This Vegan Butter Pecan Ice Cream is wonderfully creamy, nutty, and surprisingly wholesome. Made with just 8 simple ingredients, thickened with oats, and sweetened without refined sugar.

overhead shot of ice cream in a loaf pan with a scoop

Ah, butter pecan, one of the best ice cream flavors of all time, right?! Considering my love for creating oat-based ice cream, I can't explain why it took me so long to get around to this flavor. But hey, at least we're here now! If you're a pecan lover like I am, I think you'll be very happy with this one.

Pecans are lightly toasted on the stovetop. Some are blended right into the ice cream base, and the rest are chopped and folded into our creamy pecan ice cream after churning. A touch of vanilla, maple, and salt enhance the flavor of the pecans and bring it all together.

If you've seen any of my other vegan ice cream recipes you know I love to keep the ingredients real, simple, and whole, using unrefined sweeteners whenever possible. And that's exactly what we're doing with today's recipe.

Love pecans? Try my vegan pecan pie bars, healthy pecan pie, and easy pecan flour cookies next. Or heck, just type "pecan" in the site search for even more vegan pecan recipes!

a scoop of butter pecan in a metal loaf pan

Ingredients and Substitutions

Even within such a simple recipe, there's a surprising amount of room for customization and substitutions. For example, if you avoid added oils or just don't want to use vegan butter, you can absolutely leave it out. In fact, the batch you see in the photos didn't include butter or oil.

There's also wiggle room with the cashews, sweeteners, milk, and the optional bourbon, which is primarily for consistency/texture.

The main ingredients you'll need are:

Raw pecans - chopped pecans or "halves and pieces" are fine and usually more affordable than pecan halves
Vegan butter or butter-flavored coconut oil, optional
Unsweetened non-dairy milk, such as oat or soy
Rolled oats - these add creaminess
Raw cashews - substitute blanched almonds, raw sunflower seeds, or coconut cream, if desired
Maple syrup - the flavor works well here, but feel free to use a granulated sweetener if that's what you have.
Coconut sugar - or light brown sugar or cane sugar
Bourbon or a neutral spirit like vodka, optional

See what I mean? There are multiple ways to make this vegan butter pecan ice cream, whether you're working around an allergy or just trying to avoid a trip to the grocery store.

Best Milks for Homemade Non-Dairy Ice Cream

I recommend oat milk for the most neutral flavor, but cashew and soy milk are also great. All of these work well to create a creamy texture.

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Almond milk is fine in a pinch, but it tends to result in a more icy consistency. For reference, I used almond milk for the batch in the photos mainly because that's what I had on hand. It tasted amazing but isn't my top choice.

Obviously, canned coconut milk is often used for dairy-free ice creams, and you can certainly incorporate light or full-fat coconut milk into this recipe, too!

But since it can be really difficult to find vegan ice cream without coconut milk, I usually skip it, so that we all have more options when it comes to dairy-free frozen desserts.

3 scoops of pecan ice cream in a sundae glass

How to Make Vegan Butter Pecan

Making ice cream isn't difficult, but there is some planning involved. So let's do a quick review to make sure things go smoothly for you....
The basic process for making Butter Pecan Oat Ice Cream looks like this:

Plan ahead! If you're using an ice cream maker with a removable canister that needs to be frozen, be sure to place it in the freezer at least 24 hours in advance.
Toast the pecans on the stove in a medium-size skillet or large sauce pan. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Cook the oatmeal in the same pan, then spread it on a plate to cool.
Blend the milk, cashews, and just ½ cup of the pecans until completely smooth. Add the oatmeal and remaining ingredients (excluding the reserved pecans), and blend again.
Refrigerate the mixture until cold (anywhere from 2 hours to overnight). You can speed up this process by placing it in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
Churn the ice cream, and chop the reserved pecans.
Fold in the pecans and transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. For a firmer, scoopable consistency, freeze for 3 to 4 hours before serving.
For the best texture, let the ice cream soften at room temperature for about 10 minutes before scooping. Now dig in and enjoy!

a melty scoop of ice cream in the scooper

Recommended Ice Cream Makers

For years I used this Cuisinart 2-Quart Ice Cream Maker. It's dependable, even if on the loud side. And over the years the price has gone way up, making it not the best option anymore, in my opinion.

I kept dreaming of investing in a compressor model so I could make back-to-back batches without having to pre-freeze a container. A couple of years ago I upgraded to this Whynter upright 2.1 quart machine and have been very happy with it!

Can I make it without an ice cream maker?

Absolutely! You can find more details on the various no-churn methods in this post: Oat Milk Ice Cream

A Ninja Creami works well, too, according to my readers (I haven't tried one, myself).

Helpful Tips

Once the ice cream has been in the freezer for 4+ hours it will be frozen solid. Just let it soften for about 10 minutes, and you're good to go.
If you usually only need one serving at a time, you might like using these Tovolo ice cream containers (they come in different sizes). Then you can just pull one or two of the individual cups from the freezer and not have to soften the whole batch!