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.
Ok this is the most amazing vegan ice cream. The texture and flavor is beyond. My non vegan kids can’t get enough of it and one hates coconut. I used roasted cashews, and was to lazy to soak them. saw this recipe and was to impulsive to wait and get unroasted. Just threw all of the ingredients into my Vita mix blender. Also added coco powder and a splash of Carmel flavor coffee syrup. Froze over night and then used my ninja creamie to make the ice cream. Super easy and better than any store vegan ice cream. You can make any flavor with the vanilla your base.
Wow thanks so much for that review. We’re so happy that your family enjoyed it.
OMGoodness! This is aaaaammmaaazing! I made plain vanilla bean and one with added strawberries and we are obsessed!
Awesome! Thank you so much Ramanda!
Hey Jessica, at what point in the process would you suggest adding any fruit or cheeky brownie pieces into this for added texture?
Hi Chelsea,
You would want to add this in maybe in the last 3-5 minutes of churning! Enjoy so much!
Hi Jessica, thanks for the recipe! Wondering, have you ever tried making with cashews milk only…rather than the coconut addition? Curious what the result was if so.
Thanks!
Hi Anna,
I haven’t but you can! I’m not sure if it would be a strong cashew flavour, but if not, should work! It might be not *as* creamy but will still be creamy! Hope this helps!
This is my first time. Is there a ice cream machine you recommend? thanks Diane
Hi Diane we’ve used the cuisine art ice cream machines. I hope this helps.
I tried this recipe and carefully followed the posted directions and tips. Once the Ice Cream was done, I added in some crumbled Joe Joe’s (Trader Joe brand of Oreo’s) and let me tell you; it was delicious.
Thanks so much Kirk! We’re so happy that you enjoyed it.
Hi there air-it like the idea and soaking the cashews in the coconut milk. And the flavour was divine but I wish you guys would put your measurements in ounces and kilogrammes for the rest of the planet that don’t use cups. Still with the internet I can research the change over.
Hi Sarah thanks so much for reading. We’re so happy that you like it. We do have them on some of our recipes and we’re in the process of adding it to all. We’re a small team with almost a thousand recipes so it’s taking a bit of time.
Hi there! So excited to try this ice cream. I was wondering how many quarts/pints this recipe makes?
You should be able to get about a quart. I hope that helps.
Hi Jessica, how do you use the vanilla bean for this recipe? Do I only use the seeds only or blend the whole pod? Thanks
Hi Lilly thanks so much for reading! Just the seeds would be necessary.
I tasted this recipe when a friend made it and it was surprisingly good the good. ( And I hate coconut.) I give the recipe 5 stars from what I tasted. I want to try this as a base and substitute a strawberry puree for the sugar for my grandson who had a genetic condition that impacts his eating. He can’t have sugar or sweetners. Even fruit is limited, but this may work too give him a treat when the rest of the family has one. I wish you did a better job of explaining the coconut milk in this recipe for people who have never used it before. You briefly mention about using the liquid from the canned coconut milk is the water in making the cashew milk. For someone that’s never seen coconut milk that didn’t make sense. I found other recipes, including some of yours, that explained it better. Since Ben has never had anything sweet, he doesn’t know what it tastes like to the rest of us. But if iO can make something creamy that has a fruity flavor, I think he’ll be happy.
Hi Gaye,
I’m just getting to read your comment and so happy you enjoyed! I’m re-reading what you’re saying about the canned coconut milk and I didn’t actually mean to use it as the liquid to soak the cashews in! I was saying in a light-hearted way that the combination, because of how liquid-y the coconut milk is, creates a kind of fusion coconut-cashew milk. That’s why I shared that you don’t have to separate the liquids here at all, you just pour the whole can in. I wouldn’t want that to confuse any one else so I’ve removed that wording from the blog post. I always go out of my way to thoroughly explain if anything as complicated as separated the liquid from the coconut milk is needed so please know if that was the case here, I would’ve done that too. I hope your grandson enjoyed!