Here’s my latest favorite dairy-free vanilla ice cream. It’s super creamy, and dotted throughout with vanilla seeds. It hardly lasts more than 24 hours in my freezer. Because of this recipe, I stock tons of coconut milk and cashews in my kitchen pantry. I love to use paper ice cream containers to store the ice cream in the freezer, giving me an authentic ice cream takeout experience.

The recipe contains the trick to getting this ice cream creamy. Part of the method is to use an ice cream maker, but see the recipe notes for alternatives if you don’t have an ice cream maker. I have a Kitchen Aid Mixer ice cream maker attachment but any ice cream maker will work.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Vanilla Cashew Coconut Ice Cream

The trick to getting this creamy is to melt the coconut oil and add it to the soaked cashews and full fat coconut milk at room temperature. Then blending the ingredients at room temperature in a high speed blender helps the fats emulsify well (mix together easily) and the cashews are completely blended as well.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can leave the mixture in your blender and take it in and out of freezer every 15 minutes, mix for a bit on a low speed, and put it back in the freezer. Repeat this over the course of an hour or so and then transfer the ice cream to be stored.

Another option is to transfer the mixture from the blender directly to the freezer. It won't be as creamy and may have some ice due to separation of the fat from the liquid, but it will still taste good.

I use paper ice cream containers This recipe fills 2 pint so I use two 16 ounce containers to hold the ice cream from this recipe.

My current favorite coconut milk versions are Native Forest (no guar gum) and Aroy-D.

For those who prefer to avoid coconut oil, I've also made this without it and the ice cream is still very creamy.

Another trick to getting creamy ice cream is to add a bit of alcohol to it. If your vanilla extract is alcohol based, then add a bit extra or add it along with the vanilla beans. It might take a bit longer to turn to ice cream while in the ice cream maker, but it will be creamy once it is fully frozen.

Servings: scoops (about 2 pints)

Calories: 268kcal

Equipment

High speed blender
Ice cream maker is recommended

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews soaked in very hot water for at least 20 minutes
2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
13.5 ounces coconut milk full fat version at room temperature
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean powder or sub with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; or add both

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Blend the cashews, coconut milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla powder in a high speed blender until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
Add the mixture to your ice cream maker and process into ice cream. If you don't have an ice cream maker, see my recipe notes.
Place the ice cream into sealed containers and store in the freezer for 1 to 3 hours to serve soft, or store in the freezer for a few weeks. I store my ice cream in paper ice cream containers.
To serve, take the ice cream out of the freezer to soften for a few minutes.