Paleo Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream {No Churn}
Creamy and sweet 3 ingredient Paleo vanilla ice cream that’s completely vegan, nut free, sugar free, and no ice cream maker required! Fun for kids to make and perfect for a healthy treat!
I don’t know about you, but I just love ice cream. It’s my favorite thing of all time. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be ice cream, and this Paleo vegan vanilla ice cream just takes the (ice cream) cake!
It’s easy, no sugar added yet incredibly sweet, nut free, soy free, and sooooo delicious, that it won’t last you too long ha!
And! It’s also a no churn ice cream that’s made with only 3 ingredients.
Maybe I am magic after all 😉 I’ll let you in on the secret…it’s made with sweet potato!
The secret to this vegan vanilla ice cream: sweet potato
Yes, sweet potato! Now don’t be shocked or click out or run screaming from the screen.
Trust me on this one, it does not taste like sweet potato, but rather a really thick and creamy vegan Paleo vanilla ice cream! Which is what we want, right?
The sweet potato is such an important ingredient to this recipe! It’s the backbone of the ice cream and makes it soooo thick and delicious!
You’re going to just love this ice cream, I know it! Let’s dive into the ingredients!
Ingredients for Paleo vegan vanilla ice cream from scratch
Sweet Potato: for this recipe, I highly recommend sticking with a Japanese sweet potato, as that has that creamy white color. Some grocery stores don’t have them, but Whole Foods definitely should nationwide, as well as your local mom & pop health store! Of course, you can use a regular jewel sweet potato, but the color will just be orange instead of creamy white!
Coconut Cream: I used a full fat coconut cream for this recipe, but look for that or “full fat coconut milk” on the label! That will ensure the flavor. Don’t freak out if there’s a little guar gum added to the coconut milk- a little won’t hurt you, and it will help the coconut fat from separating from the water, giving you that creamy texture!
Vanilla Extract: well, we can’t have paleo vanilla ice cream without vanilla extract! I’ve also added in the additional ingredients to include some specks of vanilla bean seeds for that real, authentic vanilla ice cream experience, but I do know that it can get quite expensive, so I just want to let you know that it’s not necessary to include in order to have the best no churn paleo ice cream!
How to make no churn Paleo ice cream
I know what you’re thinking. You can’t make ice cream without an ice cream maker!
This Paleo vegan ice cream is completely no churn (you can use one if you’d like, but why put yourself through that clean up?!). All you need is a food processor and a metal or glass loaf pan that can be placed into the freezer!
- First, we start by pureeing the sweet potato until it’s nice and creamy.
- Then add in the rest of the ingredients: coconut cream and vanilla extract. Feel free to add in some of your additional ingredients here (save for the chocolate chunks, which you’ll add in once you’re done turning on your food processor- trust me, I know how fun that is!).
- Pour your ice cream concoction into a loaf pan and place your ice cream into the freezer. Cover with a second piece of parchment paper (to ensure that the ice cream doesn’t get freezer burn) for 3-4 hours.
When you’re ready to serve it, just take it out of the freezer and let it soften for 5-10 minutes! Then serve!
See? Wasn’t so bad right?
Now, I’ll be honest, this is supposed to last you multiple days…but don’t be surprised at how fast it goes!! I won’t even tell you how long it lasted Jared and I haha! It’s kinda hilarious, but speaks to how good this sweet potato ice cream is!
Ingredient substitutions and additions for Paleo vegan ice cream
Sometimes you don’t have a specific ingredient on hand (but you’ll definitely need sweet potato, so don’t swap that one out!) or maybe you don’t particularly like it…let’s talk about swaps and additions for the rebels in the back!
Almond milk: while this is a nut free paleo vanilla ice cream, you can absolutely use a full fat almond milk here, but I would highly recommend the higher calorie one- the one with all the fat. This is because your no churn paleo ice cream will be too icey if you use the 45 calorie or lower one. It’s ice cream people! Who’s tryna save calories here?!
Chocolate chunks: so I just love having chocolate chip ice cream. Don’t you?! It’s one of my favorites! I added 100% dark chocolate chunks to this ice cream, and it was insane! Definitely a must if you want some variation!
Protein powder: yes, you can copy Halo Top and make some protein ice cream! Add in a scoop of your favorite protein powder to level out the macronutrients in this Paleo vegan ice cream. You can see some of my faves in this post here!
