Last Updated on July 14, 2025 by Deliciously Organic
This chocolate peanut butter ice cream is one of the best ice creams I’ve ever had! It’s ultra creamy and has an intense chocolate flavor.
This recipe is adapted from the book The Perfect Scoop. It’s one of my very favorite ice cream cookbooks.
I’ve made dozens of the recipes in this book and discovered that for the most part, the white sugar can be replaced with maple syrup or honey. If you’re looking for a good ice cream book for the warmer months, I highly recommend David’s book!
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
If you’d like, you can substitute the peanut butter for another nut butter, the honey for maple syrup, or heavy cream for coconut milk.
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
Instructions
- Place coconut milk, cacao powder and maple syrup in a medium saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until it comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and whisk in peanut butter. Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and pour chocolate mixture through the sieve. Cover the bowl tightly and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 2 hours. Freeze mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. Serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Makes about 1 quart
Photo Credit: Becky Winkler
Looks like a wonderful treat! Love the idea of using coconut milk over cream!
Thanks Lori! 😉
This recipe is absolutely delicious! I switch peanut butter for almond butter…also put coconut flakes. Certainly tops a chocolate chip cookie for me in this season of my life!
Thank you Carrie for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I’m always confused when a recipe asks for coconut milk, is this the canned version?
Yes, canned coconut milk. Not coconut “beverage” in the refrigerated section.
Okay…what do you say for an ice cream maker…are they ALL plastic!
Cuisinart sells one that says stainless steel, but it looks like the inside may be plastic…thoughts? THX!!
I don’t think you’ll be able to find one that is completely free of all plastic. The bowl of mine is metal and the blade is plastic as well as the cover. It’s all BPA free and since the mixture isn’t being heated, I feel ok freezing ice cream in it. If the food was to be heated, then I would find another alternative.
THX so much! Free of BPA works…
Now I am wondering what brand that is that you have?
What if you just want chocolate, how would you make the adjustment?
Ionly test the recipes on my site with the listed ingredients and measurements. If you would like to try a substitution, you are welcome to share what you used and how it turned out in the comments below. Thanks!
Hi Carrie –
Looks great!
Does the Native Forest can say BPA free? The ones I’ve looked at didn’t, and I can’t find verification that they are BPA free, even though I’ve heard it several times.
Thanks.
Amy G.
Their cans don’t say BPA free, but I called them a while ago and they said all of their canned products (except mushrooms) are BPA free. I originally leaned about this company in this article: http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/7-companies-you-can-trust-to-use-bpa-free-cans.html (Also, the negative reviews on Amazon were from orders quite a while back. I’ve been ordering via subscribe and save for many months and the coconut milk is coming from Native Forest (despite what some of the commenters said).
I’ve read about Native Forest being BPA-free on a few other trusted sites: http://livingmaxwell.com/bpa-free-cans-organic-food, http://www.marksdailyapple.com/are-your-canned-foods-safe-to-eat-a-bpa-free-buying-guide/#axzz1ss8pULuN
This looks amazing and so much better for you than any recipe that I’ve seen. I love it! 😀
Thanks for all your good research on the Native Forest cans. I will purchase them now!
Amy G.
YUM! Life just got better around our household. I never would have tried to replace the sugar with maple syrup on my own when making ice cream, thanks for testing the waters, so to speak. You simply amaze me. Your photography makes me want it NOW! :o)
Thanks Karen! 🙂
This sounds great! Going to sub maple syrup for golden syrup (boyfriend’s favourite) but keeping everything else the same. Finally – I’ve got a use for that can of coconut milk that’s been sitting in the cupboard for ages! Pinned!
I love PB and chocolate. Thanks for sharing the recipe. What is the purpose of sieve? Do you lose any of the chocolate and PB doing that as it would be sticky?
The maple syrup prob helps make this ice cream especially creamy. How pronounced is the coconut flavor from the coconut milk? I would love to make this for a vegan friend, but not sure if he’s a fan of coconut flavor. Thanks for the recipe and the idea of using alternate sugar and coconut milk instead of regular milk. One last quick question, can you always replace the eggs in an ice cream recipe just by using coconut milk, or did this one work without eggs because it gets it’s creamy-ness from both the maple syrup, coconut milk, and peanut butter?
Thanks!
I don’t think the coconut flavor is very strong, but if he has a strong aversion to coconut it might not be his favorite. The original recipe didn’t have eggs in it, but I usually like to add yolks for extra protein, minerals and creaminess. It seems this recipe didn’t need the yolks because the coconut milk and peanut butter make it extra creamy.
Time to break-out the ice cream maker. This is first on my list!
Wow – love the combo of ingredients in this one! Anything chocolate, peanut butter and organic is a must try!
This recipe made me finally buy an ice cream maker! Can’t wait to try it!!
I think you’ll be happy you took the plunge! 🙂
Will this recipe work if I just use the freezer rather than an ice cream maker?
You could pour the mixture into a small baking dish (8 x 8″), place in the freezer, and stir with a fork every 30 minutes or so for about 3 hours until frozen. It will have a much more icy consistency, but still taste pretty great.
I’m definitely giving this try. Thanks, Carrie!
This looks dreamy!! Awesome creation!
oh my absolute word – this looks so delicious i’m licking my monitor. definitely going to try it. one question – why do you sieve it? what’s in there that needs to be sieved out, or does it just give the mixture a smoother consistency or something? thanks!
I put that step in there to remove any tiny bits of cocoa powder that might not have dissolved. It ensures the ice cream is nice and creamy.
Does a person need to use an ice cream maker to make this?
