10 Easy Dairy-Free Ice Cream Recipes (2024)

Easy homemade dairy-free ice cream recipes to beat the heat that have the creamy texture of regular ice cream. With delicious ice cream flavors like coffee, mint chocolate chip, chocolate "peanut butter" and pistachio, you’ll never miss traditional ice cream again.

The best homemade ice creams are dairy-free, vegan, paleo, gluten-free, and keto versions of your favorites.

10 Easy Dairy-Free Ice Cream Recipes (1)

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Cool down this summer with one of these easy-to-make healthy ice cream recipes. All with no dairy or refined sugar. Many are egg-free as well.

These creamy ice cream recipes use coconut milk, coconut cream cashew milk, or almond milk to substitute for the cream and milk. And use vegan, paleo, or low carb friendly sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, monk fruit, or stevia to replace refined sugar. Most of them leave out the eggs as well.

But what I like most about these ice cream recipes is that each one uses only real food ingredients like strawberries, cacao, cherries, and bananas. And a few other simple ingredients like vanilla extract, sea salt, cacao powder, or dark chocolate depending on the dairy-free ice cream recipe.

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Making healthy homemade ice cream is quick and involves minimal hands-on time, whether you use a food processor to make a no-churn recipe or use an ice cream maker.

I find an ice cream machine makes it super easy. Just mix up the ice cream batter and pour itinto your ice cream maker(this is the one I use).You’ll have the best dairy-free ice cream in about 25 minutes.

Here are a few time-saving tricks I like to use to make homemade ice cream quicker and easier:

  • Make your ice cream batter early in the day and let it chill out in the fridge until you're ready to make ice cream. Starting with cold ice cream mix is one of the keys to getting smoother ice cream from your ice cream machine.
  • Freeze your mix-ins. Adding mix-ins that are already chilled will help keep your ice cream frozen while it churns.
  • Keep thefreezer bowlfor your ice cream machine in the freezer. Most ice cream makers require the freezer bowl to be frozen for 24 hours before churning your ice cream. If you store the freezer bowl in the freezer, it's always ready to go! If you make a lot of ice cream, you can even get an extra bowl and rotate them so you always have one frozen.
  • The ice cream will be soft-serve consistency when it's finished churning. Spread it into a loaf pan and freeze for firm scoopable ice cream.
  • Store your ice cream in an airtight container in the freezer to avoid ice crystals. Be sure to let it sit out for a few minutes before serving so it's easier to scoop.

Easy Dairy-FreeIce Cream Recipes

Vegan Coffee Ice Cream Recipe - Cook Eat Well

For those busy weeknights, when you need a sweet fix, this 5-ingredient coffeeice cream is delicious, quick, and naturally good for you. Using only coconut milk, coffee, cashews, maple syrup, and vanilla, you won’t believe how easy this paleo coffee ice cream is to make.

Double Chocolate Macadamia Ice Cream- Cook Eat Well

Rich, creamy, and packed with chocolate flavor, this dairy-free chocolate ice cream recipe is a personal favorite of mine and creates the perfect backdrop for mixing in chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.

Pistachio Chocolate Chip Coconut Ice Cream - Cook Eat Well

Nothing puts me more in the mood for summer thanan ice cream bowl full of homemade pistachio chocolate chip ice cream. Smooth, creamy, and packed with pistachioflavor, this easy recipe is dairy-free, egg-free, and makes aperfect summer dessert.

RELATED:Healthy Popsicles Made With Just Fresh Fruit

Paleo Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream - Hold the Grain and Empowered Sustenance

This paleo mint chocolate chip ice cream substitutes chocolate chips with carob and uses a secret ingredient, avocado, to add the green color and extra richness.

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream - Deliciously Organic

Using grain-freecookie dough and homemadevanilla ice cream, this paleo chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream recipe allows you to swap ingredients to suit dietary needs.

Paleo Chocolate & “Peanut Butter” Ice Cream - Paleo Newbie

This paleo chocolate and "peanut butter" ice cream from Paleo Newbie proves that when you switch to a paleo lifestyle, you never have to sacrifice flavor. Its all-natural, dairy-free, and sugar-free ingredients create an incredible go-to snack for those late night cravings.

10 Easy Dairy-Free Ice Cream Recipes (5)

Vanilla Keto Ice Cream- The Roasted Root

This vanilla keto ice cream is rich, creamy, and low carb friendly. And this recipe can be made with or without an ice cream maker.Be sure to use the full-fat coconut milk option to keep it dairy-free.

Roasted Strawberry & Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream - So...Let's Hang Out

If you’ve never tried roasting your fruit before, this roasted strawberry and vanilla coconut milk ice cream recipe is the perfect place to start. The roasted fruit is so good with the coconut milk base.

