Fourth of July

Strawberry Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream

by:
August  7, 2013
4.5
2 Ratings
Strawberry Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This rich, dreamy ice cream -- which no one would ever guess is vegan -- benefits from fresh ingredients: seasonal, freshly picked strawberries and fresh vanilla bean. But if you only have vanilla extract, fear not. You're still going to get a supremely delicious dessert. —Gena Hamshaw

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
  • 3 cups (or 2 cans) full fat coconut milk, with 1/2 cup set aside
  • 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder (substitute cornstarch or tapioca starch)
  • 1 vanilla bean, split down the center, seeds scraped out (substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract)
  • 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
  • pinch sea salt
Directions
  1. Add strawberries to a food processor or blender and puree till smooth or nearly smooth (a little texture can be nice). Set aside.
  2. Whisk the arrowroot with 1/2 cup of the coconut milk till no lumps remain. Set aside.
  3. Heat the remaining coconut milk until it's just developing bubbles on the edges of a medium sized sauce pan. Add the cane juice vanilla, and sea salt. Whisk in the arrowroot mixture slowly. Continue cooking till mixture has the thick texture of a custard. Remove from heat and chill overnight. At this point, prepare your ice cream maker by chilling the bowl overnight as well.
  4. The following day, mix the custard and strawberry puree. Pour into the ice cream maker and let it churn according to manufacturer instructions. Place in a sealed container and keep frozen till ready to serve.
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32 Reviews

Jenn K.
Jenn K. July 17, 2017
I made a raspberry version of this (4 cups of fresh raspberries blended and strained to remove seeds, no vanilla, 1/2 cup sugar instead of cane juice). It was perfect - lovely tartness from the raspberries, great texture, creamy, just wonderful.
 
Jenn K.
Jenn K. July 17, 2017
Oh and I used potato starch instead of arrowroot, just because I had it around, and it worked!
 
LizCo77
LizCo77 June 25, 2015
This recipe was simple to make and turned out quite well. I think my vanilla bean had seen better days, so that part of the flavor was a bit muted, but other than that it was 100% delicious. I used Agave syrup because it was what I had on hand, mixed with a bit of cup-for-cup powdered Stevia. I might even use less sweetener next time. A quick 30 minutes in the freezer and I had ice cream for dinner!
 
Sheryl
Sheryl June 9, 2014
If I can use Great Lakes gelatin instead of arrowroot how much would I use? I'm going to try this with Stevia and xylitol for a dairy-free, sugar-free ice cream in my vitamix.
 
Neveen
Neveen June 25, 2014
Sheryl, have you tried using the beef gelatin instead of arrowroot? If so, how much did you use and how did it turn out?
 
helen T.
helen T. April 24, 2014
can i use xantham gum in place of the arrowroot powder? i bought some for another ice cream recipe, and i wonder if it's a possible substitute. thanks!
 
terya
terya September 30, 2013
I made this tonight and I was great! I will make this again, maybe with variations. As with any homemade ice cream I've, as soon as it's frozen it's hard as a rock so I have to serve it a bit softer than I like. I loved this!
 
Karin W.
Karin W. September 29, 2013
Thank you for this recipe, I look forward to trying it out.
 
Ameera H.
Ameera H. August 19, 2013
I made the ice cream last night, and the flavor was good. The only problem I had was that it never reached a thick consistency like the picture above. I made sure it set over night and that my bowl was frozen, but it stayed soupy. Do you have any ideas as to why this happened?

Thanks
 
Deb R.
Deb R. August 17, 2013
I used regular sugar because that's what we had. I only froze it about an hour and a half before serving. It was a huge hit.
 
Ameera H.
Ameera H. August 17, 2013
I'm sorry I meant, do I have to chill the custurd mix overnight?
 
Ameera H.
Ameera H. August 17, 2013
Hi do I have to freeze it overnight? Would 4-5 hours be okay?
 
Deb R.
Deb R. August 14, 2013
This is amazing! The custard base comes together very quickly. Thank you!!
 
diana J.
diana J. August 12, 2013
This is the VERY BEST strawberry ice cream recipe. I made the base mixture yesterday and churned it today. So GOOD. I used a combination of maple syrup and agave in place of the cane juice and added each to taste. I also added some raw cane sugar to the strawberry puree. Last, I added dark chocolate chunks during the churn. All of the instructions worked very well! Thanks Gena!
 
Bjane C.
Bjane C. August 12, 2013
excited to try this recipe. Great substitute to dairy ice cream. Thank you for sharing.
 
Karen R.
Karen R. August 11, 2013
I use a VERY similar recipe for vegan lime ice cream and 3/4 cup sugar dissolved into the heated coconut milk will work just fine (I would try 1/2 cup for the sweeter strawberry ice cream)...for lime, use the juice and zest from 3 medium limes and omit the vanilla (if you want!).
 
anne
anne August 11, 2013
I don't have an ice cram maker. Can the ice cream be still made, if of poorer consistency? Anne
 
Gena H.
Gena H. August 12, 2013
Yes. This link gives you some tips on ice cream without the ice cream maker: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-machine-171060
 
ineke
ineke August 11, 2013
I don't think I can get cane juice in my country (Holland) what would be a substitute?
 
Gena H.
Gena H. August 12, 2013
Agave, maple syrup, honey or regular sugar if you are not vegan, and coconut sugar are all fine!
 
Ginger S.
Ginger S. August 10, 2013
Looks terrific. Will be making today, probably with sucanat. Thanks for a super summer recipe!
 
Gena H.
Gena H. August 11, 2013
Sucanat will totally work. Enjoy!
 
Catherine R.
Catherine R. August 9, 2013
instead of cane juice, I would suggest coconut sugar (make a syrup by letting the Crystals dissolve into water) or maple syrup if you can get some.
 
Gena H.
Gena H. August 11, 2013
Catherine, I adore coconut crystals! I usually shy away from listing them as an ingredient only because they're a little harder to find, but they will work beautifully in this recipe.
 
Latisha M.
Latisha M. August 9, 2013
If I wanted to use eggs, how many should I use and in place of what? Also, if I can't get evaporate cane juice, what can I use and how much of it? Thanks!!
 
Gena H.
Gena H. August 11, 2013
Latisha, I'm not sure how many, but you'd use them in place of the arrowroot.
 
Hilary G.
Hilary G. August 9, 2013
Just look how that scoops! This is a fairy tale of a vegan ice cream recipe, not the least of which is suggested by the color. Well done, Gena!