Rich creamy vanilla ice cream that’s dairy free too! This 3 ingredient ice cream couldn’t be simpler, and is perfect for topping cobblers, brownies, pies, and other desserts. Use it to make a dairy free kombucha float or sparkling cider float. Or enjoy it with chocolate syrup or caramel sauce. I love vanilla ice cream because there are so many different ways to enjoy it!
My two versions of chocolate coconut milk ice cream (here and here) have been a big hit on this blog. I thought it was time to post a vanilla version as well. Since you don’t have the strong chocolate flavor, the coconut milk flavor will shine through more in this recipe, but it still has that delicious creamy texture that makes this dairy free treat something anyone can enjoy. Coconut milk definitely makes the best dairy free ice cream out there. It’s just as good as a dairy based ice cream.
I love how simple it is to make too! Only three ingredients – coconut milk, honey and vanilla, it’s one of the easiest and quickest recipes to throw together. It’s a great dessert to make when you are busy. You can experiment with different sweeteners in this recipe like pure maple syrup or coconut sugar too. I choose to use a mild raw local honey. I personally think that it gives the ice cream an almost “marshmallow” flavor.
I’ve mentioned it before, but our ice cream maker has been one of the best “extra” kitchen equipment we’ve owned! We love being able to make our own, naturally sweetened ice cream. I definitely recommend that you get an ice cream maker that doesn’t need the use of ice as it makes the process so much easier and less messy.
Notes on ingredients and equipment:
- I own a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker and love it!
- I’ve started using Aroy-D Coconut Cream because it has a lovely taste and no “gums” added to it.
OTHER COCONUT MILK ICE CREAM RECIPES:
- Double Chocolate Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Chai Coconut Milk Ice Cream
- Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream
- Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream
- Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Sauce (coconut milk option)
- Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream
- Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Ingredients:
- 2, 14-ounce cans of full fat coconut milk or 3.5 cups of coconut milk or cream
- 1/3-1/2 cup of honey or sweetener of choice (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1. Combine the ingredients, whisking to get the honey to combine with the coconut milk, or simply blend in a blender.
2. Make into ice cream according to the directions on your ice cream maker.
3. You can serve as a soft serve right away, or ripen in the freezer for a few hours and serve.
Notes: Will last a week or two in the freezer. I like to use an alcohol based vanilla extract as it seems to help keep the ice cream from getting as hard. If left overnight or longer in the freezer, leave out at room temperature for about 15 minutes to soften.
- 2 14 ounce cans of full fat coconut milk or 3.5 cups of coconut milk or cream
- ⅓-1/2 cup of honey or sweetener of choice (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- Combine the ingredients, whisking to get the honey to combine with the coconut milk, or simply blend in a blender.
- Make into ice cream according to the directions on your ice cream maker.
- You can serve as a soft serve right away, or ripen in the freezer for a few hours and serve.
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Meagan
Kimi, I was just thinking about you and your family. I hope you all are doing well (especially you and the baby!). This recipe looks delicious. We love coconut milk, and use it often. I’ve never done ice cream with honey, and have been putting it off. This is a great reminder!
Heather
Oh, this looks sooo good! I can imagine how wonderful the flavor from the coconut milk would be! We don’t have an ice-cream maker or I’d be headed into my kitchen right now to try a batch!…Someday! 😉 TFS!
nikki
good news heather! u can make this without an ic maker. just mix in a glass or steel bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in freezer removing every hour to mix!
Lisa
Hi Kimi,
I love these kind of simple quick recipes.
What brand of coconut milk have you been using?
KimiHarris
I’ve been using Thai Kitchen’s organic coconut milk. It’s so thick and creamy!
Krissy
Native Forest has a great organic coconut milk and their cans are BPA free.
Karen
Kimi…I previously bought young coconuts to make coconut kefir…the white ones that have a tiki hut type top (that’s the best way I can describe them.) If I wanted to use fresh coconut milk would I buy the young coconuts or would I need to buy the brown more mature coconut? Also, if it is the older coconut I presume it would take several to get enough milk from it?? If that is not a feasible approach are you using an organic canned coconut milk?
KimiHarris
Coconut milk is made out of the flesh of the mature coconut (brown). I do have directions somewhere on this site on how to make your own, though I am not sure if it would work quite the same as canned for ice cream as it’s not as thick.
brite
Thanks so much for this! I just got the Cuisinart icecream maker for my birthday and we tried it out on Sunday. My youngest is 20 months old and allergic to dairy products, and just getting to the point where he really misses being part of what we’re eating. Enter: coconut icecream. I’m so excited to make this for the little guy as a special treat!
