This is the best and easiest 4 Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Ice cream! It is so creamy, so decadent and rich and tastes JUST like dairy milk chocolate ice cream. NO bananas!
VEGAN CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM
Today I make your dreams come true. Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream that is only 4 ingredients, ridiculously creamy, chocolatey, rich and requires no ice cream maker. Did I mention it’s only 4 ingredients?!
And NO. This is not banana ice cream that is all over the internet that turns into a rock hard block of ice in the freezer. That is not true ice cream folks, I’m talking rich, creamy ice cream that will fool dairy lovers and that tastes just like dairy chocolate ice cream, yet it is dairy-free.
Can you taste the sweet potato?? Not at all. It honestly just tastes like milk chocolate ice cream.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
This best vegan chocolate ice cream is SO easy, it’s even no churn! All you will need to make this 4 Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream (+salt) is:
- Chocolate chips: I use Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips because they are dairy-free and I love the ingredients. The ingredients are so simple and have the best flavor. It is just sugar, chocolate liquor and cocoa butter.
- sweet potato
- coconut milk
- vanilla
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM
Cook your sweet potato your preferred method. I chose to microwave because it is quickest. If you want to bake it, bake at 400°F with 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.
Blend with the remaining ingredients.
Pour into a freezer-safe ice cream container and chill until firm enough to scoop.
This isn’t my first time making sweet potato ice cream. I’ve used it also in this 5 ingredient Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Ice Cream.
MORE VEGAN ICE CREAM RECIPES
- Vegan Mocha Ice Cream (this is my favorite ice cream ever!)
- Vegan Vanilla Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream
- Vegan Vanilla Birthday Cake Ice Cream (with a shocking ingredient!)
- Vegan Dark Chocolate Almond Ice Cream
- Vegan Java Crunch Ice Cream
- Raspberry Sorbet
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
4 Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream
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. Using lite (low-fat) coconut milk leaves no coconut taste and is creamier than other plant milks. The best brands that deliver creamy results are Trader Joes, Sprouts grocery store brand, 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.
WOW! Amazing, Brandi! Who knew sweet potatoes would work in an ice cream?? I can’t wait to try this. And gorgeous shots too. The main one at the top? You are braver than I. If I attempted that one, it would have likely ended up with broken glass and ice cream everywhere. Great work 🙂
Thank you so much Gwen! That is so sweet of you! Yes, it works really well and the last time I did it was 2 years ago but this one is definitely my favorite…so easy and delicious. Lol, I know, I was VERY nervous doing that shot! But I really wanted a certain look so I took my chances, haha! Thank you so much!
I just made this. It is delicious! Thank you for posting the recipe!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much for the feedback Valerie!!
I made this last night. We just ate a bowl. My husband, whom looooves, chocolate said, ” you would not know this is dairy free.” It’s a winner!! Loooved!!!
I’m so thrilled to hear this Susan! I love it when things are hubby-approved! Haha! I agree….it tastes no different than dairy, but much better for you! So glad it was a hit, thank you so much for the feedback!
No banana! No ice cream maker needed! And: it is GREAT. Thank you for another wonderful recipe. I can’t wait to try some variations — and to make it again. Really appreciate your recipes!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it Heidi!! Thank you so much for the feedback! I have another flavor coming too, so stay tuned! And yes, no bananas…they always will make whatever dessert it is taste like bananas unfortunately, the flavor can’t be masked, so I wanted ice cream to just taste like regular ice cream!
You rock! This recipe is amazing! You are a rockstar and please continue making these wonderful recipes!!!!! You should totally do a cookbook on mag cloud and people could print it right off. Keep up the good work!
You are so incredibly sweet Kassandra! Thank you so much for your kind words and I’m so glad you loved this recipe!! Thank you for making my recipes, I really appreciate it!! xx
where can you find those chips? I’ve never seen them before in my life!
I find them at every single grocery store around here, HEB, Kroger, Whole Foods. They are sometimes carried in the health section since they are dairy-free but sometimes next to the other chocolate chips as well. I’m not sure where you are located, but if you are near a Trader Joes, you could also use their brand of chocolate chips, just use the correct weight amount. Their dairy-free chips are really good too. Hope that helps 🙂
BRANDI! You’ve definitely made my dreams come true. Sweet potato in an ice-cream?! Thats awesome. What an amazing idea!!!! They bring such a great, soft texture and a subtle caramel flavour to things. Chocolate ice cream has always been my favourite, so I know I’m going to have to try this. You seriously create such food magic in your kitchen! Always in awe of your recipes!
