Rich and decadent, this dark chocolate coconut ice cream is thick and creamy and absolutely delicious. Not only that, but it’s honey-sweetened and dairy free, making it the perfect dessert for everyone to enjoy.
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Hello my friends!
I’m back today with another amazing dessert you won’t want to miss. This dark chocolate coconut ice cream is absolutely delicious. We love it’s rich flavor and creamy texture.
Every time I enjoy a taste, I’m amazed that this ice cream is honey-sweetened and dairy free. I love finding treats with wholesome ingredients that are easy to make and super enjoyable to eat.
Ingredient preferences
Have you heard of coconut cream?
I discovered it 4 years ago when I went on a dairy free diet while breastfeeding my daughter who had cow’s milk protein intolerance (CMPI). Coconut cream was one of the ingredients that I was very grateful for during that time. It’s a great substitute for regular cream. I still use it in my cooking and baking, even though none of us have dairy issues now.
Coconut cream is different than coconut milk. Even though it contains the same ingredients, it has a higher fat content. It’s kind of like the difference between cow’s cream and cow’s milk. And similarly, ice cream will be much creamier and tastier when made with coconut cream.
We normally use Trader Joe’s brand (aff. link) of Coconut Cream (with 30% coconut fat) but I’ve made this recipe with other brands and they have also worked well.
My preference in this ice cream is dark cocoa powder because I think it pairs well with the mild coconut flavor and gives the ice cream a pretty color too. Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder (aff. link) works well in this recipe, but I’ve also tried other brands. I like the Ghiradelli brand of cocoa powder (aff. link) a lot too.
I always use raw honey for this ice cream. If you use honey bought at the regular grocery store (even if it claims to be raw honey), it may not turn out with the same texture. Store processed honey often has a higher water content and may even contain other additives like corn syrup (which if included in small enough amounts do not need to be disclosed on the label).
Anyone who has tasted two, should be able to tell the difference between raw honey and store bought honey. Raw honey is sweeter, thicker, and has a better flavor. I buy raw honey in bulk from a local beekeeper and we use it to sweeten a lot of our desserts (click for my other honey-sweetened desserts). We keep it in a honey jar (yes, like Winnie the Pooh) that sits on our counter so it’s really easy to use.
I’ve talked about my favorite Mexican vanilla before, but here it is again (aff. link). This vanilla lends itself well to desserts, especially custards, pudding, and ice cream.
A few more tips to make this ice cream
This ice cream is not hard to make. It takes very little hands on time, but will take some time to chill so plan ahead.
I normally process this ice cream in my Cuisinart ice cream maker (aff. link). It works well and is the perfect size for this recipe, which makes about 1 quart.
After scooping it into the freezer container to harden, make sure you save a little extra in the bowl for licking purposes.
I haven’t tried it, but I think this ice cream would also freeze well without a ice cream maker because it’s so thick. If I was trying it, I would chill the liquid in the refrigerator (after heating) for 24 hours. Then I would give it a good stir, transfer to the freezer container and freeze until solid. I would love to hear how it goes if you try it.
This is the perfect treat for those with dairy allergies or those trying to avoid sugar. But even if you’re like me and don’t quite fall into either one of those categories right now and are just looking for a REALLY good dark chocolate coconut ice cream, this recipe is for you. Especially if you love chocolate like I love chocolate, my friends.
Dark Chocolate Coconut Cream Ice Cream {Dairy Free + Honey-Sweetened}
Rich and decadent, this dark chocolate coconut ice cream is thick and creamy and absolutely delicious. Not only that, but it's honey-sweetened and dairy free, making it the perfect dessert for everyone to enjoy.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (33.8 ounces) coconut cream see note
- ½ cup (2 ounces) dark chocolate cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup (8 ounces) raw honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
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In a medium saucepan, combine coconut cream, cocoa powder, honey, and salt, and whisk well. Heat over medium heat until bubbles just begin to form, whisking often at first and then constantly as mixture begins to get warm.
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Remove saucepan from heat and gently stir in vanilla extract. Cool to touch. Give the mixture a good stir and then cover with plastic wrap. Press plastic wrap directly over mixture so it doesn't develop a film on top. Then chill in the refrigerator for 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
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Process ice cream in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions. Scrape mixture into a container with a lid. Freeze ice cream for at least 2 hours before serving or up to a week.
Recipe Notes
1. Keep in mind that coconut cream is different than coconut milk. For this recipe I use Trader Joe’s brand of coconut cream (aff. link) which is 30% coconut fat. It takes about 2 ½ cans for the full recipe. I’ve used other brands also with success.
2. I’ve also made this recipe with regular cocoa powder with success, but I prefer the color and flavor with dark cocoa powder (aff. link).
3. I use raw honey in this recipe that I buy in bulk from a local source. If you use regular honey from the store keep in mind that it is not always the same. Often honey from the store has been watered down or mixed with corn syrup so it turns out different.
4. For best results, use a good quality vanilla extract rather than an imitation vanilla. We love 
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
I’m curious what is the purpose of heating the ingredients? I’ve made”ice cream” with coconut cream, honey, & vanilla without cooking it, used my Cuisinart with no problems. Just looking for a good chocolate recipe..Thank you, 1st time on your site, loving the raw honey recipes!
I have made this ice cream before and it was great. But I have a question, if I left the cocoa out would it mess up the recipe? My husband cannot have dairy, but he loves mint chip ice cream, so that is why I want to leave the cocoa out and use chocolate chunks instead.
Hi Nicole, that is a good question. I have not tried it without the cocoa powder, but I’m guessing it would have a pretty strong coconut flavor without. I’m not sure what adding mint extract would do. If it would actually cover the flavor or just make it weird. I think it definitely is worth an experiment just to see what happens! Let me know if you try it. I’m curious.
Is the grainy ness due to the coconut fat freezing in little bits? I had that happen in a peach ice cream I made. Tiny beads of frozen coconut oil.
How do you jeep it from happing?
Thanks.
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Hi Vanessa, I’ve kept it in the freezer for a couple of weeks. It does get a little hard, but will soften right up if you leave it out a bit. Definitely still delicious. 🙂
This looks so good! What a great way to still enjoy treat while avoiding dairy!
Thanks Suzanne!
Hi! I just tried the recipe today. I followed you to the letter. My ice cream has a great flavor but it’s grainy. The only thing I noticed that may be the issue, is that this recipe was a bit much for the Cuisinart ice cream maker. It stopped churning a few minutes into the process. It was too much. I didn’t notice that at first (as I had left the room- it’s quite noisy lol) I put it into my stand mixer for 5 minutes and it didn’t help. Any advice.?
Thanks so much!
Lynne (newbie to the dairy free life) 😊
Hey Lynne,
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment. A few things I thought of. Did you happen to taste it before you churned it? Was it grainy then? If so, then it could be caused if your cocoa powder was a little clumpy. I would sift the cocoa powder next time. Also if the honey was super crystallized it may not have dissolved properly. I’ve never had the problem with my 1.5 quart Cuisnart ice cream maker not churning with this recipe, but yes it is super full. You could try processing half the batch at a time. As long as your freezer bowl is frozen solid it when you take it out it should be able to churn both half batches back to back. I guess that’s another thing to double check. Was the freezer bowl frozen solid? I usually freeze mine for at least 24 hours before I churn the ice cream (make sure it is in the the coldest part of the freezer). If it wasn’t cold enough that would also affect the texture. Okay hope that helps! And best of luck to you on your new dairy free adventure. 🙂