Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream {with how-to video!}

By Amanda Paa – Last updated: July 27, 2021
5 from 1 vote
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Last year I set out on a mission to perfect dairy-free ice cream, and I quickly fell in love with this Salty Honey Coconut Milk Ice Cream. I’m not vegan, nor intolerant to dairy (I’ve healed from the issues I had last year), I just really love the taste and the ease of making coconut milk ice cream – no eggs to worry about curdling! The base recipe I created has a few secrets to make it creamy and rich, unlike many icy store-bought vegan pints. You’ll see those in the how-to VIDEO above, but basically it comes down to three things:

  1. Instead of using all coconut milk, you’ll use coconut cream AND coconut milk, for a higher fat content, similar to what full-fat dairy would be.
  2. Using a liquid sweetener (maple syrup) and a tablespoon of vodka (optional) helps keep the ice cream scoop-able and soft, which has to do with reducing the chance of ice crystals developing.
  3. A slurry of tapioca starch + coconut milk helps thicken and stabilize the liquids, similar to what eggs do in regular ice cream.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream {with step by step video!}

With a really good bar of dark chocolate hand, I decided to go the way of Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream this time. But it’s actually chocolate shards that I finely chopped, similar to stracciatella (italian for “rags or shards”), because chunky chocolate chips freeze hard as a rock in ice cream. No bueno.

Instead, the delicate flakes fuse with the ice cream and literally melt in your mouth.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream {with how-to video!}
Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream {with step by step video!}

So velvety and lush, holding a richness I can only compare to custard. And it scoops like a dream, not one bit icy even after being re-froze several times while taking photos.

Whether you’re an omnivore, vegan, or different every day , I hope your summer sees a cone stacked high with this chocolate chip delight. 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream {with step by step video!}
Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream {with step by step video!}

Vegan Dark Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream {with how-to video!}

Super creamy, vegan chocolate chip ice cream made with coconut milk.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time :5 hours
Cook Time :30 minutes
Total Time :5 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 4 cups
Author: Amanda Paa

SCALE:

Ingredients

Instructions 

  • Add coconut cream and 3/4 can of coconut milk to saucepan. Mix 1 tablespoon tapioca starch with the remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk, right in the can, to dissolve. Set aside. Bring liquid to a boil, and add maple syrup, salt, then tapioca starch mixture.
  • Turn heat down to simmer, and cook for 8-9 minutes, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of spoon. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and vodka. Let cool for 10 minutes, then add to a ziploc bag and submerge bag in an ice bath.
  • Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, up to overnight.
  • Pour cold mixture into ice cream maker and begin to process. When nearly finished churning and ice cream is consistency of soft serve, add in chopped chocolate, just to mix throughout.
  • Then spoon into pan and freeze for 4 hours, until ready to eat. Let sit for 5 minutes before scooping.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream {with how-to video!}
Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream {with step by step video!}

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July 14, 2016

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26 comments

  1. Hi! I love citrus-flavored ice cream. If I added extra liquid, say 1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice, should I adjust the amount of tapioca starch?

  2. My daughter is vegan, but not the extreme however, we try to keep it extreme every time we cook or her. So I found this recipe. Well, she loved it of course, BUT now, even our non-vegan friends are requesting it. Personally, as a non-vegan, I was TOTALLY IMPRESSED with the texture and flavor. This recipe is a keeper and thank you for sharing this wonderful treat!
    Danny

  3. Made this for my hubby’s birthday–turned out amazing!! I have tried other recipes for coconut based df ice cream recipes but this one worked flawlessly. I added mint essential oil and made a “magic shell” sauce to go over it and it was perfect. Thank you for the great recipe.

  4. I made this tonight a day my husband couldn’t stop eating it…..and neither could I..is it still healthy if you eat the whole thing in one sitting?

  5. Love the video & as a novice I want to try but I do not own an ice cream machine. Could I just freeze it in a loaf pan???

    • Hi Marie!
      Unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend making it without an ice cream. It needs the air whipped into it in order to stay soft and scoopable. But if you do try it, let me know.

      • Can we beat it with an egg beater till nice and fluffy and then store it to freeze? I also donot own a ice cream churner. Would this method work?

        • Yes, it will work! Will probably just freeze a bit harder because it won’t get as much air incorporated into the batter as you would with an ice cream maker.

  6. I used your previous recipe for the salty honey ice cream and your base recipe is the best. I’d like to use your base to make a mint choc chip ice cream using avocado. I’m wondering if I should eliminate the coconut cream since avocado has fat and also wondering at what point I should add the avocado. Not sure what it would do if I put it in the pan to boil. Thoughts?

  7. Delicious recipe, Amanda! And Yaaaas! to adding invert sugar (maple syrup is favored) and alcohol – just a bit will do! Both work magic on reducing those pesky ice crystals. Your video is just fantastic, captured beautifully!

  8. Oh I love this! You are too much fun in that video! I love coconut milk ice cream too and find adding that extra cream totally worth it. And I didn’t even know that coconut milk without the gums existed… such a great tip. Thanks :)

    • Hi Emily! Ugh, yes, I get so frustrated trying to find things that seem to be real, but then have unnecessary added ingredients – like coconut milk. I can find the one I listed at Whole Foods now, which is awesome!

  9. The ice cream looks just like what would come straight out of an Italian gelato creamery! I can’t believe it’s vegan too! Coconut lends the best texture, doesn’t it? I just want to dig in!

    • i’m an ice cream lover through and through – all year round! but especially summer. :) and yes, a few explanations into the why is always so interesting to me too!

  10. You are SO good!!! I am loving those dark chocolate shards in that coconut base. Brilliant!