Each time I post an awesome new vegan ice cream recipe, there is always somebody who says they don’t have an ice cream maker or wishes they had one. Well, today is your lucky day. 6 ingredients. Vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free ice cream. Amazingly, chocolatey and fudgy and no ice cream maker needed. Perfect straight out of the freezer, no thawing needed.
These are just like those rich chocolate fudgesicles we grew up on, but in little mini ice cream cups…and better, because they are dairy-free and no yucky ingredients. All you need is baking cups and you will be eating these like nobody’s business. These are SO good. I actually love these so much, because I don’t need a bowl or spoon, I just grab one straight out of the freezer when I want a treat.
The inspiration for these came, kind of, from this Chocolate Tahini Ice Cream. These ice cream cups are a totally different recipe, only using 2 key flavors of raw cacao and tahini, but the ice cream base is totally different. Don’t worry, the ice cream doesn’t taste like tahini at all, it simply makes the chocolate more prominent and really creamy! I personally think tahini should be renamed “magic”, because that is what it does to every recipe I add it to.
The main inspiration was to create an ultra creamy ice cream dessert that did NOT require an ice cream maker or popsicle mold and be a handheld dessert. I wanted to incorporate this new product, Sprouted Sesame Tahini by Dastony, sold from by Rawguru. It is so incredibly smooth and silky, and is also the tahini I used to make my 5 Minute Cheez Whiz.
Just simply mix the ingredients in your food processor and pour into foil/paper liners. Try not to eat it all before putting them into the freezer. Garnish with chopped chocolate or cocoa nibs, if desired. Like, so…..
Place the tray in the freezer for 2-4 hours and dig in! These are awesome because they don’t require any thawing, they are perfect straight out of the freezer.
Don’t worry, the coconut milk leaves NO coconut taste whatsoever, it only is there to help with the amazing, creamy texture. The hubs had no idea it was even in there, and he hates coconut. 😉
Leave me feedback below and let me know what you think of these 6 Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream Cups!
Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Cups
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups coconut cream (ONLY using the cream not the water part of the full-fat coconut milk. You'll need 2 cans to get 1 1/2 cups out of them)
- 2 tablespoons (28g) smooth/runny tahini (or cashew butter)
- 6 tablespoons (120g) pure maple syrup or agave
- 2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (48g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons (24g) coconut sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Note: I highly recommend Thai Kitchen brand as it seems to have the best quality, thickest and creamiest coconut cream. Other brands tend to be watery. You can find it in the Asian section. You will need to place the cans in the fridge overnight at least, 2 days is even better, so you can scoop out only the hardened cream at the top of the can.
Instructions
- Scoop out the thickened/hardened cream from the cans to measure out 1 1/2 cups (360g), do NOT use the water. Discard or use in a smoothie. Add the remaining ingredients to the coconut cream to the food processor and process until completely smooth, scraping the sides a couple of times during.
- Pour the ice cream base into 9 foil liners and garnish with chopped chocolate or cocoa nibs, if desired. Place in the freezer until solid, at least a couple of hours. These can be eaten straight out of the freezer and have the perfect, firm texture. No need to wait to thaw them!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition per ice cream cup: 149 calories, 8.6 g fat, 2.2 g protein, 17.4 carbs
Make ’em, eat ’em and leave me feedback here and tell me how many you ate in the first hour. While you are at it, take a snapshot of it and tag me on Instagram so I can see your creation!
I love that these are in cups and ready to eat straight out of the freezer! Such a brilliant idea! 🙂 Is there a way to make them vanilla, instead of chocolate?
Aww thanks so much Meredith! That is actually, my next to do recipe…so funny you asked that. My Dad’s favorite flavor ever is vanilla and my hubby loves it too, so I’m working on that next. Part of this ice cream gets it smooth creaminess from the cacao powder, so eliminating it wouldn’t be a good idea. I’ll be posting a vanilla soon hopefully 🙂
Ooh, I can’t wait! I’m not ashamed to admit that I don’t like chocolate. I do, however, LOVE vanilla! 😉
Hey, we all have different taste buds! I love it all, haha! Cinnamon and vanilla I actually prefer over chocolate too, believe it or not. I kind of go through phases of flavor cravings 🙂
So need a few, 10, of these right now!! Yum ♡
I know, right?! Thanks Angela!
How perfect are those little cups. Delicious and creamy and I love that you don’t need the ice cream maker.
