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Paleo Vanilla Ice Cream is oh-so-creamy, yet dairy-free and super delicious! It scoops beautifully, has no refined sugar and is perfect for Paleo, GAPS, AIP, Vegan, Gluten-free and Keto folks who want the best ice cream, with only three ingredients!
Whether it’s summer, spring or you need the best easy ice cream recipe to serve à la mode year round, this recipe is so much fun to quickly assemble and serve to your loved ones!
There’s nothing like fresh, homemade ice cream to get my family excited!
My husband and I owned three Paleo ice cream shops for about 8 years in Eugene, Oregon, so this is my cup of tea, and I can’t wait to share with you just how simple great ice cream is to make!
Let’s get started! How to make healthy Paleo Vanilla Ice Cream …
What kind of coconut milk to use in Paleo Vanilla Ice Cream
The best canned coconut milks are Native Forest and Aroy-D, because they don’t contain guar gum + are super creamy. Trader Joe’s also carries a canned coconut milk that is additive-free. I recommend Aroy-D (like this) as the best of these options, for the most reliable results, plus clean ingredients.
With coconut milk, you don’t need to worry about whether or not it’s organic. When we owned our Paleo and Vegan ice cream shops, we ordered huge quantities of coconut milk from Thailand.
We had a friend in the industry, the owner of a major vegan line of ice creams, who traveled to our supplier to check out the coconut palm farms. The organic and conventional palms were grown on neighboring properties and neither received synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Coconut is a clean crop!
How to sweeten Paleo Vanilla Ice Cream
The main recipe below is Paleo and Vegan. But it’s SUPER easy to make this recipe Keto and Low Carb.
For Paleo, AIP and Vegan, sweeten with pure maple syrup. It makes an incredible Vanilla Ice Cream.
For those of you who enjoy honey and prefer it, sweeten with local, raw honey! Preferably keep it at room temperature, so it blends into the coconut milk more easily. (Chilled honey takes longer.) For GAPS diet, use honey!
For Keto and Low Carb, I recommend liquid allulose. Allulose is not a sugar alcohol, like erythritol or xylitol. It’s a naturally occurring, zero-glycemic sweetener that is found in just a few foods (including figs, raisins and jackfruit). It makes great ice cream.
If you prefer to use another low carb sweetener, that’s okay too. The main difference is that allulose creates softer ice cream for scooping straight from the freezer. You can even reduce the amount of vanilla extract if you use allulose.
If you make the low carb version, this recipe has 5g net carbs.
Use a blender
Using a blender to combine your ingredients ensures a smooth mix, with no lumps.
A high-powered blender also adds a little air to your liquid recipe, which adds to the frozen ice cream’s creamy mouthfeel.
Which ice cream maker to use
We still have the ice cream maker my parents gifted me over 25 years ago! It’s the machine I developed all of our first ice cream recipes on, before opening our first ice cream shop.
If I needed a new one today, I’d buy something similar: keep it simple, because there isn’t a perfect ice cream maker out there that’s affordable. So doing the best we can, I recommend this one or this one.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS: If you’re new to ice cream making, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions. It’s very important to have your freezer set to the coldest setting before freezing the freezer bowl. Place freezer bowl in the back of the freezer, where it’s the coldest for a full 24 hours. (I just leave ours in the freezer when it’s not in use.) Shake the bowl to make sure the liquid is frozen. The freezer bowl needs to be on a flat surface and upright for even freezing.
When it’s time to make your ice cream, use the freezer bowl immediately upon removing it from the freezer, because it WILL begin to defrost immediately!
Turn the ice cream maker on before pouring in the recipe. The bowl should be spinning around the blade when you add the Vanilla Ice Cream mixture. This keeps the ice cream from getting frozen to the sides immediately, which prevents the bowl from turning!
To freeze or not to freeze
The final step in the ice cream process is freezing the ice cream before serving … or simply serving soft-serve!
You decide! When we make ice cream in the evenings, after dinner (about once a week!), we really like the fun of soft-serve. It’s truly an exciting family event to have the ice cream churning while we eat dinner, and then one of us runs over to pull out the blade, scrape it down and begin serving ourselves — while we all ooh and aww about the texture and the flavor! Pure fun.
But there are definitely times to freeze your ice cream before serving! Freeze for 1 to 3 hours if you want/need round scoops. Perfect for brownies, pie, crumbles, cobbler and making ice cream sandwiches.
