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.
I have some canned sweet potatoes any chance they would work?
I haven’t tried it, but I think so! If they are super watery, maybe just pat them dry a little beforehand. Let me know how it turns out, thank you!
I made this and I loved it, as did my (non-vegan) boyfriend. I used a different brand of chocolate chips with no issues. The boyfriend thinks it should more accurately be called a frozen mousse. Whatever, it was delish. We put sliced organic strawberries on it and drank a glass of cabernet sauvignon with it. The next time we used black cherries (and the strawberries!). It’s great with those fruits. It did freeze rock-hard because of the low fat content, which is the only thing that prevented me from finishing off the whole batch (scooping it out was a bit of work). There will be more batches I’m sure. Thank you for a fantastic recipe.
Yay! I’m so glad to hear you and your NON-vegan boyfriend loved it so much!! Serving it with wine and fruit sounds like a fantastic idea! Hey he can call it frozen mousse if he likes, haha! 😉 It’s definitely ice cream texture though and depending on how cold you keep your freezer, it may get harder than others. That is why I mention to let it thaw a few minutes prior to scooping. Since it doesn’t contain any fillers/starches or gums, it will firm up a bit more than commercial. Commercial ice creams contain a lot of nasty gums and fillers. But once you slightly thaw it, somehow it is even creamier than commercial, which is crazy! Mine only took 5 mins tops to soften and that was after freezing an entire night. I also use a container I mention in the post and that keeps it much softer. Different containers will affect how hard it can freeze too. Hope that helps!
Thanks again for the wonderful feedback and I’m thrilled you both loved it!
I have NO IDEA HOW I missed this post, but I am soooo glad you linked back to it. I legit am going to make this like asap, I’ve been loving banana ice cream lately…but sometimes I just want a legit “milk” based ice cream. The store bought versions mess with my tummy sometimes so THIS IS LIFE right now. Also, I need that ice cream container. HOW CUTE.
DO IT! I’m telling you girl, you will love it! I think this has become my most popular recipe now ever…I’m blown away. Every single person has raved about it, so I’d love to hear your thoughts as well! xo
Hi, my daughter has a severe milk protein allergy and I started looking around the web for non dairy recipes that we could make for the whole family so she does not feel like she is missing out on anything. I love so many of your recipes. My question is this, I have not been able to find dairy free chocolate chips. We live in a very small town so our shopping options are limited. so I was wondering if cocoa powder would work in this or not?
Hi Tammy! Cocoa powder unfortunately will not work. Chocolate chips contain the perfect amount of sweetness and more importantly, cocoa butter, which is the fat that helps make the ice cream so creamy (in addition to the sweet potato), so you definitely need chocolate chips. Does your store not carry Enjoy Life? If you are unable to find dairy-free chocolate chips anywhere, then the next option would be to order them. I have a link to the ones I used for the recipe above in the recipe. I use Enjoy Life for pretty much all my recipes, so they are definitely worth the purchase! I hope that helps, please let me know after you make it! I would love to hear how your daughter likes the ice cream. Thank you!
Hi Brandi
What brand of coconut milk did you use? I use Natural Valur, because its can has a BPA lining, and it has no guar gum, or any other additives. I also wondered if this can be made into Vanilla ice cream?
Thank you!!!!
Hi Mary Lynn! I use Thai Kitchen, it’s my favorite brand, but honestly you can use any brand you want, it is the lower fat version, so a really thick version is not what you are going for here, so any brand isn’t a big issue here. This recipe relys heavily on all the chocolate chips to reach that creamy ice cream texture, because it contains cocoa butter, so this particular recipe can’t be made vanilla. However, I do have a vanilla cheesecake ice cream recipe already on the blog that is super popular with readers. I’m guessing you could just leave out the lemon juice if you want and it will just be vanilla then. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, then you will need to follow the same freezing method as listed above. It may not be as 100% creamy, but should still work. Just let it thaw a few minutes before eating. Let me know if you try it, here is the link. It would also only be 4 ingredients (minus the lemon juice). I do like the lemon juice in it though because it masks any coconut/cashew flavor, so that’s something to think about. I am working on other ice cream flavors as well 🙂 https://thevegan8.com/vanilla-cheesecake-ice-cream-with-caramel-sauce/
It’s in the freezer right now. That was SO easy and quick to get going, and the “batter” tastes amazing.
I’m pretty severely lactose intolerant, so this recipe is a miracle. Thank you!
Love sweet potato ice cream. I made some in popsicle format a couple of years ago and they were such a hit. Very fudgey and decadent. Have you tried freezing them in popsicles?
Sweet potato is the best! The first time I made chocolate sweet potato ice cream was this recipe of mine way back in 2012 and it was time for a newer, easier version so I cut out the extra ingredients and I love this one soooo much better! Haven’t tried Popsicles yet, yum!
https://thevegan8.com/2012/12/23/chocolate-peppermint-ice-cream/
Yes this version is a lot easier. Sweet potato is already packed with flavour and creaminess, it doesn’t really need a lot added to it. I’m gonna be making some more soon. I like a little molasses in mine.
