As hot weather approaches a cold ice cream treat sounds so good. And there is nothing like homemade ice cream. But what if you are on a dairy free diet? Enter, coconut milk ice cream. Joel and I got hooked on coconut ice cream long before I had to go dairy free. It’s that good. It is incredibly rich and creamy. Coconut milk has such a melt in your mouth texture. It’s wonderful I can’t wait to try out new flavors, but chocolate is definitely a favorite.
This recipe does use an automatic ice cream maker. This newer ice cream makers are great. No worries of ice and salt, you just freeze the container part and you are ready to go! It’s wonderful for last minute, healthy desserts. We were given one as a gift from Joel’s family and we have loved it! But if you don’t have your own mixer, it still is possible to make at home. Check out this post, over at David Lebovitz’s blog for more info on doing that.
A few notes about the ingredients. We use Thai’s organic coconut milk (NOT lite). Not all coconut milk is made equally, and we have found that this one has the best flavor. But use what you can find (as long as it isn’t lite). I used agave syrup here, but you can use whatever sweetener you like. If you can have dairy, coconut milk and cream together make a wonderful ice cream.
We like this ice cream right out of the ice cream maker, where it’s like soft serve ice cream (like in the picture above). Mmmm…..
Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
3 cups of unsweetened coconut milk (about two cans)
2/3 cup of cocoa powder
6 tablespoons agave syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whisk cocoa powder in a small amount of coconut milk, until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until well combined. Or dump all ingredients together and blend with a stick blender. Make according to your machines instructions.
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What a great idea!
Yum! We can’t do dairy right now and this is so exciting!
I am going to have to try it. If I used another type of sweetener instead of the agave how much do you use. I know some of the sweeteners are sweeter then others. So how does agave compare?
Hmmmm, if I liked coconut I might try this…but alas, I don’t! I even smelled some coconut flour at the Bob’s red mill store when I visited. The words out of my mouth were “oh, coconut flour…I wonder if it smells like coconut”…then I open the bin, stick my nose to it, took a whiff, wrinkled my nose, and when “yep, smells like coconut…we are not using this!”
Lynn,
Excellent question. Agave Syrup is definitely sweeter than other sweeteners. I would start with the 6 tablespoons of whatever you are going to use, and taste it, and then add to taste, depending on how sweet you want it. Just to compare, I notice that many “unhealthy” recipes use up to one cup of white sugar per recipe. But I personally feel that would make it to sweet, which is why I encourage you to start lower and add to taste.
Kristin,
I do know that others have expressed not liking coconut. I like it in most things, but not all. But it is to bad you don’t like it! There are so many fun things you can do with it!
We have one of those roll around balls for the kids. We’ll have to try this recipe. Yummy!
I would love to see you do a post on sweeteners.
Love your blog.
I’m going to put you on my sidebar so others can find you.
mmm awesome, I’d switched to using agave instead of white sugar so I’m always looking for new things to try. Looking forward to checking this out!
I can’t wait to try this! I’m an ice cream fiend, but I try to avoid pasteurized dairy. Since raw cream is so expensive, I’ll give this a try. I really love coconut milk. I wonder how stevia would work in this recipe. Maybe I’ll go half-and-half with stevia and agave to cut down on the sugar even more (I’m hypoglycemic). One question: do you use “light” or “amber” agave?
Alison,
I use amber usually. I think it has a deeper flavor. If you try it with stevia, please let me know how it worked for you! I am trying to use it more, but often find that it is a little to strong for me. I would love to get feedback on using it and what brands you like!
Thanks for this recipe. I’m going to try it tonight!
Ann Marie
ooh yum! I just made this with a curry twist! about 1&1/2 tbsp. I have agave and use it myself, but my kids… they don’t go for it, so we used straight up sugar - organic, at least. (about 6 tbsp) and some toasted coconut. my kids and i just sat on the floor and licked the mixing bowl clean… the machine is doing its work… we can’t wait to eat it frozen! thanks for the recipe!
