Vanilla-Maple Oat Milk Ice Cream [No Coconut]

three scoops of Vegan Vanilla-Maple Ice Cream in a waffle cone

Vanilla-Maple Oat Milk Ice Cream [No Coconut]

This 5-ingredient, wholesome vegan vanilla oat milk ice cream gets its fat from just 1 cup of cashews and is sweetened entirely with maple syrup. No coconut milk here, so the flavor is purely vanilla-maple!

Inspired by and adapted from Miyoko Schinner's recipe for Low-Fat Vanilla Oat Gelato in The Homemade Vegan Pantry.

Yield: about 3.5 cups

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Low Lactose, Vegan

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Freeze time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 205kcal

Author Lori Rasmussen

Equipment

Ingredients

3 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk, such as oat or soy, divided
¼ cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raw cashews If you don't have a high speed blender, sub ⅓ to ½ cup raw cashew butter.
⅔ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 ounce good quality gin or vodka, optional See Notes.

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prep/Planning:

If using an ice cream maker with a removable canister, be sure to freeze the canister at least one day before you plan to make ice cream.
Also note that the ice cream mixture needs time to chill before churning (at least an hour), and the churned ice cream needs about 3 to 4 hours in the freezer for a firmer, scoopable consistency.

Make the ice cream:

In a small sauce pan, simmer oats in 1 cup of milk until soft, about 10 minutes. Immediately transfer to a bowl to cool.
In a blender combine the remaining 2 cups of milk and the cashews. Blend on high until completely smooth. Add the cooled oatmeal, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, and gin/vodka, if using, and blend again. Refrigerate until cold.
Churn the mixture according the instructions for your ice cream maker. At this point the ice cream will be softer than a typical soft serve consistency. Transfer it to a freezer-safe container, cover, and freeze for about 4 hours.
Around the 4 hour mark, and definitely once the ice cream has been in the freezer longer, it will be too hard to scoop right out of the freezer. It's important to let the ice cream soften at room temperature for about 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

Recipe Update 3/22/20:

Alcohol - Upon a reader's feedback (thanks, Tonks!) and after including an ounce of gin in this Lemon Oat Ice Cream, I decided to add the option to this recipe, as well. Since these oatmeal ice creams are low in fat, a small amount of alcohol helps maintain a creamy texture and prevents the ice cream from freezing so solidly.

It's not as crucial in this vanilla-maple flavor as it is with the lemon version, so feel free to omit if needed. The ice cream you see in these photos did NOT include alcohol.

Also note, more isn't better! Don't add more than 1.5 ounces of vodka/gin, or the ice cream may not freeze properly.

Storage and Serving:

Store ice cream in an airtight container in the freezer.

Always allow about 15 minutes for the ice cream to soften before serving.

Nutrition