Vegan Ice Cream Recipe

It's difficult to replicate the same consistency of a milk-based ice cream, and there's nothing worse than a sad bowl of ice cream. So many ingredients seem irreplaceable—eggs, cream, and even some ice cream stabilizers aren’t vegan. Luckily, this recipe seems to suit the vegan cook and the home cook. Vegan Ice cream requires plant-based milk, some sort of sweetener, and a stabilizer. It’s necessary to replace the fat from heavy cream with plant fat, this is why coconut milk is so popular. The stabilizer here is xanthan gum, which is a gluten-free emulsifier, found as a powder in grocery or health food stores. And then sugar, which works to add sweetness, of course, but by adding more sugar you are also lowering the freezing temperature of the base, resulting in a smoother ice cream. All properties are irreplaceable in the formation of good ice cream, and it is why it is necessary they are replaced. 

The texture here is so close to the real thing, that it may be even better. The fat from the cream of coconut makes this a luscious treat. The oat milk adds a nice well rounded flavor, and is plant-based milk with a little more viscosity than soy or almond, resulting in a thicker ice cream base/ smoother final ice cream. The coconut fat definitely adds a coconut flavor to the ice cream, but it's well balanced with the addition of oat milk. I recommend using vanilla paste, which you can usually find in specialty baking stores. Vanilla paste also works to supplement the coconut flavor and make it less overpowering.

I’ve also included many options for flavorings, and this recipe, while good on its own, makes a fantastic base for any other flavor- specifically nut flavors (pistachio is my favorite), in addition to pistachio butter, add crushed pistachios and top with salt!!