How to Make Vegan Ice Cream

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: August 17, 2022 References

Ice cream is delicious, and just about everyone loves it. Unfortunately, not everyone can have it, either because they are committed to a vegan diet or they are lactose intolerant. Luckily, are a few simple ways of making delicious ice cream without the milk and eggs!

Ingredients

Vegan Ice Cream

1 cup (100 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch processed preferred)
2/3 cup (150 grams) granulated/white sugar
½ cup (100 grams) firmly packed brown sugar
4¾ cups (1.12 liters) coconut milk
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) pure vanilla extract

Healthy Ice Cream^{[1]
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2 frozen bananas
½ cup (50 grams) cocoa powder
1 cup (240 milliliters) almond milk
½ cup (90 grams) chocolate chips, plus extra for topping
Chocolate sprinkles, for topping (optional)
1 tablespoon (15 grams) almond butter (optional)

Simple Ice Cream

4 to 6 ripe bananas
½ cup (90 grams) vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Making Vegan Ice Cream

1
Combine the cocoa powder and sugars in a medium bowl. Measure out and pour the cocoa powder, granulated/white sugar, and brown sugar into a bowl. Stir them together with a whisk until evenly combined.
2
Stir in the coconut milk using a hand mixer or whisk. If you are using a hand mixer, be sure to set it to low speed. Keep stirring until the cocoa and sugars are fully incorporated and dissolved. This will take about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Coconut milk tends to separate. Give the can or bottle a shake before you open it.
3
Stir in the vanilla. This will give the ice cream a light, delicate flavor. At this time, you can also add some other goodies as well, such as cocoa nibs or sprinkles.
4
Turn the ice cream machine on and pour in the mixture. If your ice cream maker has different instructions for how to use, then use those instead.
5
Let it mix until it is thickened. Depending on your ice cream maker, this should take about 25 to 35 minutes. When you are done, the mixture should have a soft, creamy texture.
6
Transfer the ice cream into a freezer-safe container. You will most likely have some ice cream left-over, so it would be a good idea to have it set up so that you can place it into the freezer. You can use an old ice cream container or a plastic tub with a lid.
7
Serve. You can serve it just how it is, or you can add delicious toppings, such as nut or sprinkles.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making Healthy Ice Cream

1
Peel, slice, and freeze 3 ripe bananas. Don't worry about being too precise with the slicing; this is just to make the blending easier later on. You will need to freeze the bananas for at least 1 hour, but 6 hours would be better.
2
Add the bananas, almond milk, and cocoa powder into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. You can try using a blender, but a food processor will blend things more evenly and smoothly.
- For extra chocolate-y ice cream, use chocolate almond milk instead.^{[2]
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- If you don't like almond milk at all, you can use another type of milk instead, such as soy, of lactose-free cow's milk.
- For extra goodness, add 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of almond butter.^{[3]
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3
Blend until everything is smooth and creamy. From time to time, you will need to open up the food processor, and push the mixture down the sides using a spatula. This will help ensure that everything mixes evenly.
4
Stir in the chocolate chips. Try to get vegan chocolate chips, if you can. If you can't find any, use baker's chocolate chips instead. They are made from cocoa and may taste a little bitter, but they don't contain any dairy.
5
Transfer the mixture into a freezer-safe container. You can use an old ice cream container or even a plastic tub with a lid.
6
Place the container into the freezer for 1 to 2 hours. This will harden the ice cream enough so that you can scoop it out. If you are making this ice cream ahead of time, it may be too hard to scoop the next day. If that happens, let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes until it softens enough to scoop.^{[4]
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7
Scoop and serve the ice cream. You can serve it as it is, or you can top it off with extra goodies, such as cocoa nibs, sprinkles, or crumbled nuts.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Making Simple Ice Cream

1
Peel and cut 4 to 6 ripe bananas into slices. Cutting the bananas into slices will make it easier to blend them later on, so it doesn't have to be exact. 2- to 3-inch (5.8 to 7.62 centimeters) thick slices will be enough.^{[5]
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2
Place the bananas into a plastic bag, and freeze them for 6 hours.^{[6]
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Research source} If you are in a hurry, you can freeze them for an hour an a half. This will give you softer ice cream in the end.^{[7]
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3
Take the bananas out of the freezer and let them sit for about 5 minutes. This will allow the bananas to soften up a little, and make it easier to blend them.^{[8]
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Research source} During this time, you can set up your food processor with a metal blade.
4
Add the bananas into the food processor, and blend until smooth, like soft ice cream. From time to time, you will want to open up the food processor, and push down on the banana pieces with a spatula so that they don't collect on the sides. Don't worry if the bananas start to form crumbs; keep pulsing and stirring them until they are smooth.^{[9]
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- It is possible to do this in a blender, but the bananas will be more likely to clump up then.^{[10]
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- Hold off on adding the chocolate chips, if you are using them; you will add them later on.
5
Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula. Try to find vegan chocolate chips, if you can. You can also use baking chocolate chips; they are made from cocoa and a little bitter, but they do not contain any dairy.
6
Scoop the mixture into a container. You can use an empty ice cream container or even a plastic box with a lid. If you want to make individual servings, scoop the mixture into a greased muffin tin.^{[11]
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7
Freeze the mixture for 1 to 2 hours. The ice cream is perfectly edible sooner, but freezing it will give it that ice cream texture and allow it to hold its shape longer.
8
Scoop the ice cream out using an ice cream scoop, and serve. You can serve the ice cream plain, or you can add goodies to it, such as more chocolate chips, crumbles nuts, strawberries, etc.
- If you froze the ice cream in a muffin tin, simply pop the ice cream "muffins" out and serve them. You can store the rest in between sheets of parchment paper in your freezer.
9
Finished.