This homemade blender vegan vanilla ice cream is ultra-smooth and creamy and couldn't be easier to make. It is loaded with sweet vanilla flavor in every bite. Best of all, this quick and easy frozen dessert recipe is naturally sweetened, contains nutritious ingredients (including zucchini!) and is completely dairy-free.
Knowing how to make this delicious vegan vanilla ice cream is critical to summer survival! Really though, with just six nutritious ingredients and your blender you can have amazing no-churn creamy vanilla ice cream in no time. We are talking about five minutes of hands-on prep (and then, of course, time for it to solidify in your freezer).
The creamy ice cream base is infused with addictive sweet vanilla flavor in every bite. I almost called it "Vegan French Vanilla Ice Cream" because it is so rich and creamy, but I didn't want to scare anyone into thinking it might be complicated or fancy.
I know you guys are going to love this quick and satisfying recipe and I cannot wait for you to give it a try!
Ingredients for Homemade Non-Dairy Ice Cream
The simple ingredients in this recipe may surprise you. You will notice in the list below that there is no heavy cream or refined sugars - just nutrient-dense whole foods.
- zucchini – yes, really!
- coconut milk
- cashews
- coconut oil
- pure maple syrup
- pure vanilla extract
- fine salt
How to Make Creamy Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream
There is no need to go out and buy an ice cream machine - this homemade ice cream requires only a blender!
Simply add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend. Once it is smooth and creamy, pour the ice cream mixture into a loaf pan or any freezer-safe container.
Then, cover and freeze for 8 hours or overnight. That’s it! While you do have to wait for it to freeze, the actual hands-on time for this recipe is five minutes at most.
Serve a scoop of vanilla ice cream over a warm black bean brownie, use it for vegan ice cream sandwiches, or enjoy it solo topped with chocolate chips, fresh fruit, strawberry compote, blueberry compote or caramel sauce.
Zucchini in Ice Cream!?
I know most ice cream recipes don’t contain zucchini. But, the zucchini actually adds healthy creaminess to the recipe and sneaks in a bunch of beneficial nutrients. Plus, once you peel the zucchini it is white so it won't alter the ice cream color.
Zucchini has a mild and slightly sweet flavor profile, so you will not notice it at all in this homemade vegan ice cream recipe. And I don't just use it in ice cream... I also like to throw zucchini in my smoothies for its creamy texture and added nutrients!
Coconut Cream and Cashews for Creaminess
To achieve a soft serve consistency, I add coconut cream from canned full-fat coconut milk. It is so decadent and yet totally dairy-free. Readers often ask if this creates a strong coconut flavor, but it really doesn't. There may be a hint of it, but the predominant flavor really is the vanilla.
I also use raw cashews for creaminess. Cashews offer plant-based protein and are incredibly nutrient dense. They are considered an excellent source of copper and a good source of magnesium, manganese, vitamin K, phosphorous and zinc. It is no wonder that cashews are so beneficial for vegans.
I buy raw, unsalted cashews in the bulk section of my grocery store and store them in my refrigerator in a large airtight container. In the refrigerator cashews can last up to six months. They can actually last up to a year if you store them in your freezer.
Should I Soak My Cashews?
It depends on how powerful your blender is. My high-speed blender does a great job of making a creamy vegan ice cream without any soaking. Some people like to soak cashews in advance to make them easier to blend and also to make them more easily digestible. Soaking also helps make the nutrients more available.
If you do decide to soak, you can soak them in room temperature water overnight. Or, you can use a quick-soak method and cover them in boiling water for an hour or two. Either way you will want to drain and rinse the cashews before using in this recipe.
More Vegan Summer Desserts
- Ice cream or sorbet:
- Popsicles:
This non-dairy vanilla ice will be your new go-to secretly nutritious summer frozen dessert. It is naturally vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, peanut-free, legume-free, paleo-friendly and refined sugar-free so it works well for many types of diets.
I cannot wait for you to give this recipe a try! Let’s get blending!
Easy No-Churn Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream (Made with Zucchini!)
- Total Time: 5
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This homemade blender vegan vanilla ice cream is ultra-smooth and creamy and couldn't be easier to make. It is loaded with sweet vanilla flavor in every bite. Best of all, this quick and easy frozen dessert recipe is naturally sweetened, contains nutritious ingredients (including zucchini!) and is completely dairy-free.
