Before I proceed with this post..go out, get yourself a cup of cashews, and start soaking them. For a long time. Because you’re in for a treat with today’s recipe!
When Michael and I first moved in together, we were addicted to those Dove mini ice cream bars. One of my clients told me about them, and how great they were to satisfy your sweet tooth because it was just a bite. The problem was, we could never just eat one. We’d go through a box faster than I would like to admit. So I stopped buying them, and haven’t had one in years!
This week I had literally a cup of cashews that I wanted to do something with. I started soaking them thinking I would try making Ella a new “ice cream” recipe or maybe another raw vegan pie. Sorry, Ella. This one is for the grown ups! I even got Michael to try, and he loved them!
I had my cashews soaking for 2 days. Only because I hadn’t figured out what I wanted to do yet. The least amount of time I recommend it 8 hours. Preferably longer, if possible. Usually it’s 4-6, but of all the cashew soaked recipes I’ve ever made, this one came out the creamiest, and I think it’s because they soaked for so long!
It’s simple, I blended them in my Vitamix with 3 Tablespoons of coconut milk, coconut oil, vanilla bean and stevia. I poured the cashew creamy goodness into a greased mini muffin tin:
Let it freeze for a few hours, then dipped them into my chocolate mixture
The chocolate was the perfect consistency:
Creamy “ice cream” swimming in rich, smooth dark chocolate.
The chocolate hardened right away since the ice cream bites were cold…
Who knew such a thing could actually be healthy? Who knew this would be one of the ways I try and sneak the healthy fats into my diet? As if they needed to be snuck in.
The thing I love about this recipe is I totally came up with it by accident. I just threw a few ingredients in my vitamix and prayed it would turn out the way I wanted it to. Don’t you love when those things work out? This is probably one of my favorite dessert recipes, that I have made, in a while!
Mock Mini “Dove” Ice Cream Bites
yield: 10
this recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free & delicious! And if you use agave, they are raw! Are cashews Paleo? If so..well…here you go!
© The Fitness Dish
ingredients
for the vanilla cashew ice cream bites:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 8 hours
3 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
3 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk beverage
1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract, (or 1/2 vanilla bean scraped out)
1/2 dropper full of Nu Naturals liquid stevia (or 1/4 cup maple syrup, or to taste)
a pinch of sea salt
for the chocolate outer layer:
2 1/2 Tablespoons raw cacao (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
7-10 drops NuNaturals vanilla liquid stevia (or 1 T maple syrup, or to taste)
directions:
Place cashews in a small bowl and cover with water. Soak it overnight. Once they have soaked for the recommended amount of time, or longer, drain the water out and add them to a high speed blender or food processor along with 3 Tablespoons of melted coconut oil, vanilla bean (or extract), and stevia. Blend until very creamy.
Note: NuNaturals liquid stevia is the only stevia that doesn’t taste bitter, or have any aftertaste, to me. Also, I didn’t make these super sweet, so you can always add a few drops more depending on your sweet tooth.
Grease a mini muffin tin and fill them up with the cashew ice cream. Let them freeze for a couple of hours. They don’t take too long to freeze up, just check on them. I wanted them nice and frosty and firm for chocolate dipping so I let them sit about 2 hours.
When you are about to take them out melt 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil, add raw cacao and stevia/ maple syrup and stir until combined. Take ice cream bites out of the freezer {they should pop right out when you stick a knife in the side of each one} and coat each one. Place them on a wax paper lined container and store them in the freezer. Before eating them let them sit a minute or two. Savor and enjoy!
*Read up on the many health benefits of coconut oil, and how it helps you to lose weight! Yes…this is actually a weight loss dessert. And it’s not too good to be true!
*Cacao is loaded with magnesium, and is has the highest concentration of antioxidants than any other food in the world! Learn more about raw cacao here!
Are there any foods you can not keep in the house because you don’t trust yourself around them?
What dessert(s) do you love to see health-ified?
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Haha I’m definitely that way with graham crackers and vanilla wafers… for some reason if I’m around them I just can’t stop! They never get brought into my house now
These mini ice cream treats sound amazing! Must start soaking my cashews!
I’m like that with graham crackers…no control!
Word: Yummmmm!
You’re a genius! I’m definitely making these. Obviously, they have every ingredient I support using… so now I just have to get to the store…
Way too excited about these! I would love to see most desserts healthified—I’m thinking red velvet cake, since I haven’t figured out a way to do it grain and sugar free. Lol.
I can’t keep most desserts in the house (no troubles with regular dessert—I would never eat that stuff, but I can way overdo it with the healthified stuff)… luckily I live across the street from my mom, so I can usually give them most of what I make. They have no trouble eating one a day and making them last…
I can’t wait for you to try these!! I just know you will love them!!!
