26 Vegan Ice Cream Recipes For Those Hot Days

With a vegan diet, there are some foods that you end up missing more than others. Without a doubt, ice cream is one of those desserts that people feel that they can’t live without. Thankfully, there are a number of different ways to make vegan ice cream.

Many of the recipes out there will give you a similar taste and texture to regular ice cream, without using any dairy at all. Additionally, some of those recipes even end up being healthier, which is a nice added bonus.

In some cases, vegan ice cream will require the use of an ice cream maker but if you don’t have one, don’t worry, because many other recipes can be made without an ice cream maker. And, these aren’t watery or flavorless recipes for ice cream. Instead, the recipes will often have the same intensity of flavor that you will find in regular ice cream.

With that in mind, what are you waiting for?

This post collects a range of vegan ice cream recipes from food bloggers across the web. I’ve included many different flavors, as well as multiple ways to get the creamy texture, such as coconut milk and frozen bananas.

The recipes are certainly worth a try and they’re proof that vegans don’t have to miss out when it comes to ice cream.

Vegan Ice Cream Recipes

Java Crunch Ice Cream

We’re starting this list off with java crunch ice cream from thevegan8.com, partly because the ice cream simply sounds amazing. Often you might expect vegan ice cream to be a little boring or to have rather simple flavors but that’s not actually the case. Instead, the creator here does an amazing job of mimicking the flavors of normal java chip ice cream while making sure the end result is completely vegan.

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Salty Peanut Butter Ice Cream

This recipe, from seriouseats.com, is another one that offers a slightly unusual flavor. Now, salted caramel has become a pretty popular flavor in desserts and ice cream but salted peanut butter is much less common. In fact, I don’t think I’ve even heard of the flavor before. However, the appeal of salted caramel comes from the contrast between sweet and salty, and I imagine that the same contrast would also be present for this ice cream. With that in mind, the ice cream would probably end up tasting amazing.

Secret Breakfast Ice Cream

This next ice cream recipe is a little bit different. It comes from picklesnhoney.com and the title ‘breakfast ice cream’ doesn’t really tell you much about the flavor of the recipe. However, that’s partly because the ice cream gets inspiration from a similar flavor in San Francisco. The ice cream itself relies heavily on the natural coconut flavor of the ice cream (as this is a coconut milk-based recipe) and also on the flavor of bourbon. So, this is a spiked dessert recipe and it would make for a great treat.

Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

The first three flavors in this list have been fairly unusual, so let’s get back to a more classic type of ice cream. In this case, we’re looking at a mint chocolate chunk recipe, which comes from thisrawsomelife.com. Personally, I’m a big fan of combining mint and chocolate, and I also love the way this ice cream looks when it’s made. If you were planning to introduce anyone to vegan ice cream then this recipe might be the perfect place to start. The author also provides directions for making this one with and without an ice cream maker, which is useful for the people who don’t have one at hand.

Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

Here’s another good flavor for ice cream, which comes from thehealthyfamilyandhome.com. Once again, the recipe makes use of chocolate, which is sure to be appealing to a lot of people. The recipe is designed for an ice cream maker but it is an extremely simple recipe to make.

This would mean the recipe is a good choice if you don’t have many ingredients on hand or don’t have a lot of time. In general, you’ll find that recipes that do rely on an ice cream maker do tend to be faster and will often have a softer texture. So, if you can get your hands on an ice cream maker, this recipe is certainly worth trying.

Mango Banana Ice Cream

So far, most of the recipes that I’ve highlighted have relied on coconut milk to create the ice cream-like texture. However, frozen bananas are another way to achieve a similar result. This recipe from avirtualvegan.com highlights that approach, as it relies on frozen bananas along with frozen mango.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of this type of ice cream is that it is extremely healthy. After all, you are consuming little more than fruit. So, the dessert is a perfect treat for anyone who wants the creaminess of ice cream without breaking their diet.

Other flavor combination that might go well here could be lemon, peach, and other tropical fruits.

Turkish Coffee Ice Cream

If you’re a coffee fan, then coffee-flavored ice cream is something that you have to try at least once. This particular recipe comes from mydarlingvegan.com and it actually takes a different approach than most the other recipes that I’ve highlighted. In this case, the focus is on nuts to create some of the texture.