Ingredients
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk - white solid coconut cream portion only*
- 1 cup raw unsalted cashews (soaking in advance is optional**)
- 1 large zucchini, ends removed, peeled and chopped (2 cups when chopped)
- ¾ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- 1.5 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredient to a high-speed blender. Be sure to only use the solid white coconut cream from the canned coconut milk. See notes below.
- Blend starting on the lowest speed and slowly increase to the highest speed. Stay on the highest speed for 60 seconds until smooth and creamy. If your blender is having trouble blending, use the tamper/plunger to safely push the contents into the blades while it is blending. If you do not have a tamper or plunger, then you will have to stop and scrape down the sides throughout the blending process to ensure all ingredients get incorporated properly.
- Pour the ice cream into an 8 x 4 loaf pan or freezer-friendly container. Cover and freeze for 8 hours or overnight.
- Before scooping, remove the loaf pan from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. You can also place the bottom of the loaf pan in warm water to speed up the process. Scoop and serve like you would regular ice cream. Top with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or fresh mint if desired. I love to add my homemade vegan caramel sauce overtop!
Notes
*For this recipe, we are only using the solid white coconut cream from the can of full-fat coconut milk. In order to easily separate the coconut cream from the coconut water, place the can in your refrigerator the day before you plan to make this recipe. The solid white coconut cream will naturally float to the top of the can. When you open the can, you should be able to easily use a spoon to scoop out just the coconut cream, leaving the coconut water behind (you can save the coconut water for smoothies or popsicles). I usually get about 1 cup of coconut cream out of one can of coconut milk.
**Soaking your cashews in advance will make them extra creamy, less gritty and more easily digestible. Soaking cashews also helps to make the nutrients more available. You can soak in water overnight or do a quick soak using boiling water for an hour or two. Drain and rinse before using in this recipe. Measure out the cashews before soaking since they will swell and measure differently post-soak.
- Prep Time: 5
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Blender + Freezer
Whitney Mullenax says
YUM! I made this yesterday and currently have it sitting out on the counter to thaw for another sugar cone treat! It is definitely creamy and tastes great! Of course I added sprinkles. My husband liked as well!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much! I'm SO happy to hear this! You jumped on this one quickly :). Good job! Glad your hubby loves it too! XO
Melinda says
I tried making this today, but it turned out looking almost like cottage cheese! I took a taste and could tell it would be delicious, but can't deal with the texture. I used my ninja blender, so I couldn't start blending slow then increase speed. Could that be what happened? Also, I forgot to put the coconut milk in the fridge the night before, so ended up using it "un-separated". Could that have caused the issue? Any ideas are appreciated...I'd really like to try this again!
Elaine Gordon says
Oh no! I'm so sad to hear this... My immediately thought is the cashews might need to be soaked for longer - how long did you soak them for? I'm not familiar with the ninja blender but is it a high-powered one? That also helps. I also let it run for at least a minute and by the time it is finished it is silky smooth (and hot). Regarding the coconut milk, were you using full-fat? Did you chill it in advance? Did you only use the coconut cream solid white portion (not the liquid cloudy coconut water portion)? Please let me know - that could all impact the texture.
kim says
you didn’t follow directions. that’s what happened.
Mary McIsaac says
Mine also looked a little like cottage cheese. I think it’s the Ninja blender. It’s just not powerful enough. I had to blend it in batches and it blended a bit smoother. I’m making the mint chocolate chip next so I’m going to try my food processor and see if that works better.
Elaine Gordon says
Hi Mary: Yes, definitely the blender. I do not recommend using a food processor for any of my ice cream recipes. The texture will not be good. I did a review of blenders at every price point and made recommendations for each range here: https://www.eatingbyelaine.com/blenders-at-every-budget/ - the Ninja blender that I tested was one of the worst blenders I've ever tried. I'm so sorry to share that but wanted you to know so you could get a good quality blender. It makes a huge difference in recipe results. Please let me know if you have any questions. Best, Elaine
Sara says
Unmmmmmmm it’s better than dairy ice cream. Best desert EVER!
Elaine Gordon says
Haha! Yes, I agree! And thank you SO much! So happy to loved it! XO
Chantel says
Wow, this recipe is a keeper! My whole family loved it!
I boiled my cashews for about 20 minutes only and they blended very well.
Froze for 5 hours and scraped all the sides that were frozen. The middle was still soft so we will save that for tomorrow.
Seriously, this recipe is great and I love that my children really like it. They added crushed up cones for some crunch.
