This vegan chocolate ice cream is rich and decadent, smooth and creamy with a perfect melt in your mouth texture.
I think two of my favorite things to make are cakes (all cakes, but especially cupcakes) and ice creams.
Oh my goodness, I love making ice creams! They’re so easy to make, and taste soooo good.
There’s really no downside.
So in my quest to make ice creams in all the flavors (got vanilla, coconut, mint chocolate chip and salted caramel so far – so much fun still ahead!), of course chocolate has to come fairly soon on the list. Chocolate is a major player in the whole ice cream game after all.
I knew I wanted to make a really really rich and decadent chocolate ice cream. Like not just adding cocoa powder to it and calling it a day.
And this fabulous vegan chocolate ice cream really gets it right. It’s decadent and rich as all heck.
The decadence and richness comes from adding vegan dark chocolate to it in addition to a large dose of cocoa powder.
The result is a chocolate mousse style ice cream that doesn’t disappoint!
I’m not kidding about the richness though – it’s crazy rich but in such a good way. You only need a small portion of this to be entirely satisfied. And I mean entirely.
If you’re so inclined (we totally were) you can add some more chopped vegan dark chocolate over the top when serving. Oh yum!
And if you love all things chocolate then you’ll also love our fudgy chocolate popsicles.
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
To make this vegan chocolate ice cream, you simply add coconut milk, coconut cream, cocoa powder, sugar and golden or maple syrup to a pot and bring it to a simmer stirring regularly.
When it reaches a simmer, you remove from the heat, add vanilla extract and some vegan dark chocolate. Allow it to sit for a minute to give the chocolate a chance to melt and then whisk it in. Then blend it for 30 seconds using an immersion blender if you have one, or a regular blender if you don’t. This is to remove any last trace of graininess there may be in the ice cream texture.
Then you transfer this mixture to a container with a lid, place into the fridge and allow to cool completely. Due to the dark chocolate in the recipe, this mixture may begin to set while it cools, becoming the consistency of chocolate mousse. This is totally okay!
When it’s cooled completely, add it to your ice cream machine and churn it until it reaches the consistency of thick soft serve.
Transfer it from the ice cream machine to a loaf pan, smooth it down, cover with foil and place into the freezer to set.
When it’s set scoop and serve!
I couldn’t decide whether this was better in bowls or cones, so we went with both!
Ingredient Notes
- Coconut Milk – should be canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk.
- Coconut Cream – should be canned and unsweetened.
- White Granulated Sugar – can be switched for light brown sugar or even coconut sugar.
- Golden Syrup – is great for flavor but maple syrup is also great.
- Cocoa Powder – should be natural and unsweetened.
- Vegan Dark Chocolate – should be a high quality, good tasting chocolate. Alternatively you can use vegan chocolate chips.
Storing Instructions
Even though this is ice cream, it’s still best when consumed in the first week or two. If it stores too long then ice crystals can start to develop and affect your texture.
More Delicious Vegan Chocolate Desserts
- Vegan Chocolate Ganache
- Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Sauce
- Vegan Chocolate Mousse
- Vegan Chocolate Pie
- Vegan Chocolate Pudding
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 14 ounces Canned Coconut Milk (400ml) Full Fat, Unsweetened
- 14 ounces Canned Coconut Cream (400ml) Unsweetened
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
- ¼ cup Golden Syrup (60ml) or Maple Syrup
- ⅔ cup Cocoa Powder (57g) Unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 7 ounces Vegan Dark Chocolate (200g) plus more for serving
Instructions
- The day before you want to make ice cream, place the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker into the freezer to freeze properly.
- Then add your coconut milk, coconut cream, sugar, syrup and cocoa powder to a pot and heat to a simmer. You’ll need to whisk it with a hand whisk to mix the cooca powder in properly, but thereafter you can just stir gently until it reaches a simmer.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla.
- Break the dark chocolate into pieces and add, leaving for a minute to give it a chance to melt, then whisk in until smooth.
- Blend the mix directly in the pot with an immersion blender for 30 seconds to remove any last trace of graininess from your mixture. If you don't have an immersion blender, then transfer to your blender jug and blend.
- Transfer the mix to a sealable container and place into the fridge to chill completely. It may thicken into a chocolate mousse consistency, this is fine.
- Transfer to your ice cream machine and churn until it reaches soft serve consistency. If it's quite thick going in, then this may only take around 20 minutes, but churn it for as long as possible (at least 20 minutes) so that it incorporates enough air to be light and fluffy.
- Smooth down into a loaf pan, cover with foil and place into the freezer to set completely before serving.
- Serve topped with chopped dark chocolate (optional).