This method might seem a little bit unusual but trust me, it really does work. Plus, you can end up with an underlying nutty flavor that would perfectly complement this coffee-flavored ice cream.

Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake

If you’re going to make vegan ice cream, why not go all the way and make ice cream cake? That’s exactly the approach that this recipe from fooddoodles.com takes and the end result looks great.

As the recipe is for Neapolitan ice cream, you end up essentially making three different types of ice cream and then combining them together to form an ice cream cake. Of course, you could also just make one of the flavors if you didn’t want the work, it’s up to you.

Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

I highlighted one recipe earlier for mint chocolate ice cream, so this recipe from makingthymeforhealth.com is a second example of this ice cream flavor. Both recipes use the same basic components to create the ice cream texture but there are still significant differences in the other ingredients.

This would mean that the recipes taste quite different to one another. Of the two, I don’t really have a favorite, so it’s probably a matter of trying the recipes out and seeing which one you like the best.

Raspberry Ice Cream

This recipe for raspberry ice cream comes from createnplate.com and it is probably the simplest recipe on this list. In particular, the recipe just involves two ingredients and only one step.

I love how easy the recipe is to make, especially as both of the ingredients are things you can keep in the freezer. So, this is a dessert that you could quickly make for a sweet treat or for when company turns up unannounced.

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

We’re talking about ice cream, so it was essential to include at least one example of a cookies and cream flavor. After all, I know a number of people who absolutely love this flavor for ice cream.

The recipe here comes from kblog.lunchboxbunch.com and the author actually offers the directions to make the cookies, their filling and the ice cream itself. This does mean that you could choose just the cookies or the ice cream if you wanted to – although making all of the components certainly seems appealing.

Tropical Sunshine Mango Ice Cream

Some of these recipes have been creamy and rich, while others have been light and fruity. A lot of this difference comes down to the specific ingredients used and the flavors. In this recipe, from marystestkitchen.com, there is actually a combination of the two styles.

The ice cream is one that relies on coconut cream, so it tends to be rich and creamy. But, at the same time, the recipe also uses fruit for flavoring, which helps to make it fresh and vibrant. To me, it sounds like the end result would be perfect for a warm summers day.

Rocky Road Ice Cream

This ice cream recipe comes from forkandbeans.com and it’s another example of a vegan version of a classic ice cream flavor. Now, rocky road seems like a complex flavor to make but that isn’t necessarily the case.

Instead, the author provides fairly simple directions and ingredients, which would make this an easy ice cream flavor to make at home. This is also another recipe that doesn’t rely on an ice cream maker, so don’t worry if you don’t happen to have specialized equipment.

Oreo Ice Cream

Speaking of fairly simple recipes, here’s another one. This time, the recipe comes from simpleveganblog.com and it contains just four ingredients. Now, one of those ingredients is oreo cookies from the store but there are many sandwich cookie recipes online if you would rather make your own instead.

Regardless, the process of making the ice cream is very easy. This is also a recipe that you can make in an ice cream maker if you want, or you can choose to make it without an ice cream maker.

Raspberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream

With this ice cream, from bakingmagique.com, my favorite thing is probably the way that it looks in the bowl, although the choice of flavors is also pretty appealing. I love the way the author added pistachios on top of the ice cream in the images, especially as doing so makes for such a great color comparison.

The recipe is another one that relies on coconut milk, so it would end up being a creamy and luxurious while also containing the fruitiness of raspberries. Sounds like a perfect combination all around.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sundae

How can you go wrong with chocolate chips and cookie dough? This particular recipe comes from fitfoodiefinds.com and it seems like a perfect choice for anyone who loves cookie dough.

There are actually a few different components to this recipe, including the ice cream itself and the chocolate sauce, as well as a link out to the cookie dough bites that you see in the image. But, it’s easy to see that the dessert really is worth the effort required, especially if you want something that tastes a little bit decadent (even though it’s actually a pretty healthy recipe).

This reminds me of my vegan candy bar recipe list!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Salted caramel is too good to miss, so I had to make sure at least one example of this flavor made it onto the list. In this case, the recipe comes from minimalistbaker.com.