Fresh soft-serve ice cream will melt too much to use as a neat garnish. 😉 So decide which works best for your needs (or wants!).
How to serve Paleo Vanilla Ice Cream
- Inside Chocolate Chaffle Ice Cream Sandwiches!! Um, unbeatable!
- On Keto and Paleo Chocolate Chaffles! (SO delicious!)
- With white rice — One of my favorite ways to eat ice cream is actually on top of white rice or white sushi rice! While this doesn’t seem Paleo, there’s definitely a movement among a segment of Paleo and even Keto practitioners to incorporate white rice about once a week into our diets for health purposes. If that’s not you, no worries! But if it is you, try it; it’s SUPER good!
- The usual spots: on Rhubarb Crumble, Brownies, Apple Pie and in Real Food Ice Cream Sandwich Bars!
What makes Paleo Vanilla Ice Cream so good
One important secret to this recipe’s success is the vanilla extract (find it here). Vanilla extract is 35% alcohol. The alcohol in the recipe lowers the freezing temperature of the ice cream, which makes it extra creamy! This ingredient also means that leftovers still taste good and don’t get too hard to scoop.
Even without the alcohol, this recipe is simply delicious and hard to beat! But the alcohol gives it that winning touch of the perfect texture and mouthfeel.
If you omit the vanilla extract, eat all of the ice cream when it’s fresh (soft-serve texture), or let the leftovers sit in the fridge or on the counter for at least 30 minutes to thaw.
The right amount of sweetener also creates the luxurious, creamy texture. This recipe indicates to use 2/3 cup pure maple syrup (or preferred sweetener). You can actually reduce that down to 1/2 cup if you prefer. But use 2/3 cup if you want the most classic and indulgent outcome. The “sugar” isn’t there just to sweeten!
Lastly, if you want to use even less sweetener, but don’t want to lose that soft scoopable texture, you can increase the vanilla a bit more. Alcohol and sweetener are your two most important tools for creating the right texture. You also need a creamy high-fat milk.
Substitutions and variations
A few subs work in this recipe, if needed:
- You can sub part super creamy homemade cashew milk, if you don’t want to use all coconut milk. The thicker and richer the better. (Use 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 1 hour in hot water, plus 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons water blended on medium-high until creamy and smooth, about 50 seconds; don’t strain.)
- If you don’t have vanilla extract, you can actually use 1 Tablespoon of vodka in its place. (You won’t taste it.)
- As discussed elsewhere, you can vary the sweetener to suit your needs: use honey or low carb sweetener of choice (not stevia).
- Add a few more pinches of sea salt to your ice cream “mix”. This dials up the flavors, lovely! Or sprinkle great quality sea salt on top, to garnish.
How many people does the recipe serve
Our family of four typically eats this whole batch in one sitting! When ice cream is soft and fresh, it’s easy to eat more! — just right for 4 big servings, or 5 regular-size ones. 😉
You can certainly stretch this recipe to serve 6 people, especially if it’s as an à la mode for pie, cake, crumble or to use inside ice cream sandwiches.
How to store and defrost leftovers
Store any leftovers in airtight, sealed container. Eat within the week, if you can help it.
Place ice cream in the refrigerator to defrost it evenly. Or on the counter to speed things up. Homemade ice cream takes longer to defrost than store bought, because commercial brands put more air into their product.
How to serve leftovers
Allow 15 minutes for Paleo ice cream to become scoopable, at room temperature, or longer in the fridge. Keto and Low Carb ice cream takes less time; 10 minutes may be about right.
Paleo Vanilla Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cans coconut milk 13.5 oz each, or 3 ½ cups Aroy-D coconut milk from the cartons (like this) or homemade high-fat coconut milk
- ⅔ cup pure maple syrup (for Keto: use liquid allulose for 5g net carbs per serving)
- 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract (optional: the alcohol lowers the freezing temperature, allowing less sweetener and creating a creamier outcome)
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon sea salt optional
Instructions
- First, make sure your freezer is set to the coldest setting. Your freezer bowl needs to be in the freezer for 16 to 24 hours at the coldest setting before being used. Use the freezer bowl immediately upon removing it from the freezer, because it starts defrosting immediately.
- Place coconut milk, maple syrup (or other sweetener) and vanilla extract in a blender. Purée until sweetener dissolves, scraping down sides, if necessary, about 30 seconds.