I want a scoop!
oops. Sorry. Should have read ALL the comments before posting my question. I had a 3 yr. old speeding up my reading abilities.
Looks wonderful Carrie!!
This looks great! What kind of ice cream maker do you have ?
I have a cuisinart. I have it for at last 8 years. I bought a few extra bowls and always keep them in the freezer. Love it!
oh geez…really?? this looks ridiculously amazing!!!!!!!!!
This will be the first recipe I try when I buy Cuisinart. Thanks for posting.
BTW. You I could not find a print option and sharing (email)was quite tricky.
Carrie, I only have the light coconut milk from Trader Joe’s but do have some cream on hand. I really want to make this do you think I could do like 1 1/2 cups coconut milk with 1/2 cup cream or more cream. I’ve been trying to think of a way to make this without getting more coconut milk. Or should I just use the light coconut milk and egg yolks. What do think would produce the best/creamiest consistency for this recipe.
Thanks! I’m so excited to try this low carb version of ice cream. Yummy!
1 1/2 cups coconut milk with 1/2 cup cream should be a good substitute. Or 2 cups light coconut milk with 2 raw yolks would be nice too (and the yolk would add extra nutrients!).
Carrie, this looks amazing. So luscious!
Do you switch out the exact amount of white sugar for maple syrup? Just wondering because I’m just reading up on some other recipes!
Yes, I usually replace the white sugar with maple syrup 1:1 (sometimes I’ll reduce the maple syrup, just to keep the sugar content down. Nice thing about making ice cream is you can taste as you go. If it’s not sweet enough, add a little more!). I use maple syrup if it’s a chocolate, vanilla, caramel, etc. type flavored ice cream. Any ice cream dessert with a fruit flavor, I use honey.
How does this do after being in the freezer for a couple of days? I tried ice cream with coconut milk once and it got pretty hard in the freezer. Is this best just served fresh?
Of course, I’m asking this assuming that this will last long enough for storage!!!
Haha….It might not last long enough for storage, but if it does, it’s best to let the ice cream thaw a bit before eating since it becomes very hard when frozen.
I just made this today and it is delicious! And also very, very rich. I only needed a few bites and I was full. Thanks for the great recipe!
Wow this looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing it! Do you think I could use rice milk instead of coconut? And also, do you have to freeze it in that special container, or can you freeze it in anything? This is so great!
I don’t advise using rice milk because it will cause the ice cream to turn out very icy. If you can’t have coconut milk, you can always substitute with heavy cream. You can freeze the ice cream in the bowl it’s frozen in, but it will become very hard. I usually scoop it out and put it in another bowl (if there are leftovers!). 🙂
Thank you for responding and the advice! I will be making soon.
Thank you for the recommendation on coconut milk. I’ve been very worried about which brands were safe.
I discovered that this recipe doubles as a great pudding recipe if you simply omit the freezing in an ice cream maker step! Once the stuff sets, it’s a delicious and thick peanut butter and chocolate pudding! I actually used half the maple syrup to achieve a darker tasting pudding. Really good treat!
Thanks for the tip! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I sped this process up by just throwing all of the ingredients in my Vitamix then pouring it into the ice cream maker. I didn’t cook/cool or sieve it and it turned out good, so I thought I’d share. Do you think the taste is different after heated & cooled?
That’s a great idea! The flavors probably weren’t as developed, but I think that’s a great, quick way to make it! 😉
We had this tonight. Soooo delicious! But I agree – it was somewhat on the rich side. So I didn’t need to eat a lot of it. Didn’t stop my husband from having seconds though! lol. Great recipe! I also liked it when it was chilled in the refrigerator and more like a pudding.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I too like it when it’s chilled and not frozen. 🙂
Oh my gosh, Carrie! This is amazing!! I made it for a cookout and it got rave reviews! I will be making it again. Soon! Thanks!
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it! 🙂
Any recommendations for substituting the maple syrup for stevia? thank you!
I would add a few drops, taste the mixture and then add more if needed.
Making it for tonight’s dessert… New Year’s Eve! Just for my husband & I this time! It’ s so delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Happy New Year! 🙂
This looks wonderful…peanut butter and chocolate is always great! Love it!
Would this recipe work with almond milk? If it does do you recommend sweetened or unsweetened?
The almond milk will work, but the ice cream will probably be a bit more icy. I recommend unsweetened, homemade almond milk to avoid the preservatives and such in store-bought almond milk.
Making it as I’m typing. Got ahead of myself and added the peanut butter from the start. Hope it still turns out good. Hate to waste all these organic ingredients. Smells good….
I’m going to try subbing the maple syrup for 2 frozen bananas. Banana, chocolate, peanut butter – yum!
But let me know if you think that’s a bad idea. I’ll prob just blend everything up and throw it in the ice cream maker like another commenter.
I just made this recipe and we love it! I only had a cup of coconut milk so I used one cup coconut milk and one almond but it’s still creamy and delicious. I did have to add a little bit of icing sugar but now it’s perfect. A greater healthier ice cream recipe!
Just made this today. Verdict: amazing!!! ?
Wonderful recipe. I just recently became vegan and was craving ice cream. This is the perfect fix. Thank you!
You’re welcome! So glad you liked it! 🙂
This looks absolutely amazing. Does the recipe call for full fat coconut milk? 🙂
Yes. 🙂
We LOVE this ice cream!! I use raw whole milk (because the raw cream is so expensive!) and my son who can’t tolerate conventional dairy gets ice cream!! It tastes so much like Baskin Robbins to me! I have to make myself not eat the whole recipe! 🤪