Kimi,
I’ve got a batch in my ice cream maker right now. Since I only had 1 can of coconut milk on hand, I made up the difference (~1 cup) with raw goats’ milk. I used 4 tablespoons of agave nectar and 24 drops of stevia (which equals the sweetness of 4 tablespoons of sugar). I’ll let you know how it goes!
All I can say is WOW. We absolutely loved this! It was fantastic straight out of the ice cream maker, and after an hour in the freezer, it was still nice. Later than that, it got too icy for my taste, but a little thawing on the counter cured that problem in a jiffy. To protect myself, I shared a generous amount with our neighbors (their daughter was recently diagnosed with a milk allergy) and with our boarder. That way I couldn’t eat it all myself, because, believe me, I would have.
Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe! I’ll definitely continue experimenting with it. The stevia worked great as a partial agave replacement. I wonder what would happen if I used only stevia. Or added vodka to the batter to make it less icy after freezing. Or added a pinch of chili and cinnamon for a Mayan twist. Who knoes what I’ll come up with?
Oooo, I love the chili and cinnamon idea! We added some peanut butter to our chocolate ice cream after it was frozen and that was fabulous.
Kimi, I was just wondering if you have tried any other flavors like with fruit puree. I have been wanting to try mango or banana or something like that but I wasn’t sure how it would effect the texture. Do you have any idea how much you would add? I can’t imagine it would mess it up, but I just wondered if you had tried it…
Thank you so much for this recipe! A couple weeks ago I had Coconut Bliss in chocolate flavor from a natural foods store, and it was delicious - I think this recipe just about mimics it! The one thing they add is guar gum for texture; in NT Fallon has you add arrowroot to accomplish the same. In my last batch I meant to and forgot to add the arrowroot! Next time though.
Chris,
Coconut bliss is wonderful! I have tried other brands and they weren’t very good. Coconut milk actually does have guar gum in it already (at least my brand does), but I had forgotten about the arrowroot powder. I will have to try it sometime and see what I think! Thanks for the tip.
Another tip on coconut milk - see if you can buy it at an Asian grocery store where they are typically less than $1 per can. You MUST check the label to make sure there are no sulfates in it. A common preservative is potassium metabisulfate. The ones I get just have coconut milk and water in the ingredient list. I am still suspicious, so sometimes I buy the coconut milk frozen, also at the Asian grocery stores (99 Ranch if you are lucky enough to have one nearby). I have gotten it so cheap in the recent past - under 50 cents per 3 cup bag. Believe me I stocked up on that sale! With the frozen coconut milk, you will want to puree the defrosted product to get better consistency.
Another tip on coconut milk - see if you can buy it at an Asian grocery store where they are typically less than $1 per can. You MUST check the label to make sure there are no sulfates in it. A common preservative is potassium metabisulfate. The ones I get just have coconut milk and water in the ingredient list. I am still suspicious, so sometimes I buy the coconut milk frozen, also at the Asian grocery stores (99 Ranch if you are lucky enough to have one nearby). I have gotten it so cheap in the recent past - under 50 cents per 3 cup bag. Believe me I stocked up on that sale! With the frozen coconut milk, you will want to puree the defrosted product to get better consistency.
That sounds (and looks) delicious!!!
I know there is sweetened condensed coconut milk. Are you using that or just plain coconut milk?
Hey Katie,
Great question. I use unsweetened. I put that info in my post for future people.
I used this recipe this past weekend. I definitely had to add more honey & regular sugar to replace the 6tbsp of agave syrup.
We made this tonight for extended family and it was a hit! I used about 10 TB of fructose as the sweetener, and it was perfect. Thanks for this, and all the great recipes and tips! Love your blog!