- Freeze in ice cream maker, according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve!
Notes
Keto and Low Carb nutritional data
The Keto version of this recipe has 5g NET CARBS per serving. The nutritional data below reflects the Paleo version of this recipe.Nutrition
What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? I have several! 😉 Here are some ice cream recipes I think you’ll love:
- 4-Ingredient Chocolate Ice Cream (Paleo, Vegan, GAPS, Keto, Low Carb, with AIP variation)
- Paleo Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (GAPS, AIP and Vegan, dairy-free)
- Cookies and Cream Ice Cream (Paleo, Keto, AIP, GAPS, Vegan)
- Coconut Lime Ice Cream (Paleo, Keto, AIP, Vegan)
- Lemon Ice Cream (Primal, Keto, Low Ox., Low Sal.)
- Lavender Blackberry Swirl (Paleo, GAPS, AIP, Keto, Low Carb, Ancestral, dairy-free option)
- Blender Strawberry Ice Cream (Paleo, GAPS, AIP, Low Carb, dairy-free)
- Avocado Ice Cream with 8 Flavor Variations (Paleo, GAPS, AIP, Keto, Low Carb)
- Paleo Cinnamon Ice Cream (Primal, GAPS, AIP, Keto, Low Carb, Vegan, Ancestral [made with raw dairy])
- Cantaloupe Sea Salt Ice Cream (Primal, GAPS, Ancestral [made with raw dairy])
Marise Morel says
Thanks . This recipe looks wonderful. Is the third ingredient vanilla essence? And do I need to know quantities for this to work? It looks wonderful.👏👏👏
Megan says
Hi Marise, thank you. It seems that possibly you can’t see the complete recipe, for some reason? The third ingredient says, “vanilla extract”, and the amount is “2 Tablespoons”. I hope that helps! 🙂
Jean Choi says
Cannot wait to make this! I love a classic vanilla ice cream and this one is so easy. Thanks for such a yummy recipe!
Megan says
Great, Jean, and thank you! Enjoy!
Denise says
We made this recipe two days ago. Delicious! The leftovers are still creamy. We followed the recipe as written, bit forgot to add sea salt. We will be making this again!
Megan says
Great!, Denise, so glad, and thanks for sharing!! 🙂
Erin says
I love how simple you’ve made this- and how many subs can be made and still leave you with the tastiest treat!
Carol Little R.H. @studiobotanica says
Excited to make this when weather is warmer!!!
I splurged and got an ice cream maker last summer and my niece who is vegan,
will be as thrilled as I am — to try this one!
Thanks Megan!! YUM.
Jessica says
Where is the 6-star rating? This recipe should have it! I love learning that you and our husband owned not one, but THREE ice cream shops. And then to know they were paleo??? AMAZING!
I’ll be making this in my blender since I don’t have a machine. I hope it comes out as beautifully as yours!
Karen says
I was wondering how it turned out in the blender? Was going to try it that way as well…
ChihYu says
So creamy and delicious! Love that it’s paleo friendly!
Stacey Crawford says
The weather has been warm where I live and I’ve been really wanting a bowl of creamy ice cream. This a simple but very versatile recipe and I have all the ingredients! 🙂 Thanks
Terri says
Do you use the whole can of coconut milk including the water?
Megan says
Yes, Terri! 🙂 Believe it or not, “water” + cream gives the best mouthfeel. 🙂 Great question.
Donny says
I have an ice cream maker. I never knew it could be this easy! Totally trying this.
Megan says
Great, I’m so glad! People do complicate ice cream by cooking and chilling a custard first. This simple recipe is best, as well as super easy! 🙂
Heather H says
I did not know all of that about you. I’m sure that with your ice cream experience this is fantastic. Funny story I bought my daughter an ice cream maker for Christmas and we haven’t use it, so we will for sure be putting it to use now!
Megan says
Thanks, Heather!! I hope you break in your new maker with this recipe and love it!! 🙂
Katherine says
Any idea why this didn’t set for me in the ice cream maker, Megan? It was mostly still liquid after 30 minutes. I used Nature’s Forest “simple” coconut milk, a little more than 1/3 cup of maple syrup, the salt, and about 2 tablespoons of vanilla. The liquid mixture is currently chilling in my fridge, and I put the ice cream maker drum back in the freezer in the hopes of trying it again later.
Any advice for saving this? Thank you, Megan!