The recipe is another reminder that vegan ice cream doesn’t have to be boring. Instead, there are a range of ways to add in interesting flavors. In fact, the base approaches for vegan ice cream can often meant that it ends up with a more complex and more appealing overall flavor profile.

For this recipe, the end result looks like it would taste amazing and the ice cream would be surprisingly easy to make.

Mocha Chip Ice Cream

Mocha chip is another fun flavor and the recipe here comes from houseofyumm.com. With this recipe, the mocha flavor comes from actually using brewed coffee when making the ice cream.

The approach works surprisingly well, as it adds in the coffee flavor you are looking for without much hassle. In fact, the entire recipe is fairly simple, although it is one that relies on an ice cream maker.

Mango Ice Cream

If you’re looking for fruity ice cream, mango tends to be a pretty appealing flavor. This recipe comes from mariashakova.com and you’ll be pleased to know that it doesn’t require an ice cream maker.

The recipe is particularly interesting to check out as the author goes into detail about an effective technique to make homemade ice cream that tastes great and doesn’t require a lot of effort. That technique alone makes the recipe worth looking at, although it does sound like the ice cream would taste great as well.

Neapolitan Ice Cream

I mentioned a Neapolitan ice cream cake earlier in this post but we can’t overlook simple Neapolitan ice cream either. The recipe for this one comes from rawedibles.blogspot.com and it is actually another fairly simple recipe, despite the fact that there are three flavors to deal with.

The directions for each of the flavors is given independently, so you could just choose to make one or two of them if you wanted to – the choice is entirely yours.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Many of the flavors we’ve talked about have been fairly complex but we shouldn’t overlook the advantage of simple ice cream flavors as well. The classic example of that is vanilla ice cream, like this recipe from mydishisbomb.com. To be honest, I’m pretty impressed with the idea of vegan vanilla ice cream. After all, vanilla is a fairly subtle flavor and it would be easy for the flavor to be overwhelmed by the base ingredients of the ice cream.

However, that doesn’t seem to happen here and the author balances the different flavors in the recipe nicely. With a few recipes like this to rely on it becomes pretty easy to get your ice cream fix on a vegan diet.

Salted Chocolate Pistachio Ice Cream

Without a doubt, the key flavor in this recipe is chocolate but that’s not the whole story. Instead, the recipe takes advantage of a few other key flavors to make the end result a bit more complex and more interesting.

As the title suggests, the key additions here are pistachios, along with salt to create a salted chocolate undertone. The combination seems to work together well and you can find all of the ingredients and instructions at acouplecooks.com, if you’re thinking of trying this one out for yourself.

Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

This recipe comes from wellandfull.com and it was promoted as a good recipe for Valentine’s Day, which I tend to agree with. After all, the ice cream does have a nice pink color, which comes from the fruit, rather than from artificial colorings.

Like many of the recipes on this list, the dish is fairly simple to make and it’s also pretty healthy. So, the ice cream might taste like a dessert but it’s actually healthy enough that you could eat it for breakfast if you wanted to.

Mint Chocolate Chip

I love the way this ice cream looks. To me, it looks like normal ice cream that you might buy at a grocery store or even an ice cream parlor. It’s not though. Instead, it’s another vegan recipe and one that would taste exceptionally good.

It is worth noting that in this case, the specific shade of green does come from food coloring, but the author does provide an alternative coloring approach for people who want to be using natural ingredients. Either way, the recipe comes from lovingitvegan.com and you can find all of the information you need over there.

Coconut Milk Ice Cream with Mango Swirl

This ice cream recipe comes from hostthetoast.com and I love the presentation just as much as the ice cream itself. 

The choice of coconut and mango flavors works really well and it would make the dessert especially refreshing. For that matter, vegan ice cream tends to be more refreshing than regular ice cream because it doesn’t use dairy ingredients.

Oat Raisin Cookie Dough Ice Cream

This final recipe comes from wallflowergirl.co.uk and it’s a little bit more unusual in the choice of flavors. This isn’t a bad thing though. Instead, I tend to find that the somewhat obscure ice cream flavors are often the best ones, especially if you find yourself getting bored by conventional ice cream. So, go ahead and give this one a try.