No Churn, Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream
Cool off this summer with rich and creamy, no churn, vegan strawberry ice cream. Serve in a waffle cone, ice cream sundae or on its own for a real treat! Find out how to make it below.
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Eating the seasons
I am a firm believer that we should all eat more seasonally, this is when produce tastes its absolute best.
In the UK, strawberries are in season from May – September. Which also happens to be when the weather gets drier and warmer.
So, what better way to enjoy them than in the form of everyone’s favourite summer treat – ice cream!
How to make ice cream
I love all types of ice-cream, ice cream scoops in a bowl with fresh fruit, in a tall sundae glass covered in sauce, nuts, sprinkles and whipped cream, my favourite brand eaten straight out of the tub, or a soft Mr Whippy in a cone with a flake…ALL types of ice-cream!
But, when it comes to making ice cream, my favourite is no churn ice cream.
I had my Kenwood ice cream maker for nearly 10 years. It had been gifted to me by a family friend but I used it only a handful of times. It was just too big to fit in our little freezer which is always rammed full of random foods.
But you don’t need an ice-cream maker to make ice-cream. That’s where the “no churn” method comes in.
What is “no churn” ice cream?
“No churn” ice cream forgoes the need for a traditional ice cream maker or the laborious process of mixing the ice cream every few hours. The reason why traditional ice cream recipes need you to do this is to prevent large ice crystals from forming. Thanks to the cream and condensed milk used in a no churn recipe you don’t have this concern.
Instead, you simply whip the cream and condensed milk until it forms soft peaks. Once you’ve reached this stage all that’s left to do is fold in your flavourings – in this case strawberry puree!
How do you make vegan ice cream?
Ice cream is traditionally made from a custard of egg, cream and sugar, that is then flavoured before being frozen.
But, no churn ice cream is made slightly differently. Rather than making a custard, double cream is whipped up with condensed milk to make the base of the ice cream. It’s then flavoured and frozen as with traditional ice cream.
A lot of vegan ice cream recipes call for coconut milk and coconut based condensed milk but I like to avoid these as they inevitably add a coconut flavour to the ice cream.
The good news is that vegan double cream / whipping cream and vegan condensed milk alternatives that don’t use coconut are now widely available. The result is just as good, if not better, than the original dairy based recipe and no coconut flavour!
Where can I buy my vegan ingredients?
Vegan cream and vegan condensed milk can now be brought from a variety of supermarkets up and down the UK. All of the major supermarkets stock Elmlea Plant Cream (get double not signle) and I’ve bought Vegan Carnation Condensed Milk from Waitrose and Tescos. I’m sure others stock it too.
If you can’t get hold of Elmlea, then Oatly Whipping Cream works well too.
You can of course also buy these ingredients online if that’s easier for you.
Step by step – no churn, vegan strawberry ice cream
Now you know the theory behind no churn, vegan ice cream let’s look at the simple steps to creating this strawberry flavoured version. The steps are:
- Add the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar to a saucepan.
- Cook the strawberries over a medium heat for 15 minutes before leaving to cool.
- Transfer the strawberries to a blender and blitz until smooth.
- Add the vegan cream and condensed milk to a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk the vegan cream and condensed milk until it has tripled in size and forms stiff peaks.
- Fold in the vanilla paste and blended strawberries.
- Once completely incorporated, transfer to ice cream tubs.
Serving suggestions
For the simplest of pleasures, enjoy this no churn, vegan strawberry ice cream on its own. (Out of the tub if you want to be really decadent!) But here are some of my favourite ways to serve it:
- Drizzled with chocolate sauce
- Topped with sprinkles
- With fresh strawberries on the side
- In a chocolate dipped waffle cone
- As part of a banana split
How will you enjoy yours?
The recipe
No churn, Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream
Equipment
- 2 1 litre ice cream tubs or similar container
Ingredients
- 400 g Strawberries
- 75 g Caster sugar
- 1 Lemon juice only
- 600 ml Vegan double cream
- 200 ml Vegan condensed milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla paste
Instructions
To make the strawberry puree
- Add the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice to a heavy bottomed pan.
- Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn the heat up to medium and cook the strawberries and sugar syrup for 15 minutes or until the strawberries have begun to break down.
- Remove from the heat once the mix is thick and syrupy.
- Let the strawberry syrup cool completely before transferring to a blender and blitzing until smooth.
To make the ice cream base
- Whisk together the double cream and condensed milk until it has formed soft peaks.
- Carefully fold through the strawberry puree and vanilla paste.
- Spoon the ice cream into a freezer safe container.
- Cover and freeze for at least 3 hours.
- Remove from the freezer 5 minutes before you wish to scoop it.
Nutrition
More strawberry recipes (vegan)
The summer recipe collection
For the full range of summer recipes check out the summer recipe collection.