Megan says
Hi Katherine, yes, what temperature is your freezer set at? Can you make your freezer colder? One of three things: Either your freezer isn’t cold enough or the solution inside your freezer bowl is rendered inactive OR the freezer bowl wasn’t in your freezer long enough, which is the most likely: Needs to be a minimum of 6 hours if a super cold freezer, or preferable overnight. Sorry for your trouble. Just save the “mix” in your fridge until the bowl is really frozen.
Jennifer Fisher says
this sounds amazing . . . it’s so strange, but for a chocoholic . . vanilla is my favorite ice cream flavor!
Megan says
Ha, me too, Jennifer! It didn’t used to be true, but now Vanilla is actually my favorite ice cream flavor (and I SO love chocolate!) LOL 😉
Jenni LeBaron says
This paleo vanilla ice cream looks so delicious and creamy! I think I have all the ingredients on hand for this right now too. Perfect sweet treat!
Megan says
Great, Jenni!! Enjoy! 🙂
Melissa says
I used native forest coconut milk and blended as recipe indicated but the coconut milk separated and only continued to get worse after being in the ocean cream maker. Do you have any ideas/tips I can try so I can make this successfully?
Megan says
Hi Melissa, I’m sorry this happened. I would use Aroy-D coconut milk, this one: https://amzn.to/3NONUtf
Jo Lynn Dietz says
This recipe did not set up for me. It tastes great, but is like liquid. My ice cream freezer was in the freezer for three days and I followed directions exactly. So, I set the whole thing in the freezer and am waiting until its frozen enough to serve. Just a little disappointed.
Megan says
I can imagine your disappointment! This problem is definitely due to your ice cream maker. No recipe would cause this problem unless it was pure alcohol, like vodka, which doesn’t freeze. You need to check your freezer setting, to make sure your freezer is set to the coldest setting (usually the highest number or letter on the dial [with 1 or A being the warmest]). That’s the most likely issue. After that, you need to check your ice cream maker itself, to ensure the freezing gel inside the cylinder isn’t compromised (which can happen if it’s washed in hot water).
Melissa says
Do I have to have an ice cream maker
Megan says
Hi Melissa, not necessarily, although it’s best. But there are a couple of other methods that I’ve shared with other commenters who’ve asked the same question. You can rake a fork through it as it freezes, every 20 minutes. Or you can freeze in ice cube trays until mostly firm but not too hard, and then pulse in a food processor. Hope that helps!
Christel Carpenter says
Could you just make this in food processor and then freeze?
Megan says
Hi Christel, I haven’t tried that. Let us know how it goes if you do.
Joy Go says
Hi…any reply on the query:
can. we just use food processor and then freeze? Am interested to try this recipe but don’t have an ice cream maker.
Megan says
Hi Joy, thank you for your question. I’m not sure what is meant by this method. Do you mean mix all of the liquid ingredients in a food processor and then put the liquid in the freezer? If so, that will just create a big ice cube. Instead, you could probably freeze the mixture in ice cube trays and then place the frozen ice cream cubes in the food processor, and pulse them until you have ice cream.
Melissa says
Hi – I tried the vanilla and chocolate ice cream recipes. They turned out great! The taste is amazing! Thanks.
Megan says
Hi Melissa, great! I’m so glad to hear this, and thank you for coming back to comment, so helpful and thoughtful! 🙂
Melissa says
It tastes wonderful however the texture was off. The cream/fat from the Trader Joe’s coconut milk lumped up in big chunks. I ran it through the blender first but even then it still had chunks of cream/fat floating on top. Should I skim this off next time? And not put into the ice cream maker?
Megan says
Hi Melissa, yes, it sounds like their coconut milk has a layer of coconut oil on top, which isn’t ideal. If you open a can of Native Forest, in contrast, it’s just straight coconut cream on top, with coconut water underneath, but no oil. I’m sorry that happened. It’s helpful to know that about Trader Joe’s brand. Do you remember which of theirs it was? I know they have at least two: one is labeled coconut cream. Thanks for your feedback, and I’m glad you liked the taste.
Don says
I had the same issue using the same exact coconut milk as you. The solid layer on top never fully incorporated even after blending. It got worse as it froze. Didnt hurt flavor but made it gritty. I started with cans of room temperature coconut milk
Any ideas?
Megan says
Hi Don, I would switch brands: to Native Forest or Thai Kitchen.
