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
Looks great Katie! My favourite snack is chia seed pudding at the moment! Also I got the new 365 Vegan Smoothies cookbook; I’ve been drinking one (or two) a day! I’m publishing a review and hosting a giveaway of the book next week that I hope you’ll consider entering!
I can imagine different ways to use the ice cream after making it whether it’s making an ice cream cake, in an ice cream float, on top of some pancakes or brownies, drizzled with some chocolate sauce or all by itself. The sooner I make myself a batch the sooner I can enjoy it : )
My personal recommendation is to follow recipes as indicated and if the ice cream or sorbet is too firm, take the frozen mixture out of the freezer 5 to 10 minutes (or longer) prior to scooping and serving. If you’re having a dinner party, mid-way through the meal, transfer the ice cream to the refrigerator and it should be fine by the time it’s ready to serve.
Oh this ice cream looks delicious!!
Wow!! Made this tonight; even my husband who *loves* dairy icecream gave this a literal thumbs up. He could not believe it was dairy-free. The texture is so creamy and rich. AND! I made it in a food processor–I have seen a few questions about that. HOWEVER…I did make an adjustment, so that it would turn out right. I have tried making soaked cashew cream in a food processor in the past, and it didn’t work…no matter how much I processed it, it just wouldn’t fully blend (the final product had little bits of cashews in it.) So, what I did instead was make cashew *butter* first. I used raw, organic cashews, and did not soak them. I used 1/2C cashew butter (since 1 C of cashews makes roughly 1/2 c cashew butter) and followed Katie’s other ingredient recommendations. For the milk portion I used 1/3 c coconut milk fat, and 1 cup carton coconut milk. (Also added an extra 2 TB of agave, in addition to the xylitol and stevia…we have a quite a few “sweet teeth” around here.) Even though I used coconut products in addition to the cashews, there was no coconut flavor in the icecream. There was definitely a mild cashew flavor…this was like “cashew vanilla” icecream, lol. Still very, very good. Also, since I didn’t have icecube trays, I poured the liquid icecream mixture into a 9″ glass pie pan and froze it. When it was ready I just chopped the icecream bits with a spoon and processed them briefly till smooth. The processed product was exactly like soft-serve in texture. We chose to freeze it for about 20 minutes after that in our bowls–and–*magic!* It was just like regular icecream in texture and creamyness. Since it got the hubby stamp of approval, we will be making this around here more often.
In answer to your snack question, right now my favorite is a Vitamix ice cream which was inspired by one of your recipes. My kids and I both love it. We choose one extra ingredient to add. So far it’s been nuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, Peppermint Patty candy, coconut, Heath bar sprinkles, chocolate chip cookie, oreo cookie. It’s nice because one cookie or one bite size candy goes a long way.
The search for the holy grail is over! I’ve tried various vegan ice creams from the different books available and while the taste has generally been good, the texture has tended not to be as creamy as “real” ice cream (despite using an ice cream machine).
I only had low-fat soya milk, but I had a carton of Alpro soya cream so I used that and topped it up with the soya milk. I added 1/4 tsp xanthan gum as that’s supposed to help with creaminess and airiness, plus I bumped the vanilla up to 2tsp.
The resulting ice cream was fab, with a super-creamy texture and absolutely no trace of iciness, so I think I’ll stick with the cream (not very healthy!) and I’m going to use this as the base to create other flavours now.
Can you use a food processor instead of a Vitamix or ice cream maker? Looks GREAT!
With a food processor, the nuts remain a little chunky, so the resulting ice cream would most likely have some grittiness to it.
I’ve been following your blog for over a year now and I love all your recipes! Even though I was never interested in becoming vegan, after stumbling on your blog and trying a lot of your recipes that are vegan I have decided to convert! Yesterday was my first day and so far I’m actually enjoying it and it’s not as hard as I thought it would be (although I am a little nervous to go back to college in the fall because my dining hall has almost zero vegetarian/vegan options).
Anyways, I just wanted to say that you have deeply inspired me and I look up to you and your blog. Thanks for continuing to most amazing creations!
Dear Chocolate Covered Katie,
This ice cream looks great! Can’t wait to try it with all this hot weather we’ve been having!
This may be the wrong area to post, but I have a recipe that I thought you would (or ANYBODY, for that matter) love. “Instant” Chocolate Avacado Pudding. It’s the best. I originally got this recipe from janetandgreta.com.
2 avacados, pitted and “peeled.”
6 Tablespoons cocoa powder
5 Tablespoons agave
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
Dump all ingredients into a food processor, turn it on, and watch the magic begin!! Process until PERFECTLY smooth. Satin smooth. Eat right then or store in fridge, try to share!! This makes a great dip for fruits, crackers, ect.