Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe (2024)

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This homemade vegan ice cream recipe is easy, rich ‘n creamy. The best vegan vanilla ice cream—incredible vanilla flavor, made with simple ingredients.

this recipe

Now that the official first day of summer is fast approaching, we’ve got to start getting serious about getting in shape for bikini season making the best friggin’ vegan vanilla ice cream recipe ever! Because ice cream is soooo much better than bikinis. And way less judgmental, ya know? 😉

Today’s vegan vanilla ice cream recipe is one of my absolute favorite ice cream recipes of all time because it’s so GOOD. Like, super good. It’s easy to make, oh-so-delicious, and bursting with that vanilla flavor you know you love to love.

Wanna hear more? Let’s make this!

homemade vegan vanilla ice cream recipe

This vegan vanilla ice cream is everything you’d hope for:rich and creamy,bursting withvanillaflavor, andsweet enough to satisfy that sweet tooth, butnot too sweetthat you can’t enjoy more than one scoop. Try your hand at making this homemade vegan vanilla ice cream and enjoy. Bonus: this vegan ice cream is dairy-free, healthy and refined sugar-free.

What is Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream?

What a mysterious and intriguing question! In general, vegan vanilla ice cream is vanilla ice cream that’s made without animal products. That means: none of the usual ice cream ingredients, such as: eggs, heavy cream, etc.

For this particular vegan vanilla ice cream, we’re gonna rely on coconut milk and coconut cream to replace the heavy cream, and a few other vegan ingredients to create non-dairy, plant-based vegan vanilla ice cream. And if you were actually more in the mood for chocolate vegan ice cream, try this dark chocolate nice cream recipe or my all-time favorite best vegan chocolate ice cream.

How to Make Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream

Learn how to make vegan vanilla ice cream in just a few super simple steps.

Chill

About 24 hours before, grab the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker and place it in the freezer to chill.

Add Ingredients

Day of, add all vegan vanilla ice cream ingredients except the vanilla bean pod into agood food processor.

Blend

Blend all the ingredients together until well mixed.

Scrape & Blend Again

Now, scrape the contents of the vanilla bean pod into the food processor and watch it blend beautifully into the ice cream mixture. Here’s where I get my vanilla bean pods.

Pour & Churn

Pour your vegan vanilla ice cream mixture into the chilled freezer bowl of your ice cream maker. Churn your ice cream according to your ice cream maker’s directions. Here is the ice cream maker I use.Churn until firm.

Enjoy

Enjoy the best vegan vanilla ice cream ever! Or, if you like it firm, go ahead and scoop your homemade vegan ice cream into an ice cream containerand chill it until firm.

Vegan Ice Cream Recipes We Love: 3 Ingredient Mango Ice Cream · 4 Ingredient Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream · Coconut Chocolate Chip Vegan Ice Cream

3 secret ingredients for rich vanilla flavor

What makes this vegan vanilla ice cream the best vegan vanilla ice cream? In my opinion, three secret ingredients. You see, I spent oodles of time testing different amounts of vanilla, sweetener and coconut milk vs. coconut cream, guar gum vs. no guar gum and more. But something was always missing: an element of creaminess, lack of iciness and a flavor complexity.

These three ingredients solved it all:raw cashew butter,pure almond extractandreal vanilla bean.

Raw cashew butter added a boost of creaminess to the texture of this vegan ice cream, and it helped to cut down on the iciness that’s par for the course in homemade vegan ice cream recipes. Lastly, it added a nutty, cookie-like flavor that helped to balance out the coconut flavors present in the coconut milk and coconut cream.

Then, I started playing around with different amounts of vanilla extract and found that none quite worked. So I threw in some almond extract, just to see what happened. Guess what? It brought out a special level of sweetness and flavor complexity that really drew out the vanilla in this vegan vanilla ice cream.

Lastly, I used moist, freshly-sealed real vanilla bean pods to kick up the real vanilla flavor for the best vegan vanilla ice cream ever!

The best vegan vanilla ice cream—rich and creamy vegan ice cream made with real vanilla beans and simple ingredients.

