No Churn Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream

You don't need an ice cream machine to make our smooth and creamy no churn vegan vanilla ice cream, which gets its texture from coconut milk and cashews and its fresh flavor from vanilla beans.

Jump to:

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

🍨 Why We Love This Recipe

• No churn: All you need for this recipe is a blender and a loaf pan. No ice cream machine required! This takes a lot of guesswork out of making ice cream and cuts down on the potential cost as well.
• Totally vegan: since we use cashews, coconut milk and coconut cream, this recipe is 100% vegan. It's also soy and gluten free.
• Totally customizable: this no-churn vegan vanilla ice cream base is a blank canvas for whatever flavor combinations you can dream up. Add in something summery like fresh berries or a swirl of homemade jam, or something more decadent like crushed oreos and peanut butter (or my favorite: cookie dough!). The possibilities are endless!

🥛 Ingredients

Here's everything you need to make this no churn vegan vanilla ice cream:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Cashews: It's super important to soak the cashews in water before blending to ensure that you ice cream blends well and has the right texture. Also be sure to use raw, unsalted cashews – the cashews are more for texture than flavor.
• Vanilla: We used a combination of vanilla beans and vanilla extract to flavor our ice cream, but you can sub out the beans and extract for 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste. You really want to go heavy on the vanilla here – it is the predominant flavor, after all!
• Make sure to use a full fat coconut milk and coconut cream. Coconut milk and coconut cream are not the same ingredient – coconut cream refers specifically to the thick cream layer at the the top of a can of coconut milk, whereas coconut milk also includes the liquid below.
• Sweetener: You can use agave or maple syrup in this recipe.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

This no churn vegan vanilla ice cream comes together in just a few simple steps:

PREP: Soak cashews in room temperature water for 2-3 hours, then drain and rinse.

(1 & 2) Add all ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth.

(3 & 4) Pour into pan of choice and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQ

• Try vanilla bean paste: You can sub out the 2 vanilla beans and 2 teaspoon vanilla extract for 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste, which may be easier to find than vanilla beans.
• Be sure to use a can of full-fat coconut milk and not anything labeled "lite", etc, which will not be thick enough for this no churn vegan vanilla ice cream.
• How to store no churn ice cream: you can certainly use a specialty ice cream storage container, which are specifically made to keep the ice cream frozen with added insulation to prevent freezer burn. We find it easier and more cost effective to use a loaf pan, but be sure to wrap well in plastic or reusable wrap to prevent freezer burn. Another pro tip: save a leftover store-bought ice cream container and use that!
• Let the ice cream thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes before scooping. Otherwise, it will be very hard to scoop.
• Add-ins: this no churn vegan vanilla ice cream is a blank canvas. Feel free to add in anything your heart desires! A few of my favorites: peanut butter cups, graham cracker crumbs + mini marshmallows + chocolate chips, fresh berries, etc.
• Uses: you can use this no churn vegan vanilla ice cream for all sorts of recipes. We love using it in these ice cream bars, ice cream cake, affogato, with a warm berry crisp, in ice cream sandwiches and so much more.

🍽 Related Recipes

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📖 Recipe