Don says
Thanks. Like I said, I used Native Forest Simple. About this time I finished that case and started another one, still Native Forest, and it didn’t have that hard layer. I guess I had a bad batch
Thanks
Don
Brittany says
My recipe started with the floating bits on top of my coconut milk also. After I noticed the bits floating on top of my blended mixture, I put the entire mixture on a small pot and warmed it. Whisking it helped to incorporate all the floaty bits. I let the mixture cool a bit and then poured it into my ice cream maker as per instructions. It is currently hardening in the freezer. The flavour and texture seems great so far!
Megan says
Great solution, Brittany, good for you! Yay, and thanks for sharing. 🙂
Alvin Raetzsch says
I’m wondering if the blender is doing something to it, emulsifying it maybe.
Kyra says
I followed the recipe to a T and it turned out so much better than I expected. My picky 3-year-old gobbled it down! Thank you!
Megan says
Great, Kyra, thanks for sharing and so happy you all and your little loved the ice cream!
Sarah says
Hi! Have you tried making this with homemade coconut milk (shredded coconut blended with water, then strained through a nut milk bag)? Can’t wait to try this recipe (I’m ordering an ice cream maker today)!
Megan says
Hi Sarah, yes, you just want to use the largest ratio of coconut to water, to get the creamiest homemade milk, for best success. Enjoy!! How exciting to have your ice cream maker on its way!
Sarah says
Just made this using one of the ice cream makers you suggested… And it turned out unbelievably good! Like, wow! It was my first time making homemade ice cream, so it seemed like magic to me.
I ended up using canned coconut milk, but will try homemade next time.
I also only used 3 TBSP of maple syrup, and found it plenty sweet enough(I usually only use 1/4 – 1/3 of the sweetener called for in any recipe). I did use use an extra 1/2 TBSP of vanilla extract.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!!
Megan says
Hi Sarah, great! I’m so happy for your first homemade ice cream experience; it IS exciting! 😉 It’s actually exciting for us every time, and we’ve been making it weekly for years. I like that you reduced the sweetener, great. We go as low as 4 T, the same as 1/4 cup, for this recipe. It doesn’t freeze and defrost as well with less sweetener, but it’s delicious fresh, especially for those who want or need less sweetener, a great option. Thanks for sharing everything you did, and so happy you loved the recipe!
Jen says
Hello,
I put my native forest simple coconut milk in my blender along with the other ingredients and my coconut milk separated and created solid pieces floating in some liquid. Any advice on how to revive this? Would hate for it to go to waste. It has been so hard to track down coconut milk without additives since the pandemic. And ice cream is my fiancé’s birthday request.
Thank you!
Megan says
Hi Jen, I’d warm the ingredients (in a saucepan, stirring) JUST enough to melt the solid pieces, and then blend again. You don’t want the mix to be truly warm, but room temperature is okay, especially if your freezer bowl’s been in the freezer on the coldest setting for 24 hours, it should be fine! 🙂 Happy bday to your fiancé!
Alvin Raetzsch says
I’m noticing everyone that is having this issue is using a blender. I think that is causing the issue. It’s emulsifying something in the coconut milk. I know it seems intuitive to blend it with the blender, but hand mixing or using a hand mixer, might be best.
a cheap blender could work, but I powerful vitamix, etc, may do something to the texture. Like making mayonnaise in the blender.
Megan says
Hi Alvin, good observation. Yes, the fat is coagulating. It needs to stay soft and homogenized. I’ll see if I can communicate that better! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Alice says
Hi meagan can I use 2 cans of coconut cream and 2 cans coconut milk pouring out the water from the milk and mane use 3/4 cup maple syrup to make more than 5? I want it to be firm I do have a ice cream maker. What do you think
Megan says
Hi Alice, happy to help. I can’t be completely sure of your ratios from what you wrote. Are you saying 4 cans total, but with the water from the coconut milk removed? I don’t quite understand your goal. You want more than 5 cups ice cream? And you want it extra firm? Thanks for clarifying!
Erika says
Can you give me another option to make without coconut milk? We’re not to have anything coconut. You mentioned cashew, can I just buy instead of making? Would monk fruit sweetener work instead of maple syrup or honey? Been searching for a dairy free, sugar free vanilla bean ice cream recipe, everything has coconut milk or oil.
