This dairy-free chocolate peanut butter ice cream is made with 6 healthy ingredients and takes 5 minutes of hands-on prep time! It's rich and creamy, and no one would ever guess that it's dairy-free!
This recipe goes out to all my lactose-intolerant friends. Those of us who truly can't eat dairy without serious consequences. Who wish we could go swimming in a sea of ice cream or sail away on a boat made of cheese.
Whose tastebuds scream for the cream but our tummies beg us to stay away. This Dairy-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream is the answer to all your dairy-less life problems.
So many dairy-free ice cream recipe turn out icy or rock-hard and definitely lack in the creaminess department. But that's not the case with this Dairy-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream.
Using coconut cream instead of other non-dairy milk makes this dairy-free ice cream smooth and creamy and rich!
Let's start with the fact that there are only six, good-for-you ingredients that make up this Dairy-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream! It is free of dairy, gluten, soy, and refined sugar!
Plus it can be made vegan by substituting maple syrup for the honey! You can even make this paleo if you use creamy almond butter instead of peanut butter! There are so many healthy options with this amazingly creamy dessert recipe!
Dairy-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream: Substitutions & Ingredients
This ice cream is absolutely the best when made exactly as written!
- Peanut Butter: If you are allergic to peanuts you can use any nut or seed butter.
- Honey: Maple syrup can be used in place of honey for a vegan version.
- Coconut cream. Full-fat coconut milk works just as well as coconut cream. I don't recommend any other substitutions.
How to make Dairy-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Let's continue with the fact that this recipe is insanely easy!
Make the Peanut Butter Balls
The first thing you need to do is make the frozen peanut butter balls! Everybody knows that the absolute best chocolate peanut butter ice cream has lots of chunks of peanut butter mixed in.
There have been (many) times that I actually added extra peanut butter balls to store-bought ice cream because there simply wasn't enough, which is why I prefer homemade ice cream.
I prefer to use pure peanut butter (not add any sugar to it). Simply portion out your desired amount of your favorite peanut butter onto a tray lined with waxed paper. Then freeze it for one hour.
Blend & Churn
Once the peanut butter is frozen, add all of the ingredients for the ice cream into the container of your Vitamix and blend until smooth.
Then pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and let it churn! It's important that (unlike many other recipes) you do not chill the chocolate peanut butter ice cream mixture! It must go directly from the Vitamix into the ice cream maker.
The bowl of your ice cream maker must be frozen in order to churn the ice cream!
Turn the ice cream maker on, then add the mixture
Important tip: When using an ice cream maker it is crucial that you turn the machine on before you pour the mixture into it! Pouring ice cream into an already moving container ensures that it will not freeze to the bottom or sides, which could hinder the churning process by preventing the machine from rotating.
When your Dairy-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream forms a ball and no longer has a liquid consistency, it is done! At this point it could become so thick that the ice cream maker stops rotating, which is another indicator that it's ready!
Assemble the ice cream
Once the ice cream is churned, mix in the peanut butter balls and freeze again.
The peanut butter balls will thaw very rapidly, especially if you choose to use an all-natural variety. This means that you need to mix in the chunks as quickly as possible when you remove them from the freezer.
You can either mix the peanut butter balls in by hand, or add them to your ice cream maker before the base forms a ball too solid to add mix-ins .
Freeze
Once the ice cream is finished, freeze it for at least 1 hour before serving. You may need to remove it from the freezer for 5 or so minutes to soften enough to scoop and serve.
Recipe FAQs
When stored in an airtight container in the freezer it lasts for up to 2 months.
Yes, but you will either need to churn it in two batches or use a larger ice cream maker.
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Dairy-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
Frozen balls of PB
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
Ice cream:
- 14 oz coconut cream
- ¼ cup honey (maple syrup for vegan)
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp sea salt
Instructions
To make PB Balls:
- Cover an 8x8” baking pan with wax paper. Drop 1 tsp spoonfuls of PB on the waxed paper. Put in the freezer to harden.
To make Ice cream:
- Add all ice cream ingredients in the order listed to the container of a Vitamix (or other high-powered blender).
- Blend for 30-60 seconds or until the mixtures is smooth and homogenous.
- Turn the ice cream maker on and pour the mixture into the machine while it is spinning. (**See note below if you do not have an ice cream maker)
- Let the ice cream churn for 20-25 minutes until it becomes a firm ball or the ice cream maker stops rotating.
- Add the peanut butter chunks at the end of churning. You can add them to the ice cream maker just before the mixture becomes too hard, or you can mix them in by hand.
- Transfer to an airtight, freezer-friendly container and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour, or until completely frozen.
- Makes about 1 pint of creamy DELICIOUSNESS!
Video
Notes
To churn by hand:
You can church this ice cream by hand. Pour the ice cream mixture from the Vitamix into a freezer-safe container with a lid. Mix it by hand every 15-20 minutes until it begins to harden. Once it's soft and has a milkshake consistency, add in the frozen peanut butter balls. Keep churning every 20 minutes until it is hardened. Ingredient Substitutions- Peanut Butter: If you are allergic to peanuts you can use any nut or seed butter.
- Honey: Maple syrup can be used in place of honey for a vegan version.
- Coconut cream. Full-fat coconut milk works just as well as coconut cream. I don't recommend any other substitutions.
Nutrition
This Dairy-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream is one of my top 10 favorite dessert recipes ever. I am so excited that I get to share it with the world! I hope that it will be just as life-changing for you as it was for me. Want to take this to a whole new level? Serve it on top of dairy free brownies (recipes here, here, and here) or on top of cookies (like these, these or these)!
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Hope
Is there anyway to make this recipe if you DON'T have an ice cream maker? Please tell me yes my mouth is watering lol!
Hannah
IT WAS SO AMAZING. Better than anything you can get at the store and cleaner! So good!
Tiffany
I’ve been making a lot of dairy free ice cream lately and this one is the best!!! Rich and creamy!!! I added gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies to it, Heaven!!!
Melissa
I have only ever made dairy ice cream and an important step is letting the ice cream batter rest for several hours before churning. Since you do not include such a step do you know it to be unnecessary with coconut cream ice cream?
Laura
It's not necessary in this particular recipe!
Pattie Stutzman
This recipe is so delicious, but it never hardens for me. It stays thick and almost peanut butter syrup consistency. Even after freezing. Is there too much peanut butter? Should I try adding coconut milk too?
Laura
What brand/type of coconut cream are you using? I have heard of this happening when people use a brand that has added stabilizers in it (because they keep it from freezing). I suggest buying a brand that is organic with pure coconut cream only. I often make this with full-fat coconut milk as well with great results.
Alysann Collotzi
What brand and model of ice cream maker did you use for this recipe
Joyce Zachman
Any ideas for diabetics using sugar substitutes?
Terry Gardner
I'm just wondering is there anything else we can use besides that coconut stuff I am not a big fan of coconut
Abigail Wenderson
Woah, just loving the recipe. Looking forward to make this for tommorow's dessert.