You won’t need much time to prepare this delicious and healthy paleo vanilla ice-cream! With only three ingredients, it is probably one of the easiest frozen treats you can prepare in a pinch. This vanilla ice-cream is a crowd-pleaser and will be a hit for everyone in your family. While I do not advocate eating a lot of paleo treats on a regular basis, I think that we all need a little something sweet from time to time.
This vanilla ice-cream is dairy free, nut free, egg free, and low-FODMAP!
What is there not to like?
I started making homemade ice-cream only recently when I finally purchased an ice-cream maker off the internet. I was not very happy with the ice-cream options we could find at the store, even with the “healthy” brands because they still contain ingredients not compliant with the autoimmune protocol. I asked for advice among my friends and settled for a Cuisinart with a double insulated freezer bowl
I quickly discovered that making ice-cream is quite simple and straightforward! One of my first creations was a delicate rosemary infused pear sorbet. It was a total success and encouraged me to explore more options. Before launching into flavored ice-creams, I wanted to tackle a recipe for a basic vanilla ice-cream that would be yummy and autoimmune protocol compliant at the same time! Not many people would say no to a nice bowl of vanilla ice-cream!
- 2 cans (13 ½ ounces each) full fat coconut milk
- 4 TBSP maple syrup
- 1 TBSP alcohol-free vanilla flavoring
or 1/2 TSP vanilla powder
for strict AIP
- Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and warm-up over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for about five minutes.
- Taste and adjust the sweetener if needed.
- Allow the liquid to cool down completely. You can speed up the process by refrigerating the coconut mixture.
- Pour into the ice-cream machine and churn following the manufacturer’s instructions.
- You can enjoy immediately as a soft serve, or freeze for a couple of hour before serving.
- When frozen solid, allow the ice cream to thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
- Bon appétit!
This vanilla ice-cream recipe has been shared on Fat Tuesday – Phoenix Helix AIP Recipe Roundtable – Real Food Wednesday – The Paleo Rodeo – Awesome Life friday
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Thank you. I needed this in my life. 🙂
You are welcome Raia! That was my thought exactly when I created this easy vanilla ice-cream recipe 🙂
Hi Sophie, thank you for this great easy recipe. Question, does it taste like coconut? Seems like everything I want to make has coconut in it and I’d really like a break from that taste 🙂
Yes it does. Not a lot I think, but some.
Could you not add some fresh organic raspberries or strawberries or other fruit of choice to offse the coconut.flavor?
Absolutely!
This looks fantastic! I just received an ice cream maker for christmas so I’ll definitely be making this 🙂
This sounds delicious. My husband loves ice cream – I’ll be giving it a try once the weather gets warmer! Thank you so much for sharing! I hope you’ll come back again this week for Awesome Life Friday!
If I dont have an ice cream maker can I still make this? I’m sure the answer will be no but just thought I would ask since I am new to all of this AIP stuff..thank you!
Hello Amber!
If you don’t have an ice-cream machine, all is not lost! Check out this article on The Kitchn!
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-machine-171060
What would you suggest as a substitute for the coconut milk besides almond milk? My daughter is allergic to dairy and coconut.
Tigernut milk? I think it is called horchata as well; go with the unsweetened version. Good luck!
Hello, does this past like Coconut? My husband doesn’t like that taste.
Thanks so much
Hello Yoli! Yes, the ice-cream has a slight taste of coconut. You can maybe increase the amount of vanilla extract to make it more palatable for your husband 🙂 Good luck!
Hi, I made it last night and its wonderful!
I do have a question (because I’m a newbie cook): why do we need to warm the coconut milk? how warm should it be? after it was ready I noticed there are chunks of coconut fat – did I warm it too much? didn’t I cool it enough?
Thanks!
Hello Eli!
We need to warm up the coconut milk so that it will mix well with the sweetener and to make sure there is no big blob of coconut cream in there. If you heat it up too much, that’s when the fat will separate from the milk! So warm up just enough to melt the maple syrup, but not more 🙂 Good luck!
