Superfood Ice Cream Bars! No-bake brownie crust topped with naturally colored ice cream swirls – an easy and fun frozen summer treat!
Remember that one time last year when unicorn drinks were the craze? And then pretty soon everyone was making rainbow swirled “unicorn” everything? And it was magical. But also weird and excessive. But magical.
This is a swirly sweet throwback to summer 2017. Because the unicorn trend may be vintage by now in Instagram years, but eating colorful swirls of ice cream will never not be fun.
With how not-boring these look, they are actually very easy to make. That’s partly thanks to my favorite no-bake brownie crust and 3 ingredient ice cream filling. And that’s also partly thanks to Thrive Market. Every single ingredient (besides the fresh blueberries) you need for this recipe comes from Thrive Market. So basically that means you can never leave your home and still make swirly Superfood Ice Cream Bars.
Lazy ice cream lovers – rejoice! And I mean that in the most loving, I-am-one-of-your-kind way, of course.
Also, I do still recommend leaving your home for basic social/mental health purposes. Maybe take the bars with you. I haven’t yet met someone who isn’t made happier by being handed a multicolored square of ice cream.
But back to how much I love Thrive Market…
I loved Thrive Market looooooong before they came to me and said: We love you too, let’s do delicious things together! (Not an exact quote, but you get the idea.)
I’ve been ordering from them at least monthly for a while now, because any company who can beat even Trader Joe’s on healthy food/ingredient prices is a company I need in my life. Plus, all of their products are 25-50% off retail price and shipped right to your door. Almond flour, maple syrup, nut butters, Enjoy Life chocolate chips, coconut milk, collagen peptides, Cocokind skin care, dog food – those are just a few of my Thrive Market regular purchases.
And when you pay for a membership (which costs less than I spend on groceries in like…half of a week), they donate a membership to a low-income family, teacher, veteran, or student. Saving me money, spreading the organic food love, inspiring superfood ice cream bars – SO MUCH YES.
If you like the sound of all that, you can start with a free trial and get 25% off your first order HERE (affiliate link).
The crust. It is no bake things like this that is where coconut flour really shines. Based on these cookie dough ice cream sandwiches, the crust is made with date paste for moisture and sweetness mixed with cacao powder and coconut flour for that “baked” brownie-like texture. Oh, and a little salt.
The filling. Creamy and simple, made from cashews, maple syrup, and non-dairy milk. The texture is like ice-cream-meets-cheesecake, a.k.a. hella creamy dreamy And please don’t try to make it lower in fat or you will regret it when you are eating superfood colored ice.
The colors. Half the rainbow is deliciously accounted for in these yummy bars, but all the color comes from natural superfood sources. Spirulina for the green. Turmeric for the yellow. And blueberries pureed for the purple (cheaper and easier to find than blueberry powder).
Enchanted vibes. Good ingredients. Spoon-free form.
What more could you ice cream ask for?
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Superfood Ice Cream Bars! No-bake brownie crust topped with naturally colored ice cream swirls – an easy and fun frozen summer treat!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup (~180g) pitted medjool dates
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup (60g) coconut flour
- 1/4 cup (20g) cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Ice Cream
- 2 cups (240g) raw cashews
- 1 cup (240g) coconut milk*
- 1/4 cup (80g) maple syrup
- 1/2–1 tsp spirulina
- 1/2–1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 cup blueberries, pureed
Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips (90g) for melting and drizzling on top
Instructions
- Cover the cashews with warm water and soak for at least 30 minutes (if you don’t have a high speed blender, you will need to soak them for at least a few hours).
- Blend the dates and water.
- In a bowl, combine the coconut flour, cacao powder, and salt. Stir.
- Add the date paste and mix to form a sticky dough. If it’s too dry/crumbly add a few tablespoons of water.
- Press into the bottom of a pan/dish lined with parchment paper or plastic wrap (I used a 9×6″ tupperware). Set aside.
- Blend the (soaked and drained) cashews, milk, and maple syrup until very smooth and creamy.
- Divide into 3 bowls. Mix the spirulina into one, turmeric into another, and blueberry puree into the last. Add more/less to reach desired color.
- Spoon/dollop the colors on top of the crust and swirl with the back of a spoon or a straw.
- Freeze overnight.
- Once frozen, cut into bars and top with melted chocolate if desired.
- Enjoy! Keep leftovers in the freezer.
Notes
*I used light canned coconut milk, but other kinds of non-dairy milk are fine too. Or use full fat coconut milk to make them extra creamy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 304
- Sugar: 25g
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 8g
Keywords: dessert, vegan, paleo, ice cream, chocolate, dairy free
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Any substitute by chance for the coconut flour? I am allergic.
