Calling all almond butter lovers!! I nearly died with excitement with how delicious this ice cream turned out. I spent the past weekend perfecting this recipe. I use a full 3/4 cup of almond butter in this recipe, and it has a rich, creamy texture.
I wanted to make a really creamy delicious ice cream for my aunt and uncle. In my previous vegan ice cream recipes, I had only used low-fat coconut milk versus full-fat, for fear of them tasting too coconut-ish. However, after my aunt and uncle tried a previous vegan ice cream recipe, my uncle wasn’t crazy about the lack of creaminess. Well, after playing around with the ingredients and adding both full-fat and low-fat, it made an incredible difference. My chocolate peppermint ice cream has been popular and some people prefer the lighter ice cream, but after this one turned out so amazing, I revamped my other recipes.
Sooooo……I encourage you to try this and my others. I think they give dairy ice cream a run for their money. This almond butter one is my favorite…..so far. 🙂
Aunt Peggy and Uncle Tommy, I hope you really love this one!
Recipe: Makes 4 heaping cups
Print recipe
Gluten-free (Make sure your ingredients are labeled to be in a gluten free facility if you’re gluten sensitive, in case of cross contamination)
- One 13.5 oz full-fat canned coconut milk (I find Thai brand to be best)
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 3/4 cup creamy unsweetened almond butter, the smoother the better (with no additives)
- 1/4 cup organic raw “amber” agave
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Bourbon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Note: If you want to make this raw, you can eliminate the cornstarch and stovetop step and just add everything to your blender and process until smooth and creamy. The cornstarch does help with the texture in the final result, but it will still be good without it.
Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients, except the vanilla, into a blender. Pulse on high until smooth, well mixed and frothy. This step is necessary to make it creamy and incorporate air into the ice cream. Pour the mixture into a small pot and bring to medium heat over a stove. As soon as it begins to simmer, remove from the heat and whisk continuously for 1-2 minutes. It should quickly begin to thicken and coat the whisk. Whisk in the vanilla and pour into a plastic container. Store in the fridge for at least 2 hours to completely chill. Once chilled, remove from the fridge. Whisk the ice cream again and pour into your ice cream maker. Mine churned for about 25 minutes. It is absolutely delicious at this very moment, but you can firm it up by placing it in the freezer for a few hours. If will harden more the longer it sits (like with any ice cream), so remove the ice cream a few minutes before you are ready to serve.
Keep in mind, this ice cream is not made with gums and stabilizers like commercial ice cream. I didn’t want to resort to using those unhealthy additives. Therefore, it is best consumed within the first couple of days because it hardens the longer it sits and is prone more to freezer burn. It only needs to sit out for a few minutes prior to serving or you can pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Be sure to check out all my other amazing ice cream flavors here!
That looks utterly creamy and very delicious 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks Uru…it is very creamy!
I love this, you know I have been experimenting with my DIY almond milk and after soaking the almonds I added less than half the amount of water when processing the milk, the resulting almond milk is the consistency of heavy cream. I may use that instead of coconut milk for this ice cream, what do you think? Instead of the can of full fat coconut milk use the creamy concentrated almond cream and used regular almond milk for the low fat. Is this almond over kill? I love to make ice cream and really like almond butter so this is a win win!!
Haha you’re funny…almond overkill! 🙂 You can definitely give it a try and let me know…I’m sure it would be good, just less thick/rich because of the high fat content of coconut milk is really thick and it really made all the difference in this ice cream. Seriously, I changed my other recipes because of the noticeable difference adding the high fat coconut milk. It may harden more with all almond milk, so just eat it all up first before that happens, lol! I’d love to know how it turns out, try it and let me know!! The large amount of almond butter will definitely help keep it creamy too for you 🙂
A little booze added can help with lower fat almond milk based ice cream 😉 Besides tasting good, it keeps it a little less rock solid.
Oh and I agree with you on the almond milk….I prefer it creamier too with less water.SUPER delish!
