Ice cream cones in February.
That’s what happens when you live in Texas and sometimes it’s 80 degrees.
Then the next day it’s 20.
Texas is weird.
Above, red velvet ice cream with Healthy Chocolate Syrup.
A rich and decadent treat (perfect for a heart-healthy Valentine’s Day dessert!) you can feel good about serving your kids, your sweetheart, or yourself. This healthy chocolate ice cream is high in Vitamins A, C, fiber, probiotics, and antioxidants, all while tasting like something from a fancy ice-cream shoppe straight out of the 1950s.
Red Velvet Ice Cream
- 1 1/4 cup frozen raspberries (200g)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp milk of choice (or canned coconut milk) (90g)
- scant 1/8 tsp salt
- 3-4 ice cubes
- 2 tbsp Barleans Chocolate Silk (or regular dutch cocoa powder) (10g)
- nunaturals vanilla drops, or your favorite sweetener of choice, to taste
- optional: 2 oz melted chocolate (for a richer flavor)
- optional: chocolate chips stirred in after blending
If you have a high-speed blender, such as a Vita-Mix, simply blend all ingredients (using the tamper) until a smooth, ice-cream-like texture has been reached. If you don’t have a Vita-Mix, you might be able to achieve an ice-cream texture with a food processor, but I can’t vouch for it. Or blend in a regular blender and then transfer to an ice-cream maker. Optional: add a handful of chocolate chips, post-blending. I highly recommend using an ice-cream scoop to scoop out the ice cream from the machine. Makes 2-3 servings.
Question of the Day:
What kind of winter are you having?
Ours has been very mild this year, although we did get snow for Christmas. Right now it’s 60 degrees, which is pretty much my favorite weather–not too hot and not too cold. All you need is a light jacket. Sorry… having a Miss Congeniality moment there.
Link of the Day:
……………….Copycat Larabars
Jennifer says
Ha! Totally got the Miss Congeniality reference. I used to love that movie. Ice cream looks delicious! Wish Seattle was 60 degrees right now!
cherl says
is it soft serve or u have to freeze it first
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
If you use frozen raspberries and a Vita-mix, there is no need to freeze it after blending. Simply scoop it out of the blender with an ice-cream scoop, and it will look like the texture of the ice cream in the photos.
Ashley says
We are having a similar winter here in Reno, NV; though not with such an extreme difference in temperature. All week it’s been hitting the high 50s, almost cracking 60 degrees, but on Friday? High of 30 and snow. Crazy!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says
It’s been more mild than usual here in Chicago, haha but comparatively to most places it’s still really cold! And this recipe looks delicious and simple, I’ll have to try it now that I have my vitamix!
Erica { EricaDHouse.com } says
At 50 calories per serving I’m gonna go ahead and say I’m eating all of it at once!
Olivia @ OmNom Love says
Lucky you! It’s cold, cold, cold in Indiana. We’ve had kind of an Indian summer, though. It’s been 60 degrees a few times, and the temperature bounces around from the 40s to the 20s a lot. It’s been really weird. :\
The ice cream looks amazing! I’m definitely making this on Fat Tuesday! 😀
Ali @ Peaches and Football says
I love that you are able to get a rich, red color without needing artificial coloring! We’ve had an up and down year – one day it’ll be 50+ with rain and two days later it’s 7 degrees with 6″ of snow! Counting down to Spring for sure!
Hannah says
We lived in Nevada, near Las Vegas, for the winter. It was windy and cold, but inside the house felt kind of colder. (We moved into our travel trailer in January, and it’s either freezing or blazing hot!) And we’re in Arizona this month. In two months, we’re going to be in Texas. I’ll be prepared for weird weather. 😉
The ice cream looks simply awesome.
Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers says
So perfect! Last night I made an ice cream with all strawberries! Now I am goign to do your red velvet tonight! Great idea!!
Cassandra says
This looks super yummy and I can’t wait to try it!
Unfortunately, this recipe’s WW Points Plus is listed incorrectly. It is actually 1 Points Plus per serving. When calculating a recipe in total in your nutrition calculator that creates a label, you have fat, carbs, fiber, and protein present. You have to calculate the final totals on the label. Fruit is free in its natural, unprocessed state. Our bodies digest it differently if it has been juiced, puréed, etc. It would be best to calculate the Points Plus after you’ve put the recipe in your calorie counter. This provides the most accurate values for WW Members following your blog. I tell my members about it a lot, and I and they appreciate you posting the PPVs for us!
