Strawberry & Coconut Ice Cream Bars {GAPS Friendly}
Technically, This Is a Recipe FAIL
A 4th of July Banana-Coconut Cream Pie was the goal, but after baking and whipping through mound after mound of bananas I found myself out of ingredients! So yeah, I won’t pretend these dainty little morsels are exactly Plan A, but they do seem to be disappearing rather quickly around here.
Oh, And Don’t Let Their Prim Appearance Fool You
They’re best enjoyed a tad melty. In fact, if by the time you polish off the last bite your fingers aren’t covered in tiny pink rivulets . . . well, you ate them wrong. Better go whip up another batch and start again. 
Monday I’ll be sharing one of my fave holiday treats, but for now I want to know:
What’s YOUR favorite summer holiday treat???
Strawberry & Coconut Ice Cream Bars
Equipment Needed
- Food processor
- 8×12 pan
To Make The Crust:
You’ll Need:
- 1 cup macadamia nuts (where to buy nuts)
- 1 cup pecans
- date paste (6 large pitted dates blended in a food processor)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp unrefined sea salt (where to buy sea salt)
- 1 tsp coconut oil (where to buy coconut oil)
How To:
- Blend dates in food processor until they form a thick paste
- Add remaining ingredients (except coconut oil) and blend until they form a ball
- Lightly oil pan and press crust down evenly
To Make The Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream
You’ll Need:
- 1½ cups full fat coconut milk
- 2 cups coarsely chopped strawberries
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup shredded coconut
How To:
- Blend all ingredients except shredded coconut in food processor until smooth
- Pour over crust and place in freezer for 4 hours
- Remove from freezer and allow to thaw for 15-30 minutes.
- Cut into bars and roll in shredded coconut.
- Serve immediately or place back in freezer and allow to thaw 5-10 minutes before serving
- Come back and let me know how you liked them
Meghan Stanley via FB
yum!
Sarah K.
They definitely look delicious! I love coconut!
Sharmista
Those look yummy!
What I do for Banana Cream Pie:
*This custard made with coconut milk: http://nourishedkitchen.com/strawberry-rhubarb-compote-with-honey-custard/
*Add bananas (mixed in or on top)
*Pour in this crust (made with honey & CO): http://www.elanaspantry.com/chocolate-cream-pie/
*Top with coconut whipped cream (opt)
Heather
That is very similar to what I tried, but maybe the texture is better with heavy cream instead of coconut milk? Any tips on the coconut whipped cream. I stuck a can of coconut milk in the fridge, scooped off the cream that rose to the top and whipped it. It was good but melted on contact with the dessert! Either way I am going to give this a try. THANK YOU SHARMISTA!! I love me some banana cream pie and you’ve given me the inspiration to try again.
Melissa Holloway via FB
oh that sounds good!
Kristina Hippman via FB
dan found a ice cream recipe that uses coconut milk & it works perfect in our ice cream maker & is less expensive than purchasing so delicious
rawkinmom
wow…..these do sound amazing!!! I will have to whip some up too!!!
Joanna moore
Just made these and they are wonderful!!! I had to make a couple changes for the crust to make it form a ball– doubled the dates (maybe mine were small?) and added 2T water. Didn’t add salt bc the macadamias I bought were already sea-salted. I realized right before freezing why it was all so shallow in the pan- I used a 9×13. But they turned out great! I actually scraped the pan clean with my fingers and savored away before actually eating the first one… Sold! The nutty crust really rounds out the strawberry flavor! I can’t believe this is dairy-and-grain free… If you keep posting recipes this delicious I just might be a gaps convert
after one bite riley said, “now you’re gonna try to convince me you made these!” way to go heather, you’ve done it again!
Heather
Ahhh, I just love when friends come back and leave these kinds of comments. So glad you liked it, Joanna! It is getting pretty difficult to equate GAPS with deprivation isn’t it?
Joanna moore
Haha, it’s not really the gaps friendly food that scares me (I know there are a ton of yummy recipes out there) it’s the extra time in the kitchen, having to decline eating at most social gatherings, etc. So we’re just making small changes in the right direction for now! Who knows, maybe someday we’ll turn around and realize “hey look, we’re on gaps!”
Heather
LOL that would almost work!
Primal Toad
These look and sound awesome! I’ll be bookmarking these and thus making soon. Thanks!
Heather
Thanks! Hope you like them!
kate Saab
These are AMAZING! I made my crust out of ground almonds, honey, CO, vanilla and salt because that was what I had and it turned out great but I can’t wait to try it with the proper ingredients – sounds fabulous! Also, I’ve been making coconut milk every week thanks to your awesome tutorial
. Thanks Heather!
Heather
Oh, so glad you like them, Kate! Thanks for stopping by to let me know!
Amanda Bliss
I just made these last night, and they are delicious! My 18-month old relished having a few little pieces to munch on, saying “Brr!” each time I passed her one. Stumbled onto your blog a few weeks ago, and it’s inspired me so much… thank you!!!