This dairy free and vegan cashew ice cream recipe is ultra creamy and delicious!
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The best cashew ice cream recipe
If you’ve been disappointed by dairy free ice cream in the past, prepare to be amazed by the incredibly rich and creamy texture of this homemade cashew ice cream.
Unlike many other store brands or vegan ice cream recipes, this one isn’t the slightest bit hard or icy, and it really and truly does taste just like real ice cream!
This very well might be the best vegan ice cream you will ever try.
Also make these Vegan Brownies
Vegan cashew ice cream flavors
Salted Caramel Ice Cream: For caramel cashew ice cream, add 1/4 teaspoon of caramel extract to the ingredients before blending.
Cookie Dough Ice Cream: Make just the dough for Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. Break off pieces and stir them into the ice cream right before serving.
Peppermint Ice Cream: Add half a teaspoon of pure peppermint extract at the very beginning, or increase to one teaspoon for a stronger mint flavor. For mint chocolate chip ice cream, add a handful of mini chocolate chips at the end.
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream: In addition to the vanilla extract in the recipe, also add half a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or the seeds from one vanilla bean.
Nutella Ice Cream: Blend in a fourth cup of this vegan Homemade Nutella.
Chocolate Cashew Ice Cream: When stirring all the ingredients together, add a fourth cup of unsweetened cocoa powder and two additional tablespoons of sweetener.
Peanut Butter Ice Cream: Blend in a fourth cup of peanut butter or almond butter. Top with sliced bananas and dark chocolate syrup for a cashew ice cream sundae.
Cinnamon Snickerdoodle Ice Cream: Add half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon before churning. If desired, stir in the dough from these Vegan Sugar Cookies.
Coffee Ice Cream: Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons of instant coffee granules before blending. For mocha ice cream, add a fourth cup of cocoa powder and two additional tablespoons sweetener of choice.
Other Flavors: Feel free to play around with different add-ins and toppings, such as raisins and oats for oatmeal raisin ice cream, chopped strawberries for strawberry ice cream, or cherries, raspberries, matcha, mango, avocado, shredded coconut, or Oreos to create your own cookies and cream ice cream.
Watch the cashew ice cream recipe video
Step-by-step recipe video, above
Ingredients for cashew ice cream
You need just five ingredients to make this easy recipe.
There’s no dairy, no eggs, and no heavy cream. And in contrast to many other cashew ice cream recipes, it can be made with no coconut milk.
So there’s no overbearing coconut aftertaste in the finished product and it can be low in saturated fat. (Full calories and nutrition facts are included below.)
All you need to make the recipe are raw cashews, non dairy milk of choice, sweetener of choice, a pinch of salt, and pure vanilla extract.
Pretty much any milk will work here, including oat milk, soy milk, cashew milk, coconutmilk, sunflower milk, macadamia nut milk, or almond milk.
The recipe works with granulated sugar, unrefined coconut sugar, or liquid sweeteners like pure maple syrup, honey (not vegan), and agave.
For sugar free cashew ice cream, use xylitol or try this Keto Ice Cream.
And yes, you can substitute other nuts for some or all of the cashews. I especially love the recipe with raw soaked macadamia nuts or pistachios.
If you try roasted cashews or salted cashews instead of raw ones, be sure to report back with results, because we have not tried these substitutions yet.
Leftover cashews? Make Vegan Mac and Cheese
How to make dairy free cashew ice cream
Gather all of your ice cream ingredients.
In a medium mixing bowl, cover the nuts with water. Let them soak for about five to eight hours. Then drain and pat fully dry with cloth or paper towels.
Add all ingredients to a high speed blender, like a Vitamix or Blendtec. Process on high until completely smooth.
Blender Ice Cream Method
Pour the blended mixture into ice cube trays, and freeze until solid.
Once frozen, pop the ice cubes back into the blender. Blend on high, using the machine’s tamper to press down until it achieves a soft serve ice cream texture.
