Every chef has a few tricks up her sleeve apron.
One of mine is the Voluminous Oatmeal Trick.
Or the plump-up raisins trick, the melted-banana trick, and now: the “Sir Mix A Lot” ice cream trick. It might seem like making Vita-Mix ice cream is simple. Just throw a bunch of frozen fruit in the blender and go, right? But a lot of y’all have left comments lamenting the fact that your Vita-Mix ice cream attempts have turned out looking and tasting more like ice, slush, or soup. The problem? A lot of the Vita-Mix ice cream recipes I’ve seen call for a truckload of ice.
While this might make the finished product “look” like ice cream, the resulting flavor ends up tasting more like… well, ice, of course! Not exactly something to write home Ben&Jerry’s about. In general, it’s wise to be wary of any Vita-Mix ice cream recipes calling for tons of ice. There are two alternatives to making Vita-Mix ice cream that looks and tastes like the real thing (without all the “bad-for-you” ingredients). One is to use a bunch of frozen fruit, as opposed to ice.
For all of the different flavors, click here: Vitamix Ice Cream Recipes
Vitamix ice cream Trick
- Blend a smoothie (or you can even just mix some flavorings into milk).
- Pour the liquid into a bowl (or an ice cube tray works really well).
- Freeze, then remove from the bowl or tray and re-blend in the Vita-Mix (or your food processor or blender)
Two tips for any Vita-Mix ice cream:
1. Use an ice cream scoop (not a spoon) to serve, for a true “ice cream” look.
2. It helps to make at least 2 servings at once. You’ll get a creamier result.
Above, homemade Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream.
Wow! Now I really want ice cream LOL
I didn’t know you could make ice cream without an ice cream maker!
Great tips girl! The vita-mix is the best piece of equipment in our kitchen 😉 It gets used a lot! Ice cream is perfect for this time of the year, which reminds me I need to make some soon 🙂 xoxo
Yes well I have the Vita-Mix and it is a great piece of equipment in our kitchen. Good tips for making icecream!
Looks so yummy! I’ve yet to be courageous enough to try and make my own vegan ice cream yet! This looks do-able though!
sadly i don’t have a vitamix but all your ice cream looks delicious!
mmm…I do this with coffee ice cubes sometimes. It’s delish! Thanks for your tips!
Hi Katie – or other Vita users out there — can you use the VitaMix as a food processor too? Or is it mostly smoothies and soups and well, ice cream. Can it juice too?
Aw, how I wish I had a Vita-mix! 🙁
The only ice cream I’ve made in the vita was HEAB’s protein ice cream & it was good!! Another good trick to getting it thick are GUMS (xanthan & guar to be specific). Of course, you don’t have to go out & buy those but if you happen to have them lying around, they really help!
Erika,
I’m pretty sure it can do everything a food processor does. But honestly, I’ve not chopped/diced/juiced with it. I’ve only made ice cream, smoothies, and soups.
So I’ll pose the question in my post tomorrow for you :).
Hey Katie,
First, thanks for your suggestions on the raw cheesecake the other day (I emailed you). My parents are paranoid about my breaking the food processor and I think they didn’t let me blend the cashews enough, or idk..but I have found that you can get a great result using cashew butter (and it’s faster).
Second, as summer approaches, I am really looking forward to creating your vegan ice creams, especially since I don’t have an ice cream maker….however, I don’t have a Vita Mix, either…so will your recipes work in the plain old food processor??
Caroline,
You are so welcome!! And thank YOU for suggesting cashew butter. That might come in handy for me in the future, because I don’t always have cashews on hand (or sometimes I don’t think about wanting to make cheesecake far enough in advance to soak the cashews overnight). So I’ll definitely keep your trick in mind :).
As for the ice cream question: YES! You might have to add a little extra liquid (as I wrote in my instructions in the Chocolate-Covered Berry ice cream post), but it should work fine!