Sea salt and chocolate are a match made in heaven.
Seriously, one lesson I have learned on my culinary journey {so far} is that adding a touch of sea salt to a cholcatey dessert is always a good idea. Always.
The inspiration for this Paleo Sea Salt Chocolate Ice Cream came to me on a date night with Ritch before Mara was born. We went out for ice cream and chocolate peanut butter wasn’t an option {GASP}!
After getting over my disappointment, I opted for the sea salt chocolate fudge {and of course, had them mix in some peanut butter}. It was the BEST ice cream flavor I had ever tried. Seriously the saltiness offset the bittersweet chocolate so well my mind was blown! However, my body didn’t love me the next day {because dairy is definitely not by BFF}. So, I decided I had to recreate a healthier, dairy-free version at home…STAT.
Enter this Paleo Sea Salt Chocolate Ice Cream! It is super creamy and irresistibly chocolatey, but not overly sweet. The sea salt adds a depth of flavor and richness that is out-of-this-world good. This recipe is sure to become a summer dessert staple in your house, as it is in mine!
Not only is this Paleo Sea Salt Chocolate Ice Cream crazy yummy, but it’s also healthy and suitable for just about anyone! It’s dairy-free, gluten-free, nut free and has zero refined sugar! Plus it’s paleo and vegan friendly! So even the most sensitive eater in your life can enjoy this frozen treat!
Paleo Sea Salt Chocolate Ice Cream: Method
Making this ice cream is SUPER easy! Simply melt the chocolate and coconut oil together, then toss all the ingredients into a blender {Vitamix} and blend for 30-60 seconds until smooth!
Pour the mixture directly from the blender container into an ice cream maker and let it churn! Something important to note: always turn on your ice cream maker before pouring the ice cream mixture in. Doing this keeps the ice cream from freezing to the bottom/sides, which can hinder the churning process!
Once the ice cream has finished churning, transfer it to a freezer-friendly container. Let it freeze for at least 1 hour before digging in!
Paleo Sea Salt Chocolate Ice Cream: Substitutions
As always, I recommend making this recipe exactly as written! There are a couple substitutions that will still result in a delicious frozen treat! But please do not substitute the coconut cream. I have found that coconut cream makes the absolute best dairy-free ice cream on the planet. Any other non-dairy milk will likely result in a sub-par final product. So please, go buy some and thank me later.
Honey: For a vegan option use maple syrup! You can try other liquid sweeteners, although I have only used honey & maple syrup so I cannot say with certainty that they will taste as yummy! If you do try another liquid sweetener, report how it went in the comments!
Unsweetened chocolate: Any variety of chocolate works here! I recommend keeping it dark, but if you’re more of a milk chocolate person that works too.
That’s it! I do not recommend making any other substitutions in this recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 can full-fat coconut CREAM (not milk…cream)!
- ¼ cup honey or pure maple syrup (vegan)
- ¼ cup unsweetened chocolate, melted
- 2 TBS coconut oil, melted
- 2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ to ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- In a microwave safe dish, melt together the chocolate and coconut oil
- Add the ingredients in the order listed to the container of a Vitamix (or other high-powered blender)
- Blend, starting on low speed then increasing to high, for 30-60 seconds or until all ingredients are combined and the mixture is smooth.
- Turn on an electric ice cream maker.
- Pour the mixture from the blender container into your ice cream maker as it spins.
- Let the ice cream churn for 20-25 minutes until it becomes a firm ball or the ice cream maker stops rotating.
- Transfer to a glass Tupperware container and freeze for at least 1 hour, or until you’re ready to eat it!
- Makes about 1 pint of creamy DELICIOUSNESS !
Now that summer is {finally} in full swing here in Utah, I could eat this Paleo Sea Salt Chocolate Ice Cream every single day! If you give this recipe a whirl please let me know in the comments below! And don’t forget to snap a picture and tag @joyfoodsunsine so I can see your creation!
Question: What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?!
Need some more ice cream recipes?
Dairy-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream {vegan friendly}
Paleo Vanilla Ice Cream {vegan-friendly}
If you make something from JoyFoodSunshine I would love to see your creations! #joyfoodsunshine
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I love sea salt and chocolate together. And I totally agree that coconut cream makes the best dairy free ice cream ever. No one could ever tell this is dairy free; it’s so creamy.
Thank you Emily! 🙂
This chocolate ice cream looks amaaazing! <3 I love ice cream made with coconut cream! :]!
It’s the best creamy dairy-free choice in my opinion!
Salt + chocolate is one of my absolute favorite flavor combos. AND I’ve been craving ice cream all the time lately. How’d you know? 😉
LOL! Well there you go! 🙂
These photos are STUNNING. Seriously magazine worthy – you are so talented Laura!
Thank you so much Deanna! 🙂
Looks so good and screams summer! The only thing that I think excites me more about this than the chocolate and sea salt is the ingredients!
Thanks Sarah! It’s super yummy!!!
Holy moly, this looks intensely good!! LOVE that it is dairy free. And your photos are just gorgeous!
Thank you Jenn!
LOVE the chocolate-sea salt combo and this recipe looks SO delicious! I can’t wait to try it – pinned!
The two just belong together! 😉
Omg, this is all of my favorite things in one recipe.
You and me both Katherine! 😉
This ice cream looks heavenly! Love that you added sea salt with the chocolate! Wonderful flavor combination! This is a summer must make!
Thank you so much Taylor! 🙂
Wowee, that is one super rich ice cream! I can only imagine how creamy it is – I may need to make some soon.
It’s definitely a great dairy-free recipe!
Not only does this recipe look and sounds amazing but your PICTURES!! They are so good! When I would see them going through my social media they would catch my eye! You did a great job!
Thank you so much Kristina! 🙂
Oh my word! My mouth is watering! This looks so flipping good! I cannot wait to give this one a try!
Thank you Andie! 🙂
Laura, these photos are STUNNING! I am so in love with this recipe—- can’t wait to try sometime this summer!
Thank you Liz!! <3
Thank you Liz!
what about carb counts ?Any idea how many there are in a serving?
Hey Kim! I’m sorry I do not include carb/calorie counts! But I know there are many web resources that do!
Before I became a foodie, I thought it was super weird when chocolate recipes were paired with sea salt. But now I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND the delicious sweet and salty combo! This ice cream looks so creamy and dreamy!
What if you don’t have an ice cream maker?
Its teachetta1@aol.com
Hey Ann! I do recommend using an ice cream maker! You could churn it by hand (mix it up every 15 minutes as it sets in the freezer) however an ice cream maker is a must-have appliance in my opinion! Especially if you need dairy-free ice cream…it saves you so much money in the long run! I bought my first one for $7 on clearance at Target! Then I found a very high quality one on our neighborhood yard sale page for $20! You can definitely find them cheap!