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.
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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.
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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.
Hint: Immediately after churning is a great time to add any mix-ins, like chopped cookies, toasted coconut flakes, or nuts.
I use these Tovolo containers to store homemade ice cream. But any freezer-safe container will do!
Equipment Notes
I use the Whynter Upright 2.1 Qt, and I absolutely LOVE the way it simplifies the process of making ice cream. Since it has a built in compressor, there's no canister to freeze in advance. You also don't need to pre-chill the ice cream mixture. Just plug it in and churn! And it's quieter than my previous machine.
For many years I used this Cuisinart 2-Quart Ice Cream Maker. It's still a good model, but the price has increased significantly over the years. Considering the hassle involved with the removable canister, if I were starting from scratch, I'd skip it and go straight for an ice cream maker with built-in compressor.
Serving Suggestions
Coconut milk ice cream pairs perfectly with a variety of cakes, pies, brownies, and cookies.
Add a drizzle of vegan chocolate sauce or date caramel. If you love crunch, you can't go wrong with maple glazed walnuts or candied pecans!
FAQs
Brands of coconut milk vary in quality. Goya coconut milk is highly rated for consistency and quality and made with coconuts sourced from Dominican Republic. Good & Gather, the Target brand, is another quality option. For this ice cream recipe I used Goya coconut milk and Good & Gather coconut cream. You'll also want to consider the source of the coconuts. Learn more about the use of monkey labor in Thailand's coconut industry in this Nat Geo article.
Coconut milk and coconut cream are both made by simmering and blending coconut meat with water. The difference is that coconut cream has less water added, giving it a higher fat content and more pronounced coconut aroma and flavor.
More Vegan Ice Cream
You might also like this collection of 21 Must-Try Vegan Ice Cream Recipes!
Recipe
Coconut Milk Ice Cream (Vegan)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 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
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.
Kassie says
So creamy rich and delicious! This was the first recipe I tried in my new ice cream maker. 🙂 Can’t wait to try your other flavors. Thanks!
Will says
Great recipe! Made it over the weekend after seeing your email and like your other ice creams weve tried, we loved it. Appreciate the extra tips and plan to try other flavors with this base.