Yummy!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you, Chantel! So happy to hear you and your entire family (including your kids) loved it so much! And thanks for providing details about your experience making it - always helpful to other readers! Love the addition of the crushed up cones for some crunch - how fun! Happy New Year to you and your family! 🙂
Shelley says
Hi Elaine, have you ever tried using oat cream instead of the coconut milk? I made this yesterday and it is amazing but I would love to see if I can get more of a vanilla flavour. Either way it’s a new favourite for us! Thanks for the recipe ?
Elaine Gordon says
Hi Shelley, I'm so happy you loved the recipe! For more vanilla flavor I would suggest adding fresh. vanilla bean :). I have not used oat cream... my only concern is that oat cream isn't solid when frozen like the coconut milk is. Coconut milk is made of coconut water and coconut solids and when frozen it gets an ice cream like texture that is not icy. It is super creamy and solid. That is why I use it in this recipe. If you want to try and mask the coconut flavor you could also add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. It works really well here! Please let me know if you have any questions. And please let me know what you end up doing and how you like it! Thanks!
Lynette Gibson McElhaney says
Elaine,
Thank you for this super simple delicious recipe! I made this for my lactose-intolerant, diabetic husband who absolutely loved it. I soaked the cashews overnight and used refrigerated coconut cream. Mine did not come out as white as your picture but it was delicious. On Day 1 we served it after about 7 hours in the freezer. It served up soft-serve like old-fashioned homemade ice cream. The next day I served it to my teenaged, junk-food addicted grandsons to rave reviews. (I didn’t tell anyone about the zucchini. Based on your suggestion above, I’’ll add the almond extract next time. ?
Now I need a nut-free version for my niece! But this now replaces my churned at home vanilla as our staple dessert.
I’m so glad I found your website. I’ve shared it multiple times with friends and family.
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Lynette! I'm so happy to hear how much you enjoyed this recipe. It is one of my go-to summer dessert recipes for sure! I'm wondering what might have caused the ice cream to not come out as white... I personally have not had that issue... but maybe your cashews were a bit darker in color than mine? Hard to say... did you adjust anything about the recipe?
Yes, making a nut-free one would be great! You can always try my Chocolate Nice Cream recipe for your niece (that is nut-free) although not as authentic of an ice cream since it is made from bananas. But my kids absolutely love it! Here is the link: https://www.eatingbyelaine.com/no-churn-vegan-chocolate-banana-ice-cream/
You could try using more coconut cream in place of the cashews... if you do please let me know if that works for you. I might try experimenting this summer as well!
Thank you so much for sharing my website with your loved ones! That means so much to me :).
Best, Elaine
Tessa says
This recipe was a disaster! The flavor was decent but the cashews ruined it. The texture was gritty with tiny chunks of cashews since I couldn't get all the cashews blended. It looked like oatmeal and my whole non-lactose intolerant family was mocking me! ???? I also believe you were deceiving us with the picture of white ice cream. With the cashews and brown maple syrup there's no way it could possibly be white. It was tan. I don't know what I did wrong, or how so many people liked it. I think I'll still be sticking with vegan dilly bars, even though I wanted something new.
Elaine Gordon says
Hi, Tessa: I'm so sorry to hear about this entire experience for you. This is one of my favorite recipes of all time and I feel so awful it wasted your time, energy and disappointed your family. That is the worst. I aim to make my recipes simple and approachable for all.
A couple of troubleshooting questions I have in case you want to ever try this one again: What kind of blender were you using? It is important for recipes like this to use a high speed blender.
Second, How long did you soak the cashews for? I have an entire post devoted to the importance of properly soaking cashews (and why to do it) when using them in non-dairy recipes like this one: https://www.eatingbyelaine.com/how-and-why-to-soak-cashews-properly-overnight-and-quick-soak-method/ - it is probably the most important factor for this recipe. When cashews soak in water they absorb the water and swell. If you use cashews that are not properly soak the recipe will not be smooth and creamy.
Finally, how long did you blend the ingredients for? It is important to blend for 60 seconds on the highest speed to get a smooth, creamy texture.
As for the color, the pictures were not altered in any way. For me, when properly soaked and properly blended this is what it looks like when frozen.
Again I'm so sorry for your difficulties. I'm happy to continue to conversation with you as this recipe has been life-changing for me and many of my friends and family members who have tried it.
If you ever do try it again please come back and have positive results please do let me know.
