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.
Sorry, I forgot to rate on my review.
Thank you Brandi! This was so delicious, and easy! It was very creamy, and not too rich. I used Elmhurst Brand Cashew Milk, in place of the Coconut Milk. Also, used Frontier non alcohol Vanilla flavoring, as I read that the alcohol in extracts can inhibit the mixture’s ability to freeze properly.
I am getting ready to try this for my grandkids. I have a can of Native Forest unsweetened coconut milk in the pantry. Is it necessary to use “lite” coconut milk?
You can try it, it’s not as creamy as the Thai kitchen brand. If it’s full fat though, it will just taste more strong in coconut flavor and may take a lot longer to firm up.
It’s in the ice cream maker now. Why haven’t I tried this before now?? I tasted the mix and it’s divine. Brandi you didn’t again! We appreciate you soooo much!!
Brandi….I don’t mean to double post on comments but I cannot say enough good things about this recipe. I’m sharing with my friends. It is the most divine chocolate ice cream I’ve ever tasted. I bought a little ice cream maker just so I could try it. I will be making it over and over. Thank you so much for all your hard work and sharing the blessings with us. You are so wonderful!!
Don’t apologize!! I am so very happy to read the comments and hear how much you love the ice cream!! Yay! Thank you Shree!
I made this from the original recipe and loved it. A friend who loves chocolate ice cream liked this much better than the store bought stuff. He gets it every time he visits. I have made it often. Thanks for republishing it
Yay! SO glad your friend loves it better than store-bought!
DYNAMITE!!!! No need for sauce or toppings, this one is perfect on its own. Did use the ice cream machine for one batch and the other batch ( I doubled this recipe) I poured directly into popsicle molds. What a healthy spin!! Fiber in my ice cream??!! Who knew!! Thanks for this one.
Yay that is so fantastic to hear Suzi!!
Is this lite coconut milk from a can or from a carton?
Hi Muriel, it is listed canned in the ingredients.
What a magical recipe! It’s just like delicious chocolate ice cream, only better ’cause it’s good for you! So easy too. I substituted unsweetened soy milk and added a little maple syrup and love the way it turned out. Next time I might add a bit of agar agar to help it set up more since I’m not using coconut milk. I bet you could make a Rocky Road if there’s such a thing as vegan marshmallows? Thanks so much, Brandi!
Woohoo, so glad to hear! Yes, dandies brand is vegan!
Well what can I say, a truly delightful ice cream. I only had coconut whipping cream in stock but didn’t effect the recipe and it came out perfectly. My husband who wouldn’t normally try anything like this was amazed at the finished results, from texture to flavour, will definitely make again, probably on a weekly basis 😀
That is so amazing to hear, yay!!
Why melt the chips if you have a high powered blender? Does it make that much of a difference?
Because not everybody has a high powered blender and if it’s not mixed thoroughly, then there will be bits of chocolate throughout, as opposed to chocolate ice cream. And it’s going straight to the freezer cold, so it needs to be the chocolate ice cream base first.
Unfortunately coconut milk has just too much saturated fat! Any other tips for alternatives are much appreciated.
You can try another high fat creamy milk, but just keep in mind that the ice cream may turn out more icy.
You’ve been lied to. Dig deeper into what kind of fat coconut milk has.
U can add 2 T of vodka (no more) and it will prevent the ice crystals from forming.
I’m tripping over how good this is and I’m not a vegan. This really does give regular chocolate ice cream a run for its money.
I’m so happy you loved it Justina!
This is SO good!!! I’m on a no dairy, no gluten, no sugar diet, and this is SOOOOO good! I ran out of coconut milk and used 3/4 cup soy, and used totally different brands of everything you recommended because I’m living in Israel. It still came out SO DARN GOOD! You can’t taste the sweet potato at all. I can’t believe this is vegan, dairy and sugar free. Thank you!!!
I’m so thrilled to hear this!!
I love the flavor and was really good but mine came out a little bit gritty. Can you advise me on may what I did
That is odd, there is no nuts in it to make it gritty. What kind of blender did you use? Was the chocolate completely melted?
I must admit to being slightly uneasy about how this would turn out, but it is excellent! I doubled it to fill up our Kitchen Aid ice cream maker container. There is absolutely no hint of sweet potato taste at all. There is a light but welcome coconut taste — my youngest daughter says it tastes like Bounty candy bars. I used bulk dark chocolate chips from our local bio store and it is definitely very rich. Thanks again!
I have tried far too many plant-based ice cream recipes in search of a real dairy competitor and I think this one has finally satisfied! BRAVO! Chocolate chips with cocoa butter + sweet potato makes a truly creamy texture that doesn’t turn hard and icy (I used an ice cream machine though). I find that my freezer runs colder than most peoples’ and even still it was soft enough to scoop about a minute or two after taking out!
My tip for anyone reading: if you like your chocolate flavours extra rich I can say with confidence that adding an extra 2 to 4 tbsp of cocoa powder doesn’t affect the consistency at all.
I am so amazed at how good this turned out. Homemade vegan chocolate ice cream without bananas was absolutely bananas. Lol. My kids don’t even know there are sweet potatoes in this. Oh and I’ve made it twice. Once using the Enjoy Life chips and the with a 72% dark cacao chip. It was great.
