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
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.
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.
Can you coconut cream in place of full fat coconut milk?
Hi Patricia! As long as it’s full fat it can definitely be replaceable. I hope this helps.
Hi, is it possible to use agarve syrup instead of the cane sugar? Thanks
Hi Nicole we haven’t actually tried this substitution. On the surface it looks like the agave may add too much water to the mixture.
Hi, it seems it has worked, I didn’t add the liquid at the bottom of the coconut milk to make sure it was less wet. It tastes great, really creamy! Thanks for the recipe
Hi
Looking to make this weekend. Do you think I can substitute the cashews for oat milk?
Hi Page thanks so much for reading. The objective is to get as full fat as possible. I’m not sure oat milk would give you that in this recipe.
Great recipe! Loved the texture! I used honey instead of cane sugar and it still came out perfect.
What quantity does this make (I have a 1 quart ice cream maker and am wondering if I need to halve the recipe). Thanks!
Hi Grace,
Yes you should have this! I have a 2 QT ice cream maker and it fills that completely. I hope that helps!
Hi. I wanted to ask if this taste like coconut? Thanks:)
Hi Emily slightly, but not noticeably it come out more as a traditional vanilla ice-cream. I hope that this helps.
Thank you great recipe. Adjusted it a bit to taste, but simpler than others and it came out great!!
Awesome! We’re so happy that you like it!
I can make my own coconut milk. How many cuos of water should i use per coconut for this recipe to make sure its creamy enough?
Hi Rochelle thanks so much for reading! We haven’t actually experimented with using home-made coconut milk before. So I wouldn’t be able to advise you.
If I want to try a flavor other than vanilla, can I replace the 1tbsp of vanilla with the same amount of another flavor extract?
Hi Ginger thanks so much for reading! Yes you can replace the vanilla with another extract flavour.
Hey Jessica,
Just trying to recreate this ( love all your recipes) I just got an ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid. My ice cream turned out a bit gritty – does churning it longer make it less gritty?
Hi Katie! Thanks so much for reading. It seems like your base is the issue. It sounds like getting a more blended and smooth base will help the most. Unfortunately churning wouldn’t get rid of grittiness.