I am going to try it next time I make the almond milk and I will let you know how it is. Great recipe, you are constantly perfecting your craft. Maybe I’ll add a chocolate swirl too!
Mmm chocolate swirl sounds fabulous!! I’m already thinking of adding chocolate chips next time…any excuse to add chocolate 🙂
Oh yes, Sarah…I know alcohol doesn’t freeze, so that would help. I can’t put alcohol in mine, but for those that don’t mind, knock yourself out! Lol 🙂
I look forward to trying this recipe- yum! Do think I can add mexican cocoa powder to make it chocolaty?
Absolutely! I would try reducing the almond butter to 1/2 cup, and add 1/4 cup of cocoa. It becomes pretty thick when heated/whisked, so that’s why I would try those ratios and see how it works. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂 Mexican cocoa powder sounds amazing! 🙂
Yum! This looks amazing. I have a packet of coconut palm sugar in the pantry, ready to make your peanut butter cookies, so I’ll have plenty left for this beautiful ice cream too!
Awesome Saskia!! Oh, you’ll love the cookies…they are super easy and delicious! I hope you love the ice cream too! Thanks so much…please, please let me know 🙂
Brandi, you are seriously making me consider saving up for an ice cream maker, no joke — this looks delicious! Makes me think of flavor combos … I bet it would also be awesome with some dried Bing cherries or ooh, some extra bourbon on top of the bourbon vanilla extract you’ve added — you’ve got me inspired! Thanks Brandi, and thanks as always for sharing =)
Oh, you so need to Christina! There are so many versions that are completely affordable. My hubby surprised me with a pretty nice one, but seriously a $50 one will do the job…they are just smaller. Bing cherries sound sooo delicious…so glad it inspired you! I am already thinking of my next flavor…Thank you so much! 🙂
Not sure why I had never thought of the fact that I wasn’t using a stabilizer as to why my ice cream didn’t last in the freezer. Thanks for that bit of info. This looks awesome, totally going to give it a whirl.
Yeah, the gums added to ice creams definitely help the texture, structure and to last soft longer and it helps to prevent freezer burn and ice crystals, etc. But we go through ours quickly, so no need to add it. 🙂 That’s another reason I use a bit of agave..that helps reduce chance of ice crystals as well. I’m not a fan of gums because they can really upset the tummy. I try to eliminate it as much as I can. Guar gum is in the coconut milk already, so definitely I don’t add any extra. Thanks so much, please let me know when you try it! 🙂
Brandi – you blow me away, girl! That ice cream looks so luxuriously creamy and decadent. And no worries about the ice cream sitting around for long – I’d (sadly, pathetically) eat the entire batch in no time flat.
Aww thanks Nancy! It really is so creamy and delicious…I seriously am with you, I wanted to eat it all as soon as it finished churning. I kept saying “omg, omg!” I didn’t even care to have it firm up! Lol 🙂
This sounds delicious, Brandi. Just the other day, I was talking with a friend whose husband is having more and more difficulty with milk products. I think I just might spring a quart of this almond ice cream on him. He’s gonna love it! Thanks, Brandi!
Me too John! I always would get bloated and hurt or get queasy from dairy! I’m so glad I can enjoy amazing ice cream still! Oh, that would be so awesome! Thank you. Please let me know if he enjoys it. Thank you John, you rock 🙂
ooooh looks fantastic, bet it tastes even better 🙂
Thank you Candy, it tasted amazing!
That looks so great! I just did a toasted marshmallow one and its delicious! Its amazing the ice creams you can make out of coconut milk!
Now I must get my ice cream freezer out of storage! This looks cream of the crop delicious!
Thank you Victoria! Yes, get it out of storage! Ultra creamy and yummy!!