Best, Elaine
Deanna says
Unfortunately this did not turn out well for me 🙁 When I blended it up it was like the coconut oil separated and it never blended into a smooth consistency. This has happened to me before with another recipe using maple syrup and melted coconut oil and I'm wondering if it's because my maple syrup is cold and the coconut oil is warm/room temp?? I'm not sure what it could be!!
Elaine Gordon says
Hi Deanna, I'm so sad to hear this didn't work out for you. I have never had this happen. I have used chilled and room temperature maple syrup and I didn't have this result. Was the coconut oil fully melted for you when you added it? It might be worth trying room temperature next time just to be safe... what sort of climate are you in?
Joyce Wallace says
This is my second time making this recipe. My daughter is a total vegan and hates zucchini. I surprised her with this recipe using zucchini from my garden. As expected, she loves it! She now makes it for herself. I made it today and used agave nectar because I was running short on maple syrup. Still tasted great. Today, I made ice cream sandwiches with it. They are hanging out in my freezer. Can't wait to try them later on today. This is my all-time favorite vegan ice cream recipe! Thank you.
Elaine Gordon says
Wow thank you so much, Joyce! This is such a thoughtful, detailed review and I so appreciate you taking the time. Thank you! Also be sure to check out my newest ice cream recipe here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu9zw9tN0Ev/ Best, Elaine
Milla says
Hi will it work with japanese cucumber instead of a zucchini?
Elaine Gordon says
Hi, Milla. Unfortunately, no I would not recommend using a cucumber in place of the zucchini. It would be a different texture and flavor. Zucchini is flavorless so they work great in this recipe and they also add a creamy texture. Best, Elaine
Danielle says
Soo soon happy I stumbled upon your site! I can't wait to try this!!! Need to get more cashews, have you tried with other nuts like almond?
Elaine Gordon says
Aw thank you, Danielle! I'm happy you stumbled upon my site as well 🙂 Welcome! If you go with almonds I would recommend raw blanched slivered almonds only. You don't want sliced almonds with the skin on here. And definitely not roasted or salted. It might measure slightly different since they are shaped different. Another option might be macadamia nuts. The goal is a creamy neutral tasting white nut with no skin. Please LMK how it goes if you experiment with anything else here. Best, Elaine
Marianne says
This was delicious! Thank you for developing such wonderful healthy recipes👍
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Marianne! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this one and my other recipes as well! Best, Elaine
Jackie says
I don't know what kind of magic goes into this recipe but it is AMAZING. Followed the recipe exactly and my whole family devoured it with some berry cobbler. This is a keeper for sure!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Jackie! I'm so happy to her you and your family enjoyed this one so much! Sounds delicious with that berry cobbler! Perfect pairing!
Zoe says
do you use sweetened coconut milk or unsweetened?
Elaine Gordon says
Hi, Zoe: Unsweetened coconut milk - full fat. I hope that helps! Best, Elaine
Spillt User says
AT says
The ice cream was creamy and delicious!!! Thank you for sharing!!
I made a few substitutes because I eat foods with fiber, no sodium and no oil.
I used date syrup, coconut butter and “no salt”
The consistency and flavor were perfect! However, the color was a cappuccino color instead of white.
Elaine Gordon says
Hi! I would saw the color may have been impacted by your recipe substitutions. Also, it could depend on your biender. A high speed blender really obliterates the cashews and gives the final product a whiter color.
AT says
You’re right! I also missed the step of peeling the zucchini, so I’m sure that impacted the color.
Thank you again for sharing your recipe 😊
Elaine Gordon says
Yes, that definitely would impact the color. Thank you for letting me know. I'm glad you enjoyed!
Alicia says
Has anyone tried using just plain sugar instead of maple syrup? Wondering if to use equal or less amounts. TIA 🙂
Otherwise, I’ve made this recipe previously and it was amazing! Except we found the vanilla extract made it very “vodka” tasting. Going to try real vanilla pods instead.
Elaine Gordon says
Hi: Thank you for the five star review! So happy you enjoyed. You would need a liquid sweetener in order to get it to blend so I would not recommend that swap. Also the alcohol in the vanilla extract helps make it creamy - maybe you could reduce slightly though and vanilla bean powder.
Please let me know if you have any more questions. Best, Elaine
Lisa says
Hi Elaine, could I omit maple syrup and substitute a tiny scoop of stevia powder instead?
Elaine Gordon says
Hi Lisa: In this recipe you would need to substitute another LIQUID sweetener so agave or honey potentially could work here but not powdered stevia.