Vanilla + Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I love that Boston is home to so many fantastic independent ice cream stores. I love eating ice cream at said fantastic independent ice cream stores. My kids love eating ice cream at said fantastic independent ice cream stores. It seems like the perfect union! However, Violet's dairy allergy means that when we're out we end up getting her something she's not wild about (e.g., slush) or we ask for the tiniest kid sized cone possible and then deal with gnarly eczema flare ups.

I've written before about 5 reasons to try making homemade ice cream and thought I was late to busting out my Cuisinart ice cream maker this summer, I finally did so and have been experimenting with coconut milk ice cream. It's easy to make, delicious to eat, and the PERFECT solution to work around Violet's allergies! I've gotten recipe requests on Instagram and elsewhere so here goes. 

Below are base recipes for chocolate and vanilla coconut milk ice cream. The beauty of these recipes is that they are ridiculously easy + it's fun to toss random things in. So far we've added candy, sandwich cookies, and leftover brownies...SO GOOD! Enjoy!

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

  • 2 cans of coconut milk (I use a light variety from Whole Foods and it works fine!)
  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup agave syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream

  • 2 cans of coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

For both recipes, simply mix contents to combine in a large measuring cup. For the chocolate, use a whisk to break up the cocoa powder. For the vanilla, make sure the sugar crystals are fully dissolved before you toss it in the ice cream maker. Pour base mix into ice cream maker and run per machine instructions. On ours, it's 15 or so minutes. Then toss in any add-ins and process until mixed in; it only will take a couple of minutes.

Smartest thing I have done in recent memory was realizing I had a few homemade brownies kicking around. I cut them up and tossed them into a batch of the vanilla:

When I was cleaning out my luggage the other week I discovered a king sized bag of M&Ms (honestly not sure how they got in there!); perfect for adding to a batch of coconut milk ice cream!

Image credits: Christine Koh

Home, Food + DrinkChristine Koh2 Comments