Raw Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie
A creamy, minty ice cream pie that’s irresistible and dairy free. No baking required. This recipe is raw, vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, and refined sugar-free.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 7" pie
- Category: Ice Cream
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups mixed raw nuts and seeds of your choice (I used a mix of almonds, brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and a smaller amount of coconut slivers, raisins, and dried cherries)
- 4 medjool dates
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- 1-2 tbsp liquid sweetener of your choice (I used maple syrup)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, soft
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp pure mint extract
- dash of salt
Filling: (make sure everything is at room temp for this part!)
- 2 small ripe avocados
- a big handful of baby spinach
- ⅔ cup raw cashews, pre-soaked and strained*
- ¾ cup liquid sweetener of your choice (I used maple syrup)
- ½ cup coconut water (or a mylk of your choice)
- ¼ cup coconut oil, soft or liquified (but not hot)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp pure mint extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
Topping:
- a handful of cacao nibs (chocolate chips or shavings would work well too)
Instructions
- Place all crust ingredients in a food processor and process into a fine crumble. Scoop out this mixture into a 7" pie / tart pan (preferably with a removable bottom) and press it down with your fingers to form a thin pie crust. Place in the freezer while working on the next part.
- Make sure all your filling ingredients are at room temperature to prevent coconut oil from hardening up prematurely. Place all filling ingredients into a good blender {I used my Vitamix for this}, and process until the mixture is smooth and thoroughly blended {use your tamper, or stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula as needed}.
- Transfer this mixture into prepared tart crust. Smooth out the top to your liking. Sprinkle with cacao nibs and place back in the freezer to set for at least 4 hours. See notes for serving options. Enjoy!
Notes
*To pre-soak nuts: place in a glass bowl, cover with water, and leave to soak for 4 hours (or overnight in the fridge). Then strain and discard the water.
For a quick pre-soak, cover with boiled water and soak for 15 mins, then strain and discard water. (Note: this technique doesn't preserve the nutrition of the recipe as well as the traditional soaking technique above).
Note: the purpose of soaking the nuts is to re-hydrate them and plump them up for blending into a smooth, cheesecake-like consistency. Proper soaking techniques also maximize nutrition and digestibility. If you're interested in learning more about nut soaking and other dessert prep tips and tricks, I delve into these subjects in detail in my book Unconventional Treats.
Other notes: I used a non-stick tart pan with a removable bottom for easier handling and prettier serving. But any type of dish of a similar size will work.
- Because of the presence of avocado in this pie, you'll have to keep it frozen until serving time, as otherwise it will brown up and you'll be starting to pick up on a subtle avocado flavor, which you obviously don't want. Seeing as it's an ice cream pie, keeping it frozen just makes sense :) but I wanted to put it up here in case anyone feels like refrigerating -- I experimented with it and found it doesn't work.
I recommend thawing the frozen ice cream pie for about 10-15 minutes prior to serving, and placing any leftovers back in the freezer when done.
Double ingredients for a larger pie.