I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about trying this…especially with the sweet potato. Today I finally got up the courage to try it. It is AMAZING! I did not taste the sweet potato or coconut…just chocolate. It is truly the best and creamiest chocolate ice cream I’ve ever eaten. I did use my KitchenAid stand mixer (ice cream attachment) which helped give it a light, whipped consistency. So good! I will definitely be making this in the future. Thank you for creating this!
OMG!! 💖 It’Heavenly delicious, super creamy and rich but not sick rich it’s sinful rich perfectlychocolate OMG it’s hard to eat just one bowl,, Brandi sorry to repeat what everyone says THIS IS THE BEST CHOCOLATE CREAM, you did it again. And with a sweet potato, you’r a beautiful genious and we all appreciate you. Thanks again 💞
Aww thank you so much Diane for the glowing review!
Hi Brandi, after it’s all mixed together can I just pour it in my ice cream maker for 30 minutes and then pour it in a container to firm it up more in the freezer like your Butterscotch recipe?
Yes, definitely!
The ice cream is in my ice cream maker as I type this! To cut down in sugar, I wonder if you could sub some of the chocolate chips for cocoa butter mixed with cocoa (so you won’t lose the chocolate flavour)! Any thoughts on this would be appreciated…. and ratio ideas.
Thanks so much!
Sorry I missed this! You can try it, but just keep in mind that straight cocoa butter is much harder and WAY stronger in flavor than the chips, not to mention, of course not sweetener, so it will make the ice cream taste much different and more bitter.
Delicious!!!
This one surprised me. I did not expect that making ice cream from a sweet potato would be so good.
Kudos on this original idea.
I used two bars of dark chocolate instead of the chocolate chips. With a high speed blender I only softened the chocolate. Q
What an awesome sounding recipe! Because of all of my food allergies, it’s been a challenge finding some ice cream recipes that work for me! This one has potential, if I am able to make a a substitution: I’m allergic to coconut, so instead of that, can I use the same amount of Rice Milk instead? Also, when microwaving the sweet potato- how long do I microwave it for and do I wrap in a damp paper towel?!
Thanks for any help!
Hi Mayen, the lite coconut milk is very important because of how creamy it is because of the fat in it. Rice milk is very watery and you would end up with very icy ice cream, so I would not recommend that at all. Is there another fat creamy milk you can use? Otherwise, maybe try adding 1/4 cup raw cashews and blending that up with the rice milk. That is all I can think of, but don’t know how it would change the recipe.
Thank you for getting back to me, I’m also allergic to cashews. The only other alternative I could think of to add to the rice milk along with the rest of the recipe is Avocado. That could provide some of the fat lacking in the rice milk. What do you think? I just made another vegan recipe of ice cream and used my rice milk with some avocado and it turned out well. Hoping the same for this recipe!
Hello! Just wanted to follow up and see if you got my last question regarding adding avocado with the rice milk? I’ve added a small avocado smashed into another ice cream recipe along with the rice milk and it worked out well. Do you think it could work in this recipe? Maybe adding a little canola oil as well? Thanks for any input! Mayen
I really can’t say if that would work without having tested it. I can only vouch for the above written recipe. Rice milk is so very watery, so even with added avocado, I don’t see how it would help. Why not try oat milk or another milk that is creamier? There are so many milks on the market these days and rice milk is probably the most watery. The coconut milk is very very creamy and makes a huge difference. Can you do sunflower seeds? Try adding those instead of the cashews with the rice milk, as sunflower seeds do make things creamy. Hopefully you have a vitamix to get it super smooth? You could always try the oil, but I have never done that, so again, it could work, I just don’t know!
yes wrap the potato in a damp papertowel for 4-5 minutes. Honestly I can’t give an exact time, as that will depend on the size of potato you are microwaving. It should be squishy soft, remove the skin and then measure/weigh.
Good morning Brandi! Last night I tried to steam the potato. It was the only solution available to me and then I continued as per recipe. Today I’ll taste it but I think it came really tasty!😍 I followed the freezer method because I don’t have an ice cream maker. I wanted to ask you for advice: for how many days can I consume this ice cream? Because it contains unboiled coconut milk and I don’t know if it’s possible to keep the product for many days. If it’s possible, I’ll make a large supply of ice cream so I keep it ready for use! 😁Thanks so much!
It’s totally safe in the freezer. But homemade ice cream is usually only good the first week, as I find it starts to get too icy the longer it sits
Hi Brandi! Thanks again! Then I will made it from time to time. This afternoon I had my break with some of your ice cream! Really delicious! 🤩 The only thing is that I had to take the ice cream container out of the freezer for more than half an hour before eating it because it was a single hard block. Is it normal to have to put it out all this time before?
No, that’s not normal. 10 mins maybe but not 30. Several factors, one, you steamed them potato which adds extra water, which makes ice cream more icy. Second, what kind of coconut milk did you use? Lastly, depending on how cold you keep your freezer, it can vary how long you need to take it out beforehand.
Hi, do you think this would work with oat milk? It has about 3.0g of fat per 100ml, so less than lite coconut milk. Thanks so much!
Hi Amy, it will be a lot icier, lite coconut milk is best. So, you may need to let it thaw quite a bit at room temperature.