Chocolate, Gluten-Free, Ice Cream, Parve (Dairy-Free)

Dairy-Free Chocolate Ice Cream

Did you know that you can make homemade dairy-free chocolate ice cream with just a few ingredients and no ice cream machine? Keep reading to find out how!

If you have tried any of my other ice cream recipes, you’ll know that I don’t usually use regular milk but rather sweetened condensed milk, so this was quite a change.

Why you’ll love this chocolate ice cream recipe

I’m sure you’ve noticed that most dairy-free ice cream recipes are coconut-based. For those of you who can’t go near anything that has even an ounce of coconut in it, this 4-ingredient, coconut-free ice cream recipe is just what you need. Personally, I can’t even stand the smell of coconut when someone else is using it, so never mind about using it in my own baking.

This recipe is so versatile that once you have the base chocolate flavor made, you can add any sort of toppings or mix-ins that you’d like. Sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate chips, nuts, hot fudge, you can even crumble up some homemade cookies on top. The whole purpose of ice cream is to keep it fun.

The best thing about this recipe is that you won’t even notice that it’s dairy-free. This makes it great for those who have dietary restrictions. My family loves this new dairy-free dessert option, especially after a Shabbat meal to top off the end of a long week.

WHY OAT MILK OUT OF ALL INGREDIENTS?

I originally developed this recipe for Kosher.com. They reached out to ask me to create a recipe for them using Gefen oat milk. I have never worked with oat milk before, nor have I ever tried it. My husband, Eli, is a fan of vanilla oat milk, and he said just to think of it like regular milk.

As a side note, vanilla-flavored oat milk is very different from unflavored. If you decide to try out this recipe, make sure you taste and enjoy the oat milk you choose before adding it to this recipe. That being said, I made this recipe and also Dairy-Free Vanilla Ice Cream to see which one would be best.

When I first tried this recipe, my dad was an unknown volunteer blind taste-tester. While he has an enormous sweet tooth, he’s also a very picky eater and wouldn’t otherwise go near oat milk-based ice cream by choice. I first served it to my family one afternoon, and everyone except him knew it was dairy-free.

We all watched in anticipation to see how’d he react, sharing glances at each other as he took his first few spoonfuls. When he looked up at us, he had no idea why we were all watching him. He had no idea that it was dairy-free and didn’t even believe me when I told him what the ingredients were. That’s how I knew that this dessert would be a hit.

Ingredients:

Non-Dairy Whipping Cream: Whipped cream is the base of this dairy-free chocolate ice cream. It will help keep the ice cream light and airy. Make sure you pick up the non-dairy one. I usually get mine in the freezer section of the kosher market, but nowadays, you can get it almost anywhere.
Sugar: We’re using white sugar to sweeten this dairy-free chocolate ice cream.
Oat Milk: We’re using plain oat milk for this recipe because it has no added sugar in it, so we get to control the amount of sugar we’re putting in this recipe.
Cocoa Powder: This will add a nice chocolatey exterior and flavor.

How to make dairy-free chocolate ice cream

Using your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream on medium until stiff peaks form. This process should take about five minutes.

While your whipped cream is whipping, add the oat milk, sugar, and cocoa powder to a separate medium-sized bowl. Whisk together until combined.

Once your whipped cream reaches stiff peaks, gently fold the chocolate and milk mixture into the whipped cream with a rubber spatula. Make sure you’re folding the two together and not just adding the chocolate mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer and whisking those together. Even though that is the quicker process, your mixer won’t reach the entire confection, and you’ll end up overworking your batter. Overmixing your ice cream will cause it to turn icy instead of creamy while it is in the freezer.

Transfer the ice cream into an airtight container and freeze for at least six hours. If you have more patience, it’s best to freeze it overnight. This recipe will yield 1 and 1/2 quarts.

More treats

Ice cream is the most satisfying on top of a warm sweet treat. Try your homemade dairy-free chocolate ice cream on top of these:
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Chocolate Chip Blondies
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies