20 Best Dairy-Free Ice Cream Recipes
Summer is the perfect time to indulge in sweet, frozen treats, but for those who are allergic or intolerant to dairy (and many of us are!), traditional ice cream is a scoop of torture. In recent years, the number of dairy-free ice cream options in the freezer aisle has exploded and we’re grateful for that. But it’s oh-so-fun to make ice cream ourselves instead. Our options are only limited by our imaginations, and as an added benefit, we can skip the preservatives often found in vegan ice creams (like the inflammatory carrageenan).
You don’t necessarily need an ice cream maker to make homemade dairy-free ice cream: they whip air into your frozen desserts, producing a fluffier result, but you could easily put your ice cream mixture directly into the freezer instead. Go on, give it a try!
If you’re looking for a little inspiration to get you started, here are more than 20 amazing dairy-free ice cream recipes we’ve discovered around the web. Let the drooling commence!
20 Best Dairy-Free Ice Cream Recipes
Avocado Ice Cream
Avocado Ice Cream by Feel Good Foodie
An ultra creamy dairy-free ice cream recipe that offers tons of flavour variations if you want to experiment. And we fully intend to.
Low-Carb Keto Chocolate Ice Cream
Low-Carb Keto Chocolate Ice Cream by Big Man’s World
This five-ingredient recipe is low-carb, ketogenic, Paleo, vegan, and doesn’t even need an ice cream maker. There’s really no excuse not to make it.
Vegan Mango Lime Fro-Yo
Vegan Mango Lime Fro-Yo by From the Larder
Bring some extra sunshine into your life with vegan fro-yo. All you need are mangoes, limes and coconut yogurt. Easy as pie – or fro-yo!
Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches
Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches by Feasting on Fruit
You don’t need to turn the oven on to make these sandwiches – they’re no bake, no churn and extremely easy to devour.
5-Ingredient Coconut Milk Ice Cream
5-Ingredient Coconut Milk Ice Cream by My Darling Vegan
Get back to basics with a ridiculously easy coconut milk ice cream, which works as a great base for other flavours. Instead of regular sugar, we like to use natural sweeteners in this one.
Vegan Golden Milk Ice Cream
Vegan Golden Milk Ice Cream by Sondi Bruner (*ACN Head Program Coach)
Give your dairy-free ice cream an anti-inflammatory boost with the addition of turmeric. You can also freeze this mixture into ice cube trays for smoothies.
Leafy Green Mint Chocolate Chip Sherbert
Leafy Green Mint Chocolate Chip Sherbert by Green Smoothie Gourmet
Ever tried transforming your green smoothie into ice cream? This recipe will show you the secret method to making it taste delicious.
Paleo + Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Paleo + Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream by Paleo Running Momma
Have the best of all worlds with cashew-based ice cream swirled with strawberry purée and graham cracker crumble. Yum.
Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream by Love Chef Laura
Chocolate mint lovers will adore this simple and easy no churn recipe that has fresh mint and just a titch of spinach to add extra green colour.
Our entire Culinary Nutrition Expert program is dairy-free.
One Ingredient Banana Ice Cream
One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream by That Clean Life (*Culinary Nutrition Expert)
All you need are frozen bananas for this vegan ice cream recipe – but there are also instructions for how to make chocolate, mint, strawberry and green tea flavours by only adding one extra ingredient.
Coconut Ginger Ice Cream with Plantain Chips
Coconut Ginger Ice Cream with Plantain Chips by Snixy Kitchen
Add some crunchy goodness to your dairy-free ice cream with crushed plaintain chips. We love this idea so much!
Tiger Tail Dairy-Free Ice Cream
Tiger Tail Dairy-Free Ice Cream by Meghan Telpner (*ACN Founder + Director)
A healthy reinvention of the classic 80s ice cream flavour, using a mix of essential oils and a charcoal-infused licorice swirl. This one will bring back memories…
Chocolate Protein Ice Cream
Chocolate Protein Ice Cream by Vegan Yack Attack
You’ll never guess the secret protein-rich ingredient in this dairy-free ice cream recipe. (It’s not protein powder!)
Lemon Turmeric Sorbet
Lemon Turmeric Sorbet by Ahead of Thyme
All we can say about this one is it’s completely and utterly refreshing. What more do you need?
Our entire Culinary Nutrition Expert program is dairy-free.
