Vegan Ice Cream
- Total Time
- 20 minutes, plus 4½ hours' chilling and freezing
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:1 quart
- 2cups hemp or cashew milk
- 1(14.5-ounce) can coconut cream or whole coconut milk (not refrigerated nondairy beverage or light coconut milk)
- ½cup light corn syrup or substitute ⅓ cup agave syrup
- ½cup granulated sugar
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- 1tablespoon vodka (optional)
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- Your choice of flavoring (see note)
Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium pot, combine hemp or cashew milk, coconut cream, corn syrup, sugar and salt, and bring to a simmer. Simmer until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Let cool in the pot.
- Step 2
Transfer to a container and stir in vodka, if using, and vanilla. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and chill according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Tips
- Here are just some of the ways you can flavor your ice cream.
- Vanilla, Coffee or Green Tea: If making vanilla ice cream, slice 2 vanilla beans in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add seeds and pods to the base mixture before simmering; or use ½ cup whole coffee beans coarsely ground in a coffee grinder or food processor; or use ¼ cup green tea leaves. After simmering, let them steep off the heat for 30 minutes before straining. Chill as directed.
- Mint or Basil: In a blender, combine 1 cup clean and dry mint or basil leaves with coconut cream and hemp milk. Use herb cream and milk to make the base; let steep for 30 minutes off the heat before straining. Chill.
- Cinnamon: Break a 4-inch-long cinnamon stick (preferably a fragrant variety like Ceylon or canela) into a food processor. Add ½ cup granulated sugar and pulse until finely ground. Use cinnamon sugar instead of plain sugar to make the base. Let steep for 30 minutes off the heat before straining. Chill.
- Lemon or Lime: In a blender, combine zest of 3 lemons or limes with coconut cream and hemp milk. Use citrus mixture instead of plain mixture to make the base, omitting the vanilla. Once cool, stir in 1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice. Chill.
- Strawberry or Raspberry: Make the base with only 1 cup hemp or cashew milk. In a blender, purée 1 pound strawberries with 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar, depending on their sweetness (taste and add more sugar or ½ teaspoon lemon juice if necessary). Stir into base before chilling. Strain before churning if using raspberries.
- Peach or Apricot: Pit and dice 1½ pounds peaches or apricots (no need to peel them). In a medium pot, simmer fruit with ¼ cup sugar until tender, about 10 minutes. Purée in a food processor or blender. Make the base with only 1 cup hemp or cashew milk; stir in fruit purée and a few drops of almond extract, if desired. Chill.
- Cherry: In a medium pot, simmer 3 cups pitted cherries (from about 1 pound) with two to three tablespoons sugar (to taste) until cherries are very soft, about 10 minutes. Purée in a food processor or blender. Make the base with only 1 cup hemp or cashew milk; stir in fruit purée and a few drops kirsch, if desired. Chill.
- Banana: In a blender, purée 4 very ripe medium bananas, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and a pinch of salt until smooth. Make the base with only 1 cup hemp or cashew milk; stir in fruit purée. Chill as directed.
- Chocolate: Make base with 1 cup coconut cream, 1½ cups hemp or cashew milk, and 3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder; pour hot base over ⅔ cup (80 grams) chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth, then blend if necessary to remove clumps. Chill.
- Chocolate Hazelnut: Make base, reducing coconut cream to 1 cup and corn syrup to 3 tablespoons. While simmering, whisk in 1 cup vegan chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Justin's) until smooth. Chill.
- Salted Caramel: In a medium pot, melt ¾ cup sugar with 3 tablespoons water, swirling pot frequently, until sugar turns mahogany brown in color. Continue making base in the same pot, omitting sugar and salt. Make sure caramel melts and cream mixture is completely smooth. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt (such as Maldon) into base during last 2 minutes of churning.
- Butterscotch Bourbon: Make the salted caramel variation using ½ cup sugar for the caramel and not letting it get too dark in color (it should be reddish brown rather than dark mahogany brown). Stir 1 tablespoon bourbon into base before chilling. Omit the vodka and flaky sea salt.