I made this tonight. It was delicious. I decided to use a whisk, but the coconut milk was pretty lumpy to begin with, so the next time I make it I’ll stick it in the blender. Also, I’ll try adding guar gum to see if that gives it an even creamier taste. I’ve eaten Coconut Bliss Chocolate flavor, and this recipe is comparable to that. I’m also going to try this with mint. This ice cream definitely hit the spot and was SOOOO easy to make. Thanks for recipe. I’ll be sharing it with friends.
If you added some guar gum, how much would you add?
If you added arrowroot, again, how much would you add?
Thanks
Thanks so much for the idea! I typically just throw things together and then taste test instead of following a recipe - so I used 2 cans coconut milk, vanilla stevia, a combo of carob and chocolate, and powdered stevia. It turned out GREAT! Really creamy, with a deep chocolate taste and plenty sweet with no aftertaste…just a hint of coconut flavor. I am on a candida diet right now -no sugar or dairy, so this was perfect!
My little ice cream maker is cranking some of this out right now. I am on a low glycemic index diet for cancer treatment but still crave chocolate and sweets. I love that I can make this with raw cocoa powder, full fat coconut milk, and agave nectar to satisfy those cravings! I also blended in a scoop of protein powder to make it “legal” for my diet. Can’t wait to try it!
Whole Foods has coconut milk under their own 365 Organic label for much less than the other brands and I think it is superior and can’t figure out why given it is probably bought from one of those other companies. But it has been superb. I’ve seen it as low as $0.99/can and USDA Organic to boot!
This may cause me to finally buy an ice cream maker! I’ve been addicted to the Turtle Mountain coconut ice creams here on the east coast. On the west coast I’ve seen other brands too. But I wonder how they get it to last in the freezer as some comments here suggest that the recipe dosen’t fare that well as it stays in the freezer. I like having absolutely no gluten, no soy, no soy protein (am I missing something?) in my ice cream and having a healthy fat high in Omega 3 which is true for coconut.
Agave syrup is 90% fructose, nothing nourishing about that…
Kelsey,
I’ve done an updated version of this ice cream on my site using the traditional sweetener of palm sugar. It’s great! I like it just as well, and I feel it’s a more nourishing choice.
Kelsey, I am stunned! You state that agave is 90% fructose and is not nourishing? I know for a fact that there is nothing nourishing about sugar… I can tell you that. I have been buying 15 bottles of agave for my family every month because I thought it was the best natural sweetener available.. since it is natural and from a plant. How can it not be nourishing?? Are you saying they alter it and turn it into fructose? If anyone can help me with the facts, that would be great. Sugar has ravaged my body for years so I had to make a switch. I thought agave was the best!?? Am I wrong? Thanks all!
Agave is horribly worse. It has tons more fructose and it’s pretty much a nutritional fraud. It’s not natural at all like they say it is. What it truly is, is chemically refined hydrolyzed high fructose. The agave starch is processed with enzymes just like high fructose corn syrup, yielding a sickening amount of fructose. The grades are pretty ridiculous too, especially the one marketed as “raw” and the “dark amber” grades which is just from the burning of the fructose.
Fructose isn’t something you want to mess with, it can lead to fatty liver, hardening of arteries, and insulin resistance.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/5444989
I’d rather use sugar, honey, or maple syrup as a sweetener. At least something that isn’t trying to pull itself off as “health food”
KH Replies: Thanks, Mike, for the response to Miss Lady. I hadn’t gotten a chance yet. I just wanted to mention that I edited your comment. I try to keep four letter words out of the comment section. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I appreciate it.
Madhava does not make their agave syrup using chemical extraction. The argument, what little I have followed it, seems to be similar to the oil extraction issue - which method is the manufacturer using to get their product.
The current argument can be seen here - http://www.curezone.com/forums/am.asp?i=1314618
Fructose cannot be blanketly dismissed as being nothing but detrimental when it is the same sugar found in fruits. Clearly, the key to this - as in all things - is moderation and education (keeping in mind that one side of the story is going to be a limited view) about who is producing what you’re putting in your body.
Have you tried this recipe yet with your homemade coconut milk?