Maple Syrup: soooo some people like things on the sweeter side! Not a problem! You can absolutely add in some maple syrup to this Paleo vegan ice cream! Or even coconut sugar if you’d like! I personally think this sweet potato ice cream tastes sweet enough on its own, but go ahead and take a little spoonful before you stick it into the freezer- just to make sure you don’t want to add in anything else!
Vanilla beans: like I mentioned above, you can definitely add in some vanilla been seed specks for a more authentic vanilla bean ice cream feel! However, I know they get expensive, so don’t worry about your Paleo vanilla ice cream not being complete without it! It’s only for fun!
Healthy Vegan Ice Cream Toppings
Of course, you need to add in some toppings if you’re going to make a Paleo and Vegan ice cream sundae! Here are a few of my faves:
- Paleo vegan chocolate chips (my fave)
- Coconut whipped cream
- Paleo Vegan Caramel Sauce
- Cherries (or your favorite fruit!)
- Homemade chocolate fudge (use 2 tbsp coconut cream, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tsp maple syrup, and 1 tbsp cacao powder. Whisk it all together and heat!)
- Mini cookie dough balls
- Vegan sprinkles
- Paleo vegan oreos
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! It’s perfect for a hot summer day or delicious sweet treat at night 🙂 I love adding a scoop on top of my Paleo sweet potato brownies or making a vegan ice cream sandwich using my vegan chocolate chip cookies!
If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know how it went in the comments section below. As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, to be sure to tag me there!
Happy Paleo vegan ice cream making!
More healthy ice cream recipes
Healthier Vegan Snicker’s Ice Cream
No Churn Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Ice Cream
Paleo Vegan Cookie Dough Ice Cream
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Paleo Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream {No Churn}
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 240
- Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezing
Description
Creamy and sweet 3 ingredient Paleo vanilla ice cream that’s completely vegan, no sugar added, and no ice cream maker required! Fun for kids to make and perfect for a healthy treat!
Ingredients
- 1 large Japanese sweet potato (14 ounces), baked and cooled, skin removed
- 1 16-oz can full fat coconut milk or cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional: 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla bean seeds, 1 bar 100% dark chocolate
Instructions
- Place baked sweet potato into a large food processor and blend until pureed.
- Add in coconut milk, vanilla extract, and optional ingredients if needed. Blend until smooth.
- Pour mixture into a 9″ baking loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
- Place in the freezer for 3-4 hours before serving.
- Scoop and serve with favorite toppings
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 130
- Sugar: 3.3 g
- Sodium: 23.6 mg
- Fat: 9.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.6 g
- Fiber: 1.7 g
- Protein: 1.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Hey! Can this be substituted with normal sweet potato? Thanks!
Absolutely! It just won’t turn out white like the ice cream, but it will still taste delicious 🙂
WHAT?!?! THIS IS PURE GENIUS!! This was seriously the most delicious ice cream! Thank you for your brilliant creations 🙂
Aw yay!! I hope you absolutely loved it, thank you!
How awesome are Japanese sweet potatoes?! I also used them in my coconut cake. Just ADORE them so much! Your ice cream looks incredible, Britt! 🙂
I SO AGREE! It’s just the best sweet potato to me! I’m trying your coconut cake ASAP! 🙂
Hi there!
Could we use the recipe in a blender instead of a food processor? Or does it absolutely have to be a food processor?
Hi Tiana! You could use a blender as long as it’s high powdered! It just needs to be able break up the sweet potato enough to be completely smooth!
Do you have to cover the ice cream when it’s freezing because mine is not exactly the texture of regular ice cream
Hmm I didn’t, but how cold is your freezer? Also, what milk are you using? Full fat coconut yields the best result!
I made this a few days ago and have been enjoying every moment of it since ♥️♥️♥️ I used a regular large yam, went for 1/4 c of maple syrup, and added chocolate chips! This is everything you want it to be! Trust it and MAKE IT!! Btw I love this gal’s stuff!
Aw my goodness this is so beautiful!! Thank you so much for sharing and rating!! So glad you enjoyed this and thank you for all of the support! Hope you’re having a FABULOUS day! ♥️
Hi! Do you think I could use oat milk instead of coconut milk?
Hi Julia! Absolutely, especially if it’s homemade- that will give it a creamy texture!
Can I use a russet, Yukon, or red potato instead?
Hi Carolyn! For this recipe, unfortunately not- the sweet potato helps add the sweetness to the ice cream, and they tend to be softer than regular potatoes once baked, yielding a creamier consistency!
Do cook the sweet potato?
Yes! The sweet potato must be baked and cooled before creaming into ice cream!