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This Coffee Chip Ice Cream is such a delicious and refreshing treat! You’ll love the simple ingredients in this vegan ice cream recipe, and you won’t need an ice cream maker to enjoy. Dairy-Free, no-churn, and so easy to make!
Here is a useless fact you can now know about me and my food preferences: Coffee ice cream is my absolute favorite flavor! I will go a step further and say that it’s the ONLY flavor of ice cream I eat. I am not even a coffee drinker, but boy do I love some coffee flavored desserts!
For years, I enjoyed my favorite coffee ice cream from Trader Joe’s with a few chocolate chips on top and chopped almonds. Seriously, being the picky dessert person I am, this one will always be a favorite of mine. About a year ago, I noticed that one of my favorite treats was wreaking havoc on body. Causing crazy indigestion, also drastically affecting my sleep. At first I thought it was the coffee part of the dessert, but then realized it was actually the dairy that was causing me to wake up in the middle of the night and feel terrible. So I had to stop eating it…..What a sad day!
Recently, I have been fighting those cravings for a really good coffee ice cream. Being in the middle of a crazy heat wave, I knew it was time to experiment with making my own dairy-free, vegan ice cream recipe. And I am so happy to report that Wholesomelicious now officially has an ice cream recipe, and it is soooooooooo darn good!!!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Feel good ice cream – Have the perfect summer sweet treat, but make it dairy-free, gluten-free, naturally sweetened, and vegan!
- Homemade is best – Homemade ice cream is SO good! I absolutely love making it and you can always have it on hand.
- Customizable – You can add any and all of the toppings you want, and you can try all different flavors! Coffee is my favorite, but there are so many great options.
Sweetening Vegan Ice Cream
This delicious vegan ice cream recipe is sweetened only with dates. The dates will soften up when the coconut cream and coconut milk are heated up on the stovetop. The cashew butter is an added bonus to this recipe! It makes it deliciously creamy, and also adds that hint of sweetness and salty to the recipe.
Ingredients
So as I mentioned above, no need for an ice cream maker for this homemade vegan ice cream recipe! You’ll love that you can easily whip this up using the stovetop and a blender. We’ll gather up these ingredients:
- can of coconut milk (full fat)
- can of coconut cream
- pitted dates
- instant coffee
- vanilla extract
- sea salt
- cashew butter
- vegan chocolate chips
Ingredient Substitutions
While you might be tempted to try other milks, none compare to the creaminess of coconut milk! Oat milk, almond milk, and soy milk just don’t stack up to the final results you get from coconut milk.
Dates are the main sweetener in this dairy-free ice cream. You could also sub in maple syrup, or an alternative like bananas, but be aware this could impact the texture!
Once you have the base of your ice cream made, you can incorporate any mix-ins you love! Strawberries, peanut butter, crumbled cookies, anything you want!
You can even use the method of this recipe to make so many different kinds of ice cream. Instead of coffee, you could add vanilla bean paste for vegan vanilla ice cream. Or melt some vegan chocolate in the coconut milk mixture and a bit of cocoa powder to taste for vegan chocolate ice cream!
How to make Vegan Coffee Chip Ice Cream
We start by using the stovetop and heating up the coconut milk, coconut cream, pitted dates, and instant coffee. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn off the heat and let sit for about 10 minutes to let it cool down.
Pour the mixture into a high powered blender. Add in the vanilla extract, sea salt, and cashew butter. Blend until completely smooth. Pour into a baking pan (8×8, or loaf pan), that is lined with parchment paper.
Place the mixture in the freezer and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Remove and stir in the chocolate chips. If mixture is still a little warm, the chocolate will start to swirl (which I love!). You can also wait until it’s very cold, around 30 minutes, before adding in the chocolate chips.
Place back in the freezer for 2-3 hours, or until very firm and chilled. Use a warm ice cream scoop and stir in additional chocolate chips (optional). If you want soft serve consistency, you can re-blend the ice cream after it is frozen.
Serving
I prefer to serve this over a warm brownie (my favorite), with some chopped almonds. Otherwise, you can sprinkle in additional chocolate chips, nuts, and vegan caramel sauce, or serve as is in a small bowl. It is also delicious alongside a chocolate chip cookie bar.
If the non-dairy ice cream is too cold and difficult to scoop, let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Run an ice cream scoop over hot water so that it softens.
Storing
The best way to store, is to move the ice cream to a freezer-safe container once it softens a bit at room temperature. Place back in the freezer. Each time you enjoy, let it sit out for 20 minutes or so before scooping. Well worth the wait, I promise!
Coffee Chip Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 14oz can of full fat coconut cream
- 1 14oz can of full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 2 tbsp instant coffee
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt, + more to top
- 2/3 cup cashew butter
- 1 cup chocolate chips*
Instructions
- Begin by adding the coconut milk, coconut cream, pitted dates, and instant coffee to a medium sized saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes while the dates continue to soften, and mixture cools.
- Add the cococonut milk coffee mixture to a blender with vanilla extract, sea salt, and cashew butter. Blend until very creamy (this could take up to 3 minutes).
- Prepare a square baking pan (8×8) or loaf pan by lining with parchment paper. Pour the blended mixture into the pan and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the freezer and test to see if it's cool. Stir in the chocolate chips. If the mixture is still a little warm, some of the chocolate chips will melt to create a chocolate swirl. You can wait to add more chocolate chips later (another 15-20 minutes).
- Freeze the mixture for at least 2-3 hours or until firm. To serve, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes and run an ice cream scoop under hot water to scoop out.
- Top with any additional items like extra chocolate chips or chopped nuts. Sprinkle with additional sea salt if desired!
I hate to buy instant coffee just for 2 Tbl. Can I just use regular coffee? Thanks in advance!
Yes, that works!
Any idea about calories for a specific serving? Just wondering. Great thanks!
Yum!!! Thank you, Amy. This ice cream is delicious!
YAY!!!!!
Oh my word! I just whipped this up and it’s in the freezer now. It is going to be so delicious, can’t wait! I soaked the dates in hot water then blitzed everything in the blender. Used decaf instant so I can eat it at night and not be affected by the caffeine. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe…the hunt for coffee ice cream is now officially over 😀 Woot woot
Amy, I’m so happy I found you. Your recipes are endless and I’m in heaven right now. My husband is stunned that I’m making healthy yummy desserts that are good for us. Im allergic to dairy, he is not but now that I found you everyone is happy. You are my go to for all of our meals now. You are THE BEST!
🌻💕🌻
Beth
Oh I Love that!!! Thank you, Beth!! So happy you are enjoying the recipes!
This is a MUST MAKE!!! Incredibly easy and astronomically delicious. I used Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream and Raw Almond Butter. I did not cook, simply blended and froze. Everyone in the mishpacha is nuts over it. So rich, so creamy, so decadent. Thank you for this perfect Thanksgiving dessert.
We were in the middle of making it when I asked and just went ahead with 1/2 tsp and it worked out for us luckily. We are still waiting for it to get a little more firm but it is so good already! Thank you so much for this!
How much sea salt? Didn’t see it in the ingredients.
1/4 tsp, just updated!
I JUST made this! It’s delicious. I didn’t have cashew butter so I used almond butter. I will definitely make it again.
Glad you loved it Johnna!!