6 low-calorie, healthy ice-cream recipes that are totally delicious

Creamy coconutty soft-scoops. Mouth-wakening strawberry swirls. The rich blast of chocolate gelato. Ice-cream is a true indulgence - but it doesn’t need to be unhealthy. You can still enjoy all of the satisfying aspects of this gorgeous summer treat without derailing your diet plans. 

These healthy ice-cream recipes are a mix of fruity, chocolate and vanilla flavours: some require more time than others; some don’t need an ice-cream maker or even a food processor. Minimal ingredients, low calories and high on flavour - here’s our favourite frozen desserts to try at home this summer:

1.    One-ingredient banana ice cream

It’s hard to believe it but this absurdly easy recipe has just one ingredient - very ripe banana. There are optional add-ins such as almond butter, cinnamon or frozen mango (or anything else you think will work) but if you have a few bananas lying around, you can knock it up. Get the full recipe from Deliciously Ella, then simply freeze, scoop and slurp - anyone can do it.

2. Avocado honey ice-cream

We all know avocado goes with just about anything - but who would’ve guessed it worked so well in an ice-cream? Let alone with honey. This unique healthy ice-cream recipe by Healing And Eatingis a great way to eat creamy soft-scoop without all the dairy and refined sugar. It uses coconut milk, mashed avocado and half a cup of honey. Top with chopped pecans and you might just have found your new favourite dessert.

3. No-churn workout protein ice-cream

Paleo, vegan and gluten-free, this three-ingredient ice-cream from The Big Man’s Worldis a soft-served dream. Grab a couple cans of coconut milk, a few scoops of vanilla protein powder and your sweetener of choice (you can even use Medjool dates). It’s also dairy-free, sugar-free, low carb and keto-friendly - and you don’t need an ice-cream maker to whip up a pint of the stuff, any blender will do. 

4. Raspberry basil nice cream

Soft scoop that you can whip up in five minutes? With only three low-calorie ingredients? It’s real, and you can get all the details from Live Eat Learn’s healthy ice-cream recipe. Simply throw frozen banana and raspberries into a blender and blitz until creamy, then add basil. Now all you need is a sunny day.

5. Healthy chocolate fudgsicles

Creamy, refreshing and filled with cocoa, these popsicles are the very definition of summer. Unlike store-bought ice-cream popsicles filled with additives and nasties, this recipe by the aptly-named Chocolate Covered Katieuses coconut milk, bananas, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, pure maple syrup and a tiny bit of salt. Nothing else. Let them drip down your chin nostalgically and most of all, guilt-free.

6. Wild blueberry lavender coconut ice-cream

Monique at Ambitious Kitchenhas created an Instagram sensation with this purple-tinged healthy ice-cream recipe.  It’s almost too pretty to eat (take that as a challenge) and packs in all the sensations, textures and aromas - a sweet, floral, creamy delight without all the calories. Made with coconut milk and almond milk, it just so happens to be vegan, too. 

Do you have a favourite healthy ice-cream recipe that we might not have heard of? Share your go-to low-calorie frozen treats with us on our Facebook or Instagram! 

Find more delicious summer treats - try our raw ice-cream recipe.