Ever want some ice cream sandwiches, but without the fat, chemicals and processed ingredients that the sandwiches are packed with? Or how about the articles that came out last year about Walmart’s ice cream sandwiches that won’t melt…even if left out overnight in 80 degree heat? (See this article to read the story!) Who wants to eat and ice cream sandwich that won’t melt? Not me! So I came with my own recipe. This is vegan, dairy free, and so simple to make. It even gives you some extra protein from my chickpea cookie dough!

You want to set aside a good 3-4 hours to make this, as it is 3 layers and each one needs to be frozen individually. Also, if you are cooking the beans from scratch as I did, you will need about an hour for that as well.

Let us begin!

You will need:

– 2 cups cooked chickpeas (if you are cooking them from scratch, follow the directions on the bag on how to prepare them)

– 6 frozen bananas

– 1/2 cup nut butter (I like to use almond or cashew)

– 1 cup (or less) vegan chocolate chips)

– 5 tbsp maple syrup

– 2 tbsp maca powder

– 3 tsp vanilla extract

Optional:

– 2 tbsp raw cacao powder (for chocolate ice cream)

Step 1:

After the chickpeas are cooked and cooled, put them in your high-powered blender along with the nut butter, 2 tsp of vanilla, maca powder and maple syrup. Blend until thick and creamy. (Note: You may have to stop the blender from time to time to scrape the sides in order to make sure everything is fully blended)

Step 2:

Put the mixture into a bowl, then add in the chocolate chips. Fold the chocolate chips into the dough, until everything is mix. (If you don’t want to add chocolate chips, you don’t have to)

Step 3:

Now it’s time for our first layer. Take out a glass tray or pan, and line it with plastic wrap. This will make it easier to take out the cookies when they are done.

Spoon out half of the dough mixture into the bottom, then smooth it out, making sure to keep the layer even.

Once the bottom of the tray is covered, put in the freezer to freeze while you blend the banana mixture.

Save the rest of the dough in container in the freezer until you are ready to use it again.

Step 4:

Add the 6 bananas into the blender and the last tsp of vanilla, and blend until smooth, thick and creamy.

The final mixture will resemble actual ice cream!

If you want to do some vanilla and some chocolate, take out half the blended mixture, then add in the 2 tbsp of raw cacao powder to the bananas still in the blender. Blend on high for another 30 seconds to mix the chocolate into the ice cream.

This entire process takes about 2 minutes, and is not enough time for your cookie dough to be fully frozen. You will need to wait about 45 minutes total for the first layer of cookie dough to harden.

Step 5:

Once the cookie dough is frozen, take out the freezer. You are now ready to add your ice cream layers!

Spoon the ice cream mixture generously on top of the frozen cookie dough. You can mix the chocolate and vanilla, or do half and half, like I did:

Put in the freezer to harden completely, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Step 5:

After the ice cream is frozen, take out again, and add the final layer of cookie dough to the top.

For the real brave, you can choose to layer your ice cream as well, such as one layer of vanilla, one chocolate and one strawberry.

Put your finished ice cream sandwiches back in the freezer, and freeze for about 30 minutes.

Once your sandwiches are completely frozen, take it out, cut up and serve!

This is a great snack to bring to parties, or to serve as a dessert or sweet treat. It takes awhile to prepare, but it is so worth it as this is healthy, low fat (especially without the chocolate chips) and so good for you!