The best vegan ice cream recipes for a dairy-free hit of your favorite gelato flavors and toppings. Delicious dessert flavor ideas including mint, chocolate, pistachio, and more.
Living dairy-free doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy ice cream. These dairy-free desserts all prove that there’s plenty of room for fun and experimentation when it comes to vegan ice cream recipes.
While there are more and more decent store-bought sorbets and gelatos available, going homemade is the best way to deliver the flavors, colors, and ingredients you’re craving. And the good news is that going homemade means the options are near limitless.
With classic flavors from chocolate to banana, and coconut to classic vanilla, there are plenty of opportunities to pack in a punch into each recipe. Find your new favorite ice cream recipe today.
Coconut & Pistachio Cones
These easy-to-prep ice cream cones pack in everything and are a great option for when you just can’t decide to get. With fruits, nuts, and (get ready for this) potato chips, there’s a crazy amount of texture and flavor going on in each bite.
Try This Recipe: Using store-bought dairy-free ice cream, these cones are all about the toppings. Combine toasted coconut, crumbled potato chips, and chopped pistachios to layer your dessert. It sounds like it doesn’t work but, trust us, it does.
Asian Pear Sorbet & Thyme
Infusing herbs into the mix might sound like it would work, but when paired with Asian pear and vanilla pods, it strikes a beautifully delicate balance. The fresh Asian pears elevate the deeper notes of thyme to create a truly nuanced dessert.
Try This Recipe: This easy Asian pear sorbet recipe uses just four ingredients. Allow the ingredients to steep and create a syrup before transferring to your kitchen ice cream maker. Simple.
Blackberry-Mango Sundae
For some true decadence, choose an all-American sundae. Blackberry and mango aren’t often combined, but the rich flavors of each fruit contrast nicely and serve as the perfect sauce to pour over your premade ice cream.
Try This Recipe: This blackberry and mango sundae sandwiches vanilla ice cream between two fruit sorbets before being drizzled in fruit syrup. Sprinkle with coconut and fresh blackberries for the perfect finish.
Basil-Berry Lemonade Sorbet
Mixed berries enhanced with pungent basil is unusual to find in any dessert, but the flavor combination works to great effect here.
Try This Recipe: This homemade sorbet uses just a handful of ingredients but to great effect. Create a light caramel before adding basil and puréed berries for a real flavor hit.
Tropical Avocado & Lime
Avocado may not be the first ingredient that springs to mind when you think of ice cream – but then again, why not?
The recipe also uses the juice of four limes plus some zest for some super-refreshing flavor. Perfect for a hot summer’s day.
It’s super simple to prepare too, and a great starter recipe if you’ve never made ice cream before.
No-Churn Banana & Coconut S’Mores
Frozen bananas and coconut cream are the key to this no-churn vegan take on s’mores ice cream.
The recipe gives a couple of variations you can use depending on time available. Either go all out with vegan chocolate fudge or simply use vegan choc chips.
Your ice cream, your choice!
Coconut Chocolate Chip
This vegan ice cream recipe is nice and easy and uses just six ingredients.
Made from coconut, bananas, chocolate, maple syrup and vanilla, it packs tons of flavor. It takes just four steps to make too.
You can even make the recipe paleo-friendly by using dark chocolate in place of vegan chocolate.
Green Tea Coconut
Green tea is another flavor I’d never have thought of for ice cream.
Paired with coconut milk, plus almond milk and dates, it’s creamy, sweet and packed with flavor.
As suggested in the recipe you just need to swap out the honey for raw sugar and you’ve got a great tasting vegan ice cream.
Mint Chocolate Chunk
Follow this recipe for a vegan take on mint chocolate ice cream and you’ll make everything from scratch, including the chocolate chunks.
But you’ll also have the glow of satisfaction you only get from doing it all.
Like many of the recipes listed here one of the principle ingredients is coconut milk. It also uses cashews and fresh mint for a flavor that really zings.
Almond Butter & Choc Chip
For another lovely creamy vegan ice cream try this recipe. It’s another no-churn recipe so no need for an ice cream maker either.
The base flavor comes from almond butter but it also uses dates, dried cherries and cocoa nibs – AKA broken up cocoa beans.
You simply mix the ingredients in a food processor and then freeze. It’s that easy and tastes great.
Chocolate Banana
If you think these recipes are too difficult then this one is for you.
Add chopped frozen bananas in a food processor with cocoa powder and blend.
When the mix looks like ice cream serve it immediately. It’s as simple as they come but tasty too!
Vanilla Peanut Butter Chunk
This tasty treat has a minimal list of ingredients. It contains coconut milk, coconut sugar, and vanilla bean for the ice cream mixture; vegan dark chocolate chips and coconut oil for the chocolate crunch; and plant-based peanut butter, ground dry roasted peanuts, and maple syrup for the chunks.
Mint Brownie
Both fresh mint and peppermint extract are used to give the ice cream an excellent flavor. The cashews and coconut milk give it a creamy texture. To make the raw brownie, only dates, walnuts, and cacao or cocoa powder are needed. Dates are high in potassium, and walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Chocolate & Coconut
This recipe requires only 30 minutes of prep time and uses just five ingredients: coconut cream or coconut milk, cocoa or cacao powder, dates, vanilla extract, and almond milk. Optional add-ins include espresso, cinnamon, and cacao nibs. Store it in the freezer for up to one week.
Cashew & Oat Milk
This three-ingredient ice cream uses almond milk, cashews, and maple syrup. Almond milk is low in calories, and many brands are fortified with calcium and Vitamin D, which help strengthen bones. Coconut milk or oat milk can also be used.