Thanks for the recipe! I made it with light coconut milk, because that’s what I had on hand, and it was delicious! I also added cinnamon and sweetened it with stevia and one tablespoon of maple syrup….can’t wait to try other variations!
ps…you’re right about not using light coconut milk. It’s still delicious with the light, but a bit icy.
We’re having a heat wave and I made this ice cream last night, and it is out of this world!! I substituted almond extract for vanilla, and added a few fresh cherries. I used a Cuisinart ice cream maker. I’m allergic to lactose, milk , casein, and soy, and this recipe has been a life saver. This is as close to Turtle Mountain ice cream made with coconut milk as you can get.
Hi Ginny,
There is nothing like creamy & cold ice cream n a hot day. Glad it worked out for you! Your variations sounds WONDERFUL! May have to try that myself.
I googled coconut milk ice cream recipe and found yours. Perfect! I actually omitted the cocoa and added two egg yolks (they’re from my backyard chickens so I have no problem with eating them raw). So delicious! Thanks for posting the recipe!
I’m really excited to try this recipe! I’ve heard that the only difference between “lite” coconut milk and regular coconut milk is that there is more water is added to “lite” coconut milk, which is probably why it makes the ice cream more icy.
Ok, here are the alterations I would recommend for this recipe:
3 1/2 C. light coconut milk
3/4 C. unsweetened cocoa
10 T. sugar
2 egg yolks
1 T. vanilla
Heat the milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Beat the egg yolks and while beating, gradually add the hot milk/sugar mixture in 1/4 C. quantities until it’s all mixed together. Mix in the cocoa and vanilla and whisk for about 2 minutes. Put in the refrigerator until cool and then put into your ice cream machine. Heaven.
Just made this - and without an ice cream maker, using a usual hand mixer instead. Very easy and extremely delicious recipe. I’ve recently stopped using diary and have been slightly missing my favourite treat, ice cream. This recipe is a real gem, it tastes like a great-quality chocolate ice cream and no milk at all! Thank you very much for posting this recipe, now I can enjoy my favourite treat again and feel great!
Great recipe! I also was wondering about amounts of guar gum or arrowroot and have been playing with the arrowroot.
To add to the agave discussion, here is info related to the syrup we use:
“While honey has no equal, agave nectar is a wonderful addition as an alternative sweetener with different characteristics than honey. This new sweetener is slightly less viscous than honey, lending to its ease of use. The light variety has a wonderfully pleasant flavor that will enhance anything it sweetens. The amber variety has a natural flavor best described as maple-like.”
“Interestingly, the production of agave nectar is very similar to how a bee creates honey. The bee adds enzymes to the complex sugars of nectar, which changes it into the simple sugars making honey. It is also through enzymatic action that the complex sugar found in agave juice is changed into a simple sugar sweetener- Agave Nectar.”
“Limiting glucose consumption is a contemporary concern for many people. The introduction of this new sweetener is timely as it has a relatively low glycemic index due to its higher proportion of fructose and lower levels of glucose. This fact should prove attractive to those with special diet considerations or who monitor glucose intake.
Agave Nectar has many other fine qualities as well. Foremost among them are the certified purity, both organic and kosher.”
“This pure, unrefined sweetener is a great-tasting, economical alternative to all other sweeteners, granular or liquid, perfect for all around use. It has approx 1.4 x the sweetening power of white sugar. And, Agave Nectar’s mild flavor doesn’t vary widely which will lend a real consistency to recipes.”
“1) Because Agave Nectar is high in fructose, it enjoys all the benefits which continue to make fructose a preferred sweetening agent. It is sweeter than refined sugar (approximately 1.4 times sweeter); in fact, fructose offers an equivalent sweetness for nearly half the amount of carbohydrate calories. Fructose does not stimulate digestive insulin secretion as do other sugars. It is less disturbing to the glycemic index. In common parlance, it does not create a “sugar rush.””
http://www.madhavahoney.com/AgaveNectar.aspx