I’ve made many vegan ice cream recipes over the years—even chocolate avocado ice cream! Yet somehow, I never made my favourite flavour: vanilla bean. Yes friends, I’m that girl who loves vanilla ice cream. In a world with thousands of ice cream flavours, my top choice is vanilla bean. Something about that classic flavour gets me every time—especially when it’s this vegan ice cream, which has the most fabulously rich cashew and coconut base.
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Ice Cream Recipe
Creamy and smooth. Some vegan ice creams have a texture that’s thin and flat, but the cashew and coconut ensure that this recipe is super rich, decadent, and creamy. Easy to make. Skipping the egg-based custard makes this ice cream easier to make than the classic version. Woo hoo! Incredible flavour. Real vanilla extract or bean makes all the difference here. A true vanilla ice cream like this one is a real treat.
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
Cashews – Soaking the cashews overnight is essential, as this allows them to puree into a completely smooth mixture. If you forget, you can boil the cashews with just enough water to cover them for 5 minutes. Drain, cool, and proceed! Coconut Milk –Use full-fat coconut milk, not lite or coconut milk powder. Vanilla – Vanilla bean paste is my go-to for this recipe because I love flecks of vanilla bean in my ice cream. You can also use a few vanilla beans or vanilla extract in equal amounts. Sugar – If you want a slightly less sweet ice cream, use ½ cup. Sea salt – A pinch of sea salt is a flavour enhancer and balances the sweetness.
How to Make Vegan Ice Cream
Prepare. Soak the cashews and freeze your ice cream maker drum ahead of time. Make the ice cream mixture. Blend all of the ingredients until completely smooth. Chill. Refrigerate the ice cream mixture for at least 4 hours. Churn the ice cream. Follow the instructions for your ice cream machine. Freeze. Transfer the ice cream into a container or loaf pan. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours. Serve. Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 5 minutes, then scoop and serve.
Tips for Success
Freeze the ice cream maker drum ahead of time. I freeze it for at least 7 hours, but 24 hours is best. It can be tempting to shorten this time but it’s necessarily to get the mixture cold enough to turn it into ice cream. I just leave my base in the freezer, which means it’s always ready! Don’t skip chilling the ice cream mixture. I also tested this recipe with not chilling at all, chilling for 10 minutes, and chilling overnight. Chilling for at least 4 hours makes a difference—the vegan ice cream is creamier, freezes faster in the ice cream maker, and is even easier to scoop. Make sure the room is cold. If you live in a hot climate like I do, I recommend doing this in the coolest part of your house or turning on your AC if you have one. This ensures the mixture solidifies properly. Try some add-ins. Swirl jam, caramel, chopped peanut butter cups, and other add-ins into the soft ice cream after adding it to the storage container, but before freezing.
My Favourite Ways to Serve Vegan Ice Cream
With a (generous!) drizzle of easy vegan caramel sauce Sprinkled with pumpkin granola on top Sandwiched between two air fryer chocolate chip cookies Scooped on top of warm slice of vegan apple pie
How to Store
Cover this vegan ice cream very tightly to prevent ice particles from forming. It will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
More Vegan Ice Cream Recipes
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Grilled Peaches with Coconut Ice Cream Vegan Mango Ice Cream (3 Ingredients) 2-Ingredient Vegan Blueberry Ice Cream Vegan Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream (No Churn)
Enjoy friends! If you make this vegan ice cream recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