You’re so lucky to have your mom across the street. I would totally bring them all of my food I make too…and I’d make more treats more often! They always love them, but not always convenient. Luckily my mom is here 2x a week so I can pass stuff off on her then!
Hey there stranger! Wow did I start reading blogs again on a great day
this recipe is ace! Totally bookmarking it. They also look divine–really beautiful. I bet vanilla bean specks would be beautiful. As for healthy desserts… Raw-vegan are my favorite kind. Honestly, they’re my favorite health aside lol. I love the flavor! And food I can’t keep around the house… trail mixes! It’s so hard to keep from eating most of the bag in one sitting so Ive just decided not to get them lol. Plus, I don’t think about them anymore 
Xo!
Ps I made your pistachio avocado ice cream awhile ago for a dinner and everyone loved it
Hey, sweetheart! I’ve missed you! I need to see what you’ve been up to, friend! Thanks for stopping by. SO glad everyone liked the ice cream that’s definitely one of my favorite recipes on my blog!
WOW!! Awesome recipe Laury! This is perfect for me because my one and only pregnancy craving has really been ice cream!! I need to give these a try soon to have on hand in the freezer for my night time treats!
I can’t keep any baked good around the house pretty much. I usually won’t eat anything with “bad” ingredients, but sometimes my cravings are just too strong! I always try to have healthy treats on hand!
You will love these! Definitely great to keep them in the freezer for those times you need some ice cream! Let me know if you try them!
I am bad too. That’s why Mike has no snacks here. It’s only stuff I can make from scratch…otherwise, if I come home from the gym starving, needing to care for Ella, I will grab things I shouldn’t!
I could really go for a couple (okay… five) of those about now.
Oh Goodness! These look sooo delicious! I am drooling over here
Now I need to pick up some cashews!! I don’t really have any trouble keeping my hand out of desserts, I have the opposite problem haha, not treating myself enough!
Yes, you need to treat yourself more! Life is better with treats
Oh my gosh. If only I had some cashews on hand. Then I would start the soaking process RIGHT NOW so I could have some of this loveliness.
Do you think frozen banana or coconut ice cream would work in it’s place?
I definitely think you could do frozen banana whip in it’s place. Like chocolate covered banana bites!
These look perfect for a hot summer day to cool me off
Cashews are the best!!!!
Um….you are amazing!!! This recipe looks SO SO good!!! Why or why didn’t I think of it! haha!!! Im not joking, I am totally sending my hubby out for the ingredients for me so I can make em. You are the bestest!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will share it with my readers!! a big big X and O from Mo!!
I KNOW my Mo Mo is gonna love it! Let me know! Enjoy <3
Any ideas on hoe to make this without nuts?
I can work on that!
If you have an ice cream maker you could make coconut milk ice cream, or buy coconut or Tempt hemp vanilla ice cream and follow the rest of the directions. Or you could use bananas but freezing bananas in chunks, then whipping them up in a high speed blender or food processor with vanilla bean, then freeze and follow the rest of the directions for the chocolate shell
Oh my gosh, these look fantastic. I want to make them right now. At 11PM on a Friday night. I’m cool like that.
i love making cashew ice cream! the flavor is so rich and wonderful! i love your blog! thanks for sharing!
Yum these look wonderful. Stevia is banned here in Ireland, do you think maple syrup is pretty much similar?
Wow! I can’t believe it’s still banned there! You can’t even order it online?
ANy sweetener would work. TO make it sugar-free I recommend stevia extract, over any of the others. SO maple syrup or sucanut, etc would be my second choice! You don’t need much!
LOVE this recipe laury! Definitely bookmarking it! Would you said that raw almonds could sub for cashews…bc I just bought them today and have all the other ingredients on hand! Let me know what your thoughts are!
Good question. I think macadamian nuts would work, not sure if almonds would get as creamy but it’s worth a try! Not sure how it will go with the almond skins…but if you try it let me know how it turns out!
Hi Laury,
I love this recipe and was sooooo excited to try it out this weekend. I have been playing around with sweeteners and have started soaking medjool dates overnight and mashing them up to make a mock maple syrup thing I call “date syrup”. Just seems like a fresh and cheaper alternative to maple syrup. Not only are dates packed with the minerals potassium, magnesium, selenium and calcium, antioxidants & fiber but they are also used in Chinese Medicine as an herb for helping nourish the blood and tonifying our digestive organs. They are great for post partum mamas esp!! So i used that as sweetener for filling in middle. Chad loved them, I love them…. def going to share this recipe with others !!! Thanks for posting and hope all is well with you and your family!
Hey Nicole!!! This comment made me so happy! Thank you for letting me know you tried it. I am so glad you and Chad enjoyed them! And thanks for the tip on liquidizing the dates…I’ve been using date sugar, because you can use much less than other sugars…so it’s good to know the method to make it in liquid form!!! I hope all is well, and congrats again on the wedding!
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