This is truly the BEST vegan chocolate ice cream recipe. Not only is it incredibly simple, lower in sugar, and only 5 ingredients, but this secretly healthy chocolate ice cream is also coconut free and soy free- we’re just using oat milk! This vegan chocolate ice cream will be your new favorite chocolate ice cream, dairy free or not!

BEST Homemade Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

The best vegan chocolate ice cream WITHOUT coconut!

This vegan chocolate ice cream recipe right here is truly the only homemade ice cream recipe you need (that is, if you’re a chocolate ice cream lover!).

But really: this homemade dairy free ice cream not only tastes just like classic chocolate ice cream, but it’s scoop-able, creamy, rich, indulgent, and decadent. The perfect ice cream to keep you cool all summer long.

All while also being entirely yet undetectably: dairy free, lower in sugar, made with only 5 wholesome ingredients, and entirely soy free, coconut free and nut free! (And if you love nut free coconut free vegan ice cream, then you’ll also love my vegan vanilla ice cream recipe too!).

Yep, you got it- there’s no coconut after taste to this vegan chocolate ice cream. Just pure, indulgent and creamy chocolatey-goodness! Plus, this chocolate ice cream recipe comes together so easily in an ice cream maker.

The trick to this ice cream? Making a super thick eggless chocolate custard before making the actual ice cream. This helps not only yield a more scoop-able texture, but it also keeps this vegan ice cream super creamy rather than icy!

BEST Homemade Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

5 ingredient chocolate ice cream:

This homemade chocolate ice cream recipe could not be any simpler. You’ll only need 5 ingredients to yield the creamiest and richest tasting vegan chocolate ice cream that even dairy lovers will LOVE! All without the after taste of coconut or soy.

Ingredients:

  • Oat milk: I used store bought, but you can also use homemade oat milk.
  • Chocolate: for this recipe, the darker the chocolate, the better. I actually recommend using 100% chocolate, such as the chocolate chips from Pascha Chocolate. But you can also use stevia sweetened or 85% if you like a bit more sweetness.
  • Sugar: you can use either coconut sugar or granulated sugar here. Coconut sugar will keep this vegan chocolate ice cream entirely refined sugar free.
  • Cocoa powder: to add some richness and depth to the chocolate.
  • Pinch of sea salt: quite literally JUST a pinch. And it makes all the difference! Trust me!
vegan chocolate ice cream ingredients

How to make homemade vegan chocolate ice cream

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

As I mentioned above, this vegan chocolate ice cream comes together so simply using an ice cream maker. In fact, it’s really only 4 simple steps to achieve the ultimate homemade chocolate ice cream recipe.

1. Pre-Ice Cream Prep Stage

If you’ve used an ice cream maker before, then you know that you’ll need to chill the ice cream canister 24 hours before beginning. This means that when you want chocolate ice cream, you actually will need to think ahead a bit! However, sometimes our cravings our spontaneous (especially when it’s randomly a super hot day!).

I like to keep my ice cream canister always in the freezer during the summer. That way, it’s always ready to go and make the ice cream!

2. Make the chocolate custard

The next part of making homemade ice cream is, again, super easy! You’ll whisk everything together in a saucepan on medium to low heat until the chocolate melts and the sugar dissolves. The mixture should be quite thick! Then we’ll chill the custard in the next phase.

vegan chocolate custard

3. Chill the custard

This step is incredibly easy BUT SUPER IMPORTANT. The reason being is that hot custard going into your ice cold ice cream canister will immediately warm the ice cream canister and prevent the ice cream from actually forming.

You’ll need to chill your custard for about 2-3 hours, until there is absolutely not warmth to the custard. That way, when you pour your liquid chocolate ice cream into the machine, it immediately churns into ice cream.

4. Churn the vegan ice cream + serve!

When your custard is chilled, it’s time to churn your vegan chocolate ice cream! Every ice cream maker is slightly different, but the steps are fairly straight forward. Pour your custard into your machine and turn it on. Then allow the ice cream maker to churn the ice cream for about 30 minutes.

I notice that the ice cream starts to thicken after about 10 minutes and even more so after another 10-20. That’s typically when you can serve the chocolate ice cream immediately or store the ice cream in an ice cream container in the freezer for whenever you want a scoop!

Check out these super cute ice cream containers that you can use to store your homemade ice cream.

making vegan chocolate ice cream

Can I use another dairy free milk for this chocolate ice cream recipe?