Basil Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Basil Chocolate Chip Ice Cream by Ashleigh Grange (*Culinary Nutrition Expert)
Yes, you can use herbs like basil in dairy-free ice cream. And you should.
Paleo Pumpkin Hazelnut Ice Cream
Paleo Pumpkin Hazelnut Ice Cream by Do You Even Paleo
Of course you can eat this in the summertime, but with the pumpkin purée and warming spices, you can easily make this for a treat throughout the fall and winter.
Cherry Cashew Miso Ice Cream
Cherry Cashew Miso Ice Cream by Sweet Lizzy (*Culinary Nutrition Expert)
A touch of miso – one of our favourite fermented foods – adds umami to this decadent, healthy dairy-free ice cream. Try it – you won’t be sorry.
Salted Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Ice Cream
Salted Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Ice Cream by Pickles ‘N Honey (*Culinary Nutrition Expert)
Coconut milk, cacao powder, coconut sugar, sea salt and… olive oil? Yep you read right. And it’s a lovely, fruity addition.
Cherry Coconut Sorbet
Cherry Coconut Sorbet by Sun-Kissed Kitchen
It takes some extra time to pit the cherries, but the results are so worth it.
Strawberry Banana Nice Cream
Strawberry Banana Nice Cream by A Dash of Megnut
You probably already have everything you need in your fridge or freezer to make this 2-ingredient ice cream, so you might as well do it now.
Super Fudgy Marble Fudge Ice Cream
Super Fudgy Marble Fudge Ice Cream by Keeping It Kind
It’s got fudge in the name TWICE. So we’re sold.
Raw Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Raw Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches by Sheena Scott (*Culinary Nutrition Expert)
A simple dairy-free nut-butter swirl ice cream sandwiched between easy, no-bake cookies. A heavenly treat for a hot summer day!
Layered Nice Cream Squares
Layered Nice Cream Squares by Wellness 1st (*Culinary Nutrition Expert)
This multi-layered dairy-free ice cream treat is very easy to enjoy – and you probably won’t be able to stop at just eating one.
Yay for ice cream!! What a fabulous roundup. Thanks so much for including my Stellar Strawberry Ice Cream in the lineup. I think I need to eat ice cream for dinner tonight. . . (and maybe for breakfast tomorrow?). ;)
Ooh I agree with Ricki! Thanks for including my Raw Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches in this most awesome list. Only problem? Which one to make first…
Strike one: I have been newly diagnosed with a dairy allergy. Agh! Strike two: I finished the last bit of coconut dairy free ice cream last night. Misery! Home run: the arrival of this wonderful post! I am so happy! I don’t know which recipe to start with…but I’ll figure that out quickly : ) Thank you for this post! It is blessing. I was thinking about ice cream earlier today and feeling sad. But I read this…You made my day, my week, my month!
Wow so many recipies to choose from my husband and I are Diabetic and lactose intolerant, I recently purchased some dairy free coconut milk and almond milk frozen deserts and really liked them both, I want to make some at home and not have the chemicals added in. I was searching for some recipies on line an came upon this site. Like what I see and the recipies I read, gave me some ideas. Thank you!
Oh my! They all look so good. Hard to choose which one to try out first.
I was looking for something I could make with almond milk. I wanted ice cream I’m diabetic but I didn’t think I would find anything thank you for this site
While these all look extremely yummy, I want to know WHY you feel that coconut in any form is safe? Our daughter and I are both deathly allergic to tropicals in all forms as well as to dairy and glutens so it would be nice if you had some way to let people know what to substitute in place of all the coconut, that would be most helpful. BTW – While a lot of people use coconut products, for those of us who are allergic to them, the allergy is as deadly as peanut allergies to some people.
Coconut products are safe for those who are not allergic to them. You could substitute any other dairy-free milk in place of coconut – almond, cashew, oat, rice, hemp, etc.
Unless you are allergic to nuts or soy you could substitute those. Easy to check the internet.
Thanks for including my salted caramel ice cream! These all look delicious!
Just made the Golden Milk dairy free ice cream and like it a lot. Must add that this is my very first time making ice cream!!! Tomorrow I’m going for either cherry or peach ice cream!!! Wohoo!!! 🙌
These are great. Thank you.
I would also love to have some vegan ice cream recipes that do not use coconut milk as the base. Any suggestions?
You could try almond milk, cashew milk, rice milk or oat milk. Basically, experiment with the dairy-free nut or seed milks you enjoy!