Recommended Tools for the Best Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream

Raw Cashew Butter + Vanilla Bean Pods + Pure Almond Extract

My 3 secret ingredients to creating the tastiest, best vegan vanilla ice cream. These 3 ingredients create creaminess, richer vanilla flavor and add a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to your new favorite vegan vanilla ice cream recipe.

Ice Cream Maker + Extra Freezer Bowls

I’ve been using the heck out of my ice cream maker! And tbh, I have several of them–that’s how much ice cream I make… 😉 The extra freezer bowls come in so handy–I can freeze multiples in advance and make several batches of vegan ice cream in a row without having to wait 24 hours for the first one to freeze.

So what do you think of today’s vegan vanilla ice cream recipe? You’re sooo ready for it, right? 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think! Leave me a comment below and let me know—I love hearing from you. Thank you for stopping by and sharing in these sweet dessert moments with me. ‘Til the next one…

Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️

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📸 Did you make this vegan vanilla ice cream recipe? Take a pic and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #beamingbaker & tag @beamingbaker. I’d love to see it! 📸

More Vegan Ice Cream Recipes

Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream
4 Ingredient Almond Butter Paleo Ice Cream
Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Almond Joy Vegan Paleo Ice Cream
Best Strawberry Vegan Ice Cream
Dark Chocolate Nice Cream
Cashew Vegan Ice Cream

Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

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Description

Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe: this homemade vegan ice cream recipe is easy, rich ‘n creamy. The best vegan vanilla ice cream—incredible vanilla flavor, made with simple ingredients. Dairy-Free.

Ingredients

Scale

1 can full-fat coconut milk (13.66 oz.)
1 can coconut cream (13.66 oz.)
¼ cup raw cashew butter
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
1 vanilla bean pod

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

The day before, freeze your freezer bowl according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. This is the ice cream maker I use.
Add all ingredients except the vanilla bean pod into a food processor.
Slice the vanilla bean pod down the center, lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape the beans cleanly out of the pod and add to the food processor. Save the pod for another recipe.
Cover the food processor and blend until smooth and well mixed. Scrape down the sides of the processor as needed.
Pour mixture into ice cream maker. Follow directions for making ice cream according to ice cream maker’s directions.
Enjoy immediately if you like super soft ice cream. If you like firmer ice cream, pour into an ice cream container and freeze for 2-4 hours, until firm.
Vanilla vegan ice cream is best the first day. On Day 2 and forward, set ice cream out at room temperature to thaw for 20-90 minutes, until creamy and scoopable. Enjoy! Storing instructions below.

Vegan Ice Cream Recipes You’ll ❤️

Best Strawberry Vegan Ice Cream! (Dairy-Free)
3 Ingredient Homemade Mango Ice Cream Recipe
4 Ingredient Almond Butter Paleo Ice Cream (Keto, Vegan)
Best Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

Equipment

Full Fat Coconut Milk – 365

Notes

Storing Instructions: Store in an airtight, freezer-friendly ice cream container. If serving after completely frozen, allow about 20-90 minutes to thaw—until creamy and scoopable.

For Quick Thaw: heat in the microwave in 10-second increments until the edges are a bit melty and ice cream is easy to scoop.

Recommended Tools: Ice Cream Maker | Extra Freezer Bowls | My Favorite Food Processor | Freezer Door Ice Cream Container | Mini Ice Cream Containers (super cute)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 0 mins
Category: Dessert
Method: Chill
Cuisine: American

© beamingbaker.com. All content and images are protected by copyright. Please do not use my images or recipe without my permission. Please do not republish this recipe, instead, include a link to this post for the recipe.

This post may contain affiliate links, which allow me to make a small commission for my referral, at no additional cost to you.

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FAQs

What is vegan vanilla ice cream made of? ›

The base for this ice cream is coconut milk + cashew butter. It's a magical combo that creates a rich, creamy, dreamy texture. For sweeteners, we went with a mix of maple syrup and cane sugar.

