7 tips for perfecting homemade vegan ice cream

Whether you love vegan ice cream for its tasty assortment of plant-based ingredients that have the added benefit of being cruelty-free, or because it finally allows the lactose and dairy adverse to enjoy good old “creamy” ice cream again, or purely because you’re an ice cream feen and absolutely any ice cream is life, these tips will help you indulge in this sweet treat.

7 tips for luscious vegan ice cream that ticks all those flavour boxes

1. You can make vegan ice cream from several different bases, so choosing the right base to start off with is very important. Common bases include overnight soaked nuts blitzed to form a puree, plant-based milks, or frozen bananas for a simple ice-cream base. We spoke to Mariza Ebersohn, plant-based recipe developer and blogger, about her foolproof base for creamy vegan ice cream and here’s what she recommends: “Cashews soaked in water for at least three hours, blended with full-fat coconut cream, sweetener of choice, 1 tbsp coconut oil, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.” This vegan roasted banana ice cream recipe has a creamy cashew nut base that has been flavoured with sweet roasted bananas.
2. Frozen bananas blitzed until smooth and creamy is one of the easiest ways to make vegan ‘nice’ cream. You can flavour it in a number of ways and the results are always delicious. Here are two recipes to choose from: double chocolate cookie dough or chocolate and blueberry ‘nice’ cream.
3. Use the right milk. Naturally, creamy plant-based milk will give you the best outcomes. Oat milk, nut-based milks, coconut milk or coconut cream are popular choices for vegan alternatives. Trythis chocolate and pistachio popsicle recipe that’s both sweet and refreshing for summer!
4. In the same way traditional dairy-based ice creams are thickened with eggs to create a smooth and creamy texture, vegan ice cream bases can be thickened with a small amount of cornflour. It serves as a stabiliser and keeps the liquid ingredients in the ice cream from forming chunks of ice when freezing, allowing for a creamy, easy-to-scoop dessert. This vegan sumac-roasted strawberry ice cream recipe has a cornflour-thickened coconut base – it’s a flavour bomb and it’s creamy and sweet in all the right ways!
5. Always use the highest-quality ingredients you can find – this can be said for any ice cream making. It’s so important for the overall enjoyment of the final product.
6. Never underestimate the power of a pinch of good-quality sea salt. This acts as a natural flavour enhancer, which is very important for flavouring ice cream bases because serving frozen items often dulls the flavour. So always taste test your base to make sure the flavour is strong enough before it’s frozen.
7. Lastly, an ice-cream maker or a high-speed blender is quintessential to success when creamy homemade vegan ice cream is involved. “For someone who does not have an ice-cream machine, the best would be to freeze the vegan base mixture in ice cubes until set and blend with more plant-based milk to smooth,” says Mariza, “or make easy-to-set ice-cream lollies with your favourite vegan base.” This green vegan pudding pop recipe is one for the books!