Sunnie says
But Cassandra, the fruit in Katie’s recipe ISN’T processed – your body doesn’t digest it differently just because it was blended. It’s still natural, whole fruit – and like Katie said, the other things that she added in – the tiny amount of milk and cocoa/chocolate silk – add hardly any calories – like 2 or 3 a serving.
If Katie had cooked the raspberries or juiced them and only used their juice, THAT would be processing them, but she didn’t, so it’s 0 points – which is a good thing! Just so you know. 🙂
a. says
It looks like the opinions are mixed. I think it can go either way, depending on who you ask. http://www.weightwatchers.com/community/mbd/post.aspx?threadpage_no=1&page_size=25&rownum=4&board_name=Newbies+Welcome!&thread_id=160841910&board_id=1&forum_name=message+boards&forum_id=1&thread_name=Smoothies%3F&mod_no=&sincedate=11%2F5%2F2012+12%3A00%3A00+AM&viewchange=DATECREATEDASC
Anonymous says
Actually, it’s not zero. I work for Weight Watchers and you have to calculate the recipe as a whole, not the bits and pieces.
Anonymous says
How does blending a raspberry make it nutritionally different than chewing it? Lol is this a real issue sorry
Sunnie says
LOL That’s what I’m thinking!
“FRUIT: 0 PPV points – until chewed” 😉
(And I promise I don’t say this offensively; the whole “blending-means-points thing just doesn’t really seem to make sense to me, no matter who came up with that rule)
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I’m researching it, too, but everything I’ve found online has been inconclusive, even with the people who say they are experts. 😕
Eating 4 Balance says
I’m not on Weight Watchers, but I looked it up out of curiosity on their website. 🙂
Look at #8: Fruit (and vegetables) in recipes still contribute toward the PointsPlus values. Just as we’ve always done with 0 PointsPlus value vegetables, even 0 PointsPlus value fruits contribute toward the total PointsPlus values of a recipe, whether it’s a Weight Watchers recipe or one you build yourself in the Recipe Builder. Recipes add up the nutritional info for all their ingredients. If you ate fruit only, save it as a “meal” rather than a “recipe.”
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=106231
Annette says
There actually are two differences, but maybe not directly relevant to this discussion.
When food is chewed it is mixed with saliva which contains many important digestive enzymes which aid in digestion. When food is blended and then swallowed with very little chewing, the process of digestion has to work differently and work harder in the stomach. This is why chewing food a lot can profoundly affect health, sparing enzyme production is healing in arthritis, cancer, and other diseases.
Also, when a food is frozen, the individual cell walls burst and there are other physical changes which affect taste and texture. This is why many types of vegetables are blanched before freezing – the heat changes the cells which changes how subsequent freezing affects the food.
Stamatia says
Oh, it’s 5 degrees here…glad it warmed up a bit, as it was -40 with the windchill not all that long ago (huh…didn’t realize that -40 was where Fahrenheit and Celsius match up again. Neat). Of course it went from 10 degrees to 53 degrees in a day a week or two ago, that was…weird. All of the snow that wasn’t snow banks pretty much melted. We got some back but not a lot, like just enough to step in, but not cover your foot. I got a long down coat and a trapper hat, which were much appreciated the week when it felt like -40, which just so happened to be the week my car was in the shop and I had to wait for the bus.
I can’t wait for spring, which is, well, really I grew up saying “May showers bring JUNE flowers”…but once it’s nice out you’d be hard-pressed to get me off my nice shady balcony. You’d have to pry my Kindle and my iced coffee out of my cold, dead hands!
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says
Yum!
Our winter has been the worst it’s been in years. It’s finally starting to look up a bit, but pretty much of all of January was bitter cold, foggy, and just ugly. Blah! I’m SO ready for spring!
Chris says
Does this really work with regular almond milk? I have always seen recipes, but they always specifcy that full fat coconut milk and/or nuts are needed. What is the texture like when using a VitaMix? Exactly how do you run the VitaMix? I have tried other ice cream recipes using the VitaMix, but I have not had much success.