This looks premium with so much class! Almond butter sounds so good. Your beautiful photos almost made me wanting to lick the computer screen. I just had dinner and craving for a dessert. This is such a torture Brandi 🙂
Haha you made me laugh Danny! Thank you so much for your compliments! It really blew me away how yummy it was this weekend. I was busy all weekend in the kitchen creating recipes, lol! 🙂
Brandi, this is absolutely refreshing and creamy! I love the sound of almond butter and coconut! A winning combination. Delicious my dear 🙂
Thank you Judy! Best part is it tastes nothing like coconut! 🙂
Yummy. You make me want to go out and buy an ice cream maker now!
Thanks Joanie….I promise you won’t regret it! 🙂
YES for full fat!! This looks so good, and I can just taste the creaminess of the almond butter!
yes, full fat makes a BIG difference!! we were happy campers on Saturday!! lol!
Oh my gosh Brandi! Wonderfully incredibly indulgent perfection. YUM
Awww thanks so much Heather! It really turned out fantastic 🙂
I bet! I think my favorite taste that I always gravitate toward is peanutbutter and almondbutter….YUM!
Me too! 🙂
YUMMY! On my to-try list – which is now bigger than my to-do list!
Haha! You will love it! Thanks so much for visiting 🙂
I printing and trying this recipe – it looks so creamy delicious and good Brandi! Thank you! 🙂
Thank you so much Anne! You’ll love it! I’ve had people on Facebook LOVE it! Let me know when you try it 🙂
I am a serious almond butter lover and am drooling over this ice cream, Brandi! Your photos are so tempting, too. I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you so much Hannah! If you love almond butter, then you will love this! It’s so delicious and creamy 🙂
is this for real?!! this is like a dream come true!!
Yes, a dream come true for sure lol! 🙂
This ice cream is amazing. I have tried to make vegan ice cream before and could never get it creamy like regular ice cream. It always had an icy consistency. I followed the recipe and it came out amazing. Very easy to follow and I will make it again. Yummy and I am an almond fanatic so this was perfect
Thank you so much Dixie for trying another recipe and I’m so glad you loved it!!
Brandi!!! I really have to make one of your ice cream recipes sometime soon. They all look SO delicious. And I love almond butter, so this would be awesome. I’ve never seen almond butter ice cream–so unique! So question: why did you choose to use agave in this recipe? I’ve read some not-so-great things about agave, but I still use it once in awhile…
Hey Erika! I use agave because it helps to prevent ice crystals from forming when the ice cream is freezing. Since there are no gums/stabilizers like commercial ice cream, the agave helps. That is the ONLY reason I use agave in the ice cream…I’m not a real fan of the taste in most cases. With that said, the Internet is very contradicting. One article will bash a sweetner..another will praise it. How I see it, is ANY sweetner is bad in excess. It’s always about moderation. Although, one thing is for sure I stay completely away from any and all artificial sweetners..those are absolutely horrible and dangerous. Thank you! I hope you try it….it’s amazingly creamy and delish! 🙂
Amazing recipe! I love almond butter and make my own at home. I have to make this recipe for sure. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you Eva!! It’s sooo delish and easy!! You’ll love it if you love almond butter 🙂
Your recipes are so wonderful! I need to get that ice cream maker already 🙂 I have it on my list of things to buy for the kitchen 🙂
A stunning & good for you ice-cream, dear Brandi! So appetizing looking too!
Thank you so much Sophie!!
Reblogged this on Spiritual challenges .
Brandi… this. Is. AMAZING! I’ll try to get a good photo to share of this delicious ice cream 🙂
Awesome Courtney!! Thank you so much, so glad you loved it! You gotta try the cinnamon next! So good. Thank you for always leaving feedback, I greatly appreciate it
Would tahini instead of almond butter work? I hate almond butter so much!
Hi Shennae! Oh, I wouldn’t recommend tahini, as it will be wayyy too overpowering since it’s the main ingredient. I would suggest using cashew butter instead of almond butter, because it is sweet and really creamy, which works well in ice cream. OR, peanut butter would work too! Let me know what you try! 🙂
Delicious.
Yay, so glad it was a hit!
I bought an ice cream make just for this! Question – what can be used instead of agave? Would maple syrup work?
Yes! Let me know after you try it!