5 Vegan Ice Cream Recipes that Will Knock Your Socks Off
Being vegan can be hard sometimes, especially when it comes to classic desserts you enjoyed before going vegan. To ease that transition into becoming vegan or to satisfy a craving, here are 5 vegan ice cream recipes that will knock your socks off.
1. Banana Ice Cream
The classic recipe for vegan ice cream is ice cream made out of frozen bananas! This is the easiest and cheapest method for making vegan ice cream. It’s so delicious, you’ll want to keep making more!
Ingredients:
-2 frozen bananas
-1/4 tsp vanilla extract
-2-3 tablespoons unsweetened plant-based milk
Peel the bananas and chop them into coins. Toss them in a bowl or on a baking sheet and freeze for at least 4 hours. Place the ingredients into a food processor or blender or use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients until smooth. Add more plant-based milk to the blender if it’s too thick. For fun flavours, try adding 1 cup of frozen strawberries, 1-1/2 cocoa powder, or 1 cup frozen raspberries. Add sweetener if desired.
You’re done! Serve in fancy ice cream bowls or add to fresh fruit for a late night summer snack!
2. Chocolate Avocado Ice Cream
-2 ripe avocados
-1/2 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
-2 tbsp coconut butter or coconut oil, melted
-4 tbsp sweetener, a liquid one works best (yes, you can use maple syrup!)
-4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 tsp vanilla extract
Peel the avocados and slice them into small cubes. Combine ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add more sweetener and cocoa powder as desired.
Pour the mixture into a bowl and freeze for about 3 hours, mixing every half hour. Once it’s frozen, you can scoop into bowls and enjoy! Mix with vegan chocolate chunks to add texture.
3. Strawberry Basil Creamsicles
If you prefer ice cream bars and creamsicles to scoops of ice cream, this recipe is for you! With the delightfully sweet taste of strawberries paired with the savoury taste of basil, these creamsicles are just to die for!
Ingredients:
-2 cups fresh strawberries
-1 (14 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
-2 tbsp sweetener (if desired)
-10-15 fresh basil leaves
Combine the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend on high until smooth. Adjust the amount of strawberries, basil, and sweetener according to preference.
Pour into creamsicle moulds and freeze until firm, about 4 hours. Enjoy these creamsicles by the water in the sweltering heat, or have one to refresh yourself after a long and tiring day at work!
4. Sweet Potato Gingerbread Ice Cream
It might sound weird, but trust us on this one—sweet potato is great for ice cream! This gingerbread ice cream is wonderful for fall-inspired desserts or just to change it up from the usual chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavours!
Ingredients:
-1 sweet potato or 1 cup frozen sweet potato puree
-1 frozen banana
-4 fresh pitted dates
-2 tbsp almond butter (any other kind of nut butter works too)
-1/2 cup coconut milk
-1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp ground ginger
-1 tsp ground cardamom
If using a whole sweet potato, start by steaming the potato until it’s soft. Next, peel it and mash it until smooth. Freeze in ice cube trays overnight.
Place the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately as a soft serve ice cream or leave it in the freezer.
5. Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Tired of having vegan ice cream recipes turn out thin and more like a smoothie than ice cream? Well, this recipe is for you! This coconut ice cream recipe is a wonderful alternative to real ice cream as it is both thick and creamy like the real thing! This one is guaranteed to give you that beautiful Instagrammable scoop you crave. It is a bit more work than the other recipes, so if you tend to burn everything you touch, this recipe might not be for you.
-3 cans (14 oz) full fat coconut milk
-2/3 cup sugar
-2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Chill 2 of the 3 cans of coconut milk in the fridge overnight or for at least 6 hours.
Pour the remaining can into a saucepan, add the sugar, and bring to a simmer. Stir once and let the milk thicken and reduce by about half. This should take around 30 minutes. You might notice that the milk starts to turn a little bit of a golden colour—this is totally normal! (Don’t worry, you didn’t burn it!) Remove from heat and let cool.
Open the 2 cans of coconut milk in the fridge and carefully scoop the cream on the top into a mixing bowl. Keep the water at the bottom to use for another baking adventure (or just for smoothies). Using an electric beater or mixer, whip the coconut cream on high until it’s light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the coconut milk that you condensed in the saucepan to the whipped cream. If using, add the vanilla extract. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.
At this point, you can mix in any flavours you might want to add. We recommend vanilla bean, 6 tbsp cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, matcha powder, or a fruit puree. Toss in toasted almonds, roasted and chopped hazelnuts, whole fruit, melted peanut butter (or your favourite nut butter), or vegan chocolate chunks for interesting textures and fun twists!
Pour into a container and cover. Freeze overnight or for at least 4 hours and then scoop into bowls or onto cones and serve!