If you want to make it vanilla flavored, can you just eliminate the cocoa, or will it change the texture?
Thanks!
Elise says
Chris,
I made this with regular almond milk and it turned out perfectly. I also used a food processor, which is less powerful than the VitaMix and it came pretty damn close to ice cream textured. I would suggest adding less milk or more berries if you forego the cocoa powder so that it isn’t too runny, and a little more vanilla for flavor! I’ve also made something similar using vanilla protein powder and that worked well so if you have any of that, substitute 1:1 for cocoa powder! Hope that helped 🙂
Kelly @ Hidden Fruits and Veggies says
Michigan is worse! We had 60 one day and a BLIZARD the next 🙁 You just have to learn to eat ice cream no matter the weather.
These sound super tasty! For those without a vitamix, I’ve definitely had good luck making ice creams like this in a food processor
Dorothy Grundmann says
Katie,
The ice cream looks yummy.
The winter in Manitoba has been interesting. One week we have -30C with windshields of -40 and then the next week snow is melting and we have -5C temps. Mother nature is keeping us on our toes up here. Thankfully, winter will soon be over and then spring and summer will roll in. If you ever have the opportunity to come to Winnipeg, its a great place. Its the only place I know that has all the seasons, meaning snow in winter, rain in spring, warm/hot sun in summer and leaves falling in fall. That’s why I love living here!!
Lisa says
Just curious – why not call this a raspberry chocolate sorbet or something, because it seems like that’s really what it is. “Red velvet” is all about the flavor combinations (and raspberry is not one of those flavors), and I don’t think the ingredients above would really give it a red velvet flavor at all, though you do obviously achieve the red velvet coloring.
I’m not saying this wouldn’t be a delicious treat, just that calling it “red velvet” seems somewhat disingenuous.
Jennifer says
Actually, this seems no less “red velvet” to me than any old red velvet cake. The only thing that makes something “red velvet” is the red food coloring, which Katie has done with raspberries. Otherwise, it’s just chocolate cake. I never understood the whole hype with red velvet. It’s not like there’s a special flavor or something.
Kris says
Please do your research before spreading mis-information. Red Velvet originally didn’t have red food colouring in it. It was how the cocoa reacted with the vinegar/buttermilk/baking soda in the recipe. This reaction brought out the subtle red hue in the cocoa.
Nowadays, yes many recipes have red food colouring. There is nothing wrong with calling a mild cocoa flavoured recipe, red velvet, though.
Jennifer says
I don’t know that we’ve ever had a warm winter. But that is fine with me. I love snow, and I don’t think I’d know what to do if I woke up one day in February and it was over 30 degrees. My mind would just be confused!
Shannon says
I made this just now and it tasted like chocolate raspberry sorbet. It was really delicious, Iwas just expecting a more chocolate flavor 🙂
Brooke says
I agree! I was super excited to make this when I got home, but was slightly disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious but I too was expecting more chocolate flavor. I’m going to try it again tomorrow, so hopefully it will turn out better!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Why not try the “richer chocolate” option listed in the recipe?
laura says
that looks very delicious
Maddie Unger @glutendairyfreedom says
Looks very good! My family has to eat gluten and dairy free, so this looks great!
Eating 4 Balance says
Hmmm… I think that I would take 80 to 20 degree weather anyday over just 2o degree weather! Lol. But actually, do you tend to get sick more often with the changing temps? I know I personally feel awful the first few days after it goes from really cold to really hot, or really hot to really cold.
This ice cream sounds fantastic! I’ve never had velvet cake, but I’ve made it with the kids that I babysit for. It’s their favorite.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Yes, I do agree with you that it probably is not ideal for the body. It’s actually one of the selling points for me to move. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile! 🙂
Hay[email protected] says
Red Velvet is my absolute favorite flavor! Cannot wait to try this!!!
Emily says
I just made red velvet cupcakes last night! Too bad we don’t have any raspberries at the moment. Next time I can make this and some red velvet cupcakes and have a red velvet explosion.