You could just make one of these chocolate crusts instead:
https://www.feastingonfruit.com/no-bake-vegan-chocolate-cream-pie/
https://www.feastingonfruit.com/no-bake-matcha-cheesecake/
These are beautiful…thanks!
Thanks mama <33
Do you usually match nail color to recipes? :-))
Hahahaha!! When I can, yes💜😂
Natalie this recipe is so beautiful!…..❤️
★★★★★
Part of me wants to just stare at them, I adore the colors too😍 But they taste way too good for that!
This recipe looks so cool and beautiful! Very arty!!
I can’t wait to try it! Many thanks ☺️
They tastes even better than they look, promise😋 I hope you love them when you do!
I seriously don’t know how people survive without Thrive! And I don’t know how I survived before it. I obviously love all the chocolate and pretty colors involved in these and my ice cream obsession is so REAL these days, so I’m feelin’ a double batch 😉 And hugs to you for making a work of abstract art that is healthy and delish <3
★★★★★
Right?! I’m so happy you love it too🤗 Idk how/why I lived without them too, and I am actually loving the Thrive brand more and more for basics. Take that Whole Foods😜😂 Ha I feel ya on the ice cream obsession girly, double batch sounds like a VERY good plan🙌
Omg Natalie, these are absolutely beautiful! And there is no pink anywhere in sight…like typical unicorn stuff, which I am majorly digging right now! I literally busted out laughing at you calling the unicorn craze “vintage” in Instagram years, bahahaha, so true! If it’s not happening on like 100 accounts everyday then it must be “out of style” lmao! But, thanks to you, it is now back to “trending”. I’m cracking up over here. But back to these beauties. I’m so with you on the coconut flour being perfect when it comes to raw treats. I’ve only had success in raw desserts with the exception of trying one of Mandy’s cookies with coconut flour last year. Those were yummy! I have 2 huge bags of the coconut flour stuff and I just don’t know how I’ll ever use it all because it scares me, haha. But these are gorgeous, inviting and very UN-scary. Thank you for sharing these awesome gems!
No pink OR blue–I’m breaking all the unicorn rules now😈 So both way behind on trends and a unicorn rebel, the Instagram police are gonna be after me soon😂 I have one baked recipe with coconut four that I really love (and I’m still amazed I don’t get more “this was an absolute disaster” comments on that one since I still am not sure how the texture turned out so well tbh), but in general no bake all the way with that stuff. 2 huge bags–well that is a LOT of no bake balls to eat your way through, so you better get started soon😆
Hi! I’ve been trying to find the link to the homemade chocolate using coconut oil and maple syrup, which you have mentioned in some recipe(s) before. That post had them made into chocolate hearts. Can’t seem to be able to find it again 🙁
There are many recipes out there for it, but I think this is the one you are referring to: https://www.jaysbakingmecrazy.com/2015/08/21/easy-homemade-paleo-chocolate/ Hope that helps!
Thank you!! 🙂
I followed the recipe but got a very very thin layer of “ice cream”. Also, the tumeric and spirulina flavor came through. Ok for the tumeric but the spirulina taste is awful. (to me anyway.. Probably why I have an unused container). Tried to hide it with vanilla…. Kids did not approve but.. Maybe if I try more chocolate… However, it’s s very Fun and healthy idea. That part I love. Great creativity!!
★★
Hi Brianne! So the thickness is really all determined by pan size, what size dish/pan did you make it in? And I am super sensitive to spirulina taste (hate it😜) but didn’t notice it at all here. You could try matcha for the green instead if you like the taste of that. Or skip the green and do raspberry for pink or something like that. Hope that helps, better luck next time!
Hi Natalie, Do you have any tips on cutting them to get them to look that perfect and clean?
Yes, running your knife under hot water first makes it much easier! Letting them soften a little bit out of the freezer first helps too 🙂
I just made these, but took a few liberties including switching out the cashews for bananas, which added extra natural sweetness. I blended up spinach instead of spirulina and the taste is very subtle! Still kept the turmeric and blueberries! Another pink/purple idea would be beet juice? I’ve added beet juice to icing before and the taste doesn’t come through, just the gorgeous colour.
Anyways, I love them! They turned out great! Thanks for the wonderful idea!
I skipped the maple syrup as well since the bananas were so sweet!
I am so happy you liked them, they sound beautiful! I’m the kind of person who always tweaks and experiments with recipes too, much more fun😊 And yes, beet juice would be great here too. Thanks for the feedback Amy!
I am wanting to try this for a carry in at work. Do these actually “melt” like real ice cream would ?
They don’t melt quite as fast as ice cream, but yes will still melt within an hour or so, so not good for taking on the go. Sorry!