Delicious Dairy Free Ice Cream

Smooth, sweet, and creamy--it's as good as the real thing! I love this combination of full fat coconut milk and vanilla soy milk. It makes a rich ice cream that doesn't make me miss the dairy. I've tried a few combinations, and there are alternatives with fewer calories, but this recipe is the best tasting. Using just soy milk gives the ice cream a grainy, icy texture, but add the thick, sweet, full fat coconut milk and you have an instant substitute for heavy cream.

Any non-dairy milk will do for this recipe, but I love the thick texture and sweetness of Silk Very Vanilla soymilk. Homemade ice cream has the added benefit of being able to add your own amount of sugar. Agave syrup is a healthier option as it is metabolized slower than sugar. Besides being easy to mix in it also has a mild flavor that compliments vanilla quite well.

This recipe requires an electric ice cream maker. If you don't have one, I suggest getting one. They are perfect for making ice cold homemade treats in twenty minutes or less. Frozen yogurt, sorbet, frozen drinks, and slushies are other great ideas to make with this tool.

You can easily add mix ins to make other flavors. Eight ounces of melted chocolate added to this recipe will give you a delectable chocolate ice cream. I've also added crushed chocolate and cream (dairy free) cookies in the last five minutes of mixing for cookies and cream ice cream. The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients:

1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled at least two hours in the fridge
1 1/4 cups refrigerated Silk Very Vanilla soymilk
1/2 cup agave syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (use 1 tablespoon if using non-vanilla soymilk)

My pretty red ice cream maker...not much bigger than a coffee maker!

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until well combined.

2. Pour into your frozen ice cream bowl and freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions. It should be ready to eat in 15-20 minutes. It will be soft, so if you want harder ice cream, put in the freezer for at least 1 hour prior to enjoying.

Full fat coconut milk and Silk Very Vanilla soymilk.

Agave Syrup.

Adding the vanilla.

Churning process.

Finished product :-)