Thanks Sophie! that’s exactly what happened to me… I’ll give it another try… (after I finish the current batch which was that bad 😉 )
I was not using vanilla powder so I had to boil the extract in with the coconut milk and maple syrup; after refrigerating the mixture I also had a layer of hard separated fat that the ice cream maker did not like. I was wondering what do you use for vanilla powder and could I just use the coconut milk straight out of the can, stir in the maple syrup or pureed maple sugar, and put it right in the ice cream maker? Out of he can it looks like a good, smooth consistency that would churn well and is not too separated.
Hello laura!
In the recipe, I use vanilla extract, not powder! So I think you did right there 🙂 Also, when you refrigerate, it is only for a little time, until the liquid cools down. You don’t want to leave it too long, otherwise indeed it will separate. A good idea would be also to stir the liquid frequently while it is cooling down in the fridge! You could pour the coconut milk straight from the can to the ice-cream maker, only if the can is cold. If you put warm liquid in the ice-cream machine, it won’t “take”. I hope this helps 🙂 Good luck!
Hi,
I tried the recipe twice (even bought the same machine you use). I used so delicious refrigerated coconut milk-that already has some stabilizers/emulsifiers in it.
I can’t get the recipe to work! It comes out thin and ice like.
Is that because I used this type of coconut milk that already has emulfisifers?
I am in a tight budget, and can’t find the kind you recommend local. My kids can’t have dairy but want ice cream. I was just wondering if you thought my bad batches were because of the milk I bought, before I spend $30 on Amazon to order the canned type,
Thanks for any thought,
Hello Michelle 🙂
Yes, absolutely, you are right, the problem is the milk you used. The brand “So Delicious’ won’t work for the ice-cream. It needs to be a coconut milk in a can; that milk is really thick, much much thicker than So Delicious. If you can’t find the brand I recommend, did you see any other brand, but in a can? That would work as well. For online ordering, you might want to check Thrive Market. Their prices are often cheaper than Amazon and you get free shipping with all orders over $49. Maybe there is something else you need and you could group your shipping to get the discount. Good luck!
I buy coconut milk at our Dollar Tree for $1. The ice cream is so smooth.
For the coconut milk is it two cans with 13.5 ounces in each can or total?
Hello Aidan 🙂
It is 2 cans of 13.5 ounces each.
Hello Aidan,
It is 2 cans of 13.5 ounces each.
Hi–I’m so curious, how is this 100% compliant when it has vanilla. Seeds are one of my biggest triggers and vanilla is included. I’ve tested it and it’s a problem. Thanks.
Hello Michelle,
According to The Paleo Mom and her book “The Paleo Approach”, alcohol free vanilla extract is 100% AIP. It is the vanilla “pod” that is not AIP. Now, it seems that vanilla in all its form is a big trigger for you, so I would stay away from it. If, in the course of your healing diet, you discover that you are allergic to a certain food, even if it is AIP compliant, you should stay away from it. I hope this explanation helps! Good luck 🙂
Can I use vanilla extract with alcohol? Because I only have with alcohol. I tried another recipe similar to this one and the ice cream ended up tasting like coconut milk. Does the alcohol change something, if yes, what is the difference?
Thanks
Hello Gabi,
I would not advise using vanilla extract with alcohol because it will give an unpleasant after taste to the ice-cream. Plus, alcohol is not compliant with the paleo autoimmune protocol 🙂 Good luck!
Hello, thank you for sharing this recipe. I do want to mention the Important Fact that Maple Syrup is Not a Paleo approved “natural sweetener”, es, its natural, but it WILL Spike your body’s insulin and contains still high Glucose level…..Might I suggest Substituting instead with: “Just Like Sugar”, or Chickory Root Powder sweetener- both are far better choices that Are Paleo Approved and are all natural, and will not spike your glucose or insulin level. 😀
Thanks for your feedback! I am not familiar with chicory root powder; will heave to check that out 🙂
Our whole family loved this recipe! So wonderful to enjoy an AIP birthday treat with fresh strawberries. Thank you.