Awww thank you so much Harriet for such kind words! You are so sweet! It is our new favorite ice cream without a doubt, it really helps the texture! I hope you try it and love it! Thank you Harriet! xx
This looks so decadent. Can’t wait to try it. I have a blendtec and wondered if the ice cream setting would work? Thanks
Hi Debbie, I have never tried an ice cream setting before on a blender so I have no idea but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The ice cream base is very creamy and if it freezes too hard, just let it thaw a few minutes before eating. Let me know after you try it!
This is incredible, Brandi! Sweet potatoes in ice cream? This beauty is a must try for me! Gorgeous photos too! 🙂
You are so sweet, thank you so much!! They lend to texture but are totally undetectable!
Aww thank you so much!! So glad you love the photos! The sweet potatoes really do add an extra creamy element…so amazing!
So you are totally making me regret not buying those ice cream cones!! They are so darn cute and I was totally going to! I may have to pop back in! If I do I will definitely make your ice cream to break them in! Who doesn’t love chocolate ice cream? Y. U. M.
Get them, they are super cute!! Very nice quality! Kind of pricey, but worth it!! Yes, this ice cream is soooo chocolatey and definitely my favorite now!
Very excited to try! Sweet potato is always on hand (my 14 year old says she ‘can’t live without it’!) And although I am happy to eat cashews in anything, they seem to give my husband terrible migraines. So many vegan ‘substitute’ recipes – sauces, cheeses, ice creams, puddings – use cashews that I am torn between making and not letting him have any (cruel!) or not making (bit sad for us girls). So I am definitely up for making this soon, even though it’s the middle of winter here in Australia!!!!!! I’ll report back!
So awesome to hear how much your daughter loves sweet potatoes!! I hope she and you all love the ice cream! Can’t wait to hear what everybody thinks of it, thank you!
Wow Brandi, I’m stunned!!!!!!!!!! First of all GORGEOUS photos! That stack, the chocolate swirls <3 And secondly, wow sweet potato! I love your ice cream recipes, made from so many different things but all SO decadent!
Wow, thank you soooo much for such kind compliments Natalie! You are so sweet!! Yes, I love to try different ingredients and make them all unique! It’s so much fun, but this one is definitely my most unique and my new favorite!
This looks insanely good! I would have never guessed sweet potatoes. I didn’t know you’ve tried that before. I don’t have an ice cream maker and I’m a huge fan of banana “nice” cream, but I never make more than we will eat right then because like you said, it doesn’t freeze well at all. I can’t wait to try this!
It really is so incredibly creamy Jenn, it’s mind-blowing, I hope you try it!
Okay, so every 30 minutes when we stir…we get to take a spoonful to make sure it’s still fabulous right?
You’re killin’ me here.
Exactly Angela! How can you not eat a big spoonful with each stirring?? She should have warned us and put that in the directions…”stir (but don’t eat by the spoonfuls) every 30 minutes.” It’s like trying not to eat the cookie dough before you bake it. Lol
Haha! I can relate!
Bahahaha…how did you guess that is EXACTLY what I did…no joke! So good!!
Wow that looks incredible! I am bookmarking this recipe. Never thought using sweet potato in ice cream would work, but here it is! 🙂
Oh yes, it totally works! Promise! Tons have made it already and loved it, try it!! 🙂
I’m going to try this using my vitamix. I’ll blend the chocolate and the coconut milk together first (to get a creamy chocolate) then add the sweet potato. I’ll let you know how it goes…
Wow! Great idea to use sweet potato, I must try this recipe!
This is genius Brandi! I’m definitely pinning this to try later. Love it!
Thank you so much for the compliment and pinning Linda, so kind of you!
That container is the cutest! More reasons to make ice cream at home 😉
Isn’t it?! I died when I saw it and it totally went with my other turquoise food props I wanted to use….all inspired by the soda glass ice cream cones!
Never think about to used a sweet potato in a ice cream recipe, genius idea! Wow this recipe is just wonderful with only 4 ingredients you can have a satisfying homemade ice cream.
Thank you so much Florian! It combined with chocolate chips and coconut milk, it is just the epitome of creamy chocolate ice cream. It’s my new favorite!!
I would have never thought of using sweet potato! What a great idea! I’m sure it adds sweetness and great texture!
Thank you Kaila! It works exceptionally well! It’s been done before so I didn’t invent the idea, but this recipe for sure is unique in the ingredients and simplicity. The first time I did sweet potato ice cream was over 2 years ago and at that time I had no idea it had been done before, but there are several recipes out there, but much more involved.
Hi there. I was just wondering if you could clarify something for me. Your recipe calls for sweet potato, but the photo shows what I know to be a yam (where I live in Canada, sweet potato flesh is white, yam flesh is orange like in your picture). I would love to try your recipe ASAP…but not sure whether to use sweet potato or yam…help! 🙂
Hi Donna! There are many different colored sweet potatoes, yellow, red, purple, orange and some have orange interiors and some have white and the most common one around here and that I’ve ever used is the orange ones, as above pictured. It’s definitely a sweet potato 🙂 I think probably either would work in the recipe since they are similar in taste and texture, but I have only tried with a sweet potato. Hope that helps!