Find Out More ›

What replaces dairy in vegan ice cream? ›

The secret is nothing more than coconut milk. Full-fat, creamy coconut milk. Other vegan milk substitutes, like almond milk or soy milk, just don't cut it when it comes to ice cream.

Explore More ›

How do you thicken vegan ice cream? ›

Plant-based fats are the best way to thicken vegan ice cream. Coconut cream, full-fat coconut milk and coconut oil will give the creamiest and thickest results. Cornstarch and tapioca starch can also be used to thicken but the end result will be a little more icy and a little less creamy.

Why is my vegan ice cream icy? ›

My ice cream is icy. This is probably the most common problem with home made ice cream. And it's caused by large ice crystals forming in the mixture as it freezes. Large ice crystals are usually the result of either too much water in the mix or excessively long freezing time.

View Details ›

Why is vegan ice cream better than normal ice cream? ›

Choosing non-dairy ice cream can offer some health benefits that include saving you calories, sugar, and saturated fat, which can contribute to high cholesterol.

Know More ›

What are the raw materials for vegan ice cream? ›

Ingredients that you can take into account for vegan ice creams

Soy milk, oat milk, rice milk, almond milk, among others. ...
Soy, oat or rice cream for cooking.
Soy milk or rice cream. ...
Whipped or whipped soy, coconut or rice cream.
Condensed soy milk, cooking cream with sugar, silken tofu.

More items...

Keep Reading ›

Which vegan milk is best for making ice cream? ›

Kaminsky says that you'll get the best results from dairy-free counterparts that are higher in fat such as canned coconut milk. She typically uses almond milk as her base, but other non-dairy milks can work (steer clear of rice milk because it tends to be too watery).

Tell Me More ›

What is the best oil for vegan ice cream? ›

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.

Learn More Now ›

What can I use instead of heavy cream for ice cream vegan? ›

Coconut cream is a versatile ingredient that makes an excellent vegan substitute for heavy cream. While it can be purchased pre-made, it's also simple to make at home using coconut milk. Simply chill a can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight, open it and pour the liquid contents into another container.

Keep Reading ›

What is the best emulsifier for vegan ice cream? ›

A common - and better - emulsifier for ice cream is soy lecithin, which can be derived from soybeans, sunflowers and rapeseed. Soy lecithin has a neutral taste, and also allows you to make egg-less ice cream.

Read On ›

What is the best thickener for homemade ice cream? ›

Tapioca Starch: Similar to cornstarch, tapioca starch can be used as a thickening agent to achieve a creamy texture in non-custard ice creams. Junket Tablets: Junket tablets, made with rennet, can also serve as a thickening agent for certain ice cream recipes.

What is the best stabilizer for ice cream? ›

Gums are the most powerful, flexible and the most useful stabilizers that are available to us. They suppress the growth of ice crystals better than any other ingredient. They can be used to alter the texture of ice cream in many different ways. They don't suppress other flavors, and are almost flavorless themselves.

Is vegan ice cream inflammatory? ›

Plant-based diets are also associated with reduced inflammation and improved kidney function. Vegan ice cream is made from plant-based ingredients such as almond milk, coconut milk, and soy milk, making it a healthier alternative to traditional dairy ice cream.

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Why is my homemade ice cream so hard? ›

Similarly, too little sugar in ice cream can make it rock hard. Because sugar lowers the freezing point of the water in ice cream, the right amount will keep your ice cream from freezing completely – which is to say, leaves it scoopable instead of turning it into a brick of ice.

Tell Me More ›

How do you make homemade ice cream icy not creamy? ›

Here are some tips for making creamy, non-icy homemade ice cream: Use plenty of fat - A good ice cream base should contain ample fat, usually from dairy like cream, whole milk, or egg yolks. More fat means a smoother texture. Cook the base - Heating the ice cream base deactivates enzymes that can make ice cream icy.

Read The Full Story ›

How healthy is vegan ice cream? ›

When compared to dairy-based ice cream, there are potential health benefits to plant-based alternatives. Chief amongst them are lower saturated fat levels and zero cholesterol. LDL cholesterol contributes to heart and circulatory diseases. Only animal products contain it.