquid sweeteners work well for healthy vegan dessert recipes like this one, so opt for alternatives like agave syrup or date syrup if possible.