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I’ve created numerous dairy-free ice cream recipes since launching this website. Coffee ice cream, pistachio ice cream, mint chocolate chip, and even avocado ice cream, to name a few.
But this Strawberry Ice Cream might be my favorite. It’s made without dairy or refined sugar, but you’d never guess just by tasting it!
I imagine you could use any other fruit in this recipe, such as peach or raspberry, so feel free to use this as a jumping-off point for any other fruity flavors you enjoy.
I also recently tested this in the Ninja Creami machine, in case you want to try that, too!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Ice Cream
- It’s vegan & Paleo friendly. Because this ice cream is made without milk or white sugar, it’s perfect for those following a special diet.
- No tree nuts required. The creaminess here comes from coconut milk, which is technically a drupe. I don’t think the coconut flavor is significant here, either. (My kids didn’t notice!)
- It’s naturally sweetened. Maple syrup is the perfect sweetener here, without adding a noticeable maple flavor. All you will taste is classic strawberry ice cream.
- It’s easy. Just blend 4 ingredients together, and run it through your ice cream maker. It will be ready to eat in less than 1 hour.
- It tastes like the real thing. Seriously! Coconut milk based ice cream usually turns out a little more “icy” in texture than one that is made with heavy cream, but flavor-wise this ice cream is perfect.
Want to make ice cream without an ice cream maker? Check out my instant Peach Ice Cream, which uses a food processor instead. You can swap the peaches for frozen strawberries to make an instant strawberry version.
How to Make Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream
- Plan ahead. If your ice cream maker requires starting with a frozen bowl, be sure to place it in the freezer at least 24 hours prior to use. My ice cream bowl stays permanently stored in our freezer during the summer months!
- Blend. Add the strawberries, coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla to a blender, and blend until smooth.
- Process. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker, and process until thick and creamy, about 30 to 35 minutes.
- Enjoy! Serve this ice cream immediately for the creamiest texture, or transfer it to an airtight container and store in the freezer for a firmer consistency.
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Note: This vegan ice cream is the most “scoopable” within 2 to 4 hours of freezing. After that, it will develop a harder, icier texture. It’s still delicious, just a little more crumbly to scoop. Let it thaw on your counter for 10 to 15 minutes if you’ve frozen it overnight, to help it soften slightly.
Ninja Creami Note: I tested this recipe in my neighbor’s Ninja Creami recently, and this works great! Pour this mixture into the Ninja pint container and don’t fill it past the “max fill” line. Freeze 24 hours, then process on the sorbet setting, followed by 1-2 re-spins.
No Ice cream maker?
You can also pour this mixture into an airtight container and freeze until firm, stirring every hour or so to help incorporate air, just as an ice cream maker does. The resulting ice cream is usually slightly icier, but still delicious.
Vegan Ice Cream Tips
- Use fresh or frozen fruit. Frozen berries tend to be more affordable and are already prepared for you– no slicing required! I use slightly thawed frozen strawberries here, but you can use fresh if you have them on hand. It may take somewhat longer to process the ice cream in that case, since the base won’t start as cold.
- Don’t use “lite” coconut milk. The fat from the coconut milk is what provides the creaminess here, so using lower-fat coconut milk will result in a more-icy texture.
- Make it even creamier. You can add raw cashews to this recipe to make it even creamier. I’d start with just a 1/2 cup, but you can add a full cup for even creamier results.
I hope you’ll love this vegan strawberry ice cream as much as we do! For an extra-decadent treat, try topping it with Peanut Butter Magic Shell, for an ice sundae that tastes like a PB&J.
Here’s what I use
Ingredients
- 1 pound strawberries , hulls removed
- 1 (14.5 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Be sure to freeze the bowl of your ice cream maker at least 24 hours in advance, if your ice cream maker requires it. In a blender, combine the strawberries, coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla. Blend until very smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the frozen bowl of your ice cream machine, then process until thick and creamy, about 30 to 35 minutes.
- Once the strawberry ice cream is thick, it's ready to serve right away. You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. It will become harder to scoop when you freeze it overnight, but it will soften if you let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes first.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too.
This recipe is the most perfect summer treat!!!!! How can four ingredients taste so good?!?? My family of five devoured it! Absolute staple in our house from this point forward! Thank you!!!!!
So the flavor is phenomenal. I must not know how to make ice cream though, LOL! I bought the cuisinart ice cream maker because I wanted to try your vegan ice creams. This was the first one I made. I put the freezer container in the freezer for well over 24 hours before I used it. I ran the machine with all of the blended ingredients for about an hour or so. But it never turned into anything more than soup. I will keep trying. Just wondering if there is some tips or tricks I am missing to using the machine.
My guess is that your mixing blade was in upside down and it wasn’t actually mixing, check the manual for how it should look.
Do you have to have an ice cream maker or can you just use a blender or Nutra bullet?
I had the same problem (different recipe though) the first time I used that ice cream maker! We had to get a thermometer and turn our freezer temperature way down until it got to 0 degrees so the bowl would be cold enough. Now it works!
In the ‘prep” time it says “Cook Time: 30 minutes”, but in all the previous information, there is nothing said about COOKING the mixture. it says once it’s thick it can be served right away. Should the mixture be cooked then cooled, then churned? then frozen?
I find the directions quite confusing. But the recipe looks great.
Definitely no cooking required for this recipe! The 30 minutes is for processing the mixture, so you know how long to expect this recipe to take before eating it. Hope you enjoy!
If I add the cashews, do you soak first?
My new favorite treat!!! I haven’t had ice cream in years! Finally, I can enjoy this delicious treat!!!
My three year old and I really enjoyed making and eating this ice cream! We used strawberries from the local farm and it turned out so good! I was wondering if we could follow the same recipe but sub in other fruit? Like frozen mango or other berries?
Bought the ice cream maker on Friday made the coffee ice cream on Saturday and this recipe on Sunday (used black sweet cherries since I had those in the freezer). Both recipes were simple to make and delicious. Thank you for being a food chemist. Love everything you do!
So yummy! And so glad I found an alternative to dairy because the older I get, the less I can tolerate it. I LOVE ice- cream so this is awesome!
This was the best dairy free ice cream I’ve had/made yet! I was very impressed. Thanks for this; I’ve been craving ice cream for a while! I hope you come out with a vanilla version too with cashews 🙂 thanks !
This ice cream is SO DELICIOUS!!! So great to know you can have healthy ice cream in 30 min! Thank you !!!