5 Easy Vegan Ice Cream Recipes To Make At Home
The ice cream recipes on this list do not require an ice cream machine, so a big shout to no-churn ice cream. Let’s face it, making ice cream can sometimes be a long process, requiring special equipment. For those who don’t regularly make ice cream, an ice cream machine is just an added extra to fill the cabinet space in your kitchen.
These recipes prove that you don’t need an ice cream machine to make great ice cream. And they will definitely get you into making ice cream at home. Especially since they are not only extremely tasty but also healthy or at least healthier than most!
1. Pistachio
As far as vegan nut ice cream goes, this pistachio ice cream by Feasting on Fruit is a winner. Just like all the other ice creams on the list, it is easy to make and it tastes great. This is not only a great recipe for the pistachio lovers, but it’s also a good way to try out pistachio ice cream if it’s not what you go for in an ice cream shop.
Very often homemade ice creams resemble sorbets. This one does not fall in that category. The nut butter and the creaminess of the avocado create a great texture, which is sometimes really hard to accomplish when making ice cream at home. Especially when you don’t have a machine.
An overview of the recipe: non-dairy milk, avocado, pistachios, Medjool dates, and almond extract goes in a blender. Add spirulina slowly to the mixture for extra colour, pour ice cream in the container you are storing it in (eg. loaf pan) and freeze.
Spirulina is a type of blue-green algae that people can take as a dietary supplement. It’s considered a superfood due to its excellent nutritional content and health benefits. You can read more about it here. In the recipe, you could try supplementing it with matcha or not using any additional colour.
2. Salted Caramel
Nutrihotlist offers a very simple and healthy take on salted caramel. For the full recipe click here. This is the perfect guilt-free treat for the salted caramel lovers out there. Salted caramel is my favourite ice cream taste and this creamy (very creamy!), healthy goodness gets my stamp of approval. It’s not your regular salted caramel recipe.
The funny things are, it tastes like salted caramel, but it doesn’t have caramel in it. While this is probably the main reason the recipe is a healthy alternative to regular salted caramel, it is a bit uncanny how good it actually is! Give it a try.
Overview of recipe: rinse and drain soaked cashews and throw them in a blender along with dates, full-fat coconut milk, Â a bit of blackstrap molasses (can be substituted), vanilla extract, sea salt. Blend, freeze and enjoy.
3. Mint Cookies and Cream
I really like both mint ice cream and cookies and cream. Put them together and you get an explosion of taste. Who thought combining two great ice creams into one would be so amazing? Everyone. Alright then.
Firstly, for the easiest possible mint cookies and cream, head over to this video where the Vanilla Berry Bliss recipe is taken from. You can watch the video to see how it’s made. Here’s the recipe from the description:
- 3 ripe bananas, sliced and frozen
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract or 4 mint leaves
- Green food colouring (optional)
- 3 Oreos (substitute with more vegan cookies optional), chopped
Place the bananas, almond milk, peppermint extract and green food colouring into the food processor. Blend until smooth. Add the Oreos and pulse until they are well incorporated. Serve immediately for a soft-serve consistency or freeze for 30 minutes for a firmer texture.
If you would like to recreate the ice cream from the picture, you might want to take some extra time. The original recipe we are taking on is not vegan. So for non-vegans, this is just fine. But it can be made vegan by substituting a few ingredients. Okay, most ingredients. But it needs just a bit of extra effort and it makes one amazing ice cream.
Start with a recipe for vegan condensed milk. This will also be a great way to actually learn how to make vegan condensed milk and apply it to other recipes. Once you make it, you can put it aside and measure out your ingredients (I wouldn’t worry about cleaning the blender thoroughly, you’ll be using it anyway). Setting it aside gives it more time to cool down. Then use the measurements from the original recipe, but with our vegan alternatives:
- 2 cups of full-fat coconut milk (or another substitute of choice)
- 1 14 oz vegan condensed milk
- could use matcha or spirulina for colour if you don’t want to use colouring
- 1 1/2 cups of your favourite vegan cookies chopped
Blend the coconut milk, condensed milk and the colouring of choice. Then either transfer to a container and fold in the vegan cookies, or pulse the vegan cookies in with your other ingredients. Freeze and enjoy.
Both recipes are great. The second is slightly more challenging, but it doesn’t really require much effort aside from making the condensed milk, which is easy enough to make. The second one would produce creamier results, the first one is going to be more like sorbet. I advise you try both out since they are both delicious.
4. Chunky Monkey
The last ice cream recipe was a long one! Good thing this one is so simple. If you love chunky monkey ice cream and have been looking for a vegan hassle-free recipe, this recipe by Mindful Avocado is what you’ve been looking for. It’s tasty and you can serve it right away as a soft serve! Which is my favourite ice cream consistency.
Overview of the recipe: refrigerated coconut milk, frozen bananas, maple syrup. Blend, then scoop into a container. Add chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.
 5. Vanilla Berry Bliss
As mentioned before, this video will provide you with some great and easy homemade ice cream recipes. The Vanilla Berry Bliss makes our list, because of its delicious take on berry ice cream. Berry and Vanilla – yes, please! You can watch the video to see how it’s made. Here’s the recipe from the description:
- 3 ripe bananas, sliced and frozen
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
- 1/2 vanilla bean
Place the bananas and almond milk into the food processor and blend until smooth. Add the mixed berries and seeds from the vanilla bean. Pulse the mixture until the berries begin to break down. Serve immediately for a soft-serve consistency or freeze for 30 minutes for a firmer texture.
One of the easiest recipes on the list, but so delicious!
Which ice cream would you make at home? Share in the comments!
Featured image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/ice-cream-with-chocolate-syrup-2156698/