- Almond: In a medium pot over medium heat, cook ½ cup sliced almonds with 2 tablespoons sugar and a pinch of salt until deep golden and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate; reserve. In the same pot, toast 1 cup sliced almonds until deep golden, 5 minutes. Make base recipe in the same pot; let steep for 1 hour before straining (press down hard on solids). Stir in ¼ teaspoon almond extract, then chill. Break reserved nuts into pieces and add to base during last 2 minutes of churning.
- Pistachio: Make base using 1 cup coconut cream. Whisk in 1 cup unsweetened pistachio paste and ¼ teaspoon almond extract; chill.
- Peanut Butter: Make base using 1 cup coconut cream. Whisk in 1 cup natural smooth peanut butter; chill.
- Coconut: In a medium pot, toast ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut until deep golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate; reserve. In the same pot, toast 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut until deep golden, 5 minutes. Make base recipe in the same pot, using 2 (14.5 ounce) cans coconut milk instead of cream and hemp milk. Let custard steep off the heat for 1 hour before straining (press down hard on the solids); stir in a few drops of coconut extract. Add reserved coconut to base during the last 2 minutes of churning.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Ellen K
I use 2 T arrowroot powder, whisked into a bit of whatever vegan nut/plant milk you like, to achieve the smooth binding effects of egg yolks.
My base formula for ice cream neutral flavor and every bit as smooth and creamy as the cow version is: 5 oz cashews blended with 2 c water to be perfectly smooth. Reserve half a cup and whisk in the 2 T arrowroot. Heat to simmer with 3/4 c cane sugar, take off heat, add arrowroot mix.
Sara
It's not advised to use almond milk because it doesn't have enough fat and so it usually results in crystallized/icy ice cream. When making vegan ice cream I usually opt for coconut milk only because its creaminess resembles dairy milk and cream.
Ellen K
I should have added: for cashew-free and ethical version, to achieve the same fattiness using another plant-milk (soy, hemp, etc), add about 2 Tbsp cocoa butter or refined coconut oil, or safflower oil to the base mixture, melted in and then blended with immersion blender to emulsify.
DNA
If you make the chocolate hazelnut variety, be aware that Nutella contains dairy.
H20
Question: I dislike the taste of hemp and never purchase cashews, which are predominately the bounty of slave labour. Any advice on ethical substitutions?
Brenna
Made this with the chocolate option and it was amazing! Used one can of whole fat coconut milk (not coconut cream) and 2 cups of a Silk brand cashew-almond milk. For sweetener, I used 1/3 cup maple syrup. I used more vanilla than the recipe called for but omitted the vodka (just because we didn’t have any). Used Dutch-processed, dark chocolate cacao powder and a bar of Ghiradelli 80% cacao chocolate. I toasted 1/3 cup of chopped, raw almonds and added them in during churning. Totally creamy!!
TechMaven
You could make a nutmilk yogurt or kefir and use that for part or all of the 'dairy' portion. I haven't tried it, but it might work.
TechMaven
I've used maple syrup and it works well-ish. Honey - raw, not cooked - helps keep it from crystallizing.
Ellen K
Yes, add a touch of either lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. I use about 2 tsp per cup of soy milk to make a gorgeous buttermilk that performs beautifully in all baking applications: same tenderizing and leavening qualities.
Mono B
This recipe proved useful as a base for Vitamix ice cream. I made cashew milk using a Vitamix recipe and then followed the instructions for making strawberry ice cream. The idea is, instead of using an ice cream maker, you first freeze the ice cream in ice cube trays and crush those in a Vitamix blender. The result is creamier yet more solid than I’d expected. Would recommend! I’d maybe just cut down on the sugar next time, and add more strawberries, perhaps even at the blender stage.
Hillary
The consistency of this turned out fine for me - I made a chocolate mint version and used the proportions of hemp milk and coconut cream given for the chocolate recipe. It did not separate when cooled in the fridge. However, it is almost unbearably sweet - I would cut the sweetener by at least 1/3 the next time.
