If you’re still struggling to figure out how to make super thick nice cream or super thick smoothie bowls, I got you! Random, but I never know if it’s nice cream or smoothie bowl, I always think of them as the same thing haha!
I’ve rounded up my top tips for making the creamiest and thickest nice cream. Additionally, if you’re allergic to bananas or just don’t like them. I’ve included a mini guide to making nice cream without bananas.
So get out your pencil, because I’m about to drop some insider info on how to make perfect nice cream!
Top Tips for Super Thick Nice Cream
- Frozen ingredients: Whether you’re using frozen banana, frozen strawberries or even frozen plant milk cubes, it’s important that your ingredients are frozen and cold. Rule of thumb is that all fruits should be frozen, and any other ingredients (such as cocoa powder, milk etc.) should be cold. This will ensure that your nice cream stays nice and thick, and doesn’t immediately start melting!
- Plant milk: When it comes to making super thick and creamy nice cream, the less liquid, the better. Which is why I always recommend starting off with only ¼ cup of plant milk and adding in a tiny bit as needed.
- Creaminess: You know how those nice cream bowls on Instagram and TikTok look so creamy and silky. The secret is fats, protein powder and blending time. Adding in nut butter (I love using SunButter) and a vanilla protein powder will instantly add creaminess to your nice cream and make it super thick. Lastly, nice cream does need to blend a little longer than a smoothie, simply because there is less liquid to help it blend together faster. I typically blend my nice cream for about 3-4 minutes total.
- No Ice: Ice tends to melt too fast, making the nice cream into more of a slushy consistency. Which isn’t bad, but it’s just not creamy ice cream. Additionally, ice doesn’t get the creamy texture you’re looking for in nice cream. I always recommend avoiding adding ice.
- Time: My last tip is to just be patient. Whenever I make nice cream, I typically stop the blender around 3 times to scrape down the sides, pop air bubbles, add a dash of milk if needed etc. Whether you’re using a high-powered Vitamix or a Magic Bullet, you will need to stop the blender occasionally. Nice cream just takes time to blender, so be patient!
When it comes to getting that thick and creamy nice cream texture the factors I listed above are important. But, practice makes perfect at the end of the day. If you’re looking for smoothie bowl recipes, check out the recipes linked below HERE.
Nice Cream without Bananas
While most people will use mango as an alternative to banana, if you’re trying to make a vanilla soft serve, using mango won’t work. Which is where frozen milk cubes come into play.
Yes, you heard that right. Frozen milk cubes are the perfect alternative to frozen bananas and work just as well. Simply grab a thick cashew or coconut milk and pour it into an ice cube tray. Freeze the milk cubes overnight and use the following morning as a replacement for frozen bananas.
I have only tried the milk cube method with coconut and cashew milk. Because they have higher fat content, both of these milks work well. However, thinner less calorie-dense milks like almond and oat milk may not work as well — but feel free to experiment. My recommendation is go with a fattier plant milk, such as cashew milk, coconut milk or any plant milk that’s super thick.
Looking for Nice Cream Recipes?
If you’re looking for traditional nice cream recipes like vanilla nice cream, chocolate nice cream or even a mint chip nice cream, I got you! I’ve also linked my vanilla nice cream without banana recipe, which uses the frozen milk cube method.
- Vanilla Nice Cream without Bananas
- Chocolate Nice Cream
- Strawberry Nice Cream
- Cookies Monster Nice Cream
The Best Chocolate Nice Cream
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Description
Introducing this rich dark chocolate nice cream. Think creamy silky texture, rich dark chocolate flavor, coupled with a super thick ice cream consistency. Could nice cream get any better?
Ingredients
- 3 medium frozen Bananas
- ½ cup Cashew milk OR Water
- 1 scoop Vanilla or Chocolate Protein Powder ((optional))
- 1 tbsp Cocoa powder
- ½ tsp Dandy blend OR Instant Coffee Powder ((optional))
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Vanilla extract
- Sunflower Butter and Cacao nibs for topping
Instructions
- Begin by adding the bananas, cashew milk, protein powder, cocoa powder, dandy blend, salt and vanilla into a blender. Start the blender on low, ramping up the speed to medium. Use a tamper for this as it will help the mixture blend evenly and pop any air pockets. If you need to, add additional milk to get the blender running. Once the soft serve is super creamy, and well blended, it is ready.
- Pop the nice cream into a bowl, top with sunflower butter and cacao nibs and enjoy!
lainy says
I can’t find the link for the kind of protein powder you recommend. Could you please provident? Thanks!
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Hi Lainy! Absolutely, linking the one I buy here — it’s also available on Amazon as well: https://sunwarrior.com/collections/plant-based-protein-powders/products/classic-plus?variant=8171173576749