BRANDI, That first photo is the most complicated food shoot setup I’ve seen! I’d be so scared it’d fall over! Was expecting a banana ice cream of some sort, but considering that it’s your blog I SHOULD have expected it to be made out of some kind of potato… Is there nothing you can’t make out of some kind of potato?! Looks absolutely amazing. So simple, yet so ruddy clever.
Bahahaha!! Girl, I WAS scared…you should have seen me shaking trying to take the shots quickly before it fell over…but I had a distinct idea of how I wanted to display the ice cream so I was determined. Thank God it didn’t fall over and break because I’m in love with the glass cones…they are gorgeous.
And I totally laughed out loud!! Seriously, when DON’T I turn a recipe into a potato recipe, haha! It is my favorite food afterall. It’s not my first time using sweet potato though. I did it in my Chocolate peppermint Ice cream as well….which I linked above and that was over 2 years ago. It was time to do it again 🙂
Thank you so much for the compliments! xo
Just amazing!. I just made it for the second tine. This time I used dark 69% chips! I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Thanks for this fabulous low guilt treat!
Christy
Yay, so glad you love it Christy!!
Brandi, this recipe is incredible. I would never have thought of using sweet potato for ice cream! I have a cashew allergy and, like you, I’m not crazy about banana so this sounds amazing to me!
Thank you so much Jen, you are so kind! I use cashews in a lot of my recipes for the creamy factor, but honestly, I am not a fan of the taste and I can’t stand to taste them in ice cream or cheesecakes…it ruins it, so I really have to camouflage it and banana, well, it overpowers the other flavors….no matter what you add to it, it will always taste like banana! I want ice cream to taste like ice cream, not banana and not nuts, lol!
Thats really incredible. I would never think to use sweet potato, but it makes sense that it would give it the thickness and to top it off it’s good for you. Wonderful recipe Brandi.
Thank you so much Suzanne!! It really does help make it thicker and creamy and it’s totally undetectable, that’s the best part!
How genius! I really have to try this. Those little glass cones are too adorable!
Aww thanks so much Marie!! I hope you love it! Let me know if you try it! Aren’t they the cutest?? So much more interesting than the typical baked cones and of course, reusable 🙂
Oh. My. Word. I haven’t even tried this yet, but I already know it’s amazing! We don’t have an ice cream maker (it’s been on the want list for a long time, but we just haven’t gotten around to buying one), and I’m not wild about the idea of soaking and blending cashews, so this is the perfect recipe. No fancy ingredients, no fancy equipment. I’m going to try it this weekend for sure!
About the blender…mine died and I haven’t replaced it yet. I do have an immersion blender, though. Would an immersion blender do the trick? Or should I pilfer a regular blender from someone?
I’ll definitely check back after I make this and let you know how it went. Can’t wait! You just made my Fourth! 🙂
Hi Nichole! Haha…glad to already make your fourth! We have eaten SO MUCH of this ice cream lately, that it’s embarassing, it is just because it’s so good and SO easy. It really will remind you of milk chocolate ice cream.
As far as the immersion blender, not sure, if you can get it completely, totally pureed then yes but you just don’t want any potato bits or texture left over, which of course a blender totally solves. I didn’t even use my vitamix, just a regular blender did the trick. I just let it blend for a good minute and it turned out perfect! Nobody had a clue sweet potato was in there (they still don’t lol)!
Never be embarrassed about eating chocolate ice cream! 😉
I think I’ll try it with the immersion blender and report back, in case anybody is wondering the same thing. I’ll just be sure to mash the potato up really well beforehand. I love hiding veggies in treats!
Hey Nichole, fancy seeing you here 😂 did you ever try this? How’d it go?
Thank you very much for this wonderful recipe. I am looking forward to making it. Although I have a question? Is it doable if I use organic raw cacao instead of the choco chips? I don’t think I can easily find “free from choco chips bits” where I live. they are full of sugar . many thanks Amura -An
i wonder if the name sweet potato really means yam. the pictures look like yams. yams are orange, sweet potato are white.
There is many varieties of sweet potatoes…white, orange and purple. I have eaten both white and orange ones many times. These are the orange ones. They are the most common ones around here where I live. I buy them weekly from the grocery store. With that said, I don’t think it will make a big difference in the ice cream recipe because both yams and sweet potatoes are similar in taste and texture. 🙂
This describes the common misunderstanding of both. Notice the 3rd paragraph’s last sentence. This is exactly what I use 🙂
http://www.cookthink.com/reference/3764/What_is_the_difference_between_a_yam_and_a_sweet_potato