Here’s a dairy-free, vegan Strawberry Coconut Nice Cream recipe that is perfect for warm weather. This is a healthy and delicious treat with no refined sugars!

strawberry nice cream in a clear bowl with red ribbon

Recipe Highlights

This easy homemade vegan ice cream recipe is full of rich strawberry flavor. It also has an excellent mouthfeel because of the coconut milk. Best of all, this recipe uses dates as the sweetener, making this a healthy and delicious treat for everyone.

This recipe is:

  • vegan,
  • dairy-free,
  • gluten-free,
  • sweetened with dates or maple syrup (your choice)
  • and made without any preservatives.

Recipe Steps

Step One

The first step to making homemade ice cream is to gather up all of your ingredients. There are many ways to make a vegan ice cream base, but one of my favorite methods is to blend soy milk with coconut milk for optimal creaminess. 

If you don’t want to use soy milk, you can use a can of coconut milk.

Step Two

Blend your ingredients to make them smooth and then pour them into an ice cream maker (I use a Cuisinart ice cream machine). Churn for at least 30 minutes, or according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Or, if you don’t have an ice cream maker, read about how to make ice cream without a maker.

Strawberry Nice Cream in maker

Step Three

Either transfer your ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze for an additional 30 minutes, or serve directly out of the ice cream maker. The ice cream will be firmer the more you freeze it.

FAQs

Why is it called nice cream?

Nice cream is a play on words. Since it’s dairy-free, it’s not made from animals. Many people consider it to be kinder to animals not to take their milk for consumption. Not to mention, the majority of adults are intolerant or allergic to dairy, resulting in unpleasant symptoms. Read more about the reasons to go dairy-free.

Can I leave out the soy milk to make it paleo-friendly?

Most definitely! Just make sure you use about two cups in total of dairy-free milk. For this recipe, you can make it paleo by using two full cups of coconut milk (1 13.5-ounce can) with no soy milk.

As I mentioned above, I like the combination of coconut milk and soy milk for dairy-free ice creams, but please feel free to make whatever adaptions you need. I don’t eat a lot of soy foods, but I make a special exception for cases like this.

Can I keep this recipe in the freezer for a long time?

My experience with dairy-free ice creams is that they are best consumed on the same day you make them. Otherwise, they freeze very hard. That said, if you freeze this recipe more than a few hours, you’ll just need to let it warm up a bit before you try to scoop it. 15 minutes on the countertop before serving should do it.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them in the comments. 

strawberry nice cream in a bowl

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Here is the printable recipe:

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strawberry nice cream in a bowl

Strawberry Coconut Nice Cream

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

Here’s a dairy-free, Vegan Strawberry Coconut Nice Cream recipe that is perfect for warm weather. This is a healthy and delicious treat with no refined sugars!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsweetened soy milk*
  • 1 cup canned coconut milk
  • 1 cup pitted Medjool dates or 1/2 cup maple syrup**
  • 3 cups fresh or frozen strawberries (about 24 strawberries)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or seeds of 1 vanilla bean
  • 1/2 teaspoon beet juice powder (for a natural food coloring, optional)

Instructions

  1. Place soy milk in the refrigerator until chilled thoroughly.
  2. Combine soy milk, coconut milk, dates, strawberries, vanilla extract or vanilla seeds, and beet juice powder in the base of a high-speed blender.
  3. Process the ingredients for about 45-60 seconds, or until smooth.
  4. Pour the mixture into the base of an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  5. Ideally, you would freeze the ice cream an additional 1-2 hours after it’s done in the ice cream maker so it gets really firm. Then, about 15 minutes before serving, take it out of the freezer so it is then scoop-able.

Notes

*If you want to make make this recipe soy-free, just leave out the soy milk and increase the coconut milk to 2 cups.

**Maple syrup will lead to a much pinker ice cream than if you use dates. Dates will make the ice cream less pink.

  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Ice cream maker
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: how to make vegan strawberry ice cream, dairy free ice cream, strawberry vanilla ice cream recipe

 

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