Molasses is awesome too! I put molasses in this other dark chocolate ice cream too…I have quite an obsession with making ice creams, can you tell? LOL! I’m working on #13 flavor for the blog now 🙂
https://thevegan8.com/2014/07/08/dangerously-dark-chocolate-almond-crunch-ice-cream/
Those ice cream holders are so cute. I must get some. And of course the recipe sounds great. Vegan and chocolate is my favorite combination. : )
Thanks so much Amy! The ice cream cones are so gorgeous too in person!
Left out a word in the previous comment – taste tester is my hubby! xx
Dear Brandi, this 4 ingredient choc ice-cream was indeed A TRUE ICE-CREAM! Who would have thought to use sweet potato to add to the creamy texture – oh oh Brandi would of course! 😉
This is like you mentioned, a true ice-cream should be creamy …. my taste tester a.k.a. who simply adores anything chocolate commented that it was somehow nicer than the commercial ice-creams sold out there in the supermarkets. We reckon that it may be due to the higher amount of chocolate content/ratio that exist versus the amount of coconut milk in this recipe perhaps… I’m definitely making this ice-cream again as it was THAT GOOD!!
Lastly, really love your photography style here and those little glass containers that you served the ice-cream in … they look so amazing! Thanks again Brandi, your recipes are always fuss-free and DA BEST! xx Cheers, Swan of @swans_kitchen
Thank you so so very much Swan for your amazing feedback AND gorgeous pics of the ice cream you shared on Instagram! I’m so happy to hear that both you and your hubby loved this! Thank you so much for making it and the compliments on my photos as well, really appreciate it all!! xo
I made this Brandi! It is amazzzing! My husband, who is still a bit of a carnivore, liked it…until he asked what was in it. He was ok until I got to the sweet potato. Isn’t that funny!? Next time, I’ll have to leave sweet potatoes out of the answer! 😉 I’m definitely making this again! PS – I work for a caterer and recently (at our family 4th of July party) had someone tell me I should be doing my own catering because my food “is so good”… you are a huge part of that! I just follow recipes and a lot of them are yours! And these people are not vegans/whole food plant eaters. Thank you for the yummy recipes! and by the way, hubby ate HALF in one sitting.
Hahaha! That is so funny…that is exactly why I didn’t ever tell my hubby it had sweet potato, because he probably wouldn’t have tried it. He LOVES the ice cream though. Don’t bother telling people because then they will almost look for a reason, haha.
But what is even funnier is that he loved it and ate HALF in one sitting! So glad it was a hit and thank you so much for the feedback! I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipes and they are helping you so much, that means so much to me! What a compliment! Thank you!
OKAY!! You did it with this recipe, girl!! 4 ingredients AND no ice cream maker required?! I am dying over here!!! Need to make this ASAP!!!!
It’s truly amazing, I hope you try it, thank you Ceara!
Made this with my ice cream maker this evening…and it was divine!!! My picky eaters could not even guess the sweet potato ingredient 😉 Husband guessed avocado…he was closest!! A definite recipe keeper 🙂 Thanks!
So awesome to hear! I’m so happy it was a hit! I love that you had everybody guess the secret ingredient too…haha..so fun! I never even told my family, they just thought it was dreamy chocolate, haha! My hubby detests sweet potatoes so I just left the secret to myself 🙂 Thank you for the feedback!
I made this exactly as written and it was AMAZING!!!! Next time I’ll throw it in the ice cream maker since every time I stirred it I had to take a (few) bites(s) and quite a bit was missing by the time it was ready to serve 😉 Thank you for a great dessert!
Hahaha! I know EXACTLY what you mean!! It is that good and so hard not to eat it all each time you stir it! So happy you loved it, thank you so much for leaving feedback!!
I am so excited to make this! As someone who loves vegan recipes, and a good chocolate ice cream you cant imagine how excited this makes me! Do you know of a way that I could substitute cocoa powder for the chocolate chips without wrecking the recipe, or is using only half the chocolate chips the way to go? Thanks for this deliciousness!
Hi Kyler! If you leave out half the chocolate chips, it is going to be very bitter. The amount of chocolate chips in the recipe really do give a very chocolatey flavor and the perfect amount of sweetness to balance out the chocolate. Also, the chocolate chips contain cocoa butter (fat) so that is a huge part of how it is creamy, it simply will not work taste or texture wise by subbing with all cocoa powder. One reader did say she subbed HALF of the chocolate chips with some cocoa powder and stevia for sweetener to make up for the missing chocolate chips, but I personally didn’t make it nor can vouch for how it would affect the creaminess or taste. I also don’t know how much she used. I’m sorry, I’ve only made it the way it is written and it is truly incredible! If you sub half the chips for cocoa powder, I would guess you’d need a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder and of course add some syrup for sweetness to taste but that is just a guess. It will make it less creamy and more icy, fyi. So keep that in mind that it will in fact affect the creaminess. Let me know if you try it either way! 🙂
UNBELIEVABLE! This ice cream is life-changing! I know that may sound a little dramatic, but it truly is a game-changer for ice cream lovers. I subbed out about 1/2 of the chocolate chips for 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus some liquid stevia only because I cannot tolerate too much refined sugar. Thank you Brandi! I can’t tell you how many people I’ve recommended your blog to.