I specifically designed this recipe to be both coconut free and soy free (along with nut-free!). That being said, I have tested this with almond milk, as I know it’s a popular choice out there. It doesn’t yield the creamiest results…and it definitely tastes “healthy.”

I would stick to using the oat milk if I were you! It truly creates the creamiest healthy chocolate ice cream without tasting healthier at all!

Can I make this homemade ice cream recipe without an ice cream maker?

This healthy homemade chocolate ice cream will turn out best using an ice cream machine. This is because we’re using oat milk here, which isn’t as high in natural fats as other dairy free milks. With less fat means that there’s more of a chance for an uneven texture if just frozen without churning.

But I get it- I was super resistant to getting an ice cream machine at first too. After all, I’ve made plenty of no churn delicious dairy free ice cream recipes on the blog before. But an ice cream machine truly is a game changer if you want to be better than a store bought or ice cream shop scoop (trust me with this recipe, you will be!).

scoops of ice cream in bowl

If you’re still not sure whether you want an ice cream machine, check out this post. Baking Bites goes a bit more in depth as to how an ice cream maker really more evenly distributes the ice crystals throughout the ice cream.

I really would recommend using the ice cream machine. My top recommendation for an ice cream machine is the Cuisnart Pure Indulgence. It’s not as big of an investment as other ice cream machines, really durable, and honestly makes the best ice cream…and is super easy!

Healthy chocolate ice cream topping ideas + add ins:

If you wanted to make this vegan chocolate ice cream extra fun, you can churn in some add-ins 5 minutes before it’s done churning, or top your super creamy homemade chocolate ice cream with:

eaten vegan chocolate ice cream

You are just going to love this super easy vegan chocolate ice cream recipe! It’s honestly hands down the best homemade chocolate ice cream I’ve ever had…and beats store bought any day! The perfect healthier dessert for a super hot summer day or whenever you want a sweet treat.

Happy churning!

More vegan ice cream recipes you’ll love:

Homemade Vegan Cookie Dough Ice Cream

BEST Cashew Milk Ice Cream

Paleo Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream

Vegan Cookies n’ Cream Ice Cream

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

BEST Simple Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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eaten vegan chocolate ice cream

Simple Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream | Coconut Free + Nut Free!

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 3 reviews
  • Author: thebananadiaries
  • Prep Time: 2
  • 120, chilling time:
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 12 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Ice Cream Maker
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

This is truly the BEST vegan chocolate ice cream recipe. Not only is it incredibly simple and only 5 ingredients, but this secretly healthy chocolate ice cream is also coconut free and soy free- we’re just using oat milk! This vegan chocolate ice cream will be your new favorite chocolate ice cream, dairy free or not!


Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Make sure that you’ve frozen the ice cream container for at least 24 hours before beginning.
  2. Make the chocolate custard: in a medium saucepan on medium heat, whisk together all the ingredients. Continue whisking until the chocolate has completely melted into the oat milk. Remove the custard from the heat and allow the mixture to cool at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then transfer the custard to chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours. There should be no heat coming from the custard when you’re ready to make the ice cream. If there is, then you need to chill longer. Any heat will alter the temperature of the ice cream mixer, preventing the ice cream from actually forming.
  3. Make the ice cream: once your custard is chilled, follow the instructions of your ice cream machine, pouring the custard into the ice cream container and turning the machine on. With the specific ice cream maker I recommended, it took about 25 minutes to churn. 
  4. Once the ice cream has churned and thickened, transfer the ice cream to an ice cream storage container and store in the freezer. Scoop and serve as desired!

Notes

Vegan Chocolate Recommendations: I recommend using either Pascha Chocolate 100% chocolate chips (the ice cream will still be very sweet, just really rich!) or their stevia sweetened chocolate chips.

Oat milk: you can make your own oat milk or use store bought. For store bought, I recommend Forager Project or Planet Oat.

Sugar: you can use granulated sugar or coconut sugar. I haven’t tried a keto-friendly granulated sugar and know that sometimes those alter the taste and texture drastically so use with caution (i.e. I can’t recommend it, but if you want to experiment, you’re more than welcome too!)

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/2 cup
  • Calories: 174
  • Sugar: 16.9 g
  • Sodium: 85.6 mg
  • Fat: 8.6 g
  • Saturated Fat: 5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 24.1 g
  • Fiber: 4 g
  • Protein: 3.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 0.3 mg