Vegan Ice Cream Recipe: 4 Tips for Making Vegan Ice Cream

Vegan ice cream is a category of frozen desserts made without adding dairy or animal products, like eggs or cow’s milk. Vegan ice cream recipes often rely on coconut milk, coconut oil (you can opt for refined coconut oil, which has less coconut flavor), or blended nuts to achieve a creamy texture. Additionally, you can customize the recipe to make it nut-free, gluten-free, or free of refined sugars.

Vegan ice cream can feature any number of personalized mix-ins, including vegan chocolate, tahini, cacao powder, and vanilla bean, and is available in standard ice cream flavors, like chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla.

You can enjoy vegan ice cream in a serving bowl with assorted toppings or as a filling in ice cream sandwiches and ice cream pies. There are many varieties to choose from—here’s where to start:

1. 1. One-ingredient banana ice cream: Thanks to their high pectin content, frozen bananas turn into a smooth, custard-style treat when blended, making it a popular vegan ice cream option (affectionately known as “nice cream”). Common additions to the dairy-free ice cream recipe include peanut butter, maple syrup, vegan chocolate chip cookie pieces, sliced pecans, sea salt, and chocolate peanut butter (cocoa powder mixed with peanut butter). Try our simple banana ice cream recipe.
2. 2. Oat milk ice cream: Oat milk ice cream is a blend of oat milk, sugar, coconut oil, and various flavorings. Additionally, oat milk ice cream is nut-free, unlike almond or cashew milk ice cream. (Depending on the brand of oat milk, it may also be gluten-free.)
3. 3. Coconut milk ice cream: You can make coconut ice cream with unsweetened full-fat coconut milk or cream, sugar, and additional flavorings, like vanilla extract or custom mix-ins. As its name suggests, coconut cream is thicker than coconut milk and has a creamier texture. Before purchasing canned coconut milk or cream, check the label to ensure that it doesn’t contain any additives that can affect the ice cream’s ability to freeze properly. The fat content of coconut milk (or coconut cream) means you can achieve the creaminess of traditional ice cream without using egg yolks or oil.

Like an ultra-simple fruit sorbet, vegan ice cream is all about the strength of its components—in many cases, there’s less effort involved than traditional ice cream.

1. 1. Try the no-churn method. You don’t need special equipment to make vegan ice cream at home: For no-churn vegan ice cream, use equal parts unsweetened plant-based milk (like almond milk), nut butter of choice, and a pectin-rich fruit like dates or frozen banana. Blend the ingredients with any additional flavorings in a food processor or blender until thick and creamy, then transfer it to a loaf pan to freeze. To prevent ice crystals from forming, press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface.
2. 2. Let it thaw slightly before serving. Homemade ice creams lack the stabilizers that manufacturers add to store-bought ice creams, so they are much firmer straight out of the freezer. Allow your ice cream to soften on the counter for a few minutes at room temperature for easier serving.
3. 3. Incorporate mix-ins. Like classic dairy-based ice cream, vegan ice cream can benefit greatly from mix-ins, like bites of vegan cookies or brownies, vegan fudge, edible vegan cookie dough, nut butters, and dark chocolate chips. Incorporate these mix-ins during the final stages of churning for even distribution.
4. 4. Choose your sweeteners. Different sugars and sweeteners will affect your ice cream’s final flavor and texture, so experiment to see which you prefer. Try liquid sweeteners like maple syrup, agave nectar, date syrup, or granulated sugar options like white sugar, coconut sugar, or any number of sugar substitutes, like erythritol.