I live in Birmingham and our weather has been rediculous; it fluxuates between cold/rainy and warm/sunny. Yesterday it was rainy and cold enough to wear a sweater, and today it’s almost warm enough to wear shorts. We even had snow a few weeks back! Ah well, at least we get variety!
Tanya @ Playful and hungry says
Oh, it’s still way too cold for ice cream where I live 😉
Shay says
I don’t care if it’s cold out, I’m making this!!!:)
Elizabeth says
best use of barleans ever!
jodye @ chocolate and chou fleur says
I’ve never had red velvet ice cream, but this looks so beautiful! Raspberries are my favorite, and I’ve always got a stash in the freezers, so I’ll have to make this for dessert tonight! Or better yet, breakfast!
Dee says
Hi! Looks awesome! Question… is the Barleans Chocolate Silk the same as: Barlean’s Organic Oils Greens, Chocolate Silk? I’ve never used it so wasn’t sure. 🙂 Thanks in advance!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Yes, that’s it 🙂
Elise says
THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER. SERIOUSLY. MAKE THIS NOW. I didn’t have frozen raspberries, so I used the Trader Joe’s very berry mixed bag (cherries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries) and HOLY YUM cherries were a good choice. I used almond milk but next time I think Ill try it with coconut milk for a super creamy treat. With some Ah!Laska brand chocolate syrup on top it was everything I was hoping for. ALSO I used a food processor and it worked just fine! I forgot to add the ice so it was the consistency of soft serve but that was perfectly fine by me. Drop everything you’re doing and make this now.
In high school I used to eat a big bowl of fattening ice cream every night and since my lifestyle change, there hasn’t really been much to satisfy the cravings I still get for that bowl from time to time and I can only eat so much SOdelicious coconut milk ice cream. For the price, it just isn’t worth it. This is SO much better, much cheaper, and much better for you! Thanks for the recipe (and all of your recipes for that matter)
Cheers!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
So glad you like it!!
Angela says
Do you know if you could use a BlendTec blender instead? I have all these ingredients in my kitchen and I think I’ll be making this tonight! (Not quite 80 but a lovely 73 degrees here in AZ!)
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Yes, I think (from what I’ve heard) that BlendTec is comparable to Vita-Mix in terms of power.
Katie says
Hi Katie, this is a random question but I hope you can help (or one of your followers). I know you posted something before about a particular brand of Stevia you like that doens’t have a weird aftertaste, but I can’t find it for the life of me! NuNaturals maybe? I’m not sure.
P.S. The first ad I saw on your page today was for McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets. I had to laugh. Know your audience, McDonald’s!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Yes, NuNaturals 🙂
Ugh, I guess that’s an Adsense ad. I have a clause written into my ad network contract for no meat, but it backfills with google Adsense when there’s no ad to run… and adsense just posts whatever it wants :-?.
Lisa says
I’m not a huge raspberry fan, but I bet this would be awesome with strawberries or blueberries!
Our Winter has been SO sad over here (no snow at all!). I love snow, so it’s made me a little sad, but oh well!
laura Miller says
It has been -22 degrees here, but we just went to CherryBerry and got some sormosbet anyways! Otherwise we had one snow storm that gave us 16 inches of snow, and we haven’t had much other than that. It has rained a couple times though, which makes the roads really scary.
Thanks for the recipe, I need to make it like, now.
laura Miller says
*some sorbet. I want to try sormosbet sometime. 😀
Tara says
I’m from Winnipeg. I have four feet snow drifts in my yard. It’s a balmy -13C right now, yesterday was -24C. We eat ice cream all year round, because our winters last about 5 months, so we’d have to wait a long time to enjoy it otherwise. Would this recipe work with a little more canned coconut, or even coconut coffee cream?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Yes, it will work beautifully with canned coconut or coconut creamer!
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
I always want ice cream (even in WI), this looks perfect!!
Lilia Cirrincione says
Raspberries as an ice cream base? That is genius! I don’t know how you come up with it Katie, but you have great ideas!
Manon Ciarlo says
Hello I love your web site
Do you Know how many calories have your homemade Larabar ?
Thank you
Claire Elizabeth says
Mmm! This looks SO YUMMY!!! Perfect for a warm and sunny day, like today! 🙂
Lindsey @ Dishing Up Hope says
This looks great! I am looking forward to trying out this healthy dessert. As a Floridian, winter weather is sparse- perfect for icecream cones!