Paleo Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream- Real Simple Good

Cherries make a tasty summer treat on their own—adding homemade vanilla ice cream into the mix creates a classic fruit and cream flavor that's a little tart and a little sweet. Coconut is the non-dairy milk of choice in this base recipe.

5 Ingredient Banana Ice Cream- Paleo Grubs

You won’t need an ice cream maker to create this guilt-free 5-ingredient banana ice cream treat. This recipe brings out the banana’s natural sweetness to create a simple nice cream for your favorite toppings.

Try one of these easy paleo ice cream recipes to help you satisfy your sweet tooth. Theyare dairy-free, gluten-free and pack all the rich and creamy flavors you crave. With recipes this easy, you can indulge in your favorite ice cream any time.

More dairy-free dessert recipes to try

  • Easy Chocolate Pots de Creme You Can Make In The Blender
  • One Bowl Coconut Flour Brownies
  • Easy Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Mexican Chocolate Avocado Mousse
  • Pecan Sandies Cookie Recipe (Vegan)
10 Easy Dairy-Free Ice Cream Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best non dairy milk to make ice cream? ›

Kaminsky says that you'll get the best results from dairy-free counterparts that are higher in fat such as canned coconut milk. She typically uses almond milk as her base, but other non-dairy milks can work (steer clear of rice milk because it tends to be too watery).

How to make ice cream in 10 minutes? ›

Step 1In a small resealable plastic bag, combine half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla. Push out excess air and seal. Step 2Into a large resealable plastic bag, combine ice and salt. Place small bag inside the bigger bag and shake vigorously, 7 to 10 minutes, until ice cream has hardened.

How to make ice cream without ice cream maker in 5 minutes? ›

directions
  1. Pour the milk, sugar and vanilla into the smaller, quart sized bag.
  2. Fill the larger, gallon sized bag 3/4 full of ice, then add the salt to the ice.
  3. Place the smaller bag inside the larger bag and close the seal. ...
  4. Now shake the bag good and hard for 5 minutes.

How do you thicken non-dairy ice cream? ›

Plant-based fats are the best way to thicken vegan ice cream. Coconut cream, full-fat coconut milk and coconut oil will give the creamiest and thickest results. Cornstarch and tapioca starch can also be used to thicken but the end result will be a little more icy and a little less creamy.

What is the closest non-dairy milk that taste like milk? ›

The demand for soy milk comes from its creamy texture and slightly nutty flavor, making it an excellent cooking and baking ingredient. It's the closest drink that resembles cow's milk, per a taste test and online public sentiment.

How to make ice cream in the old days? ›

Ice cream at this time was made using the “ pot freezer” method,which involved placing a bowl of cream in a bucket of ice and salt (note: not mixing the ice and salt with cream as many believe).

How to make ice cream with a Ziploc bag? ›

Mix ice cream ingredients in a large ziploc bag: Pour the cream and/or half-and-half or milk into a bag with the sugar and vanilla extract (or other flavoring) and squish it all up to help dissolve the sugar. Seal the bag well, pressig out as much air as you can.

How to make soft homemade ice cream? ›

Sugar, corn syrup or honey, as well as gelatin and commercial stabilizers, can all keep your ice cream at a softer consistency. Ice cream also stays softer when you store it in a shallow container, rather than a deep tub, and cover the surface of the ice cream with plastic wrap to keep ice crystals from forming.

How to make ice cream that kids can make? ›

Step-by-step
  1. Measure the cream, sugar, and vanilla extract into the quart-size bag. Zip it up tightly.
  2. Fill the gallon-size bag with ice. Add the salt. ...
  3. Shake and shake the bags to make ice cream! It will take about 5 minutes until the cream hardens.
  4. Take the smaller bag out of the larger one.

What is the best milk for homemade ice cream? ›

This is usually due to either not freezing fast enough, or too much water forming large ice crystals. When making ice cream, you want to use whole milk and cream, rather than 2% or skim milk, because it has more fat contributing to smaller ice crystals and a better/creamier texture.

Which milk is better for making ice cream? ›

But the likely answer—according to this test at least—is that premium milk is better for ice cream not because it's fresher, but because it's fattier. If you're wondering, this doesn't mean that more fat = better all of the time. Too much fat can dull an ice cream's flavor and leave a waxy feeling on the tongue.

Is oat milk or almond milk better for ice cream? ›

Among plant-based milk options, oat milk is among the creamiest. This makes it a great choice for adding to coffee and, in our case, making ice cream. (We're working on an oat based coffee product by the way!)

What milk is used in dairy-free ice cream? ›

Dairy-less frozen desserts replace milk and cream with alternatives like coconut, soy, oat, cashew, or almond milk. Many other ingredients remain the same between the dairy and dairy-free versions. And, just like dairy ice cream, non-dairy ice cream can vary widely in terms of sugar, fat, and calorie content.

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