Scoop out into bowls. Either eat immediately, or freeze each bowl for up to an hour for a firmer texture similar to that of premium ice cream.
Ice Cream Machine Method
Prepare your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions for your particular model and brand.
After blending the cashews with the other ingredients, pour the blended mix into your chilled ice cream machine, and churn until it reaches a thick and smooth texture.
Scoop into individual bowls, and enjoy as cashew soft serve or freeze for up to an hour for firmer ice cream.
Plant based ice cream tips and tricks
For the most authentic ice cream presentation, I recommend using an ice cream scoop instead of a spoon to scoop the ice cream out of the blender and into bowls.
If you are using the ice cream machine option, keep in mind that many ice cream machines, including Cuisinart, require freezing the bowl for at least 48 hours prior to churning. If you have space in your freezer, you can store a bowl in there at all times, allowing you to make instant ice cream whenever you wish.
If you prefer to make the no churn ice cream with a carton of cashewmilk instead of raw cashews, use the following recipe for homemade Almond Milk Ice Cream, substituting cashewmilk for all of the almondmilk.
Due to the lack of preservatives and stabilizers in this healthy cream, it tastes best the day you make it. However, you can freeze leftovers for up to a month.
It is best to portion out the ice cream into individual bowls before freezing. Then remove a bowl from the freezer for fifteen to twenty minutes before eating. It will thaw back into a smooth ice cream.
Cashew milk ice cream brands
Nowadays, you can find vegan ice cream in almost any grocery store.
This includes options from fully vegan companies like Nada Moo and Oatly, as well as from large traditional brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Breyer’s, Halo Top, and Haagen Dazs.
However, most of the dairy free options on the market are made with coconut milk, almond milk, or oat milk. And many of their ingredient lists include corn syrup, artificial flavors, and preservatives.
Buying plant based ice cream can also be expensive, with some pints selling for over twelve dollars each!
For these reasons, I recommend making your own cashew ice cream at home. The best part is that you get to control the ingredients to add and what flavors to make.
If you do want to buy cashew ice cream, both Van Leeuwen and So Delicious Dairy Free offer pints for sale in stores like Whole Foods, Wegmans, and Target.
I am extremely picky about vegan ice cream and dislike many of the options out there. But the So Delicious dark chocolate truffle cashewmilk ice cream is rich, creamy, and absolutely worth the occasional splurge, especially when it goes on sale!
Other Vegan Frozen Desserts
The recipe was adapted from Pistachio Ice Cream in my Hello Breakfast Cookbook.
Cashew Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts
- 1 1/3 cup milk of choice
- 5 tbsp sweetener of choice
- 1/8 tsp salt (heaping)
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Cover the nuts with water, and let soak for around six hours. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Blend all ingredients until completely smooth in a high speed blender. Pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze until solid. Once frozen, blend the frozen cubes on high, using the machine's tamper, until it achieves a soft serve texture. For authentic presentation, I like to scoop the cashew ice cream into bowls with an ice cream scoop. Eat right away, or freeze each bowl for up to an hour for a firmer ice cream consistency. You can also make the recipe in an ice cream maker (see ice cream machine how-to instructions above). Or you can freeze the mixture in popsicle molds for delicious cashew ice cream popsicles!View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Nondairy Dessert Recipes
This recipe does sound really good. (I don’t have a vitamin or ice cream maker, or popsicle molds, so I should have fun making this – I wonder if a food processor would work, or perhaps my blender on food processor speed?)
My very favorite snack at this moment is a Greek yogurt chocolate mousse (1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa, ½ tsp stevia, mix together & freeze for about 45 minutes). It’s not vegan, but it is simple and tastes wonderful. I put in about 2.5 tsp. evaporated cane juice in place of the stevia for my husband’s snack.
It will probably not be strong enough to blend the ice cubes into ice cream. But you could try thawing them extra and then blending to maybe make a nice soft serve. If you try it, definitely let me know how it goes!