I don’t know if the low FODMAP diet has been updated since this post, but it is my understanding that any more than 1/2 cup of coconut contains too high a polyol load for a low FODMAP diet (that’s according to MONASH, the people who designed the diet) If you are in the diagnostic portion of the diet (the elimination stage), you would need to be very careful with this recipe. Also, some maple syrups contain high fructose corn syrup, which is not allowed on the low FODMAP diet, so make sure to check the maple syrup you use.
Thank you Cassie for this info! 🙂
Made this last night because my whole family was eating ice cream and I wanted to join in. It was absolutely delicious! The only thing I added was a pinch of pink sea salt. So yummy! Thank you!
Thank you so much Nicole for your positive feedback 🙂
I’ve made this (or am still making this???
I had the ingredients well mixed together and cooled. Then when I put the mixture into the ice cream maker/freezer (If my KitchenAid mixer) it didn’t freeze well. And took much longer than the instructions for my ice cream maker (15-20 minutes) Finally, after about 45+ minutes I decided to really check it well. The coconut fat (I think) froze to the dasher but the rest was chilled and thickening, but not ice cream (more like really runny ice milk).
Any suggestions as to why that might have happened? Should I try to remix/freeze after the ice cream bowl has frozen again (right now the concoction is in my refrigerator) or just eat this as it is and try again another time?
I’d appreciate your assistance. Thank you!
Hello Katie,
The only explanation I can see would be the type of coconut milk you have been using. With the brand I use (Aroy-D), the mixture turns to creamy ice cream after 15 minutes already. What I would do with this batch? Make it a coconut milk creamer!! Have you tried that with a cup of chicory-dandelion root AIP coffee? So delicious 🙂
Next time you try the ice cream, buy the same brand I am using. No ingredients except coconut milk. Good luck!
I like the coconut creamer idea.. I used Natural Value organic coconut milk ingredients listed organic coconut extract (35g), water
I’ll look for Aroy-D using affiliate link
This looks amazing! I’m going to buy the ice cream maker tonight. Question, I usually use trader Joe’s coconut milk or coconut cream. There are no additional ingredients other than coconut. Do you think this brand will work or should I buy the other? Thanks again!
I have had the same question very recently. This reader had used another brand of coconut milk and she didn’t get a good result. To make sure, I would buy the brand I recommend (Aroy-D), which has a low water content and is very creamy to start with. Good luck!
I tried this recipe and I have lumps of solid coconut oil/cream in it. I’m so disappointed as I’m struggling without any type of treat that’s AIP compliant. What did I do wrong?
Hello Julie,
All I can think of is did you take the time to melt and combine all the ingredients together before pouring the coconut mixture in your ice-cream maker?
Hi Sophie,
I bought the canned coconut milk in the recipe. My batch seemed to have a strong coconut taste. I can’t describe what it is, but I used more extract, but the taste did not go away. Could the cans have been expired? I’m not sure, but it was not the best tasting. ☹️
It would be normal for the ice cream to have a slight coconut taste since the main ingredient is coconut milk. I don’t think that your cans were expired. It may be that it takes some getting used to the coconut flavor? The vanilla extract won’t entirely cover the taste. Since I wrote this recipe, tigernut milk came out on the market. It is AIP-compliant. This might be a good alternative to use in this recipe? – Sophie
Hi Sophie! Thank you! I’ve been doing AIP since January. So far so good! We love the taste of coconut. We noticed the taste from the can is different then that of a carton of coconut milk. Which we have researched and now know why. But we thought maybe it went bad. Have you tried the Tigernut milk?
I have not tried tigernut milk to make ice cream!
Trying this today! I have some AIP caramels that I bought so I might try melting them down and adding in during the churning. To make it “ribboned “ with caramel. We’ll see if that works!
Hi Sophie, thanks for the recipe. I made this and followed all your instructions but mine cane out with a “grainy” texture but tastes great! It’s almost as if the cold hardened tiny grains of coconut fat. Any ideas on getting this to be creamy? Did I do something wrong? Appreciate the help!
Hi Sophie, I made this today with 1/2 tsp pure vanilla powder (I use Wilderness Poets) and it was simply devine! The 4 tablespoons of maple syrup were perfect, just sweet enough. I haven’t had ice cream in a long time and now I am so happy! Thank you for this simple and delicious recipe! Andrea