This no-churn chocolate coconut milk ice cream is so rich and creamy that you’d never guess it’s vegan and paleo! Almond butter adds creaminess to the texture and raw cacao plus pure maple syrup give this coconut milk ice cream a rich dark chocolate flavor. Dairy-free, soy free, refined-sugar-free, easy to make!
I actually started experimenting with this chocolate ice cream recipe right after posting my easy chocolate pudding. I had tons of pudding leftover and decided to play around with it and see what sort of spin I could put on it to turn it into something totally different but equally delicious.
Ice cream seemed like a logical next step, don’t you think? Rich and creamy chocolate pudding turned into rich and creamy chocolate ice cream. Goals: a.) make it no-churn (I have a couple of ice cream recipes coming up that are do-churn) b.) make it vegan c.) make it easy.
For any of you who’ve played around with no-churn ice cream, you probably understand that the biggest dilemma is the “cream” part, not the ice part. In other words, no churn ice cream can easily turn into an icy mess that no one really wants a part of (okay fine, I’ve eaten every no-churn nightmare without complaints. So there.) But anyway, the creamy factor was important here, so I decided to start testing small batches to see what would happen.
My first small batch wound up being surprisingly so good, however, since I had made it straight from the chocolate pudding, my job now was to figure out how to make it taste like that from scratch. Since my last goal was to make it EASY, I wasn’t about to have you all making chocolate pudding FIRST, and then turning it into ice cream from there.
Although honestly, that’s kind of what you’re doing here, for the most part. But no worries at all – the prep/cook time is just about 15 minutes, and the rest is mostly hands off, with the exception of optional stirring the mixture a couple of times while it’s in the freezer. If you’re making it before bedtime though and want to freeze it overnight, you don’t need to worry about ruining it – it will still be good after thawing on the countertop for about 20 minutes.
The photos I took here were actually after me simply letting the ice cream freeze overnight with no stirring, and then letting it thaw on the counter while I set up my camera equipment and scene (15-20 minutes). So, you can see the stirring isn’t totally necessary for a creamy texture.
The addition of almond butter is really the key here – I added 6 Tbsp total to the ice cream, so, you don’t completely TASTE it, although it does add a pleasantly nutty undertone to the dark chocolate flavor. You can actually use any creamy nut butter that you prefer, even peanut butter if you go that way. In fact, peanut butter would be QUITE delicious here. If you want to really limit any nut-butter flavor though, cashew or almond butter are the way to go.
As for toppings, it’s all up to you. I found it really rich and delicious all on its own, but since I’m a topping fanatic I added some Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels to mine and I was in actual heaven. Any nut butter, chocolate fudge sauce or coconut whipped cream would be other insanely delicious toppings! I think it’s time now, grab your coconut milk and let’s make this ice cream!
Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream {No-Churn, Paleo, Vegan}
Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream {No-Churn, Paleo, Vegan}
Ingredients
- 2-14 oz cans full fat coconut milk I highly recommend Thai Kitchen!
- 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder sifted (unsweetened cocoa powder is fine too)
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch*
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 6 Tbsp creamy almond butter unsalted (or any creamy unsalted nut butter)
Instructions
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In a medium saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk with the cacao powder, tapioca*, and maple syrup. Heat the mixture over medium heat and cook while stirring with the whisk for about 5-10 minutes until the mixture just begins to bubble. Remove from heat, then whisk in the almond butter, vanilla and sea salt until fully combined and smooth.
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Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes, stirring. A film might begin to form on top - this is normal, simply whisk to blend it away.
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Transfer the mixture to a medium loaf pan (I used an 8.5 x 4.5} and cover the top with plastic wrap so the plastic is in full contact with the mixture. wrap again tightly with aluminum foil and place in the freezer, freeze 6 hours or overnight.**
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As with most homemade no-churn ice creams, once fully frozen, you will need to allow it to thaw on the countertop for 15-30 minutes prior to scooping. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*This thickens the chocolate mixture and adds creaminess to the final product, however, it can be omitted if you prefer.
**For even freezing and a creamier finish, I recommend gently stirring your ice cream twice while it's freezing - after 2 and 4 hours. However, it will still be good even if you simply let it freeze overnight without touching it.
Nutrition
What I Used to Make My Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream:
Want More Paleo and Vegan Ice Cream Recipes? Try One of These!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream {“Nice” Cream, No-Churn}
Almond Butter Fudge Ice Cream {No-Churn}
Chocolate Chip Espresso Ice Cream
Sunflower Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches
Tell Me!
Chocolate or Vanilla? Favorite ice cream add-ins?
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I have organic maple syrup and is that different than pure maple syrup? How can that not cause weight gain. It has 56 g of sugar. Thanks
It’s basically the same thing. I don’t think I ever mentioned anything regarding weight gain, obviously this recipe is a treat that contains sugar, even if unrefined, so if you need a recipe that’s sugar free you can either try subbing with stevia or something else, or look for a sugar-free and low carb ice cream recipe.
Are the listed nutrition facts per serving or for the entire recipe?? Thanks! Can’t wait to try!
WOAH! You mastered the no churn Michele, and I definitely pinned this, as making non dairy icecream is so much cheaper than buying it.
Hi Michelle – do you think that making this with an ice cream maker would yield the same (or better) results? Thank you!
P.S. So sorry I spelled your name wrong!
If you have an ice cream go for it! I haven’t tried it but I can’t see it being a problem. One thing is you’ll have to cool the mixture completely in the refrigerator and then whisk it before churning, otherwise you’re good to go.
Delicious and easy to make! Made it for my chocoholic husband who could not believe that this recipe had no dairy in it! It is so creamy and rich! I was amazed at the flavor because I knew it wasn’t that hard to make!
Thrilled you guys enjoyed it!
Would coconut cream work or is this a coconut milk-only recipe? Thanks!
Hi! I was wondering if this recipe could be made with almond milk or cashew milk. I really don’t like anything coconut. Yet, it seems to br in most recipes.
I don’t think so because you need the fat content of the coconut milk for the creaminess. You’d have to add a banana and some almond butter to make up for it. I have an ice cream recipe that uses almond milk here:
My mommy says this is the best
dairy free ice cream ever.
THANK YOU
This dairy free ice cream is great! It it also really quick to make! My twin sister and I really like helping our mommy make it! Thank you!
What if anything can you use if you don’t have tapioca starch? It’s the only thing I don’t have for this recipe.
The tapioca thickens it a little but it’s not a total deal breaker, so you can make it without, OR if you have arrowroot starch that works the same way.
Thank You, can’t wait to try this.
Oh em gee, this recipe is to die for! It’s so decadent you’ll forget there’s no dairy in it! I pulsed 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips in the food processor and added them to the mixture right before I stuck it in the freezer for an extra bit of fun. I made sure to stir it every 2 hours and it turned out absolutely perfect, I can’t wait to make it again!
So happy you liked it, now I’m craving some!
Do you use the whole can or just scoop out the cream? I used the whole can & it’s still completely liquid after being in the freezer for 4 hours 🙁
Not sure what happened, even if you put water in the freezer for 4 hours it should freeze, no ideas, sorry!