Vegan Ice Cream
This vanilla vegan ice cream recipe is rich, creamy, and incredibly easy to make with only 5 ingredients!
I’ve made many vegan ice cream recipes over the years—even chocolate avocado ice cream! Yet somehow, I never made my favourite flavour: vanilla bean.
Yes friends, I’m that girl who loves vanilla ice cream. In a world with thousands of ice cream flavours, my top choice is vanilla bean. Something about that classic flavour gets me every time—especially when it’s this vegan ice cream, which has the most fabulously rich cashew and coconut base.
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Ice Cream Recipe
- Creamy and smooth. Some vegan ice creams have a texture that’s thin and flat, but the cashew and coconut ensure that this recipe is super rich, decadent, and creamy.
- Easy to make. Skipping the egg-based custard makes this ice cream easier to make than the classic version. Woo hoo!
- Incredible flavour. Real vanilla extract or bean makes all the difference here. A true vanilla ice cream like this one is a real treat.
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Cashews – Soaking the cashews overnight is essential, as this allows them to puree into a completely smooth mixture. If you forget, you can boil the cashews with just enough water to cover them for 5 minutes. Drain, cool, and proceed!
- Coconut Milk –Use full-fat coconut milk, not lite or coconut milk powder.
- Vanilla – Vanilla bean paste is my go-to for this recipe because I love flecks of vanilla bean in my ice cream. You can also use a few vanilla beans or vanilla extract in equal amounts.
- Sugar – If you want a slightly less sweet ice cream, use ½ cup.
- Sea salt – A pinch of sea salt is a flavour enhancer and balances the sweetness.
How to Make Vegan Ice Cream
- Prepare. Soak the cashews and freeze your ice cream maker drum ahead of time.
- Make the ice cream mixture. Blend all of the ingredients until completely smooth.
- Chill. Refrigerate the ice cream mixture for at least 4 hours.
- Churn the ice cream. Follow the instructions for your ice cream machine.
- Freeze. Transfer the ice cream into a container or loaf pan. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours.
- Serve. Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 5 minutes, then scoop and serve.
Tips for Success
- Freeze the ice cream maker drum ahead of time. I freeze it for at least 7 hours, but 24 hours is best. It can be tempting to shorten this time but it’s necessarily to get the mixture cold enough to turn it into ice cream. I just leave my base in the freezer, which means it’s always ready!
- Don’t skip chilling the ice cream mixture. I also tested this recipe with not chilling at all, chilling for 10 minutes, and chilling overnight. Chilling for at least 4 hours makes a difference—the vegan ice cream is creamier, freezes faster in the ice cream maker, and is even easier to scoop.
- Make sure the room is cold. If you live in a hot climate like I do, I recommend doing this in the coolest part of your house or turning on your AC if you have one. This ensures the mixture solidifies properly.
- Try some add-ins. Swirl jam, caramel, chopped peanut butter cups, and other add-ins into the soft ice cream after adding it to the storage container, but before freezing.
My Favourite Ways to Serve Vegan Ice Cream
- With a (generous!) drizzle of easy vegan caramel sauce
- Sprinkled with pumpkin granola on top
- Sandwiched between two air fryer chocolate chip cookies
- Scooped on top of warm slice of vegan apple pie
How to Store
Cover this vegan ice cream very tightly to prevent ice particles from forming. It will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
More Vegan Ice Cream Recipes
- Peanut Butter Ice Cream
- Grilled Peaches with Coconut Ice Cream
- Vegan Mango Ice Cream (3 Ingredients)
- 2-Ingredient Vegan Blueberry Ice Cream
- Vegan Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream (No Churn)
Enjoy friends! If you make this vegan ice cream recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Vegan Ice Cream
This vanilla vegan ice cream recipe is rich, creamy, and incredibly easy to make with only 5 simple ingredients. You're going to love it!
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked in water overnight or boiled for 5 minutes*, drained
- 2 cans of full fat coconut milk , (two 13.4 ounce cans)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste , or extract or 1 vanilla bean
- ⅔ cup cane sugar , or other organic granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Ensure your cashews are completely soaked from before. Also ensure your ice cream maker freezer base is in the freezer for at least 7 to 24 hours before (preferably 24 hours) . If you just keep it in your freezer, then it’s always ready!
- In a high speed blender, blend the soaked cashews, coconut milk, vanilla bean paste, cane sugar and the sea salt together until completely smooth, about 2-4 minutes on high speed depending on your blender. You want to ensure it’s 100% smooth, so feel free to blend longer until you’re sure all the cashews are blended out. If that means you need to blend longer, definitely blend until fully smooth.
- Pour mixture into a bowl, container or leave in the blender and cover. Sometimes the mixture can get hot while blending. Place it in the fridge for 4 hours in the coldest spot, up to 2 days if you don't plan to make the ice cream immediately.
- Remove from the fridge. Set up your ice cream machine and place the ice cream maker freezer base into the machine and pour the ice cream mixture in. Prepare according to manufacturer settings, for about 20-25 minutes of churning. The mixture should be thick and smooth. If you're not using an ice cream maker, check out my chocolate avocado post for no churn instructions.
- Scoop the soft serve ice cream into a container (I use a loaf pan) and smooth down. Place plastic wrap or a reusable wrap or parchment or wax paper flat against the ice cream, then wrap the outside of the pan too. You want to ensure it's all protected from ice crystals. Place in the freezer for at least 4 hours to set up, even overnight if you desire. You can also enjoy it immediately like soft serve!
