4 Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

3 scoops vegan chocolate ice cream in white bowl

5 from 68 votes

4 Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

The absolute Best Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream that you will make that rivals dairy ice cream. The combo of sweet potatoes, coconut milk and chocolate chips gives a rich, creamy, chocolatey ice cream that is reminiscent of milk chocolate ice cream we all grew up on...but so much healthier.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, dairy free, Gluten-free, Vegan

Keyword: dairy free, easy, summer dessert recipe, vegan chocolate ice cream

Servings: cups

Calories: 244kcal

Author: Brandi Doming

Ingredients

PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!

3/4 cup (170g) cooked mashed and packed orange sweet potato
2 cups (480g) room temp lite canned coconut milk, shaken first (SEE NOTES below)
1 1/2 cups (283g) dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 used 1 whole 10 oz Enjoy Life bag)
1/2 tablespoon (7g) vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
I use this scale.
I use this ice cream maker.
I use this ice cream container.

Instructions

Cook your sweet potato your preferred method. I chose to just microwave it for time purposes but you can bake it if you like. Bake it at 400F° with the skin still on until very soft. Do not steam or boil it, as too much water will get into the potato. Let it cool a few minutes.
Once your potato is cooked and cooled a bit, peel the skin off and completely mash it really well with a fork. You don't want any chunks or skins. Pack it in the measuring cup (3/4 cup) level off. Weigh for accuracy if possible.
Add it to a blender. Add the coconut milk, vanilla and salt. Don't blend yet.
Melt your chocolate chips your preferred method. I used the microwave and added them to a cereal bowl and microwaved in 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until about 90% melted. You have to be careful about overheating chocolate or it will burn and be useless. Add the melted chocolate to the blender and be sure to scrape all that chocolate goodness out of the bowl.
Blend the ingredients on high for a minute or so until completely smooth. You don't want any bits remaining from the potato or chips, or the ice cream will not turn out smooth. Taste and if you want it sweeter, add sugar, I did not. I found it to be perfectly chocolatey.
Now, if you have an ice cream maker, then by all means use it, it will help make it creamier. Otherwise, add the ice cream base to an ice cream storage container and place in the freezer. Set your timer for 30 minutes and stir the ice cream around really well, as the edges will start to firm up first. Add back to the freezer and do this every 30 minutes until it is solid or at your desired consistency. About 2 hours should do it, depending on your freezer temp. After that, if you let it freeze overnight, you may need to let it sit out at room temperature for about 15 minutes or so to soften a bit before eating. Again, this will depend on how cold you keep your freezer. I can control my temp so mine only needed a few minutes at room temp before eating. You can also pop it in the microwave for 15 seconds too if you like.
Tip on freezing:
Each time you let ice cream sit out and thaw, you encourage ice crystals to form. So, you can freeze the ice cream base in individual servings and just take out your serving each time you want some ice cream. Or, when removing the ice cream to thaw, the condensation that forms underneath the lid, make sure to wipe that each time so it doesn't refreeze and drop ice crystals into your ice cream.

Notes

MILK: Since this is a vegan dairy-free ice cream, the milk is important so that it turns out really creamy. This is why I use the Thai Kitchen lite coconut milk. It leaves no coconut taste (like full-fat coconut milk) and is creamier than other milks with a different mouthfeel. The brand is important too, as many can be quite watery. The best brands that deliver the same results are the Thai Kitchen Lite, Sprouts Lite and the Whole Foods 365 Light. All work well.
COCONUT-FREE OPTION: If you can't do coconut, my only other suggestion would be to try a high fat quality almond milk, which the only brand that doesn't fill with all fillers and is truly just almonds and water, is the Elmhurst brand or the Malk brand. They are more creamy than traditional almond milks. Please note this is not as creamy as the coconut version though and will harden more, so will need some thawing before serving.

Nutrition