Vegan Chunky Monkey Ice Cream Bars

This has to be my favourite Ice Cream Sundays recipe so far. Kidding. I’m pretty much obsessed with them all. But can you blame me? I mean, what’s not to love about yummy cold treats in this blazing hot weather we’ve been having recently? Especially when they combine a few of my favourite things like these vegan chunky monkey ice cream bars do.

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Full disclosure: I’m pretty sure I’ve never had chunky monkey ice cream in my life. My family wasn’t a big Ben & Jerry’s fan and by the time I figured out chunky monkey was a thing, I was already dairy free. But chunky monkey ice cream combines three of my favourite things i.e. fudge/brownie pieces, bananas and walnuts. So obviously I had to give it a go myself.

At first, I was just going to make straight up vegan chunky monkey ice cream but already shared a basic vegan ice cream recipe last week. So I decided to jazz things up with week and go with chunky monkey ice cream bars instead. And spoiler alert: They’re so freakin’ good.

Vegan Chunky Monkey Ice Cream Bars

There are main parts involved in making these bars:

The brownie pieces

I used a few of my two-bite flourless brownies because they’re ridiculously easy to make and the recipe doesn’t make a lot so I didn’t have a tonne of leftovers. But you can use whatever brownies you want or leave them out if you prefer.

The banana ice cream

This part is wicked simple since it’s just nice cream. If you didn’t know, nice cream is ‘ice cream’ made by blending up frozen bananas. It doesn’t really set up the way regular ice cream does, so it has more of a soft serve texture and it also has a distinct banana flavour, obvs. But it’s rich, creamy and absolutely perfect in these chunky monkey ice cream bars.

The chocolate shell

There are a few ways to do this part but I decided to be lazy and melt some chocolate chips then dip the blocks of ice cream into it. It’s a delicate process because the banana ice cream starts to thaw pretty easily. But once you move quickly and return the bars to the freezer after dipping you should be fine.

And that’s basically it. I topped mine with walnuts but you can skip that part or do nut butter swirls instead. Either way, these vegan chunky monkey ice cream bars are crunchy on the outside, soft, creamy and melty on the inside and just downright delicious. Plus, they’re ridiculously easy to make and the perfect treat to cool you down on a hot summer day.

If you make these ice cream bars, I’d love to hear what you think. Leave a comment and rate the recipe or take a pic and tag me @ExSloth on Instagram!

Vegan Chunky Monkey Ice Cream Bars

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

7 hours

Total time

7 hours 30 mins

 

these chunky monkey ice cream bars are crunchy on the outside and soft, creamy and melty on the inside. Plus, they're easy to make and the perfect treat to cool you down on a hot summer day.

Author: GiselleR @ ExSloth.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Vegan

Serves: 5-6 ice cream bars

Ingredients

For the banana ice cream:

• 3 bananas, frozen
• 2-3 tbsp coconut cream (as needed)
• 1-2 tbsp nut butter, plus more for swirling (I used pb but walnut butter would be great)
• 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, plus more for sprinkling
• Optional: ¼ cup brownie pieces (I used 3 of my two bite brownies)

For the chocolate shell:

• ¾ cup vegan semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2-3 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

1. If not done already, start by making and cooling your brownies then chopping into small chunks

For the banana ice cream:

1. Blend together the frozen bananas, coconut cream and nut butter in a food processor until smooth
2. Fold in the walnuts and brownie pieces then spread out into a loaf tin lined with parchment paper
3. Freeze until solid, overnight or for at least 4-6 hours
4. Once the banana ice cream is frozen, remove from the loaf tin and slice into 5 - 6 blocks then return to the freezer on a parchment paper lined baking tray

For the chocolate shell:

1. Add ½ cup chocolate chips and all the coconut oil to a small bowl and microwave in 20 second increments until melted, stirring occasionally
2. Stir in the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips until melted and allow the melted chocolate to cool slightly. 3 to 5 minutes
3. Add more melted coconut oil if too thick

To assemble the ice cream bars:

1. Remove the ice cream blocks from the freezer and gently (but quickly) dip into the chocolate sauce. You may need to spoon the chocolate sauce onto the ice cream to cover it completely
2. Top with walnuts and/or nut butter and return to the freezer for at least another 30 minutes before devouring

Notes

*cook time refers to total freezing time

3.5.3208

Want more vegan ice cream recipes? Try this one:

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WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Have you ever had chunky monkey ice cream before?
• What’s your favourite ice cream flavour?
• Ice cream bars, ice cream sandwiches or popsicles?

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