This Healthy Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Recipe puts summer cherries to perfect use when you want a nourishing sweet treat. The best part is, no ice cream maker required!
I’ve always been a chocolate girl when it comes to dessert. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that my usual motto is that if a sweet treat doesn’t have chocolate, it just isn’t worth it. I have branched out a little, realizing the deliciousness in things like a creamy coconut custard, butter toffee shortbread cookies, and classic flavor combinations like peanut butter and jelly made into crumble bars.
This Healthy Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Recipe has just enough chocolate to hold my interest, without it overwhelming the recipe. Because let’s face it, cherries also deserve a moment in the spotlight! Their season is so short-lived it warrants a celebration in the form of anything and everything cherry-flavored, including a healthy version of ice cream!
What is in Cherry Garcia Ice Cream?
Cherry Garcia is a flavor of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. It is cherry ice cream with cherries and fudge flakes. According to Ben & Jerry’s, this ice cream originated as a fan-suggested flavor, and is a tribute to Grateful Dead musician Jerry Garcia. Ben & Jerry’s also makes a low-fat frozen yogurt version of this flavor.
This Healthy Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Recipe uses frozen cherries as the base with a touch of cream cheese and heavy cream. If you prefer to cut the calories and fat a bit you could omit the cream cheese and heavy cream, and instead use 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt. A little dark chocolate pairs perfectly with the flavor of cherry.
Cherries Nutrition
According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, 1 cup of pitted cherries has the following nutrition information:
97kcals
1.63g protein
.31g total fat
24.66g total carbohydrates
3.2g fiber
Health Benefits of Cherries
Cherries are rich in antioxidants that help fight free radicals in the body, and help to prevent cancer and heart disease. Additionally, the purple and blue pigments in cherries, called anthocyanins, help reduce pain related to inflammation. Cherries are also a good source of potassium, which helps the body eliminate excess sodium, thus helping to lower blood pressure. (Health benefits of cherries listed here were compiled from the following websites: Fox News, Health, and Live Strong.)
Low Carb Chocolate
There are a few good options available when you’re looking for delicious low carb chocolate:
- Sugar Free Chocolate: I like Lily’s and Chocoperfection.
- Dark Chocolate: I usually opt for 85% dark or darker. A few of my favorites include Lindt, Pascha, and Green & Black’s.
- Homemade Low Carb Chocolate: If you want to make your own version of low carb chocolate at home, it’s even better because you get to control the quality of ingredients that go into it, as well as the sweetness level. Check out Lara’s Keto Chocolate Bar Recipe over on Lara Clevenger!
More Cherry Dessert Recipes:
- Paleo Cherry Chocolate Chip Coffee Popsicles from An Edible Mosaic
- Cherry Clafoutis from Home Cooking Adventure
- Cherry Cookies from Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
- Old Fashioned Cherry Crisp from Kevin is Cooking
- Cherry Cobbler Cheesecake Bars from Healthy Sweet Eats
Healthy Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Recipe (No Ice Cream Maker)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups sweet red cherries pitted, de-stemmed, and frozen (store-bought frozen cherries are also fine)
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 1g packet stevia
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped sugar-free dark chocolate see Note
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except the chocolate to a high-speed blender and process until smooth and creamy, tamping down the ingredients as necessary. Stir in the chopped chocolate.
- Serve immediately, garnished with a cherry.
Helpful Tips
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items. Thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Looks creamy and oh so delicious Faith. A few months back I was able to attend a cherry harvest up in Yakima Washington and it was fascinating touring the orchards and packaging plant.
Thanks for including me here, too. :)