Coconut Milk Ice Cream

This coconut milk ice cream is luxuriously smooth, creamy, decadent, and SO easy to make! Only 5 ingredients and no cooking or extra steps. Simply blend and churn! The sweet coconut flavor is delicious on its own and serves as a great base for all of your favorite ice cream mix-ins and flavors!

Coconut milk ice cream is popular for good reason. It has the high fat content needed to most closely resemble dairy ice cream, and its richness makes it a hit with vegans and non-vegans alike.

Funny enough, my regular readers know me for creating vegan ice cream recipes without coconut. In fact, I have 13 different vegan ice creams on the blog, and only one - until today - is made with coconut milk!

I recently revisited my coconut-ginger ice cream to shoot some new photos, but I ended up finding the inspiration to test and perfect this new, plain vanilla version instead.

Because as it turns out, even though coconut milk ice cream seems very simple and like every recipe is basically the same, there are actually ways to improve it! So I'm here to share a few things I learned during recipe testing.

Why you'll love it

• This coconut ice cream has the decadent flavor and creaminess of store-bought coconut-based ice creams, without the weird ingredient list.
• You get about 2.5 pints of ice cream for the cost of one!
• Homemade vegan ice cream truly doesn't get easier. There's no starch added or simmering involved.
• Including a few medjool dates gives coconut milk ice cream even better texture and flavor!
• And since all you need are a few pantry-friendly ingredients, you can whip up a batch of this amazing non-dairy ice cream anytime!
• Bonus: If you have lecithin on hand, include it to prevent graininess. It's a plant-based emulsifier that easily replaces eggs in ice cream.

For more desserts made with coconut milk, be sure to try my vegan cranberry curd tart and chocolate tart next.

Ingredient Notes

• Canned Coconut Milk: You'll need two (13.5 oz) cans of full-fat coconut milk, or for creamier ice cream, use 1 can coconut milk and 1 can coconut cream. I like Goya and Good & Gather (Target). Find more information about the best brands of coconut milk in the FAQ section below.
• Sweetener: After sharing this date ice cream and being so impressed with the way dates affected the texture, I decided to replace some of the granulated sugar in this recipe with medjool dates. If you don't have dates, it's perfectly fine to use all sugar.
• Vanilla and Salt: These are important for the flavor of the ice cream. I used pure vanilla extract, but you can also incorporate real vanilla bean, vanilla paste or powder.
• *Optional * Sunflower Lecithin: Helps with emulsification of fats and serves as a substitute for egg yolks in ice cream.
  I started experimenting with sunflower lecithin while testing my oat creamer recipe and still had some in the pantry. I tried it on a whim and was really impressed! If you happen to have lecithin on hand, that's great. If not, don't fret. Just make sure the ice cream base is blended very well.

See the recipe card below for amounts and full step-by-step instructions.

How to Make Vegan Coconut Ice Cream

In a high-speed blender, combine the coconut milk, coconut cream, if using, pitted dates, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Slowly increase to high speed, and blend for about 1 minute or until the dates are fully blended. Add the lecithin, if using, and blend again.

Churn according to the manufacturer's instructions for your ice cream maker. I purchased this upright Whynter ice cream maker about 4 months ago and love how easy it is to use. With a built in compressor, there's no need to pre-chill the ice cream base, which really speeds up the whole process!

Once the ice cream is the consistency of soft serve, you can enjoy it right away (it's impossible to resist)! For a firmer, scoop-able ice cream, transfer it to a freezer-safe container, cover, and freeze for about 4 hours.

I use these Tovolo containers to store homemade ice cream. But any freezer-safe container will do!

FAQs

More Vegan Ice Cream

You might also like this collection of 21 Must-Try Vegan Ice Cream Recipes!

Recipe

Coconut Milk Ice Cream (Vegan)

Author: Lori Rasmussen, My Quiet Kitchen

This 5-ingredient coconut ice cream is luxuriously smooth, creamy, decadent, and SO easy to make! No cooking or extra steps - simply blend and churn. The sweet coconut flavor is delicious on its own and serves as a great base for all of your favorite ice cream mix-ins and flavors.

5 from 2 votes

Servings: 10 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Churn & freeze time:: 4 hours hrs

Total Time: 4 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

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Equipment

• blender
• ice cream maker

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 (14 oz) can full-fat coconut milk - see Note 1
• 1 (14 oz) can unsweetened coconut cream - or an additional can of coconut milk
• ⅓ cup sugar plus 1 Tablespoon
• 3 large pitted medjool dates, optional - or 2-3 additional tablespoon sugar, to taste
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons powdered sunflower lecithin, optional - emulsifier; serves as an egg replacer

Instructions

 

• For no-churn instructions, see recipe notes. If using an ice cream maker with a removable canister, be sure to place the canister in the freezer at least 24 hours before making ice cream.
• Shake the cans of coconut milk before opening. In a high-speed blender, combine the coconut milk/cream, sugar, dates, vanilla, and salt. (Note: if not including dates, a standard blender is fine.) Blend on high speed for about 1 minute or until the dates are fully blended. Add the lecithin, if using, and blend again.
• Churn the coconut ice cream mixture according to the directions for your ice cream machine. Once it reaches soft-serve consistency, enjoy now (it's difficult not to!), or for scoop-able ice cream, transfer to a freezer-safe container or individual-serving containers, cover, and freeze for about 4 hours. Let soften at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.

Notes

**Find helpful tips and information in the Ingredient and FAQ sections above.**

Note 1: I use Goya coconut milk and Good & Gather (Target) coconut cream. Note that coconut cream is the same as coconut milk, just with a higher concentration of coconut. It's not the same as cream of coconut, which is sweetened.

No-Churn Instructions - 2 options:

1. Standard Method

After blending the ice cream mixture, pour into a shallow, freezer-safe container. Place in the freezer and whisk vigorously every 45-60 minutes (this incorporates air and breaks up the icy parts). Repeat until the ice cream is the desired consistency, usually 5 to 6 hours for soft-serve.  

2. Freeze & Blend Method

An easier, less hands-on method involves freezing the ice cream mixture in ice cube trays, and then blending the cubes in a food processor until creamy. You'll need to add a splash of non-dairy milk. This breaks up the ice crystals and creates a thick soft-serve consistency.

Store coconut ice cream in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month. Soften at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving. 

Estimated Nutrition (per serving)

Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 195kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 2gFat: 13gFiber: 1gSugar: 15g

Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.

Did you try the recipe?Share your feedback in the comments below!