Notes
- Prep time does not include the time spent chilling the mix or setting in the freezer.
- Keep your ice cream stored in the freezer and enjoy within the first 1-2 weeks for the best results.
I can’t wait to try this. I have a whole case of coconut creme and a new ice cream maker. I was trying to find dairy free nice cream recipes. This one looks good!
Delicious. Have made this one a few times. It’s a favorite in our house.
Awesome! Thanks Sandra!
Hello????
Can I make this ice cream only with almond milk?
And why do you use coconut cream in almost every recipe? What is the alternative for the cream?
Thank you ✌️
Almond milk won’t be rich enough for ice cream.
I make this as a chocolate mousse and it’s delicious, I’m lucky my local health food shop sells coconut whipping cream and I use that to make it a mousse
Myself and my daughter are lactose intolerant so this is a great comfort when you want a chocolate fix that’s indulgent
PS love this site ❤️
Awesome! Thanks so much Alycce!
Hello,
I prepared this yesterday and finished making it this morning. Been trying to find a recipe my autistic son will like. He normally likes Ben and Jerry’s vegan chocolate brownie ice cream. Being autistic and very sensory driven, it can be hard for him to try new foods or brands. We are home bound and not getting to any shops at the moment. This was super easy to make. But what topped it for me was the flavour and texture. It is on par with Ben and Jerry’s. My son is ecstatic and currently licking a cone of it as I type. We solute you for your triumph here. For anyone who is not a fan of coconut. You can’t taste the coconut at all. It’s just a lovely rich chocolate flavour. It scoops up just like Ben and Jerry’s. This will be our goto ice cream from now on. My son is allergic to a lot of foods and this being vegan and gluten free is just wonderful. I will try the vanilla next 🙂
Big HUGE thank you from the two of us
So happy to hear that Jane! Thanks a million!
Hello, I hope you are well. Do you have favorite vegan dark chocolate that you like? At our local store I could only find vegan dark chocolate chips bag, 9 oz and I wasn’t sure if I should use those in this recipe. Thank you, I can’t wait to try it.
I’m a fan of Lindt dark chocolate, but whatever you can find, should work fine!
The best vegan ice cream i ever had. Thank you so much for the recipe!????
Yay! Thanks so much Maria!
My coconut cream has separated, do I just use the cream part and use the water for something else or mix it all together and use it all? Thank you
Use it all, it won’t matter that it separated because while it’s heating, you’ll be whisking and then stirring it and it will all come together again.
Is the coconut milk the stuff in a can or the kind you would drink in place of milk?
In a can definitely. The full fat unsweetened canned version is the one to use. 🙂
I made this recipe for a Father’s Day dinner for my family, with a couple of changes. My husband’s favorite ice cream flavor is Rocky Road; so after churning it, I stirred in miniature marshmallows and chopped walnuts. Then I packed it in the loaf pan and froze it overnight. My family went wild over it. My nine-year-old grandson licked his bowl. And my husband thought it was as good as premium ice cream. They have already asked if I will make it again. This recipe is definitely a keeper. ????
That is so awesome to hear! So glad it was a huge success. Thanks so much Debbie! 🙂
I am so grateful for this recipe! I successfully made this while omitting the chocolate at the end of the recipe, and using exclusively maple syrup (3/4 cup) instead of sugar. Impressed my family and company. Now I will experiment with the vanilla and include almond extract and cherries for an amaretto taste…
Awesome! So happy to hear this, thanks so much for the amazing review! 🙂
Best Ice cream ever!!!! I love it, will never buy again. Doesn’t taste of coconut. Just taste like beautiful chock ice cream! My kids can’t tell the difference
Wonderful!! Thanks so much Jen! 🙂
Hi Alison
Is it possible for you to put up a recipe for ice cream that doesnt invove ice cream maker. I dont have one and I am looking for creamy ice cream recipes please thank you
Sure – will add it to my list! 🙂
I was going to ask the same.
Hi there! We do have recipes for no churn (no ice cream maker needed) ice creams now, both our vegan cookies and cream ice cream and our peanut butter banana ice cream don’t need an ice cream maker.
this looks so delicious ! but .. can you do it without an ice-cream machine?
You can, but it’s a little more effort and may not be quite as creamy in the final result. The way to do it follow the directions up till the point of churning. Then just add it to a loaf pan and freeze it for around 8 hours, taking it out every hour to whisk/stir it so that it removes ice crystals and incorporates air. My mother makes it like this and still thinks it’s the best ice cream she’s had. So it definitely works! But as you can see it’s a bit of an effort. All the best!
Hi, how would I convert 1 14 oz to grams? Thank you
It’s 400ml.
Wow! Who says Vegans have to eat bland food!