If you’re on a diet:
You will love this recipe because it makes a gigantic serving for only 40 calories. (Seriously, the serving is huge.) Who eats a 1/2 cup serving of ice cream anyways? 😕
If you’re not on a diet:
You will love this recipe because you can up the calories by making it into a brownie sundae, by pouring on chocolate syrup, or by opting for the peanut butter version. Yes, there is a peanut butter version.
Above: a sundae with a Chocolate Workout Brownie.
Highly recommend those brownies. As for the ice cream: it could not be easier to make, and there are unlimited variations—you can add coffee, mint extract, fruit, chocolate chips… I haven’t even begun to try out all the combinations I’ve dreamed up for this incredibly versatile recipe.
Volume Ice Cream
(Makes 1 huge serving)
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract (or about 1/4 of a vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise and scraped out)
- 1/16 tsp salt (trust me)
- sweetener (such as 1-2 stevia packets or 1-2 tbsp sugar)
- 1 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened Silk. See below for substitution notes.)
- optional: add-ins such as fruit, peanut butter, or extracts
Mix the ingredients together in 1 or 2 shallow plastic containers. Freeze. (You could also use an ice cube tray.) Once frozen, pop the blocks out of the container (I thaw for 30 seconds in the microwave first) and blend in your Vita-Mix. (If you don’t have a vita-mix, you’ll probably have to thaw longer, but you can still get a yummy ice milk.)
This ice cream—when made with almond milk—has a very light texture (perfect for summer). For a creamier texture that’s more like real ice cream, try using at least 1/4c canned coconut milk (or maybe even creamer?). You can, of course, also sub other non-dairy milks for the almond. But if you do this, play around with the amount of vanilla extract, sweetener, and add-ins. (For example, an already-sweetened milk will probably need less added sweetener.) To make it look like real ice cream, scoop out with an ice-cream scoop.
Warning:
This is an extremely voluminous recipe, so if you’re like me and need to watch that you don’t get full before you’ve taken in enough calories, I recommend eating this as part of a sundae or adding some extras to the basic recipe. ‘Cause it will fill you right up!
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Deep Dish Cookie Pie (Vegan, GF)
I tried the recipe but after i froze it, it was like ice! I don’t know what to do, I micro’d it and mixed it with a mixer but then it was liquid and ice chunks. Not creamy or anything at all. 🙁 I have no Vita mix, what can I do?
As it says in the recipe, you need to use a vita-mix for this recipe to be ice cream.
Well I made this yesterday afternoon, I do have to say that I do not own a Vita Mix, so what I did was mix the ingredients, left the container in the freezer and checked on it, until the mix was semi frozen. I took it out of the freezer poured the semi frozen mix into my Oster blender and re blended it until it was liquid again. I pured it back into the container and into the freezer. Today, I took it out of the freezer, I defrosted it for 30 seconds in the microwave, and checkd if it was the right texture, it needed 30 more seconds and it was perfect. The texture was just like regular ice cream!! I used Soy milk, vanilla and almond extract, 3 packets of Splenda sugar and that was it, I do recommend it! Thanks Katie!!!
great idea! thanks
Hi Katie, this looks so easy! Can’t find part of the attachment to my ice cream maker tonight so perhaps I will try the Vitamix method! I just linked to your ice cream recipe on my blog as a suggestion to go with baked apples.
aww thanks! Mmm baked apples sound really good!
Just doubled the batch and used my silicone brownie pan as did not have enough ice trays – looking forward to trying same. Have you ever added extracts to the vanilla “ice cubes” to make a different flavor? Since I have two servings now freezing was thinking I could make one huge serving of vanilla for a friend and add an extract – such as carmel – for me with the other serving.
I love your idea to use different extracts. I’ve not tried that, but I have done other flavors: https://lett-trim.today/baby-making/reader-recipes/vanilla-bean-ice-cream-nutritional-info/thumbnails-again/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Thanks for your quick response – it was looking at your other flavors that gave me the idea…figure I can make up a bunch of the vanilla basic “ice cubes” and then add different extracts or flavorings for each person’s favorite/request that particular day…appreciate the inspiration to experiment as a Vitamix newbie.
I just purchased a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker, and am anxious to use it..when making your icecream does coconut milk replace heavy cream in recipes?? So would I use equarl parts almond milk and coconut milk to achieve that ice cream texture?
or maybe i should say, “be the equivalent” to a cream? I am trying to achieve that soft serve icecream, using almond milk and not using heavy whipping cream (bc that defeats the purpose!!) Any suggestions to get that great ice cream texture is appreciated! Thanks!!
Sorry, I’m really confused as to what you’re asking :-?.
Does coconut milk help make the ice cream creamier like a whipping cream would? Just using almond milk I end up with more of a icey ..and I am trying to get a nice creamy ice cream. Make sense?!
Yes, if you use the full-fat canned type it will be much creamier :).
I’m going to try this tomorrow! Do you think, if I added some silken tofu if it would be creamier? Or, do you think your vegan greek yogurt would taste like ice cream if it were frozen?
I’ve never tried it, but edible experiments are always fun!
I tried this with my ice cream machine…pretty much just ice with milk in the middle :/ maybe there’s a way i can make it thicker….i think that’s the main issue
i made it with some pumpkin and spices though. once i got it to thaw, the flavor itself was pretty good!
Hey Katie! How long do you freeze it for? Is it okay if i put it in the container in the morning and did not check back on it until I got back from school? So like 7ish hours?
Sure. Just thaw before blending so your vita can handle it!
(Re-posting my question from a different recipe b/c this is the one I MEANT to post it on)
Katie, I have to ask your permission before doing this lol…
I was experimenting around with making low-calorie ice cream and I sort of…blended your idea with another one I’d heard of…and I want to post the recipe to my own not-very-popular recipe blog (weight watchers friendly recipes), but not w/out permission. Basically, I used almond milk, sliced bananas into the little dishes of almond milk, and froze it with sliced bananas in the milk…then blended THAT instead of just frozen milk? So it was creamier without the coconut milk.
I was planning to credit your blog along with the whole “frozen banana ice cream” idea in my post. Is that ok? Because freezing the almond milk was totally your idea, but I noticed you said that it was “foamy” if you used almond milk so…voila…add banana!
Aww you’re so sweet to even ask! Sure, go ahead!! 🙂
Yay! Thank you so much! 🙂
What I did for ice cream is i used your fudge-cicle recipe (sugar free) with only one banana and I froze THAT and used it to make delicious chocolate banana ice cream