Fresh strawberries perfectly complement sweet vanilla in this strawberry cashew milk ice cream. Bonus: it’s vegan and gluten-free!
A few weeks ago, I asked over on Facebook what kinds of vegan ice cream flavors you all would like to see in this space and you replied with an insane amount of awesome suggestions (moose tracks, pistachio, mint chocolate, yum!). The lovely Jessica suggested a chunky strawberry flavor, which seemed to stick out to me as the perfect ‘spring is HERE’ ice cream, so I sprung for that one first.
Creating this cashew milk ice cream
I used the cashew milk base from my mint chocolate chip ice cream but added in lots of strawberries and a few teaspoons of vanilla extract (Rodelle is knocking my socks off right now) to let all the goodness shine through. Word to the wise: in an effort to use a different sweetener, do not use maple syrup in hopes that it will work instead of powdered sugar, just no. The first batch got all weird and hard and I had to wait forever to scoop it, so just don’t go there.
If you want to swirl in some dark chocolate or chocolate chips, you wouldn’t hurt my feelings. Actually just do it and please tell me how good it was. I’m thinking a strawberry hot fudge sundae with a few dollops of coconut whipped cream would be just perfect. Ice cream sundae party at my house? All you need to bring is your extra big spoon and lots of empty stomach space.
How to make vegan ice cream
Vegan ice cream is incredibly simple, but it does require an ice cream maker. To make this vegan strawberry ice cream, you first need to combine cashews, water, vanilla, powdered sugar, and half your strawberries in a high powdered blender. Blend on high until your mixture is smooth and creamy, making sure there are no cashew chunks in the ice cream base.
Transfer the cashew milk ice cream to your ice cream maker and churn according to machine instructions (mine took about 20 minutes to churn, but yours might go faster or slower!). Near the end of the churning process, throw in the other half of your strawberries (you want them to be fairly chunky in size so you can really taste them).
Once the vegan strawberry ice cream has finished churning, pop it into a container and let it hang out in your freezer until it’s properly frozen and can be scooped. Technically, the vegan ice cream is okay to eat right after it’s been churned, but it’ll be more like soft serve at this point rather than real ice cream.
How to serve vegan ice cream
I doubt you need my help in figuring out how to serve this delicious cashew milk ice cream, but I thought I’d give you my two cents anyways. Like I mentioned before, a hot fudge sundae wouldn’t go amiss, or you could go all out and scoop some of this strawberry ice cream onto a vegan deep dish brownie. You could also make a batch of chocolate chip cookies and sandwich this ice cream between them to make a homemade ice cream sandwich. Your options are endless!
One thing I will note about serving this cashew milk ice cream is that vegan ice cream has a tendency to become quite solid in the freezer. If you’re planning on serving this to guests (which you totally should!), I’d recommend setting the ice cream out on the counter 10 or so minutes before you plan on eating it. That way it has time to soften slightly and you can scoop it more easily.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! This weekend we are trying out mini bowling and attending a party at this restaurant with amazing fries. So bowling and fries, weekend complete. Enjoy the sunshine where you are and take naps, that’s what weekends are for man!
More vegan ice cream recipes on Heart of a Baker:
- Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Praline Crunch Ice Cream
- Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream with Peppermint Magic Shell Topping
- Crunchy Caramel Apple Crisp Ice Cream
- Vegan Pirate’s Booty Ice Cream
- Vegan Roasted Strawberry and Lemon Ice Cream
Strawberry Cashew Milk Ice Cream
- Prep Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Frozen
- Cuisine: American
Description
Fresh strawberries perfectly complement sweet vanilla in this strawberry cashew milk ice cream. Bonus: it’s vegan and gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 4 cups strawberries (washed and chopped)
- 1 cup cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours and drained)
- 2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4–1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a blender, combine 2 cups of the strawberries, cashews, water, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Blend on high until smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and make according to manufacturer’s instructions. Mine took about 20-25 minutes to get nice and creamy, but yours may be different.
