Blueberry Lemon Ice Cream

We pair the zing of fresh-squeezed lemon juice and zest with the creaminess of coconut milk and the sweetness of blueberries. It's creamy, rich, perfectly balanced and so much better than store-bought! This vegan blueberry lemon ice cream is the ideal summer treat.

Jump to:

• 🍨 Why We Love This Recipe
• 🍋 Ingredients
• 📋 Ingredient Notes
• 🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
• 💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
• 🍽 Related Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

🍨 Why We Love This Recipe

• Easy prep: Just soak the cashews, blend everything together, and pour it into your ice cream maker. That's it. Homemade vegan ice cream doesn't have to be complicated!
• Light and refreshing: We love cookie dough ice cream as much as the next person, but sometimes it's good to change things up a little bit with a lighter, more refreshing dessert. This vegan blueberry lemon ice cream strikes the perfect balance between decadent and refreshing!
• Super creamy: Our blueberry lemon ice cream is totally vegan, but we use coconut milk and soaked cashews to replace the creaminess that regular dairy products create.

🍋 Ingredients

Here's everything you'll need to make this vegan blueberry lemon ice cream:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Coconut milk: The higher fat content in coconut milk mimics heavy cream in traditional ice cream. Make absolutely sure to get canned full-fat coconut milk (NOT the "lite" version), which is often in the Asian section of the supermarket. The coconut milk that comes in a carton (that you'd use for cereal) will NOT work in this recipe.
• Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in both steps of this recipe. Both regular and smaller "wild" blueberries will work just fine.
• Agave nectar: You can replace this with honey or even maple syrup, but these modifications will affect the flavor. (Not necessarily in a bad way – maple syrup would give this blueberry pancake vibes!)

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

Prep: Soak cashews in room temperature water for 2 hours. Drain and rinse after soaking.

Pre-cool your ice cream maker if necessary.

(1 & 2) Combine the 1 cup soaked cashews, 1 can of coconut milk, 1 ½ cups blueberries, ⅔ cup agave syrup, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1.5 tablespoon lemon juice, and 2 teaspoon lemon zest in a high speed blender and blend until creamy. We typically go through two full blend cycles to ensure all of the cashew and blueberry pieces are well incorporated.

(3) Pour mixture into ice cream maker and press start.

(4) Add 1 cup fresh blueberries when the machine indicates, or fold them in once ice cream is finished. Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe pan, cover, and let harden for 3-4 hours. Remove from freezer about 5-10 minutes before scooping.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• Allow 2 hours for the cashews to soak. If you're pressed for time, you can add the cashews to super hot water for 30 minutes to an hour to speed up the process a bit, but 2 hours in lukewarm water produces the best results.
• Use full fat coconut milk for the best results.
• Allow for 3-4 hours for the ice cream to harden in the freezer after removing from your ice cream maker.
• Note that 1.5 cups of blueberries are added to the blender mixture, and then 1 cup of blueberries are added later while the ice cream is churning.
• Not vegan? We haven't tested it, but you should be able to sub out the coconut milk with regular whole milk.
• If you're in the market for an ice cream maker, we wholeheartedly recommend Breville. We've had ours for years and it makes perfect vegan ice cream every time. The model we have in on the pricier end (we use it a lot!), but here's another less expensive option we've heard good things about.

🍽 Related Recipes

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