- After at least 4 hours in the freezer, remove container from freezer and allow it to sit for at least 5 minutes on the counter (like you would store bought ice cream). Scoop, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Ice cream making Tips & FAQ
- You can easily boil your cashews with just enough water covering them for 5 minutes. Drain, let cool, and proceed! This way you can make the recipe the same day.
- I used an ice cream maker to make this recipe. Ensure your ice cream maker base is ready! It can be tempting to shorten this time but it’s necessarily to get the mixture cold enough to turn it into ice cream. I just leave my base in the freezer, which means it’s always ready!
- It’s important to use full fat coconut milk. Don’t use lite. Also remember we are using the full can of coconut milk. Also, do not substitute coconut milk powder. It isn’t creamy enough and will result in icy ice cream.
- Don’t rush your ice cream base (the actual mixture) chilling time. I made it after 10 minutes in the freezer, and after a few hours in the fridge and after whole night in the fridge. The last two were far more creamy, set much faster in the ice cream maker, and were much easier to scoop. I highly recommend chilling the cashew cream for the right length of time.
- If you live in a hot climate (like I do) I recommend doing this in the coolest part of your house or turning on your AC if you have one. This ensures the mixture solidifies properly.
- Always cover your finished ice cream as per the recipe, otherwise ice particles will form in it and result in some small ice chunks.
- If you’re not using an ice cream maker; follow my tips from my chocolate avocado ice cream to get the best texture.
- Cover this vegan ice cream very tightly to prevent ice particles from forming. It will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Calories: 170kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Sodium: 80mg, Potassium: 160mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 12mg, Iron: 2mg
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Easy to do!
Thank you for this recipe- it was amazing!! Since cutting out most dairy I hadn’t ventured into the ice cream forum but this recipe was incredible! I added roasted fresh strawberry purée but changed nothing else and it is the best tasting ice cream I have had in a LONG time. Thank you!! ❤️
This was my first time making this recipe and I am extremely impressed with how creamy and thick the final result is! I did follow the instructions and left the cream in the refrigerator for four hours before putting it into the ice cream maker …..I’ve made many other vegan ice cream’s and while they have been good they lacked the creaminess this recipe gives! This will be my go to recipe from now on ! thank you so much Jessica!
Would it be alright to use cashew milk from the grocery store and if so how much? thank you.
Hi Susan! Thanks so much for reading. Whole cashews combined with full-fat coconut milk really add a creamy/fatty element to the ice-cream. It might turn out to be less creamy in the end if any are substituted for cashew milk. I hope this helps.
Do you think I could substitute the sugar with maple syrup or honey to make it Paleo?
Hi Elaine, yes you can! I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Hi Jessica, Im enthusiastic at how simple this recipe sounds. Thank you for sharing. From what I understand, the water from the presoaked cashews is not used in this recipe, i was wondering if there is another use for that leftover water? And just curious, do you know if another nut could be used to yield yummy results? Best Regards.
Hi, we’re so happy that you like it, Rachelle! It’s usually good to discard the water used to soak nuts. As for your other question, we find that cashews tend to have the ideal texture for ice cream out of all the nuts we’ve tried.
Can I use fresh coconut to make my coconut milk? As we don’t have canned coconut milk where I live.
as long as its full fat it should work Rachelle. I hope this helps.
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try making it! I’m just curious…what ice cream maker did your sweet friend gift you? I don’t have a maker and I have been looking at them to purchase. Also, I’m assuming it would be okay to substitute the sugar with a sweetener such as Monkfruit or Xylitol, right? I may reduce the amount as these tend to be very sweet but necessary for dietary purposes. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Juli, we’re in the middle of moving right now so I’m not exactly sure what brand of ice cream maker we were gifted. In terms of the sweetener we haven’t tested it out but it should be able to work. I hope this was helpful.
I have had Cuisinart ice cream maker for a few years now. I rate it as it makes a good amount of ice cream in one go, and the inside of the bowl joins the outside of the bowl on the outside. This is important for me as it makes it easier to clean. I previously had a different machine where the metal on the inside of the bowl went up to a rim around the top. Gunk would collect where it joined and it was difficult to clean, as you’ve not supposed to submerge the bowl. So that’s something to think of when buying. Also very important is what space you have in your freezer for a bowl. As Jessica says, it’s a good idea to keep the bowl in the freezer so it’s already ready for ice cream making.
I made this recipe for a vegan friend, and added crushed Oreos. She loved it. I’m about to make it again for another friend who has a dairy intolerant child. It’s the best recipe I’ve found for vegan ice cream; I think the cashews give it really good thickness.
Agree, Cuisinart Gelateria Ice Cream Maker is a great one, I have it too!
Hi, This is the ice cream maker I bought with a gift certificate my kids gave me. I love it although am new to it. On many blogs I also noticed that others recommended it. I hope this helps.
This ice cream is delicious! Huge hit with my whole family. Do you know how big each serving should be?
Hi Liz we split it 16 ways but we aren’t sure of the exact serving amounts but we would roughly put it at 1/4 cup. I hope this helps!
As big as possible of course 🙂
This ice cream looks so good! Can’t wait to try other recipes from you. I was excited to find another black vegan food blogger. 🙂
Thank you so much Annierra. We’re happy that you’re happy!