Coconut Milk Ice Cream (SUPER creamy thanks to a simple trick)
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Coconut milk ice cream is the ultimate dairy-free ice cream, made with only three ingredients! It’s rich and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness and coconut flavor. Enjoy it in a cone or scooped on top of your favorite dessert for a refreshing treat that tastes great all year round!
I’ve been making homemade ice cream for years, and this coconut milk version is one of my absolute favorites. It’s naturally creamy, full of rich coconut flavor, and comes together with just a handful of simple ingredients. No need for heavy cream or eggs—this recipe is dairy-free, light, and still unbelievably indulgent.
The key to this recipe is one extra (simple!) step that makes all the difference: gently heating the coconut milk before chilling it. This helps dissolve any solids and ensures the mixture is completely smooth, so your ice cream turns out luxuriously creamy instead of gritty. It’s a small detail, but it’s what makes this recipe feel truly professional. Whatever you do, don’t skip this step.
Enjoy a bowl of this ice cream on its own or with vegan salted caramel brownies or a slice of vegan strawberry cream pie.
Ingredients notes
You only need three simple ingredients to make this delicious homemade coconut milk ice cream:
- Coconut milk: not all coconut milks are created equal, so you’ll want to read the labels. Look for cans of full-fat coconut milk that’s at least 60% coconut extract, with no gums or additives.
- Coconut sugar: coconut sugar is made from the sap of coconut palm trees, and has a strong caramel taste. It’s similar to brown sugar and you can find it at most grocery stores.
- You’ll also need pure vanilla extract and some toasted coconut ribbons (for serving, if desired).
Tips for making the best coconut milk ice cream
This simple homemade coconut ice cream recipe is easy to make, but here are a few helpful tips that make it the best:
- Use a full-fat coconut milk that’s at least 60% coconut extract, with no gums or additives. The higher it is in fat, the better the ice cream will be. Basically, avoid the light stuff!
- Don’t use granulated coconut sugar. I’ve tried different sweeteners, and coconut sugar has just the right taste and texture. If you need, brown sugar makes a good substitute.
- If you enjoy a soft-serve consistency, enjoy this ice cream right out of the ice cream maker! Otherwise, freeze it for a few hours until it becomes firm enough that you can scoop it with an ice cream scoop.
Watch how to make it
Coconut Milk Ice Cream (SUPER creamy thanks to a simple trick)
Ingredients
- 3 15-ounce cans of additive-free coconut milk (see notes)
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- Toasted shredded coconut (to serve)
Instructions
- Combine the coconut milk, coconut sugar, and vanilla in a medium-sized pot and heat over medium-low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved and the coconut milk is steaming. (Do not bring it to a boil.)3 15-ounce cans of additive-free coconut milk, 1 cup coconut sugar, 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- Carefully pour the warm cream into your blender. Start your blender on low speed then slowly increase the speed to high. Hold your hand over the lid to make sure that the steam from the cream doesn't pop the lid off. Blend on high for one minute and then refrigerate until it's completely cold, at least 4 hours.
- Once it is completely cold, process it according to your ice cream maker's directions. (See the blog post for making this without an ice cream maker.)
- Either serve immediately as soft serve ice cream or scoop the ice cream into a freezer-proof container – a loaf pan works well. Freeze until the ice cream is firm – about 2 hours.
- Scoop the ice cream into bowls and serve with some toasted shredded coconut on top.Toasted shredded coconut
Video
Notes
- Pour the ice cream into a shallow pan and place it carefully into your freezer.
- Set a timer to check on it every 30 minutes, then scrape it with a fork to mix the ice cream. Repeat this 3-4 times until it resembles the texture of ice cream. That’s it!
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Variations to try
Chocolate coconut milk ice cream: Add ¼ cup of cocoa powder to the blender.
Strawberry: Boil chopped strawberries for 10 minutes and then stir them into the heated coconut milk. For a shortcut, add strawberry jam!
Peanut butter: Add a dollop to the blender.
Salted Caramel: Swirl some caramel into the ice cream just as it’s finishing churning. Or you can simply spoon some on top before eating.
what are the directions with no icecream making machine?
TO MAKE NO-CHURN COCONUT MILK ICE CREAM:
Pour the ice cream into a shallow pan and put it into your freezer.
Every half an hour take the pan out of the freezer and use a fork to scrape and mix the ice cream. Do this at least 3-4 times.
That’s it!
I’m curious-i’ve got vacum packs of frozen white peaches. how do I incorporate that into my ice cream?
Fresh (or frozen) fruit will often make ice cream icy. For really creamy ice cream, I recommend roasting the peaches to remove some of their moisture then blending them into the coconut milk. It will be delicious!
When you are using the full fat coconut milk, do you use only the creamy solid part or the whole can, including the liquid? This looks delish!
The whole can! I usually give the can a shake first to mix it up. 🙂
Have you tried making coconut ice cream from coconuts? I’m looking for a recipe that uses coconuts
Do you mean the water that is inside coconuts? I don’t think it would make good ice cream as it is much too watery. You want the high fat content so that it is creamy. 🙂
Gmorning
So not one can of coconut cream or milk had the percentage of extract … is it the fat percentage on the nutrition label your looking for ???
If you look at the ingredients, it should tell you the percentage of extract there. Here’s a picture of a can with 60% coconut extract:
Do you have a favorite easy to use ice cream maker that you can suggest buying?
This is the one that I have and I love it! https://www.theendlessmeal.com/amazon-ice-cream-maker
Please tell me what brand of coconut cream to buy and where I can find it.
I have been to many stores and cannot find any with the fat content that you mention in your recipe (vanilla-coconut ice cream).
I buy Arroy’d coconut and try to find the cans that say 90% coconut extract. 🙂
Where’s the blog post that tells you how to make it without an ice cream maker? I want to make this SOO badly, but I don’t have an ice cream maker and I’m not exactly sure on what steps I’d need to go through for this specific recipe (I really don’t want ice crystals to form all because I froze it wrong or something small like that). Thanks in advance!
The instructions are in the blog post, just below the picture of the ice cream in the ice cream maker. The most important thing is to make sure to use the highest fat coconut milk you can find. 🙂
I do too! I hope you love this one like I do!
How much fat do you consider high fat? I have 3 different brands of coconut milk and all of them are 12%.
Check the ingredients. You’ll want it to say at least 60% coconut extract. 🙂
Do you think this recipe will turn out if honey or agave nectar is used as the sweetener?
Both would change the flavor slightly but I think it would still be really tasty either way!
Hi! I was wondering how many ounces of coconut milk will this recipe need? Because at the store the amount of onces per can vary per brand…for example, one brand have 15 oz per can while other have 12 oz. I want to make the recipe right. Thanks!
Hi Joan,
I use a few different brands that are all 400 ml (which I believe is 13.5 oz.)
The most important thing is to buy the brand that has the highest fat content so that the ice cream is creamy and does not turn icy. If you buy the 15 oz cans just taste the cream before you churn it to see if you need to add a little more sugar or vanilla 🙂
Omg made this this afternoon and it is amazing…so simple…and incredibly delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe. Definitely something that will be in my freezer from now on.
No problem at all, Jessica. So happy you loved this ice cream!
Hey Riley,
My father brought me a whole box of beautiful organic peaches the other day. They’re fabulous on their own, grilled and served with this ice cream, or just about any which way 🙂
that sounds good.
gonna try it this weekend
Awesome! Hope you love it 🙂
Fantastic. Making this tonight.