Sitting on the deck and eating ice cream is a summer national pastime. The cool, delicious flavors, even the sticky fingers are all part of the fun. But, sadly, not everyone can have dairy.
Sure, there are plenty of dairy-free alternatives, but vegan ice cream is delicious and easy to make at home. In fact, basic homemade vegan ice cream uses almost exactly the same recipe as the one that came with your ice cream machine. All you need is a few store-bought replacement ingredients.
Most ice cream machines come with a basic vanilla recipe that looks something like this: Blend about 2 cups of whole milk or half-and-half, a cup of heavy cream, some vanilla, and a cup or so of sugar. All of this goes into the machine and after 30-45 minutes you have ice cream.
For vegan, dairy-free ice cream, simply swap the soy milk for the half-and-half and soy creamer for the heavy cream. Vegans can also replace the sugar with vegan sugar, beet sugar, or a vegan sugar substitute.
But beware, soy creamers often come flavored. Even the plain flavor has hints of vanilla and hazelnut. So it’s best to stick with the plain flavor unless you’re making flavored ice cream.
Vegan vanilla ice cream recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups soy milk
- 1 cup soy creamer
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
Directions:
- Throw it all in an ice cream machine for 30-45 minutes
- When it's set, transfer to container and put in the freezer to harden until ready to serve
However, summer would be awfully dull if there was only vanilla, so we need to discuss dairy-free, vegan flavors that will tantalize summer taste buds. It's easy to turn your basic vanilla ice cream into chocolate by adding 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate sauce, many of which are already vegan.
For strawberry fans, consider adding 2 cups of sliced fresh strawberries and the zest of a lemon (or about a 1/2 cup of strawberry puree with a few sliced berries for texture).
Another good option is vegan cookies and cream ice cream, using vegan chocolate or vegan chocolate mint sandwich cookies. These cookies are sold in markets that cater to vegetarians like Whole Foods and Nature’s Pantry and are becoming more available in other supermarket chains. Add these right before the ice cream is done.
But the two absolute best recipes for vegan ice cream are mint chocolate chip and vegan wedding cake.
For the mint chocolate chip, take the basic recipe above, and swap out the vanilla extract for mint extract. Then, right before the ice cream is finished, add 1/4 cup of vegan chocolate chips that you have brutally assaulted with a rolling pin.
For the wedding cake, find a good vegan cake (with frosting if you dare), break it into pieces, and add about 5 minutes before the ice cream is finished.
No matter what you do, though, it’s ice cream, so it is going to be the perfect way to beat the heat this summer. Have fun with flavors and enjoy sharing your creations with all your friends, vegan, dairy-free, or otherwise.
