This no-churn Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream is a rich and decadent dessert with a beautiful pink color and bright strawberry flavor. No bananas or coconut milk!
Anyone else singing Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows when they think about strawberry ice cream? Maybe it's just me, as a (late) nineties baby who grew up watching Shrek.
Anyway...
I gotta be honest, growing up I did not like strawberry flavored things. As an adult, I'm still a vanilla (not chocolate!) girly at heart. But what I realized I never liked about strawberry ice cream or strawberry milk was the artificial-tasting flavor. The flavor of real strawberries, however? Heck yes!
This vegan strawberry ice cream uses real strawberries for a bright and fruity ice cream. But with a few extra ingredients that I use in all my ice cream recipes, this strawberry ice cream is more than strawberry sorbet.
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Why this recipe works
For an ultra creamy, rich, and decadent ice cream, you need sugar and fat.
The ratio of fat and sugar is what makes an ice cream that has a creamy texture and is super flavorful.
In this vegan ice cream, the fat source is nut butter, which is naturally high in fat. The sugar source is maple syrup and strawberries.
Obviously, maple syrup and nut butter alone don't create ice cream. So non-dairy milk and applesauce help to lighten up the texture to the right consistency.
Why I love this Vegan No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream
- Dietary needs - this ice cream is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, sugar free
- No coconut - lots of vegan ice cream recipes use coconut milk. I avoided it in this recipe for two reasons: 1) to give an option for people with coconut allergies and 2) so the ice cream doesn't get a small coconut flavor
- No bananas - I LOVE me some banana nice cream, but ice cream from bananas usually has a slight hint of banana flavor, even when you make it chocolate or peanut butter flavored. This vegan strawberry ice cream is totally banana-free.
- No-churn - If you have an ice cream maker, great, use it. But this recipe is intended to be no-churn, so you aren't missing out if you don't own one
- Whole food ingredients - the ingredients are simple, real foods.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Non-Dairy Milk: use any unsweetened milk you like.
- Nut Butter: I recommend cashew butter or almond butter, since they have the most neutral flavor compared to other nut butters. If you are allergic to nuts or would prefer to have a nut-free ice cream, use full-fat coconut milk instead.
- Maple Syrup: This recipe gets sweetness from both maple syrup and strawberries. If you prefer a completely fruit-sweetened version, sub the maple syrup with 6 pitted medjool dates.
- Unsweetened Applesauce: I use applesauce in this recipe for texture. Applesauce isn't as liquid as milk and it's also not as solid as nut butter. If there's too much non-dairy milk in a recipe that isn't churned, the texture can become icy instead of smooth. But if there's too much nut butter, the ice cream will be really dense. The density isn't necessarily a problem, except it's a lot denser than regular ice cream (when I first tested this recipe, I was using it to make ice cream floats and the ice cream didn't float!!). So, applesauce helps lighten the texture, and you can't taste it at all. But if you don't want to use applesauce you can use an additional ¼ cup of non-dairy milk and ¼ cup of nut butter.
- Fresh or Frozen Strawberries: I used frozen strawberries, but both fresh and frozen work great!
How to make Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream
Step 1. In a blender or food processor add the non-dairy milk, nut butter, maple syrup, applesauce, and strawberries. Blend until smooth.
Step 2. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 2-3 hours, or overnight.
Step 3. When ready to eat, let the ice cream thaw several minutes before scooping. Enjoy!
FAQ & Expert Tips
Yes. You need a blender or food processor to make this recipe. Because we're using whole strawberries, we need a blender to break down the strawberries.
Even in my recipes that don't require a blender, I recommend using a blender anyway because it will result in a smoother ice cream.
Yes! My no-churn vegan vanilla ice cream is totally date sweetened and it's one of my most popular recipes!
Simply replace the maple syrup with 6 pitted medjool dates. Bend until smooth - this may take a bit longer than the maple syrup version. And the proceed with the recipe as written.
You can sub the nut butter for in a 1:1 ratio with coconut cream. Or you can use a seed butter like sunflower seed butter.
Both of these subs may change the flavor slightly so I don't recommend subbing unless you have a nut allergy.
This ice cream IS scoopable, just like regular ice cream. But it will be pretty solid if you take it out of the freezer and try to scoop immediately.
To get the perfect consistency, thaw for 5-10 minutes at room temperature. You'll know it's the perfect consistency when the edges of the container start to get melty.
Store this ice cream in the freezer.
You can store it in the container you made it in. Be sure to add some type of lid or plastic wrap to avoid the ice cream picking up any other flavors in your freezer.
I often store my homemade ice creams in freezer safe bags, to maximize freezer space.
Recipe Prayer
Jesus, thank you for healthy desserts to eat. Let us remember you as we enjoy this ice cream. Amen.
Related Recipes
Love this no-churn ice cream? Check out some of my other vegan & no-churn ice cream recipes:
Tried this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Vegan No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Non Dairy Milk
- ½ Cups Neutral Tasting Nut Butter I used cashew butter
- ¼ Cup Maple Syrup
- ½ Cup Applesauce
- 1 ½ Cups Fresh or Frozen Strawberries
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor add the non-dairy milk, nut butter, maple syrup, applesauce, and strawberries. Blend until smooth.
- Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 2-3 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to eat, let the ice cream thaw several minutes before scooping. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate.
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