- Towards the end, add in the remaining 2 cups of chopped strawberries and allow to churn for a few more minutes. Transfer mixture to a container and freeze for at least 1-2 hours before serving.
Keywords: cashew milk ice cream vegan strawberry ice cream, vegan ice cream, how to make vegan ice cream
Cadry says
This looks amazing!! Now that warmer temperatures are coming back, I’ve been wanting to break out my ice cream machine again. This is definitely on the list!
The Frosted Vegan says
Thanks Cadry! I LOVE breaking out the ice cream maker, it means warm weather is here! 🙂
Liz says
Can I use cane sugar instead of powdered sugar?
Erica says
I love that these are vegan, and strawberry!! It’s such a happy flavor. And perfect for spring! 🙂
I’ve been following you on Instagram for a little while, and thought I would say hi today with a comment! I absolutely love your blog, it’s so friendly and happy and your recipes are great!! Have a good weekend!
The Frosted Vegan says
Hi Erica! Thank you for stopping by, I love that you stopped by! Your words are making my day a thousand times better, so thank you!! xoxo
Miss Polkadot says
Cashews – what magic can’t they do?! This look fantastic and now I just need to wait for truly delicious strawberries. One and a half more months until the season starts …
The Frosted Vegan says
I know, right?! Cashews are just magical to me now!
Megan - The Emotional Baker says
I’m really intrigued by this ice cream technique and can’t wait to try it out! I love making new vegan ice creams 🙂
Deryn @ Running on Real Food says
I think it’s about time I add an ice cream maker to my kitchen…just sayin’. 😉
The Frosted Vegan says
Um TOTALLY! 🙂
Kate says
Oh my goodness! I want a scoop so bad! Real, fresh strawberry ice cream is just the best.
The Frosted Vegan says
Oh I agree Kate! Once strawberries are in full force, I’m going to be making batch after batch of this 🙂
Jenna Baker says
We love this vegan ice cream! The vanilla and strawberry flavors are such a great combination!!
★★★★★
The Frosted Vegan says
Thank you Jenna! 🙂
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
I’m with ya on the cashews, girl! They make a delicious base for ice cream! It’ll be a month or so before I can get fresh local strawberries, but when I get my hands on em, you know I’ll be whippin this up! And Rodelle, oh yeah, I get it! Your photography is looking good my dear!
The Frosted Vegan says
Heck yeah! Thanks for all your kind words my dear Traci!
Stacy says
Do I need an ice cream maker to do this?
Heart of a Baker says
Hi Stacy, yes I would recommend an ice cream maker!
Cameron says
I used my ice cream maker and it didn’t firm up at all. I’m now putting the liquid into the freezer hoping it will at least solidify into something that is spoonable. It tastes good though.
Heart of a Baker says
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that! Sometimes if your ice cream maker isn’t cold enough it does have issues firming up 🙂
Gen says
About how many cups does this make? I need 6 cups for an ice cream cake so I’m wondering if I should double the recipe.
Heart of a Baker says
I would say it makes about 4-5 cups!
Abigail says
I see this was posted some time ago, but I just found it in Jan. 2019. Question: I have store-bought cashew milk, how much should I use in place of whole cashews & water? Is there anything else I would need to add since I want to use pre-made cashew milk from the carton? Thanks!
Heart of a Baker says
Hi there! You would still need more cashews, as store bought cashew milk wouldn’t be thick enough for this ice cream!
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★★★★★
Kim Gaalaas says
Hi, has anyone tried using frozen strawberries?
Heart of a Baker says
Hi Kim! This should work just fine with frozen strawberries!
Sam says
This may be a dumb question but do you drain the soaked cashews or buse that as the 2 cups of water you need for the be recipe?
Heart of a Baker says
You drain them!
Kiera says
I made this last night for the first time and loved it!! My question is can this be made without the sugar? I’m trying to reduce then cut sugar from my diet but don’t want to give up ice cream, that’s why I bought the ice cream maker 🙃
Paula Coxwell says
I plan to puree 4 cups of fresh strawberries with 1 cup of granulated sugar, skipping the powered sugar. I’ll let you know how it goes.