Thanks so much Suzanne! I think I’ll be posting a lot of these now because it was so easy to just pop one in my mouth straight from the freezer!
I’m allergic to sesame seeds. Is there any nut or seed butter I could substitute?
Hi Alice! You can try hempseed butter, almond butter or peanut butter. It will alter the texture and taste slightly, since those are a lot thicker and not as smooth, but it should still work! Let me know how it turns out! Thank you 🙂
Ooh, I was going to ask the same thing as Alice so I’m glad you gave her other options! I can’t wait to try it with almond butter!! Yumm!! Thank you!
Yay Esther! Let me know how they turn out!
I am a big fan of these fudge ice cream cups, could I take a batch of 5… 500? 😀
Pinned!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks Uru for pinning!
No ice cream maker necessary!!?!?! HELL YEA! These look sOOOOOOooO good.
Thanks Brittany! They are Super easy and delish!
I’m picturing one if these beauties between two cookies, nom!
That sounds fantastic to me Megan!
These look truly epic Brandi! The trouble I’ve had with making ice cream type desserts without the machine is with ice crystals, but these look creamy and not icy at all.
Definitely going on the must-make list!
Thank you so much Emma! Not icy AT ALL! Even after 3 days in the freezer. I had absolutely NO ice crystals and could eat one immediately after taking out the freezer. They were so smooth and creamy. Tahini is magical in ice cream and why I said I wanted to rename it magical, haha! I know a couple of folks above are wanting to try it with other nut butters but I haven’t, so I don’t know if it will work as perfectly as the tahini, so stick with tahini and I KNOW you love tahini. I’m working on other flavors too, since these turned out so stinkin easy and yummy 🙂
Thankfully I do have an ice cream machine:D But it was a gift to my daughter at Christmas years ago so when she decides to move out.. I will have to pick up another! What a beautiful treat.. all sparkly and foiled and frozen. They would be so lovely on a hot summer day! This is such a creative dessert.. and I love your photos! xx
Thank you so much Barbara! I love my ice cream maker too, it definitely serves it purpose, but these are definitely an awesome creamy, quick ice cream fix 🙂
I don’t have an ice cream maker, thank you, thank you Brandi for creating an ice cream recipe without one, I appreciate it! Every time when I see a recipe that requires an ice cream maker, I usually skip it and said to myself, ok, I will get an ice cream maker, but that’s a year ago. After making ice cream out of frozen bananas, I want to make something more than that! Now eyeing on Brandi’s chocolatey and fudgy coconut & tahini-based ice cream cups (haha, I am the “I don’t like chocolate” husband actually) I want to EAT IT NOW. I love that this dessert does not need a bowl or spoon and ready-to-eat out of the freezer!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you loved it so much and I agree….ice cream makers are an amazing investment and I can’t live without mine, but I know that a lot of people just plain don’t have one, so voila! Here is a great ice cream dessert to get that quick fix. More flavors coming soon!
Ooooo, these look amazing and so refreshing! Wow. These would be a fun thing to make with the kiddos this summer.
Yes, Melanie! They are so rich and creamy, I’m sure your kiddos would love them!
I just made these and ate 3 in a row! Words can’t even express how amazing they are and I am the most severe food critic ever! They are literally perfection. So creamy and easy! The hardest part was being patient enough to let them freeze. They are honestly so good they are restaurant worthy!
This is such awesome feedback Erin, I’m SO happy you loved them so much and thank you for tagging me on Instagram as well with your awesome pics! Your compliments made my day so much, thank you!
These look too good to be true!
Holy shizz, Brandi. Tahini MUST be magic because this is the creamiest, loveliest, most incredible and healthy ice cream I’ve ever seen. And since it’s chocolate, you’re speaking my language, girl. Beautiful photos too!
Thank you so much Nancy! Tahini really is incredible and magical in any recipe, but especially in ice cream 🙂
I made these today and they are awesome! My 6 year old daughter loved them too. Great recipe!
Awesome Jessica! Thank you so much for letting me know, I really appreciate it! Another flavor coming soon too.
Delicious! These are wonderful I had to share them so I packed them in a tiny ice chest and brought them to work everyone was so excited to have an ice cream cup. They were stunned when I told them it wasn’t ice cream and that it was healthier and vegan!
That’s so wonderful to hear Louise! Thanks so much for letting me know…yes, people are always amazed that vegan ice cream is just as delicious as dairy ice cream. Coconut cream I find to give better results than dairy cream!
