Ice Cream Recipes: Dairy-Free Strawberry Ice Cream

Posted by CraftFoxes Staff on Feb 03, 2015

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Strawberry ice cream is one of the most popular flavors among children. We know it’s delicious and summery, but we can’t help wonder: Is it the pink color that makes them so happy?

Ingredients:
- 2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh or frozen strawberries
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup (about 8-10) soft, pitted Medjool dates
- 1/2 cup almond, cashew, or hemp milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Optional thickener (see below for choices)

Step 1

Put the strawberries and coconut milk in a blender and purée until smooth.

Step 2

Add the dates, almond, cashew or hemp milk; then add lemon juice; vanilla extract; and thickener (if using).

Purée until smooth.

Step 3

Freeze for about an hour or refrigerate until cold (see below).

Step 4

Pour into the ice cream machine and churn per the manufacturer’s instructions.

Step 5

Eat right away or freeze until hard for pretty scoops.

Step 6

This recipe makes 1 to 1 1/2 quarts.

When a recipe lists a thickener, you can choose from these two:

Guar Gum: Add 1/2 teaspoon guar gum to the blender with the other ingredients and purée. Each batch of ice cream contains about six servings, which is less than 1/8 teaspoon of guar gum per serving. I prefer guar gum to xanthan gum for two reasons: First, I prefer that guar gum comes from guar or “cluster beans,” while xanthan gum comes from bacteria. And second, I prefer to use guar gum because xanthan gum bothers a lot of people, partly due to the fact that it’s usually grown on corn.

Unflavored gelatin: The second option for thickener is gelatin. It’s dairy-free but not vegetarian. Gelatin was the first thickener I used in my ice creams, and it’s still the one I prefer because of its gut-healing properties. Slowly stir 1 tablespoon gelatin into ¼ cup boiling water until it’s completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into the blender last, just before you purée the ice cream mixture.