Alan K. says
I personally wouldn’t call this “Red Velvet” its more Chocolate Infused Raspberry Ice Cream. From things I have done I would say the Red Velvet taste comes from a combination of Buttermilk, Vinegar, and a small amount of Choco Powder.
Alan K. says
It could also be topped with one of your many vegan creams/whipped cream. Such as the creams cheese sauce like for the cheesecake pancakes, or cinnamon boatmeal, or your simple coconut whipped cream.
Sierra says
Hi Katie! I love your recipes, I’ve tried quite a few ever since I started my gluten-free, low sugar diet and I had to modify all my baking, and they’ve made the transition so much easier and fun! 😀
I tried this out when I got home, and can I just say how absolutely fantastic it was? I used frozen strawberries because I didn’t have the raspberries, and maple syrup as a sweetener. I would definitely not skip out on that melted chocolate, by the way! This whole recipe was absolutely delicious, thank you so much. I plan on tripling it for a girls’ night on Friday!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Thank you so much for trying it 🙂
Dayna says
We’ve been having the same weird winters in Kansas City. It’ll be 9º one day and 60º the next! I can’t wait to try this… I crave ice cream often, so a healthy version is amazing!
Nikki says
LOVED this Katie! I just got a vitamix and had to make this. sooo good!! xx
Pam says
This sounds like a Yonana recipe. Katie have you ever tried the Yonana machine?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I haven’t, but I’ve seen them and they look fun. 🙂
Aja says
I need to make this ASAP! I need to stop looking at your blog while I don’t have a kitchen. JK, I could never stop.
Am says
Yes, this winter has been really mild!!
I am in TX, but farther south than Dallas. We turned on the A/C a couple days ago! :0
This ice cream sounds so great!
Lisa @bitesforbabies.com says
It’s freezing where I live yet strangely I’m craving a nice cold ice cream! 😉
Kitty Bea says
Looks delicious. I wonder if this would be just as good with frozen strawberries too (which we have abundance of in our freezer)?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Yes 🙂
Anonymous says
I did make it with strawberries, and I ended up adding a banana because since I only used a food processor I wanted a more creamy texture.
Thanks for the recipe–mine really did turn out just like red velvet coloring. 🙂
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
This sounds amazing!! Those homemade Larabars have me seriously intrigued, too!
Kelly @ Foodie Fiasco says
I’d be more than happy to make this recipe, but only if I can eat the entire batch myself. 😉
amanda says
so yeahhhhh….ummm….made this the second i saw it! My only issue was the melted chocolate hardened into bits i had to chew (not really that big of an issue lol). SO good!! definitely a repeater 🙂
Bec says
So delish. Thanks katie 🙂
Melody says
This sounds so good!! The only problem is, I’m allergic to raspberries:( What could I use in replacement?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Strawberries, cherries, or even banana.
Ella says
These look incredible!! Hope I can follow the recipe…..
x Ella
Jeanne says
YOU ARE MY HERO! guilt free versions of my favorite desserts! I love you !
Pam says
Katie- or anyone reading this – what model of Vita-Mix do you use and why have you chosen this one? I’ve read about all the different varieties of food processors, but when I went to add the Vita-Mix to our wedding registry, there are many different kinds. This would be for home use as referenced in recipes by Katie and others, with the occasional large batch of hummus, pasta sauce, nut butters, etc… Thanks! Pam
IC says
Katie… do you think you can come up with the cherry dip recipe (used at Dairy Queen)? I’m obsessed. I read somewhere it’s cherry flavored white chocolate, so I’m assuming if you can somehow figure out a cherry flavor to add to coconut oil it should work…
Chocolate Covered Katie says
Maybe try pureeing cherries or using cherry juice? I can definitely put it on my list of things to try.
IC says
I think that would be too watery. I’m going to try to get dried cherries (or raspberries) from trader joe’s and make into a powder. Either that or cherry powder, or maybe cherry Hi-C and sweeten as needed.
Mariana says
I made this today and it was SO satisfying! Killed my ice cream/chocolate cravings perfectly! I adore your blog!
Dejia says
I love you for bringing this to me.will you be mom?