Description
These homemade vegan ice cream bars are surprisingly easy to make with a no churn vanilla ice cream base, chocolate coating, toppings, and no special equipment required! The perfect summer treat.
Ingredients
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 5 oz can coconut cream
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2-3 hours in room temp water
- 1/2 cup agave or maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Seeds from 2 vanilla bean pods (optional)
- 20 oz semisweet or dark chocolate (we used vegan)
- 5 tbsp coconut oil
- Toppings: crushed nuts, crushed cookies, mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, pb cups, coconut, freeze dried fruit, etc.
Instructions
- Soak cashews in room temperature water for 30-60 minutes. Drain and rinse.
- Line an 8x8 or 9x9" pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add all ice cream ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until completely smooth and creamy. Transfer to pan and place in freezer. Freeze until completely set – about 4 hours.
- Once the ice cream is set, remove from pan. Slice into 9 squares. Insert a wood popsicle stick into each ice cream square, being careful not to go all the way through.
- Return to freezer. Meanwhile, add chocolate and coconut oil to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring well between each interval, until fully melted. Prep any desired toppings and set aside – you'll need to add them right away as the chocolate freezes up quickly.
- Remove ice cream bars from freezer and use a spoon to coat completely in melted chocolate. Immediately add toppings and return to freezer. Work as quickly as possible to prevent too much ice cream melting.
- Enjoy right away or return to freezer for another hour to make sure they fully set.
Notes
If using store bought ice cream for the ice cream base, you'll need about 4 cups total.
Vanilla beans are optional, but add so much flavor to the ice cream base!
Pro tip: for best results, let the ice cream re-freeze between each step. We return the ice cream to the freezer for at least 30 minutes after cutting into squares, and then again after coating in chocolate to make sure they're perfectly set.
Don't skip the coconut oil: we add a significant amount of coconut oil to the melted chocolate, which helps loosen it up for easier coating. It also makes the chocolate coating softer, almost like a magic shell, so these vegan ice cream bars are easy to eat and not too messy. Plus, since coconut oil is solid at room temperature, it helps the chocolate set much faster.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezer
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 635
- Sugar: 35.4 g
- Sodium: 15.9 mg
- Fat: 44.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 51.3 g
- Fiber: 5.5 g
- Protein: 6.8 g
