Looking for a delicious and easy-to-make dessert that's free from dairy? Look no further than this recipe for vanilla dairy free ice cream! Made with simple ingredients, this recipe is perfect for those who are lactose intolerant, have a dairy allergy, or follow a vegan diet. Plus it's free of other common allergens like soy, eggs, wheat, and nuts.
It used to be difficult to find ice cream that is free of common allergens, but not anymore! You won't have to look too hard in the freezer aisle at the grocery store to find dairy free options made from oat milk, soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, cashew milk, and more!
These dairy-free ice cream options can be pretty pricey and often have advisory statements regarding cross-contact with other common allergens. So, why not make your own?
Ingredients
Making allergy friendly ice cream requires a few specialty ingredients, many that you can easily find at the regular grocery store.
Milk
So many of the ice cream options at the grocery store contain at least one of the top 8 allergens, so I wanted to make one that is top 8 free. I make this ice cream with rice milk or soy milk. Either way, it turns out creamy and delicious!
Fat
Fat is an important part of achieving smooth, creamy ice cream. Ice cream made with dairy has milk fat and even lower-fat ice cream made with reduced-fat milk has some of that milkfat to help produce that creamy texture.
I use canola in this recipe because it is free of the most common allergens and it is basically flavorless. You could use vegetable oil or grapeseed oil as well.
Starch and stabilizers
Arrowroot starch comes from the roots of the arrowroot plant. It is similar to cornstarch but helps give this ice cream its silky texture.
Xanthan gum is a stabilizer in ice cream that helps to reduce the size of ice crystals that form during the freezing process. This also helps create a smooth, creamy texture. Other stabilizers you might see on ice cream ingredient lists include locust bean gum, carrageenan, and guar gum. Xanthan gum works well and is easy to find at the specialty food store whereas other stabilizers may be more difficult to find.
Marshmallows have gelatin in them and this works as a stabilizer, too. Some gourmet marshmallows are made with egg white so be sure you choose one that is "safe" for you. Marshmallows also add some additional sugar and add to the sweet flavor of this ice cream.
Equipment
Ice cream happens to be one of my favorite foods! When we started eating dairy free, it didn't take me long to invest in an ice cream maker so I could make my own dairy free ice cream!
I already had a Kitchenaid mixer (which, by the way, I absolutely love!) and Kitchenaid makes a variety of attachments for the mixer including this ice cream maker attachment. It includes a mixing bowl, drive assembly, and a dasher to mix the ice cream.
You will need to freeze the mixing bowl for at least 15 hours prior to making the ice cream in order to freeze the inner water-filled compartment. I just store mine in our deep freeze wrapped in a plastic bag so it's always ready.
Recipe tips
If you prefer chocolate ice cream, you can whisk in ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to the batter while it's cooking.
The batter will be very thick. This helps to minimize ice crystals from forming which helps prevent the ice cream from having an "icy" texture.
Be sure to cool the batter completely before adding it to the ice cream maker!
Serve with safe chocolate syrup (we like Hershey's Simple 5 chocolate syrup) and other safe toppings like sprinkles, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows! Yum!
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📖 Recipe
Vanilla Dairy Free Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 cups vanilla rice milk, divided
- 3 tablespoons arrowroot starch
- 15 large "safe" marshmallows
- ⅓ cup sugar
- Dash of salt
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1-½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the arrowroot starch with ¼ cup of the rice milk, set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the remaining rice milk, marshmallows, sugar and salt. Cook over medium high heat until marshmallows are melted and mixture comes to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once mixture comes to a boil, remove from the heat. Pour the hot mixture over the arrowroot flour and milk mixture; stir well. Add the oil, xanthan gum and vanilla extract and whisk mixture together until blended. Mixture will be thickened to the consistency of gravy. Place in the refrigerator until completely cooled.
- Pour cooled mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Makes about 1 quart.
Notes
Nutrition
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Erin says
My whole family loved this ice cream. I used Chobani Extra Creamy oat milk, and Campfire Giant Roaster marshmallows. To reduce the sweetness a bit, would you suggest cutting back on the sugar, or the marshmallows? I want to try making mint chocolate chip, and I think the mint flavor will come through more with less sweetness.
Kristi Winkels says
Hi Erin, I'm glad you loved the ice cream! I would try cutting back on the sugar because I think the gelatin in the marshmallows helps give the ice cream its smooth texture. Mint chocolate chip sounds delicious - I would love to know how it turns out!
Jaya Prashanth says
Can I use corn starch instead of Arrow Root Starch? Thanks!
Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD says
Hi Jaya,
I haven't tested this myself but I do think you could substitute the same amount of cornstarch for the arrowroot starch. Arrowroot starch and cornstarch work the same way but the texture of the ice cream may be a little bit different. If you try it, please leave a comment here and let me know how it turned out!
Donna says
Can i make this without a ice cream machine?
Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD says
Hi Donna,
I have never tried to make this without my ice cream machine so I can't say for sure. If you're feeling adventurous, check out this article on how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker. Let me know how it turns out!