The Richest, Creamiest Dairy-free VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM Ever ~ Made with Coconut Milk!
Mr. B loves ice cream, and last year I splurged and bought him a new ice cream maker for his birthday. (Well, to be perfectly honest, it was more for “our” birthdays – he’s only three days older than me.) It was definitely a great purchase!
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Our oldest daughter is on a dairy-free diet right now, so when she came over for dinner the other night, I whipped up this delicious coconut milk-based ice cream. It never made it from the ice cream maker into the freezer – it was gone too fast! And it was scrumptious with the fresh berry compote I made last week!
Dairy-free Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks
- 2/3 cups cane sugar
- 2 13.5-ounce cans full-fat coconut milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 whole vanilla bean
- 2 tablespoons vodka
Instructions
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Combine egg yolks, coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a blender and process until smooth.
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Pour mixture into a medium sauce pan, and heat over medium low just until steamy. DO NOT BOIL.
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Slice vanilla bean down the middle, and scrape the inside into the hot coconut milk mixture. Whisk to combine. (I also put the vanilla bean pod in and fish them out before I put the ice cream mixture into the ice cream maker.)
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Continue to cook until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of a thin custard.
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Remove from heat and whisk in the vodka. (This keeps the ice cream from getting too hard in the freezer. For alternative preparation, see note below.)
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Refrigerate mixture about 2 hours, or until completely cold.
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Pour mixture into ice cream freezer and prepare according to manufacturer’s directions.
Recipe Notes
Alternate "vodka-free" Preparation: 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract can be substituted in place of the vanilla bean and vodka.
Note that, if you are concerned about alcohol in your ice cream, vanilla extract contains as much alcohol as vodka. Either way, the vanilla extract or vodka MUST be added AFTER the mixture is taken off the stove. The alcohol helps to keep the ice cream from getting too hard.
For soft-serve style ice cream, serve immediately. For a harder scoopable ice cream, place in the freezer for 2-3 hours. Take out and place on the counter for 10 minutes to soften for serving.
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This looks so good! I really need to get an ice cream maker!!! 🙂
I bought ours after I fell in love with the one I got for my raffle basket for the Chevy Shop Social last month. It works like a dream and is very quiet.
Hi renee,
Great recipe, I’ve never actually tried making ice-cream myself, i wonder do you think it needs step 7 in the maker? Hows the consistency after 2 hrs of refrigeration? Do you think i could make it work without this step?
Thanks
The ice cream freezer is what introduces air into the mixture and gives it loft. You can put it into the freezer as it is, but it comes out like more like a block of ice than ice cream.
Renee, I successfully pulled it off without the ice-cream maker, just took a lot of whisking frequently, thank you!
I love making ice cream! Filing this recipe away.
I’m with you, I got a feeling these wouldn’t make it to the freezer!
This looks lovely! I am so excited to have a great recipe for vanilla ice cream now (its my husband’s favorite)! Thanks for sharing, cheers! 🙂
This looks scrumptious! Don’t be surprised if I pop over for some dessert one of these nights. 😉
You are most welcome to stop in, Catherine!
this, with fresh berries, looks amazing!
Yum. This is when I wish I had an ice cream machine! I also was excited to see there wasn’t much sugar in that recipe. Looks delicious!
Yum! I need to make this asap.
Looks amazing! I love coconut milk ice cream but I’ve never made it myself… You’ve got me considering an investment in an ice cream maker.
A good ice cream freezer is so worth it, Shelby.
wow. i really need to get a darn ice cream maker! i’m lactose intolerant and this looks AMAZING! maybe i can borrow a friend’s to try this out during a fun summer night because it looks so refreshing!
No one in our house is lactose intolerant; however, since I made this the first time, everyone keeps asking for it! The coconut milk gives it such a luxurious texture, and the slight coconut flavor of the coconut milk combines with the vanilla to create an ice cream with a lot of depth.
Look delicious! I’m going to have to try this!
Thank you, Alicia! Honestly, I was very surprised at how creamy and “not dairy-free” it tasted the first time we made it.
I need to try this recipe! It looked delicious
oooohhh this sounds all kinds of amazing!!!! I am lactose intolerant so this is PERFECT!
You won’t even miss the dairy – it’s actually almost surprising how creamy it turns out.
This recipe looks amazing! I’m starting to have issues with dairy as I grow older, I have to carry around some Lactaid pills in my purse just in case. Would love to try this!
xo, alice / T Y P E N U
It’s so good, Alice. You won’t even miss the dairy!
This looks so delicious, and I love that you used coconut milk! This really makes me wish that I had the ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid!
This is definitely the time of year to buy an ice dream maker – they all go on sale for the summer season.
This looks so delicious !! Yum 😛
Never thought of using coconut milk in ice cream, but it sound delicious! Will definitely have to make this as my sister is also on a dairy-free diet 🙂
I love ice cream made with coconut milk. This is sheer perfection!
I have never tried to make homemade ice cream before but this recipe is really straight forward. Thank you for sharing!