I get you Susan, about your favorite snack. I added one heaping tablespoon of cacao powder and emptied one envelope of the no sugar added Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix to a single serve cup of nonfat Greek yogurt and it will have a full consistency of a mousse without the freezer. I didn’t have access to a freezer at the time. This trick was a huge help for me during phases 2 & 3 of the HCG diet I was on. I enjoyed a full cup on phase 3. But on the calorie restricted phase 2, I only allowed myself no more than 2 tablespoons at a time, as the HCG diet is extremely unforgiving of deviations. It was my little chocolate “oasis” to get me through the diet “desert”. The whole “never trust a skinny cook” to me is BS. I used to be a pastry chef, having to make dozens of quality checks a day adds up to ridiculous amounts of food, which equals ridiculous weight gain, it taught me to scale the samples way down and “find the banquet in the spoon”, take that moment to block everything out and immerse your senses in that little experience, physically and psychologically, to where less turns into more. Every quality check I mentally placed myself as a customer experiencing it for the first time. Whereas fat cooks make you wonder how much of your inventory they are “quality checking” ha ha.
My favorite snack (and bfast) right now is this strawberry ice cream thingy with a frozen chocolate base . SO GOOD!!!! It was one one of those kitchen accidents that became a hit!
Here’s the recipe (you must try!)
Chocolate base:
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. coconut oil
2 tsp (or more) honey (raw or regular- i prefer raw. Maple syrup works too)
Put all in a bowl and use the back of a spoon to combine (will take a minute or so if oil not liquefied). Spread mixture out on bottom of bowl and set aside.
“Ice cream”
I frozen banana
3 frozen strawberries
pinch of salt (I use Himalayan)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1tbsp of cashew/almond butter (optional to take away the aftertaste that a frozen banana can sometimes have
Process in a food processor until it becomes an ice cream-like texture.
Scoop and spread onto chocolate base. The base will freeze instantly, so you get yummy chocolate chunks!
I imagine this would be good with a pb ice cream, too!
Sarah! I just took a screen shot of your recipe to save it for future reference. I make my ice cream the same way but LOVE the idea of the chocolate crust! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I hope to make it this weekend. Mind if I share it on The Veggie Train facebook page?
This looks amazing!!!!
This is probably a stupid question: But why pat the soaked nuts dry before putting them into the blender, when they are just going to be mixed with some milk of choice in the blender anyway? It seems like an unnecessary step — but maybe I am missing something.
Anyway, I am eager to try this!! Yum!!
You don’t want any of the soaking water included, as that’ll make it icy.
Hm. That sort of makes sense. But, still, I’m thinking that water is an ingredient in pretty much all milks, dairy or non-dairy, so soaking water on the cashews just seems to me like more of the same stuff that is in the milk.
Oh well. Now the scientist in me is curious to try the recipe both ways and compare. 🙂
I can’t believe how much this looks like the real thing.
I’ve made cashew ice cream before, but it always comes out with a yellowish hint.
Perfect treat for the hot Summer days we’ve been getting 🙂
My favorite Snack right now – is probably this vegan pumpkin fudge I’ve been making. So tasty.
I’ll have to try this version of vegan ice creams. I swear by Hannah Kaminsky’s book, “Vegan a la Mode.” Those vegan ice creams will fool anyone into thinking they are regular, non-vegan batches.
I’ll have to make this in order to believe it! Haha. Because like you, I’m not the biggest fan of non-dairy ice creams…with the exception of Coconut Bliss! Most of the others just taste…weird. I love that you use cashews, though. It’s the soy ice creams that are the worst! Yuck.
This looks amazing! I have been looking for new ice cream recipe to try out. This one looks delish. Thanks for sharing 🙂
My favorite snack is currently dark chocolate chips. I’d say this ice cream too if I had it in my kitchen. 🙂
Yum! Love that it’s healthy too 🙂 Favorite snack- probably popcorn.
This looks so creamy and perfect! I’ve been seeing ice cream recipes using nuts around the web but none look as creamy as this! I can’t wait to try it. 🙂