Marci
I love honey but am not eating sugar in any form. I will try this recipe, but use other sweeteners, perhaps agave, which is supposed to be low glycemic, or some other kind of sugar substitute that isn’t full of chemicals.
Rachel J.
Marci, you could try stevia or perhaps xylitol. Agave is definitely sugar, and the only reason it’s low glycemic is because it is almost 100% fructose (HFCS is about 55% and the fructose is what causes the health concerns). Still sugar and I still have the same reactions (or worse) as with cane sugar. Or if you can use fruit, just add some mashed fruit to the coconut milk. It tastes wonderful and the coconut stays pretty soft, unlike dairy milk.
Matt
I don’t think that’s totally accurate to say that the fructose is the reason for the health concerns with HFCS. It depends on what you are specifically concerned about. One concern with HFCS is that most corn is genetically modified. Table sugar has almost as much fructose as HFCS (50% compared to 55-60). Fructose is digested by the liver, which is why it doens’t affect blood sugar, so if you have too much of it it can cause fat deposits around the liver and other liver problems. But of course, other forms of simple sugar cause blood sugar spikes, leading to insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes. Presumably, all of the above can provide food for dysbiotic intestinal flora such as candida, although I have not researched this. So whether agave nectar is better or worse than other sweeteners is really a matter of opinion. If glycemic load is the concern, then it is better, and it is also less processed than many other forms of sugar. Also, fructose is the primary sugar in most fruit, so if you’re trying to avoid sugar entirely, you shouldn’t be eating fruit either. Fruit is generally considered preferable to sweetened prepared foods because it has a fair amount of fiber mixed in with the sugar, which causes the sugar to be digested more slowly. I have found xylitol to be a good substitute for sugar in most applications. There are also several other natural sugar alcohols, such as erythritol. Unfortunately, since sugar alcohols are indigestible, consuming too much of them within a brief time period can result in some unpleasant digestive effects. Inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides are soluble fibers that have a sweet flavor, and they might be good for applications where a thickener would be desirable.
Marie
Honey is processed by the liver first, before it hits the blood stream causing a lower insulin response. Agave is processed just like white sugar causing a spike in insulin. Agava is no healthier than table sugar. Its insulin fluctuations that are making people fat, dizzy, grumpy, whatever side effects you want to list and will lead to leaky gut.
Anne Marie
This is very similar to a recipe I use for coffee creamer. Never thought about doubling it. I can’t wait to try this. Thanks!
Do you think agave nectar would work? (Some members of my family can’t have honey for blood sugar reasons.)
Lisa, I use Thai Kitchen organic full-fat coconut milk. It contains coconut, water and guar gum.
Steph
I have been thinking about trying ice cream from coconut or almond milk for a while now, so I’m so glad I stopped by your blog. (via keeper of the home) My youngest is milk protein intolerant, and I’ve been longing for some ice cream in this July heat!
Katie
What a coincidence that I saw your post just now 🙂 I made coconut ice cream today and posted the recipe on my site. I use cream and eggs like a ‘conventional’ ice cream, along with coconut milk. I will have to try yours now! 😉
Barb
I have a Deni Ice Cream Maker and I use eggs and creamer as well.
I’m going to try your recipe and I hope my hubby likes it.
Thx for sharing
Barb
Kedesh Simmons
Dear Kimi,
I found out recently that I am gluten and lactose intolerant so I have been immensely blessed by your healthy, frugal, and delicious recipies. Finding yummy substitutes for the foods I used to enjoy has been a challenge but I’m getting there. Thank you!
I don’t own an ice cream maker. Is there any way I could make it using a food processor or my Oscar juicer and sorbet maker?
Love from New Zealand,
God bless you,
Kedesh
Meghan (Making Love In The Kitchen)
Wow! Does it get anymore sweet, simple or delicious? Nope. I don’t think so.
Anna
I loooove ice cream made with coconut milk. We just finished a batch I made with peaches. I usually blend in a few eggs or egg yolks, though (raw) because I like the richness (& nutrients) they add.