Megan says
Hi Erika, what sweeteners can you have? Do you mean pure monk fruit sweetener, or the kind with erythritol mixed in? I’m happy to help. Re cashew milk, it’s much better to make your own for ice cream because the store-bought ones are too thin. You need a rich homemade cashew milk for good creamy ice cream. Happily, this is really easy to make. The cashews must be soaked first, but this only takes 2 hours … More when I hear about your sweetener needs, then I can give you a full recipe.
Erika says
Just not suppose to have dairy or coconut oil or milk. Sweeteners, I’m just trying to be healthy about it! I do have organic syrup & monkfruit sweetener with erythropoietin. Can I make the whole recipe with the homemade cashew milk? And can I use vanilla bean paste? I have the Nielson-Massey pure vanilla bean paste. Thank you so much! Very much appreciated!
Megan says
Hi Erika, you can make this recipe with homemade creamy cashew milk and the monk fruit sweetener you mention, yes. And the vanilla bean paste, no problem, sounds delicious. Happy to help! Enjoy! 🙂
Shirl says
Hello, like a previous poster, I can’t have coconut (I’m either sensitive to inulin/ FODMAPs, or I actually might have an intolerance). I am also on AIP, so no nuts 🙁 . Is there a way to make this with Tigernut milk? Maybe adding some kind of oil also for the mouthfeel? It’s really hard for me to be low-FODMAP without coconut/avocado, as well as AIP and trying to be lower carb. Thanks for your website; finding it helpful.
Megan says
Hi Shirl, I’m sorry for your challenging time! I know how it is and have been there myself. You could certainly make this with tiger nut milk; it just won’t be as creamy. What kind of oils can you have? Do you tolerate MCT oil? I think at your stage, it would be better to just enjoy the less-creamy ice “milk” and be thankful for a treat and not worry about it being perfect. You’re on a really restricted diet right now which means giving your life grace to look a little funny. At one time, I was down to 3 foods total (and that was for a whole year!, definitely no ice cream during that time). You’ll be able to enjoy creamier, perfect ice creams in the future. So I’d try your tiger nut milk version and not focus on its imperfections, but just be glad you can have a treat (or try a totally different recipe if that’s too far of a stretch for you). If you make it with tiger nut milk, it’s going to be important to use the full amount of sweetener, and ideally the vanilla, too, to keep it scoopable. Any leftovers will be a little harder and may need to be set in the fridge for 20ish minutes to warm up more gradually before being scooped.
Ilene says
So easy and delicious! It took longer than traditional ice creams in the machine to get thick, but the idea to run the machine before adding the mixture worked like a dream! I froze it for 2 hrs then turned it into ice cream sandwiches with homemade chocolate chip cookies (grain free). Having company and can’t wait to serve them!!
Megan says
Great, Ilene, thanks for sharing your process and so happy you loved the recipe! Your ice cream sandwiches sound so delicious and fun!
Judith Ross says
I could not find the method, only the comments. I presume an ice creamer maker is needed. I certainly don’t want to purchase one, so I wonder if I could use a mixer or processor?
Megan says
Hi Judith, I’m sorry you can’t see the Instructions. They should be under the ingredients in a kind of recipe card. But to answer your question, you won’t get quite the same texture but you can: freeze the ice cream mixture in ice cube trays, and then yes, process those in your food processor to get ice cream! 🙂
Mia says
Made this tonight and it was AMAZING!! The flavor is truly perfect!! My only complaint is that it was a bit watery. Almost like frozen yogurt. I wonder if i used coconut cream instead of coconut milk or if I add 1 tbsp gelatin it would solve this?
Megan says
Hi Mia, thanks for your feedback!, and I’m glad you enjoyed it so much, especially the ice cream’s flavor. 🙂 What brand of coconut milk did you use? If you didn’t use Aroy-D or Native Forest (I discuss these in the post) and you’d like to use gelatin, you could certainly do that. The ideal is to start with a creamy brand of coconut milk. That plus the full amount of sweetener and vanilla, and you should not have a watery ice cream at all. Hope that helps!
Mia says
I used Trader Joe’s coconut milk! It was very smooth and not grainy. I did notice it was a bit oily so that could of been what it was, or possibly the water content is higher than the other brands you mentioned? I also did use the full amount of sweetener and vanilla so I know it wasn’t that. I will definitely try Native Forest coconut milk next time! Thank you 🙂
Megan says
You’re welcome. I’m glad to hear there was a good reason. Yes, those other two brands are so creamy and really do make a difference. 🙂
Amelia Miller says
I love your paleo vanilla ice cream. Looks very tasty. I will definitely try. Thank you.
