Vegan Cherry Garcia Ice Cream with Cashew Cream
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This vegan cherry garcia could very well change your opinion on dairy-free ice cream. It’s sweet, creamy, and loaded with cherries, vanilla, and dark chocolate — everything you want from a delicious ice cream treat!
Whether you’re vegan or dairy-free yourself, or perhaps serving this for someone who is, there’s no denying that this vegan cherry garcia ice cream recipe is the real deal. One recipe tester even said, “That gives real ice cream a run for its money!”
For this recipe, you’ll need the right tools to make the perfect vegan ice cream. These include a blender or food processor and an ice cream maker.
Key ingredients
If you’re new to the world of vegan ice cream, there’s a somewhat surprising secret ingredient in here. And that ingredient is cashews! It’s a little bit counterintuitive, but if you want your ice cream to have the same creamy texture as dairy-based ice cream but without any dairy, reach for a bag of raw cashews. There’s no other alternative that works as well.
- Raw cashews: you will need 2 cups of raw cashews, which you will soak for a minimum of 4 hours. If you don’t have a high-powered blender you should consider soaking them for up to 24 hours. This will help them soften so you can blend them into a creamy dream.
- Coconut oil: This is adds fat, making the ice cream creamier.
- Dark chocolate shavings: Part of the trifecta of cherry garcia flavors, adding dark chocolate shavings (dark chocolate pieces or chopped dark chocolate, depending on how chunky you want the chocolate) will give those distinct rich, bitter chocolate notes to the ice cream.
- Quartered cherries: for this vegan cherry garcia recipe you’ll only need ½ cup of pitted cherries, so don’t worry, you won’t have to sit there forever removing the pits! Then cut them into quarters or small pieces.
Tools to make vegan ice cream
There are a couple of tools to have on hand to make your life of making homemade ice cream even easier.
- High-powered blender: To bring the ice cream ingredients together into a smooth consistency, a high-powered blender is best. Since you’ll be incorporating cashews, you want the blender to be able to work them until a creamy texture is achieved. Because no one likes gritty ice cream!
- Food processor: If you don’t have a high-powered blender at home, but you do have a food processor, this can work, too.
- Ice cream maker: Although not necessary to make homemade ice cream, the churning that the ice cream machine does makes life easy, and it makes for really tasty ice cream. This recipe is written using an ice cream maker.
How to make ice cream without an ice cream maker
You can make this vegan cherry garcia ice cream without an ice cream maker. To do this, place the ice cream base in a shallow pan and pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Use a fork or sturdy whisk to scrape and mix up the ice cream. Put it back into the freezer then half an hour later scrape and mix it again. Keep repeating these steps until you have ice cream. It usually takes between 2-3 hours.
How to make look alike Ben & Jerry’s vegan cherry garcia at home
A famous flavor of Ben & Jerry’s is their vegan cherry garcia – maybe you’ve had it? Here’s how you can make a look alike at home!
- Soak the cashews: Soak the cashews in cold water for 4-24 hours before making the ice cream. Then drain and rinse the cashews.
- Blend: Add the cashews, coconut oil, maple syrup, bourbon (if using), sugar, vanilla, and salt to a blender or food processor and blend on high until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Refrigerate until cold: Pour the cream into a bowl and refrigerate it until it’s completely cold.
- Ice cream maker: Once the cream is cold, process it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Once the ice cream resembles soft-serve, add the chocolate and cherries and let your ice cream maker stir them into the ice cream.
- Freeze: Scoop the ice cream into a freezer-safe container and freeze until it’s solid.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will vegan ice cream last in the freezer?
You can store homemade ice cream in an airtight container or jar in the freezer for 2 weeks. After this point, it’s still safe to eat, however, it loses some of its texture and flavor.
Can I use frozen cherries to make cherry garcia?
You can! Allow the frozen cherries to thaw, this way you can cut them into quarters before incorporating them into the ice cream.
What type of coconut oil should I use?
It’s best to opt for refined coconut oil, which will reduce the coconut flavor and gritty-like texture.
Vegan Garcia Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup bourbon (optional)
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup dark chocolate shavings
- ½ cup quartered cherries
Instructions
- If you do not have a high-powered blender, soak the cashews in cold water for 4-24 hours before making the ice cream.2 cups raw cashews, 1 cup water
- Drain and rinse the soaked cashews. Add the cashews, coconut oil, maple syrup, bourbon (if using), sugar, vanilla, and salt to a blender or food processor and blend on high until smooth, about 3 minutes. OPTIONAL STEP: if you don't have a high-powered blender, you may want to strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve so that it's super smooth.¼ cup coconut oil, ¼ cup maple syrup, ¼ cup bourbon, 2 tablespoons coconut sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Pour the cream into a bowl and refrigerate it until it's completely cold.
- Once the cream is cold, process it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Once the ice cream resembles soft-serve, add the chocolate and cherries and let your ice cream maker stir them into the ice cream. Scoop the ice cream into a freezer-proof container and freeze until it's solid.½ cup dark chocolate shavings, ½ cup quartered cherries
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Are we able to use cashew milk instead of making the cashew milk?
What ratio would that mean if possible?
Hi Autumn. No, I don’t recommend using cashew milk. It’s important to have the actual cashews as they are high in fat so will create a creamy ice cream. If you try to freeze cashew milk, it will just turn to ice.
This is amazing! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I made it as per your instructions but put in coconut milk instead of oil. It tastes great. I have the cream in my fridge and will blend and add the cherries and chocolate later. I don’t have an ice cream maker so it might not be Creamy but I’m trying with my food processor lol.
Hi. I’m confused if I’m supposed to add the water to the main ingredients or that is earmarked for soaking the cashews. The flavor and texture is great so far!
The water is for the cashews. Sorry for the confusion!
Hi, I came across this on Pinterest. I’m lactose intollerant so vegan ice cream appeals to me. 😉 I don’t drink thoug, any ideas on what I could soak the cherries in other than the spirits? Thanks x
My first thought was to soak them in a little vanilla extract but, of course, that has alcohol in it, too. You could just put the cherries in as they are. It will be great!
Use vanilla extract made with glycol instead of alcohol
This ice cream was amazing!
Thank you so much!!!
I made a bourbon cherry ice cream last summer and it was INCREDIBLE (like I wanted to eat it all straight from the ice cream machine and not share with anybody else). I’ve never made a nut-based ice cream like this so I’m going to bookmark it for later because my tummy is telling that I have to try it! Oh, yes!
Ha! That’s exactly how I felt when I made this!!