I have made coconut milk at home and used it homemade ice cream; I received a manual rotary coconut grater (with a suction pad for attaching to the counter top) for Mother’s Day a few years ago (coconut graters are commonly sold in markets that cater to Asian Indians, Southeast Asians, Filipinos, South Pacific Islanders, etc. Mature brown coconuts are easy to open using the back or dull edge of a meat cleaver – hold the coconut in the palm of one hand over a sink or bowl with the “eyes” and the “point” on either side, like poles on a globe. Around the “equator”, give the coconut a good tap/whack with the blunt back of the cleaver (not the sharp blade). Rotate the coconut around the “equator” and continue to firmly tap/whack it. A crack should begin and spread around the center, eventually bisecting the coconut into two halves. The liquid inside will spill out; it isn’t unsafe to consume, but it doesn’t taste yummy (like young coconut “juice”) so I discard it. For images and videos of coconut graters, do an online search – there are a lot of good sites. Coconut graters aren’t particularly expensive.
Coconut “milk” is made by simply soaking either dried or freshly grated coconut (from drained matured brown coconuts) in water and straining off the grated solids. The thickness of the milk can be varied by the amount of water as well as by letting the milk sit a bit and skimming the richer coconut “cream” off the top (the coconut oil rises to the top, like butterfat). Grated coconut may be soaked a 2nd time for “lite” coconut milk, which is nice for beverages, smoothies, making pancake batter, etc.
Use homemade coconut milk immediately or store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator no more than a day or two, as it goes “off” rather quickly compared to canned (which should be used within 3-4 days). I haven’t tried this, but I suppose it could be thickened with added gar gum (using a blender, mixer, or really vigorous whisking). I think Bob’s Red Mill makes a guar gum product.
I dry (not toast) the remaining strained grated coconut in the oven at a very low temp (<150°F – prop door ajar with a wooden spoon if necessary). This way, for a coconut that costs between 99¢-$1.99, I can get about two+ cans of coconut milk and approx two bags worth of dried grated coconut meat. Not bad economy, eh? The immature (young) white coconuts do not yet have any or much of the white coconut "meat", but the juice is delicious to drink at that point. After consuming the juice, the coconuts can be cracked open and the "jelly" and the developing soft "meat" may be scraped out and eaten. Mmmm, but definitely not ice cream ingredient material.
I use the universal ice cream freezer bowl & dasher accessory for Kitchenaid stand mixers. That way I don't have another machine base to store (the freezer bowl has a permanent spot in my spare freezer – always ready when I need it).
However, it isn't 100% necessary to have a machine to make ice cream if you have a good freezer (and space it in). I've seen instructions to freeze the ice cream in an ordinary freezer, but too take it out at intervals while it is freezing and quickly run it through a food processor or even simply scrape and stir it well. This will break up and redistribute the ice crystals, essentially "churning" the ice cream by hand. Then the mixture is returned to the freezer, repeated several times. This "manual" method would take a bit more hands-on attention (and more washing-up if using a food processor) but is probably worth trying if you don't have an ice cream machine on hand.
olivia
Hi,
I’m trying to decide on which icecream maker to buy so I can start making these delicious healthy ice creams. I saw the cuisinart ice cream maker in a shop but it looked like the inside bowl was aluminium. I couldn’t find any information as to what the material actually is. Do you know? I would be concerned if it was aluminium.
Metta
I love vanilla coconut milk ice cream. I need to find someone with an ice cream maker so I can try this. How much does it make?
Kaitlin With Honey
I think I might need to invest in an ice cream maker. With my sugar intolerance, I can safely say that ice cream is one of the things I miss the most. Such an appliance (and this recipe!) would certainly make my existence a much happier one!
KellyBelly
yes, your chocolate coconut ice cream is how I 1st found your site last spring, and enjoy all the dairy free recipes.
Brook
I had some leftover coconut milk in the fridge. I used your recipe to make popsicles for the kids. Delicious. Thanks!
Cara @ Health Home and Happiness
That is so easy! Thanks for the recommendation on the ice cream maker, I want to buy one but hadn’t looked into which brands are good.
JenE
Can I use coconut cream instead of coconut milk for this recipe?
Thanks : ).
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen
This looks wonderful! I just stocked up on coconut milk for the purpose of making ice cream!
Revel
I just made this tonight and it is AWESOME!
sherrie
Its winter in oz , not icecream weather for me , my partner and sons would eat it any time of the year ! I’ve been going to make this for a while now . I will for spring not long now ,I dont like winter , I love summer !
Kimmie I love your recipes If you get time please check out my blog on simple living ! http://simpleliving-sherrie.blogspot.com/
SHERRIE
Vinay Chand
Kimi, you have now explored two flavours for coconut milk ice cream, the global ice cream market has become very dairy milk plus vanilla oriented as their base. You can do most things with coconut milk that you can with dairy milk and it gives a fresh foundation for flavours. Thanks a lot.