Renee
I really like this as a vegan base for ice cream. Make a Coffee Cardamom on my first try that was very tasty. This froze in my ice cream maker really well, too. I'll keep trying other flavors.
Sophie Queuniet
I realized too late that coconut CREAM is sweetened so if you don't want to end up with something overly sweet, either use coconut MILK, or cut the sugar in half.
Michael B.
I am sorry to say, but it performed lousy. No homogeneous preparation possible, and gave hard crystals of fat and water separately. Taste was alright, but mouth feeling unpleasant.
SS
A fairly thick layer of what I assume is coconut fat formed on top after an overnight chill and is difficult to thoroughly re-homogenize.
Erin
This turned out fairly well — just a tad icy, but the coconut/cashew flavors weren’t prominent. I could only find 13.5 oz cans of coconut milk, so maybe the extra ounce makes a difference. Maybe I’ll take the suggestion of some folks here and add more coconut fat to the recipe. I’d like to try some of the variations listed here in the future. For this batch, I added cardamom, rose water, pistachios, lemon zest and juice, and rose petals.
Emily
This was an utter failure for me. I made a vanilla version entirely according to the directions with hemp milk and coconut cream, and the coconut fat separated while chilling overnight. Managed to warm it up enough to reincorporate the fat, but then the mix didn’t churn at all in my ice cream maker. Again, it separated. My next attempt to salvage the not inexpensive ingredients is to blend it in my Vitamix, hopefully homogenizing the mixture enough to keep it from separating.
Newbie
Question: How much alcohol can you add to the recipe for flavor without damaging the consistency? I made the cherry version, and added 2T amaretto, but could not taste any amaretto (and barely any cherry) in the final result. The texture, however, was great! (1 can coco cream, 1 C hemp milk, and 3 cups cherries (cooked and pureed).
Olga
I just made the cherry version and no cherry flavor at all. It tastes like coconut cream. I have used this recipe for other flavors and did not have the same problem with the flavor not being strong enough. Wonder why cherries were problematic.
Janet
I used rice milk and creme de coconut. Because the rice milk is thin, I added some cornstarch to simulate the consistency of cream. And because the coconut is sweetened, I omitted the sugar, using just the cornstarch. I also increased the vanilla to 1-1/2 teaspoons. Good results.
Sheila
Used the hemp milk and coconut milk. Cooled overnight in fridge but fat separated into a solid. I remelted it and added back before putting in the churner BUT still separated while freezing. Sheets of the coconut fat throughout. Bummer.
Susie Stenmark
I’ve just combined this recipe (using macadamia nut milk and coconut cream), with Melissa Clark’s Summer Berry Ice Cream, leaving out the heavy cream, obviously, and it has worked perfectly. So delicious and easy. It’s summer where I am and the berries are very good and it was tempting to leave them as is, and add them in a little chunky, but I think berry ice creams benefit from pureeing and straining, which I did.
Maryan Jaross
I made this with roasted peaches last year and evaporated coconut milk. Reduced the sugar and used honey instead of agave. It was delicious! Colorado peaches are here and I’m ready!
Kendra
I made the salted caramel version. At first, before adding the 1/2 tsp of salt, the coconut flavor was SO overwhelming I thought it would be a bust. I added a little more cashew milk, plus oat milk, to try to help neutralize it. Also heard that adding baking soda can help neutralize coconut flavor, so I added some of that in while churning. In the end, I don't know how much these steps helped, but adding the salt balanced the flavor out. Delicious!
Amanda
This is super delicious! I made the pistachio version with a homemade roasted pistachio butter. I also used sweetened vanilla hemp milk since the recipe didn’t specify sweetened or unsweetened, and let the mixture mature in the fridge for a full day. Ran it through a fine mesh sieve and this has got to be the creamiest non-dairy ice cream I’ve ever had! I made it to accommodate my vegan friends at our July 4th cookout, but I have a feeling everyone is going to be enjoying this—vegan or not!
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