Easy and sweet Paleo vanilla milkshakes that are dairy free, vegan, and sweetened only with dates! These tastes like a thick vanilla blizzard and perfect for all ages!

paleo vanilla milkshake with peanut butter

What’s your favorite summertime treat? Mine was going to Dairy Queen with my family to get my beloved Butterfingers blizzard. It was just the best.

Now, I’m a few years older, but I still love myself a good milkshake, and this Paleo vanilla milkshake is as thick as a blizzard and is absolutely delicious! Oh, and guess what? It’s also completely vegan.

overhead of thick vegan milkshake

So let’s rename that to a Paleo vegan milkshake 😉

Oh, and second guess what? This dairy free milkshake is only sweetened with dates! Cool, right?

You’re probably thinking okay what the heck is the catch in all of this. Well, guess what? There isn’t one! These milkshakes are incredibly easy, delicious, and sweet, yet completely Paleo, vegan, dairy free, and refined sugar free…it’s pretty dang amazing!

This Paleo-fied vegani-fied version of a blizzard is so incredibly creamy, you’re going to be drinking it all summer long!

up close paleo vanilla milkshake

But how can you make a thick vegan milkshake without any ice cream?

Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. These Paleo vanilla milkshakes are made with my favorite secret ingredient (how cliche, I know, but it’s true and it’s worthy of being actually considered classic), and use a thick coconut milk to make them extra creamy and delicious, which means that these milkshakes are also completely nut free!

So without further ado, let’s dive into what makes these thick vegan milkshakes actually dairy free and Paleo, and then I’ll show you how to make a milkshake without ice cream!

milkshakes on wooden board

Paleo Vanilla Milkshake Ingredients

Japanese Sweet Potato: would you expect anything less? Yes, we’re using sweet potato in these dairy free milkshakes! This is the key to how to make a milkshake without ice cream. Or technically, since I’m so accustomed to making sweet potato ice cream, I guess this is technically still making a milkshake with ice cream HA! I would recommend using either a Japanese sweet potato or a Hannah sweet potato here. However, not everyone has access to them, so a regular sweet potato will do (here’s a guide to all of the different sweet potatoes that exist!). It will just be orange, but hey, that’s fun!

Coconut Milk: here, you can either use coconut cream or coconut milk- I really enjoy both, and it just depends if you want a very very very thick vegan milkshake or just a very very thick vegan milkshake (lol). Go with the canned version rather than refrigerated, as I find it tastes a lot better! We’re making milkshakes here people, not skimping on calories 😉

Vanilla Extract: it would be a sorry Paleo vanilla milkshake if it didn’t have any vanilla!

Dates: that’s right! The only sweetener to these dairy free milkshakes is dates! These are the perfect addition to making your Paleo vanilla milkshakes taste deliciously sweet while also being Paleo friendly (and vegan friendly as well!). I recommend going with pitted dates because it just makes life easier (and less sticky!)

milkshake on white marble

How to make a milkshake without ice cream

Probably the question you’re wondering most about…how the heck is sweet potato with coconut cream going to turn into a beautifully thick vegan milkshake?! That’s Paleo…dairy free…and still taste good?!

Well, my friend, you can check out this video below for how to make an easy Paleo coconut milkshake:

Basically, you’re going to start with your frozen Japanese sweet potato. Now, if a Japanese sweet potato isn’t available to you, you can also use a Hannah sweet potato, or just a regular orange one! I find that Japanese and Hannah sweet potatoes tend to be the sweetest, so that’s what I would recommend.

Add your sweet potato chunks to a large food processor, along with your coconut milk or cream and vanilla extract.

Blend until it becomes very smooth, like a blizzard/soft serve consistency- what you would want for your Paleo vegan vanilla ice cream.

Add in your soft medjool dates and blend again until it’s smooth. A tip for the dates: you can soak them in warm water before blending to make sure that they puree smoothly- this won’t affect the consistency of your homemade blizzard!

Now pour your Paleo coconut milkshake into two milkshake glasses and add in your favorite toppings to make your Paleo vanilla milkshake EXTRA good!

overhead of thick vegan milkshake

Optional Paleo and vegan toppings and mix ins

Like I said earlier, going for a DQ blizzard was my all time favorite treat to have in the summer time growing up. I personally just love a crunch or something chewy to go with ice cream, and it makes milkshakes way more fun to eat than just sipping them away!

So I have a few mix ins that could make your Paleo coconut milkshake completely upgraded to a healthy homemade blizzard!

milkshake with straw

You could add in these Paleo vegan Oreos for a homemade Oreo blizzard!

Or maybe some sweet potato brownies for a homemade brownie blizzard!

Throw in some vegan chocolate chip cookies or cookie dough for a cookie dough blizzard!

Or maybe you like the candy route, and want to add in some homemade vegan Snickers bars to the mix 😉

milkshake overhead shot

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of these mix ins! You could also just straight up add chocolate chips and your favorite nut butter, like I do from time to time. Or you can add in a spoonful of cacao powder for a delicious and easy chocolate milkshake!

unclose shot of milkshake

What’s your favorite milkshake add in? I’d love to know! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did 🙂 It’s so fun to make, easy for whenever you want to have a good ol’ milkshake, and absolutely delicious!

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments below, and I cannot wait to see your recreations on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

Happy blending, swirling, and devouring!

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

pinterest image for paleo vegan milkshakes
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milkshake with straw

How to make the BEST Paleo Milkshake (Vegan)

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  • Author: thebananadiaries
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 2
  • Total Time: 7 minutes
  • Yield: 2 1x
  • Category: dessert
  • Method: blending

Description

Easy and sweet Paleo vanilla milkshakes that are dairy free, vegan, and sweetened only with dates! These tastes like a thick vanilla blizzard and perfect for all ages!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 large Japanese sweet potato, baked, skin removed, frozen*
  • 1/2 cup-1 cup coconut milk, unsweetened 
  • 2 large medjool dates, pitted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Optional add ins: chocolate chips, cookie dough, brownies, nut butter

Instructions

  1. In a large food processor, add in frozen sweet potato, coconut milk, and vanilla extract.
  2. Blend until smooth.
  3. Add in dates and blend again until smooth.
  4. Pour into 2 glasses and add in optional add-ins here.
  5. Enjoy!

pinterest image for paleo vegan milkshakes