Rita
Hello Kimi~thank you for your post. Have you tried this using raw vanilla instead of extract? Thanks for your response? Rita
OM
Hi Kimi,
The flavor of this ice cream is soooo delicious, but for some reason, I could not get it to freeze in the ice cream maker. I borrowed my MIL’s old school one – with the salt and ice.
Do I need the one you have to make it work?
Thanks again!
OM
bj
Help! I have cans of organic coconut milk and want to make smoothies- vegan- but do not see how to “use” the thick coconut (canned) milk…do I dilute with water? Cannot find any info as to making smoothies with it…help please!
Hungrily, bj
Erin
You just use it straight from the can!! Its the best smoothie you’ll ever have. Yummy!!!!
Erin
Kristy Tillman
I made this with the Trader Joe’s Lite Coconut milk (the ONLY ingredient is coconut milk) and it works great! I add maple syrup and sometimes vanilla. It’s ready in about 20 minutes in my $4 Goodwill Cuisinart ice cream maker! Mine needs to be taken out of the container when it’s done or it sticks to the sides pretty good and then hardens inside. It’s okay when you put a container in the freezer, but is really hard and doesn’t seem to be as good as fresh. I’ve made it with less than a can of coconut milk before so that I can just eat what I want. :o)
Kelly Scanlon
Simple and delicious! Made this for my daughter’s 10th birthday treat…and it was perfect! I added a pinch of salt to my mixture before adding it to the icecream maker. Thanks Kimi!!
InvisiGyrl
OMG, I can’t buy So-Delish brand ice cream here and you know what? DON’T CARE ANYMORE!!!
I just now found your article, made ice cream and ate 1/2 all in about 30-40 minutes. Dang gyrl! YUM
Mapeline (Maple) and maple syrup – oh yeah.
Mary
I tried the ice cream, but as soon as I froze it, the ice cream broke apart. I didn’t leave it in the freezer long. Was I supposed to include the coconut juice as well (in the coconut milk in the can). I also left it in the ice cream maker more than 30 minutes, a little longer than the ice cream maker direction says so. Does that make a difference? Could someone tell me what I did wrong??
Adrienne
The way my mother in law always makes the ice cream is, she shakes up the can to mix everything, and uses the entire thing. It will need a the coconut juice to freeze solidly. Hope this helps!
Marie
THANK YOU FOR THIS! As a dairy allergy girl, who is now pregnant and ALWAYS wanting ice cream, you have saved me! Not only do I have an EASY way to get my cravings met, but my ice cream maker is happy that is it now dust free and in use several times a week! I am about to go to the chocolate ice cream recipes you have linked above–here’s hoping they are just as easy and amazing!!
Tony
We just tried to make it in our Cuisanart and it started freezing solid. We used Vanilla Coconut milk by Sooo and a little vanilla extract. Any thoughts?
KimiHarris
Tony,
You need to use full-fat coconut milk (which vanilla coconut milk, is not). 🙂
Janice
Hi Kimi,
I have the same Cuisinart ice cream maker you mention above. I tried to make the ice cream this morning after having frozen the bowl overnight, but it didn’t solidify at all even after 35 minutes or so of churning. I used the exact ingredients you mentioned so I’m not sure what I did wrong. The only thing I could think of is that I maybe should’ve refrigerated the mixture before pouring into the maker. Did you refrigerate the mixture first? I just can’t figure out what I did wrong. Thanks!
amyo6
Yes… I have a Cuisinart and manual recipes say to put the mixture in the fridge until it is completely cool… take the appliance bowl out of the freezer, pour the cooled mixture in and turn it on immediately. For some reason I got the paddle in upside down, last time and could not remember how it went… argh! So simple but by the time I figured it out, the bottom was frozen…. paddle stopped in seconds and we ended up drinking our ice cream. When I am paying attention, it is done in about ten minutes. Hope this helps. I used Trader Joe’s coconut milk in the box.
Nancy Seguin
We make this all the time. I even make this with my son’s first grade class and they love it! I like kitchen Thai for coconut milk – must use full fat or it won’t solidify. Try this next to a watermelon lime sorbet. AMAZING! I use tiny shot glasses and layer the liquid and use half sized Popsicle sticks.
Patti
Can i just use stevia as im diabetic?
El
Delicious! I added a.pinch of salt to balance out the sweet.
Michelle P.
