This Vegan No Churn Wild Berry Pie Ice Cream is a new summer favorite! It's easily made with a salted cream base, swirled with fresh berry jam, and dotted with crispy, buttery, cinnamon sugar pie crust pieces.
Wait, what is "no churn ice cream"?
Typical ice cream (like those from your local ice cream store) is made by slowly churning and chilling ingredients together over an extended period of time. This requires an ice cream maker, a machine that many of us do not own (nor do we have the space for it)! No churn ice cream is a sweet dessert that can easily be made right at home, without any expensive equipment.
How to Make Vegan No Churn Ice Cream
Vegan no churn ice cream (made without dairy cream or eggs) is a unique challenge and I was excited to tackle it. After a bit of research, I came up with a method that worked well and did not require excessive time or energy.
- Blend coconut cream, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and sea salt until creamy.
- Pour into a shallow container and freeze.
- Stir every 30 minutes for 2-3 hours, until aerated and creamy. Stirring will break up any ice crystals that form During the cooling process.
How do you make vegan ice cream not icy?
Stirring every 30 minutes while the ice cream is freezing helps eliminate ice crystals. Crystals of frozen water are what lend a chunky, rough texture to nondairy ice creams. No thanks! Furthermore, you want to use a very high fat base in place of typical heavy cream and eggs. Coconut cream is a great player here, as it does not contain as much water as something like almond milk.
More Tips for the Creamiest Vegan Ice Cream
Add a splash of alcohol. This is optional but will help prevent freezing! I like vodka as it has a neutral flavor (we're only adding 1 TBS).
Stir every 30 minutes as it freezes. As mentioned above, this is a huge contributor to breaking up those pesky crystals.
Avoid granulated sweeteners. As convenient as they are, brown and white sugars can lend a sandy texture to homemade ice cream as they are harder to smooth out.
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Store with tightly wrapped aluminum foil. This will help avoid any freezer burn. That being said, you'll want to try to eat your homemade ice cream within a few days of making.
Let thaw (or microwave shortly) right before serving. No churn vegan ice cream will freeze naturally a bit more solid than store-bought ice creams (since we're not using commercial equipment). A moment to thaw before serving will greatly improve the texture of this recipe.
I hope you love this recipe for no churn vegan ice cream! If you are a big fan of frozen sweet treats, be sure to check out one of the below posts next.
Love strawberries? Be sure to check out this round up of my favorite vegan strawberry recipes!
More Vegan Ice Cream Recipes to Try Next
Ginger Peach Crumble Ice Cream Floats
Grand Marnier Strawberry Sundaes
Frozen Strawberry Shortcake Bar
Grilled Peaches with Cinnamon Sugar Crispies
Wild Berry Pie Ice Cream (Vegan, No Churn)
Ingredients
For vegan ice cream base:
- 1 ¼ cups coconut cream scraped off of two chilled 15 oz cans of coconut milk (or from one 15 oz can coconut cream)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 TBS vodka optional (to help with creaminess)
For berry pie flavorings:
- ½ sheet of thawed pie crust store-bought is great, or here is an easy vegan pie crust recipe
- 1 TBS melted vegan butter or neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 TBS granulated sugar
- ½ cup low sugar berry jam of choice
Instructions
- Add coconut cream, sea salt, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and vodka (if using) to a blender or food processor. Blend until creamy. Pour into a freezer-safe glass dish and place in the freezer.
- Stir ice cream every 30 minutes for 2-3 hours, taking care to break up any ice crystals that form. This will aerate the mixture and ensure a smooth end result. The more you stir, the creamier it will be!
- Meanwhile, prepare toppings by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut pie crust into small pieces (you'll want around 1 cup of pieces in total). Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to coat. Place in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes, until crisped but not burned. The exact baking time will depend on how thick your crust is. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Once you've chilled and stirred the ice cream a few times, remove it from the freezer and dollop jam on top, in 6-8 places. Top with as many pie crust pieces as you'd like. Use a knife to swirl jam and pie chips into the ice cream, mixing throughout for even swirls. Freeze one final time until solid.
- To serve, let come to room temperature (sometimes I microwave quickly, to speed this up) and enjoy! Ice cream will keep for a few weeks in a sealed container but is best when fresh.
Phoebe M. says
I normally go out for ice cream, but was feeling adventurous and decided to give this a try. It was very good!
Emily says
Thank you for trying it, Phoebe!!
Zee says
Personally found it to be too much salt. Did everything as stated and it had too much of a salty taste
Emily says
Thank you for the feedback, I'm sorry this did not work for you! I would love to test it again, what brand of salt did you use?
Britta Handyside says
Better than the store brands! Thanks so much!
Emily says
Hey Britta, thank you so much for reviewing!
Tia says
I couldn't BELIEVE how good this vegan ice cream was. I have never had success at home until trying this variation -- thank you so much for the recipe!
Emily says
Hey Tia, thank you for letting me know!!
Mario says
It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more
Emily says
Thank you for 5 stars!! 🙂