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This Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream is life-changing. It’s rich and creamy, and entirely dairy-free! All you need is 4 simple ingredients to make it.
For an extra-fun sundae, be sure to try my Magic Shell or Peanut Butter Magic Shell topping. The peanut butter addition makes it taste like a peanut butter cup sundae!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Coconut Milk. Use full-fat canned coconut milk. Don’t use the kind you’d buy in the refrigerated section, or a can of “lite” coconut milk, or you won’t get a classic, creamy ice cream texture.
- Cacao Powder. I tested this recipe with raw cacao powder, but I think dutch-processed cocoa powder will work similarly.
- Maple syrup. This natural sweetener works really well with chocolate flavored desserts, and it keeps this ice cream vegan-friendly. You can use honey, if you don’t need a vegan dessert, but keep in mind the honey flavor will be more noticeable, so you might want to start off with just half of the amount called for here.
- Vanilla extract. This boosts the overall flavor, but is optional.
Feel free to add in any extra flavorings you like, such as peppermint or almond extract, too. I’d start with just a 1/4 teaspoon at a time, and add more to your liking.
How to Make Coconut Milk Ice Cream
1. Blend. Add the 4 ingredient to a blender, and blend until completely smooth.
Note: If you don’t have a blender, you can whisk the ingredients together in a bowl until no clumps remain. Just make sure the coconut milk is totally smooth, as it can often separate in the can, and it’s important that it is totally creamy for the best ice cream results.
2. Freeze. You’ll get the best results if you pour this mixture into an ice cream maker and let it run for 30 to 35 minutes, until thick and creamy.
The ice cream will still be relatively soft (like soft serve) after running in the ice cream maker, but it will firm up if you transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the freezer for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight. It stays amazingly scoop-able, compared to other coconut milk recipes I’ve tried.
3. Enjoy! Scoop the ice cream into a dish or cone, and dig in! I love the rich chocolate flavor, which hides most of the coconut flavor.
How to Make it Without an Ice Cream Maker
Don’t have an ice cream maker? You can skip the machine and pour the blended chocolate mixture directly into an airtight container, instead. Place the container in the freezer and freeze for 8 to 10 hours, or overnight.
For the best texture, stir the ice cream every hour or two, to help incorporate some air into the mixture, making it more light and fluffy.
More Ice Cream Recipes
Looking for more dairy-free ice cream recipes? Try these!
- Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream (made with coconut milk)
- Coffee Ice Cream (made with cashews)
- Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (made with coconut milk)
- Pistachio Ice Cream (made with pistachios)
- Avocado Ice Cream
- Instant Peach Ice Cream
- Watermelon Sorbet
- Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 (13.5 oz.) can full-fat coconut milk (400 mL)
- 1/2 cup cacao powder (36 grams)
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup (241 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 grams)
Instructions
- Be sure to freeze the bowl of your ice cream machine at least 24 hours in advance, if your ice cream maker requires it. In a blender, combine the coconut milk, cacao powder, maple syrup, and vanilla, and blend until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the frozen bowl of your ice cream maker, and process until thick and creamy, about 30 to 35 minutes.
- Serve right away for a soft-serve consistency, or transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and store it in the freezer for 4 to 6 hours, for a more scoop-able consistecy. Leftover ice cream will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Update Note: This recipe was originally posted in 2012, and has been updated in August 2021. The original measurements were 1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut milk + 6 tablespoons cacao powder + 1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup) + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. The updated recipe gives a much better chocolate flavor and a less-icy texture compared to the original, so I hope you’ll enjoy it!
If you try this Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it.
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Reader Feedback: Which ice cream flavor would you like to see next?
Great recipe! I doubled it, added spirulina, avacado, stevia, and some raw honey. I put it in my Vitamix and then in the icecream machine! Tummy!
Omg, this recipe came out a-mazing! My 4 years old couldn’t get enough of it. Tastes just like regular dairy ice cream but with the added benefit of being all natural. Will be making this recipe time and time again. 🙂
Hello, Megan! I stumbled upon this recipe one day a couple of months ago and made it every day during the heat of the summer and now make it three times a week for my “I-Love-Store-Bought-Over-Processed-And -Bad-For-Me-Foods” husband, and he Loves this! He sits down with the container and chips away at it (as it gets a little hard but he doesn’t like when I put it on the counter since I melted it all once — makes Great smoothies/milkshakes!) so it lasts a longer than the store-bought kind. 🙂 We single-handedly kept the ice-cream company in business until this recipe. My budget is now do-able and hubby loves healthy ice-cream! Thank you!
made this as pops….all gone! Really delicious and easy.
Just wanted to pop in and say this is DELICIOUS. I used Bright canned coconut milk and maple syrup. Mixed it all up, put it in the freezer to cool for 10 minutes or so (my kitchen was super hot) then put in my ice cream maker for 10-20. Added homemade dark chocolate chips, chopped cherries and ate over a banana.
SO.GOOD.
Thanks!!!
OMG I LOVE YOU MEGAN!!!
lol!
we have made so many of your recipes this week… unreal!! you have given us a new perspective on paleo living!! wow you are awesome!!
Hi Megan!
I see I’m a little late in commenting on this recipe, but I just found it and tried it last night.
I can’t eat sugar or dairy (or grain) and its been years since I ate ice cream.
OMG! This never even made if to the freezer!! After 25 mins in the Ice cream maker, it was a firm soft serve consistency. My husband and I knocked it off straight out of the machine! My kids (I have seven, thank G-d) said it tasted better than Friendly’s ice cream!!
Thank you for how you bring food normalcy back into the lives of people who are so restricted in what they can eat.
Good luck with your pregnancy and enjoy your little miracle when he/she arrives.
Faigy
BTW I subbed xylitol for the honey.
Just made this with my ice cream maker. I let it churn for 30 minutes at it had a wonderful soft-serve texture. I used 1/4 cup carob and 2 T raw cacao, and filled my 1/4 cup measure with part honey, agave, and maple syrup. Delicious!
This ice cream is amazing! I have a Krups ice cream freezer, so mixing this in my blender, pouring it in there, and in about 15 minutes, having deliciousness to enjoy, perfect! I use King Arthur Flour’s Double Dutch Dark cocoa, too- so this is deep, dark, and healthy with all the dark chocolate benefits. Thanks so much for this recipe, and I will try more of yours, since I found your site!
I tried this recipe and substituted 1/2 Maple and 1/2 DAte syrup for the sweetener and it ROCKS! Great recipe!
This was a great recipe. Thank you
I added finely chopped roasted almonds and some frozen dark Cherries to give it some texture. Such a treat!