Thank you so much for this amazing feedback Shari! I agree, it is life-changing for me too…so easy, so delicious and just like dairy! I’m so happy to hear your success with the stevia and that it still turned out well!
Oh and thank you so much for sharing my blog with others, I can’t tell you how much that means to me! xx
Brandi, thank you so much for this recipe. I tried making this today for dessert tonight. It turned out great! My non vegan husband loved it and said it tastes rich and chocolaty. I bet this would even fool my sister! It was the perfect treat on this super hot day here. Thank you so much for making a recipe for ice cream that doesn’t have bananas in it! You rock!
I am so happy to hear that Danielle! Thank you so much for such wonderful feedback, I really appreciate it!
Leaping Lizards!!! I’m sitting here eating a dish of Chia Banana Pudding with drool dribbles on the corners of my mouth! TY TY for this recipe & those ahhhhmazing pics! Have GOT to make some. :-d
Haha! You definitely have to try it, it is so worth it!
Hi,
This is absolutley the best icecream receipe ever!! I`m so in love with it!!
Thank you so much Carmen!! Wow, I’m so glad you feel that way. It is definitely my new favorite too..I can’t stop making it, haha!
Hi there!
I am super excited to try this recipe! How brilliant!
I have a question regarding the coconut milk. Does it HAVE to be coconut milk from a can or could it be substituted with the regular coconut milk from a container (like what you would use in cereal)?
Thanks!!!
Hi Anastasia! Thank you! The canned has a creamier, higher fat content and is also only coconut milk and water, whereas the carton stuff is more watery and has many more addititves, so I don’t think it would work as well unfortunately. You can try it, but for ice cream I always only use canned for the best results. Let me know after you try it, thank you so much!
Ok, I have to say that ….I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!! OMG Brandi you are such a genius! To only have those 4 ingredients…..if someone didn’t see you make it they would have no idea that it has SWEET POTATOES in it! And my daughter LOVES it too!!! (Ours tasted a bit like pudding when we first tried it because it wasn’t as frozen as I would have liked, but she was anxious to try it lol). I will DEFINITELY be making this ice cream again!! Thank you!!!
You are so incredibly SWEET Tiffany!! I’m so happy you loved this ice cream so much and so glad your daughter loves it too! Yay! Thank you so much for your kind words, they truly mean the world to me!! 🙂 Stay tuned for another flavor coming!!! xx
Oh my goodness! That ice cream! Brandi.. you’re crazy.. how do you come up with stuff like that?! Sweet Potatoes in Ice Cream.. that’s genius!
Awww thanks so much Bianca! It’s my 2nd ice cream recipe using sweet potatoes…last one I did was over 2 years ago…it was time for another and this time I used much more and made the recipe even more amazing, simpler and pretty much the new favorite around here!
Ohman ohman, I saw this recipe and thought “finally, I don’t need an ice cream maker!!” Clearly I had to try it. This ice cream is so yummy! I made it for the 4th of July and it was a hit, (mind you, I’m the only vegan in my family)!
I wasn’t able to do the freezing method directly after I blended everything, thus it sat overnight in my fridge and thickened up quite a bit. This recipe would make a yummy mousse as well. I want to try doing the 30min freeze/mix intervals directly after I process the ingredients next time so it won’t be as thick. I love this recipe so much that I’m going to have to experiment with different flavors! Thank you so much for this gem! Keep em coming Brandi!
Jalysa IG: killertofu7
That is sooo awesome! I love it when even the non-vegans love a recipe! So happy to hear that! Oh and yes, it will totally thicken up if you leave it in the fridge overnight because of the cocoa butter in the chocolate chips. It will “set”, so you could just stick it right in the freezer after that and should be no problem! 🙂
Um, yeah… I’m pretty sure I have to make this NOW 🙂 {well, as soon as I can…}. Can’t wait!
Sweet potato? — you’re brilliant 🙂 I make chocolate mousse and pudding and frostings with it, but it never occurred to me to make an ice cream. That’s just genius <3
Thank you so much sweet Audrey!! Girl, you HAVE to try it!! It seriously will blow your mind! It’s sooo creamy and rich and just so chocolatey! Oh and yes, I have a fudge made from sweet potatoes and muffins and pancakes and of course, now my 2ND sweet potato ice cream on the blog now! I LOVE sweet potatoes, can you tell, lol?!