Megan says
You’re welcome, I’m so glad. Enjoy!
Liz Choi says
Oh my gosh, this is so delicious. I’ve made other AIP ice creams and all of them I have to cook and add collagen or other thickeners so I assumed I was missing something on this. I was glad to be wrong. This is my new favorite!
Megan says
Yay, Liz, awesome to hear! So glad, and thanks so much for sharing!!
MHAST says
This recipe is amazing! I made it as a vegan and it turned out great. I also made it as a keto recipe and it was perfect.
Megan says
Yay, great to hear, thanks so much for sharing!!
Jessica says
I would use allulose in this recipe. Should I use powdered or liquid form?
Megan says
Hi there, liquid.
Emily says
???????? Hello~
Why can’t we use liquid stevia as a sweetener ?
Thank you for your reply !
~ Emily
Megan says
Hi Emily, happy to help. With liquid concentrated stevia, you use just a tiny bit, but with ice cream, you need the bulk of the sweetener because it affects the texture. “Sugars”, even low carb sweeteners, lower the freezing temperature of the mix and create the right crystallization. A few drops of stevia or a partial teaspoon would leave you with an icy mess. Sorry!
Sue Casement says
Absolutely gorgeous. Lovely and smooth, and a great vanilla ice cream. Highly recommended and a superb recipe. Thank you so very much Megan for such a delicious ice cream.
Megan says
So great to hear, Sue! Thank you for taking the time to review the recipe, and I’m so happy you enjoyed it so much. 🙂
Dan says
This was very good. I do not have an ice cream maker, so I tried making it in the freezer only. After blending all the ingredients, I put the mixture into a stainless steel bowl in the freezer. Then, I took the bowl out and stirred the mixture every half an hour until it set. The ice cream came out very good. I used Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream. Thank you for providing this recipe!
Megan says
Hi Dan, great, and thanks for sharing what you did and your success! And the brand of coconut milk you used! So glad! 🙂
Laura B says
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your amazing recipe! Delicious!
We made it with pure maple syrup and I added a topping of chopped Hu chocolate chips…delightful!
Megan says
Yum, sounds amazing! Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Laura, and I’m so glad you loved the ice cream! 🙂
Jenny says
Hi! I tried making this ice cream with canned coconut milk, but all the cans of coconut milk that I bought had what looked like coconut oil on the top. When I tried freezing it turned to hard chunks of coconut oil. So I tried the Thai kitchen coconut milk in the tetra pack and it turned out wonderfully!
Megan says
Great to hear you found success, Jenny! Yes, I think for the tetra packs they add some stabilizer because they can’t have oil hardening on the tops of those. The other option is to take the oil off the top of each can with a spoon, then be sure to slightly warm the milk and combine it with the sweetener etc. But it is tricky with many brands/products and safer to just find a milk brand that works. Aroy-D and Trader Joe’s are others I’ve found success with.
Mary says
I should try this out. Looks like a good alternative.
Megan says
Thanks, Mary, hope you enjoy, yes, a great alternative to unhealthy ice creams.
Sophie Lyman says
Maybe I missed it, but do you have to chill the coconut milk cans in the fridge before blending the ingredients? If not, maybe mention that as most ice cream recipes require chilling ingredients first (at least in my Cuisinart ice cream maker recipe book), so it’s confusing. Thanks!
Sophie
Megan says
Thanks, Sophie. Correct: Do NOT chill first. 🙂
Robin says
Your posting this today was perfect timing! One of my few resolutions for next year is to make a lot of ice cream and serve it most every time I entertain. Something I was going to investigate was how to make ice cream the day before (or longer) that didn’t get rock hard, and I see the secret is the added alcohol. Since I have an extra freezer that I only use for special occasions I was wondering if there was a certain temperature I could keep that at for storing ice cream. Since you owned ice cream shops that served Paleo ice cream I’m wondering if you kept your freezers at a higher temperature so you didn’t have to use so much vanilla (or vodka). Thanks!
Megan says
Hi Robin, for freshness, it’s actually best to keep ice cream as cold as possible, so we keep our freezer on the coldest setting, and for serving at our shop we kept it as cold as possible while still allowing it to be scooped. 🙂