Chocolate Ice Cream (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Easy, creamy chocolate ice cream made dairy free and vegan by coconut milk! If you're not strictly vegan, try my Americone Dream copycat recipe next.
No eggs here
A while ago, I had done some research about different ways to make ice cream without using eggs because… well, frankly it's a pain in the ass. And I don't like the idea of raw eggs in my schtuff. So everything I've been making has been sans-egg.
But to make something completely dairy free, I knew I needed some combination of arrowroot powder and coconut milk, but it took a while to get the right proportions.
Magic ingredients: arrowroot powder and coconut milk
Since I knew that arrowroot powder makes the ice cream smooth and prevents ice crystals from forming when the ice cream is frozen, that was a necessity. And I remembered seeing coconut milk on the little pints of So Delicious Dairy Free ice cream at the store, so I did a little research on proportions and whatnot.
After some trial and error, I finally got it right.
It's smooth like soft serve ice cream
And let me tell you – it's decadent. I prefer soft serve ice cream to hard-packed ice cream, so if you're like me I'm highly recommending that you only let this hang out in your freezer for a couple hours after you churn it because at that point it's smooth, rich, and just plain amazing.
Typically, vegan and/or gluten free recipes can be a pain in the ass with a million ingredients to make up for the stuff you're leaving out that make it poisonous* but this only has 6 ingredients and is super easy. I may never make chocolate ice cream any other way ever again. It's that good.
*Obviously I'm being sarcastic here. I just have a couple health-conscious friends who exclaim things like “Sugar is poison!” on occasion so I used sugar free chocolate chips for this one, and I'm taking a tiny light-hearted jab at them. Love yooooooou.
Make it your own
I made mine non-vegan by adding some crushed pretzels and Ghirardelli dark chocolate chunks to the batter, because… well, I don't owe you an explanation – I just did, OKAY? Okay.
All you have to do is use vegan-friendly ingredients and add/change the ingredients as you see fit to make it your own.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups coconut milk, divided
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, I like to use Navitas
- ½ cup Grade B maple syrup, if you're able, support a local farm and buy from them!
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips, Enjoy Life are DF, GF and V
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup coconut milk with arrowroot powder. Set aside.3 cups (678 g) coconut milk2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- In a large saucepan, combine the remaining coconut milk, cocoa powder and maple syrup. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.3 cups (678 g) coconut milk2 tablespoons cocoa powder1/2 cup (161 g) Grade B maple syrup
- Once it's brought to a boil, stir in the coconut milk/arrowroot powder mixture and stir until completely combined - the mixture should thicken a bit. Remove from heat.
- Add vanilla and chocolate chips and stir until completely combined and chocolate is melted and smooth.1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract3/4 cup (135 g) dark chocolate chips
- Pour mixture into a heat-proof bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge to chill. You want the mixture to be chilled, so if you're able to leave it for a few hours or overnight, that's your best bet.
- I used my KitchenAid ice cream maker and let it churn for 30 minutes. In the last five minutes, I added my chocolate chunks and a dash of salt. If you're making it plain, you don't need to add anything and just let it churn until it's good and... churned.
- Pour batter into a freezer-safe container and freeze for a couple hours if you want it to be soft-serve texture (or overnight, if you want to eat it after it's hardened).
- Scoop it into a bowl, plop it on top of a cone, sprinkle it with toppings or whipped cream and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.