Yum, I just made this and added organic dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I also did 1/2 tsp sea salt. Tomorrow I am going to try with fresh organic strawberries, crushed gluten free oatmeal animal cookies (or graham crackers if not gluten intolerant) w/ Tofuti Better than cream cheese. I did this recipe before with lactose free milk and cream cheese and it was the bomb (Strawberry Cheese Cake). I also plan to try to make gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that I will put in it. I also want to try it with liquid stevia and see how it turns out. Maybe even salted carmel? May try instead of honey Raw coconut nectar more nutritious than agave (low glycemic sweetener) I use it instead of sugar (cross between maple syrup & agave). Thank you, Kimi this is an awesome easy, base recipe I have been looking for to make in my Quisinart ice-cream maker. One suggestion if you have one and want to add stuff to it you should take some of the ice-cream out so it doesn’t start to overflow and then you can add it back to it. I’ll keep you posted on my test batches. My niece is suppose to have a good rum raisin recipe that I’ll have to find and tweak with this one. I also want to…. Happy Friday!
olivia
i just made this with just one can, 3T agave, 1T vanilla and 1/2T cinnamon. omg. so amazing. next time i will pan fry a banana and throw that on top. or cooked apples. any fruit goes so well with cinnamon vanilla ice cream. i have been looking online for weeks for the perfectly simple coconut ice cream recipe. i’m so glad i finally found it. thank you! i have the same cuisinart appliance and have made about 4 different recipes, none come near to how amazing your recipe is. although i have to give myself credit for the cinnamon, it’s so good!
amyo6
I see lots of questions about sugar here.
I am diabetic also and use coconut sugar, for everything now… it does not affect blood sugar at all. Google for details. I use honey too (sparingly) since finding out it is diabetic friendly.
Xylitol was my first alternative sugar… ‘Ultimate Sweetner’ from Amazon.
The processing makes for wonderful taste… no bitterness.
It is poisen to dogs and cats so no tasting or leftovers containing it.
I have Stevia sugar that is bagged like Splenda and used cup for cup like cane sugar…
I find it too sweet… and an off taste, so it sits on a shelf.
Amy
Just made this for my mother & I – she’s lactose intolerant and has been having trouble even with lactose-free ice cream, and she’s diabetic, so the little bit of honey works for her as well. This was DELICIOUS!!! Made it exactly like the recipe, using the 1/3 cup of honey, which is more than sweet enough for my taste. Going to branch out & experiment with flavors next, but the vanilla is great!
Barb
Hi Kimi,
I’m going to try your recipe as well, it’s seems soooo simple. I love simple!
Thx
Barb
Lainy
This ice cream is delish! Thanks for the recipe 🙂 I used only 1/2 TBSP of vanilla because I wanted coconut ice cream, not vanilla. It did take a little longer to solidify in the ice cream maker, probably because it’ s non-dairy….The honey gave it a nice flavor. Our toppings included toasted coconut, chocolate chips or chocolate syrup…Mmmmm!!
Chris
Thanks for posting the recipe! I just made it using almond/coconut milk and it turned out really well. The consistency is more like ice milk than ice cream. I plan on trying it with pure coconut milk next time (trader joes), hopefully that will make it more creamy.
KimiHarris
Hey Chris!
Glad you like this recipe! Unfortunately Trader Joe’s coconut milk is not full-fat, so it won’t be as creamy in texture. If you really want a creamy ice cream, use full-fat brands. But you could also try to use gelatin or agar-agar to help thicken it.
noemie
How about adding yolks to make it creamier like in milk ice cream. What do you think?
Tiffany
ok I have a son that is allergic to dairy egg and peanuts, he drinks soy milk can i use that to make the ice cream???
Ursula
I just got my cuisinart ice cream maker and will try this tomorrow! Since I don’t have full-fat coconut milk, could I add coconut oil to the coconut milk or do I need to add a thickener like guar gum?
Kris
I used full fat canned coconut milk and 5 hours later of it being in the freezer it’s still not frozen. I used the Cuisinart as well. Should you really freeze it over night for it to get hard like ice cream consistency?
Michelle
Can’t WAIT to try this!!!
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make Chai Flavored Coconut Ice Cream, using this vanilla recipe as a base? I was wondering if I should just add Chai spices? Not sure if I need to use tea???
Thanks!
Amy
I’ll be using this recipe to make green tea ice cream, but you could certainly use chai tea the same way. I gently heat the coconut milk until it’s steamy, but not boiling, then put a few tea bags in. Then let it cool on the stove while the tea is steeping. With chai, you may only need one or two tea bags. Sounds like a yummy combinations!