1 1/2 cups coconut cream (360 mL) :
I would like to make this and I realized you like to use coconut in most of your recipe:-) May I know if I can use any replacement instead of coconut cream (or in others recipe that’s coconut milk-eg: JUMBO Vanilla Blueberry Muffins) as I am not a fan of coconut?I would like to make this for my daddy! Thanks a lot for your recipe and I just cant wait to make them…lots of hugssss^o^
Hi Kerry! Are you actually allergic to coconut or do you just not like the taste? Reason I ask is because honestly you cannot taste coconut in either these chocolate ice cream cups or definitely not the muffins. There is only 1/4 cup in the muffins and it is low fat, so there isn’t really a taste there, it just makes the muffins richer and more fluffy than almond milk would. You could certainly sub with almond milk though, no problem, if you like. The batter will be a little thinner (since coconut milk is thick) and the muffins maybe a little less moist, but should still work out fine. Let me know on those if you make them, or just use the coconut milk for best results, trust me you can’t taste it. My hubby HATES coconut and these are his favorite muffins on the planet!
Also, regarding these ice cream cups…same thing, hubby hates coconut and has no clue they are made with coconut cream. It’s odd, but the coconut cream has a very mild coconut taste and it is disguised with all the cocoa powder and sweetener and vanilla. I am not a big fan of coconut and don’t want to taste coconut in my ice cream, yet I love these. It isn’t like regular coconut shreds or coconut oil, where the flavor is more pronounced there. There isn’t really a sub for these ice cream cups, since the cream is the main ingredient and it makes them super rich and creamy straight out of the fridge. Cashews and water would be the only sub and I haven’t tried it on this specific recipe to see what exactly the ratios should be to achieve the same result. I hope that helps some!
So thankful to you for figuring and explaining this out- as my daddy is allegic to coconut and I hate the coconut taste! last time I used to make vegan cheesecake with extra virgin coconut oil as the recipe call for it and it’s just turned as coconut cheesecake as it can taste the coconut but not cheese cake feeling! (T_T tears dropped….just after first bite hahaaa) and have lamented at times never making it again with coconut ingredients. Now after your kind explainations and so surprised to find out you are not a fan of coconut toooo, now I am going to involve this Coconut recipe again!!…As for my daddy I will use Almond milk….but no Almond cream?(oh the only thing I could think of is Almond body cream LOL) I’ll let you know if it turns out :-). Thanks again! Very inspiring. Hope it turn out beautifullll as yours!!!Great thanks especially your great great effort in creating all lovely vegan recipes for us….^_^
Just made your vegan chocolate fudge ice cream cups and licked the bowl clean! Ask anyone and they will tell you how intense my chocolate addiction is. These are a wonderful alternative to eating a whole block of store bought chocolate. Rich and satisfying. The incredible thing is there is no coconut taste, only lovely chocolate. I would love to serve these at a dinner party with perhaps a hint of mint. What do you think?
Wonderful Trudi! I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much for the feedback!! Yes, mint would be a lovely addition, that sounds delish. Just wait until right before the party to serve right before everybody is ready, since they do melt quickly. I would probably do a 1/4 tsp mint extract and taste the batter. You don’t want to add to much or it can be overpowering.
These are insane. I made them on Mother’s Day for my non-vegan family and they gobbled them up. They’re so good and very easy to make. I might buy a mini cupcake pan and make a smaller version just to have more of them. I stretched this recipe to 12, just making them a bit smaller, and they were gone far too soon. And my sister-in-law demanded the recipe.
Hi Jennifer! Oh, this makes me so happy to hear how much everybody loved them! Yay! So thrilled everybody loved them. Thank you for the amazing review!
**No ice cream maker — no problem**
I had to store mine when we moved into the RV and it has sucked not making ice cream. I know this is an oldie, but I just ran across this recipe when another reader made it and I’m super glad I did. It almost reminds me of a Wendy’s frosty..but not really. It’s so fast to make and we tried it after 3 hours in freezer. I’m making this all year and hope @thevegan8 will do some variations because now I can have homemade ice cream again. It’s sooo good!!! Hope some of you try it.
Thank you Estee, so thrilled you loved these so much!
Hey, thanks for making this. Means a lot to a new vegan!
A quick question though, maple syrup isn’t widely available in my home country. What would be the best alternative for it?
I am considering date syrup at this point though I am not sure how the taste would be affected
You can use agave! I’ve never tried date syrup before, so not sure how it would taste.