Vegan Peanut Butter Ice Cream with a special ingredient, sweet potatoes! This recipe is dairy-free, oil-free and only 5 ingredients. So easy to make and no churn, requiring no ice cream maker!
I’m back with another amazing sweet potato ice cream! A vegan peanut butter ice cream version made with sweet potatoes. I was completely blown away with excitement over how popular my 4 Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream became and how many of you have made it. Many of you even stated it was better than the commercial brands and better than dairy. It was meant to be, so I was thrilled with how you all have loved it. There were so many requests for more flavors, and here is the next one, obviously peanut butter.
VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM MADE WITH SWEET POTATOES
This 5 Ingredient Vegan Peanut Butter Sweet Potato Ice Cream is creamy, luscious and so darn easy to make! Best part is it is no churn, so no ice cream maker is needed!
As if it wasn’t already amazing and decadent on it’s own, I drizzled some of my Vegan Homemade Chocolate Sauce on top. Highly recommend it, it takes it to like heaven…ice cream heaven!
I took the inspiration from 2 separate ice creams on my blog for this one, obviously the 4 Ingredient Chocolate Ice Cream and also I wanted to create a much more simplified (less ingredients) version of my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (written in 2012!). That one is absolutely delicious, but relies heavily on the fat coconut milk, which I tend to not really use much anymore. Either way, they are both delicious and that one has a cocoa base as well….super yummy.
So this one is 5 ingredients instead of 4, but I mean come on, still so ridiculously simply. Just creamy peanut butter, plant-based milk, maple syrup, sweet potatoes and vanilla extract.
OTHER VEGAN ICE CREAM RECIPES TO TRY:
- Vegan Vanilla Birthday Cake Ice Cream
- Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Mocha Ice Cream
- Dark Chocolate Almond Ice Cream
Vegan Peanut Butter Sweet Potato Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120g) cooked, mashed orange sweet potato
- 1 cup (256g) creamy peanut butter, with no additives (I used Santa Cruz organic) OR ALMOND BUTTER
- 1/2 cup (160g) pure maple syrup (add 2 more TBSP if you like your ice cream sweeter)
- 1 can "lite" canned coconut milk (or you can sub with another creamy milk like cashew or soy, the creamier, the better the results. You will need 1 3/4 cups plant milk)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- good pinch salt (if your peanut butter doesn't have any)
- Homemade Oil-free Chocolate Sauce
- I use this ice cream maker.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Cook your sweet potato your preferred method. I baked mine on parchment paper at 400°F, whole with skin still on, until very soft, 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of your potato. Microwave for faster results. Do not steam or boil it, as too much water will be absorbed into it. 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 (1/2 cup) and level off or simply now weigh 120 grams. Add it to a blender.
- Add the peanut butter, syrup, coconut milk, vanilla and salt (if using). Blend until completely smooth and creamy and not chunks are remaining. It should be a fairly thick consistency.
- If you have an ice cream maker, then by all means, use it, as your ice cream will turn out the most creamy this way. However, I've included instructions if you don't have one.Add your blended ice cream base to a well insulated ice cream storage container and place in the freezer. I really recommend an ice cream container designed for storing ice cream like this one. It will truly make a difference in keeping your ice cream soft after fully freezing.
- Set your timer for 1 hour 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 2-3 hours should do it, depending on your freezer temp. After that, if you let it freeze overnight, you will need to let it sit out at room temperature for about 15 minutes or so to soften a bit before eating. You can also pop it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds too if you like.
- Tips 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.
Just wondering if I can use canned coconut milk, that isn’t “lite” version?
Thank you
I made this but I was hoping to have more of a sweet potato taste and it only thing I can take for peanut butter I put it in my ninja creami containers
It is a peanut butter ice cream, it’s not supposed to taste like sweet potato. The sweet potato is only there for body and texture.
I love this ice cream! Tonight I made a shake with oat milk and added blueberries… my knees r still quivering! Excellent ice cream!
My husband and I loved this recipe! It was so lovely to have something that wasn’t banana based, and we preferred it. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes you share. When I want to try something new, I always visit your site first. They are always simple and delicious.
If I could rate this with ten stars, I would! I love peanut butter, and this ice cream is so.dang.delicious! Initially I wasn’t going to make the chocolate sauce, but I’m so glad I did! The ice cream and sauce together tasted like a chocolate peanut butter cup, which was one of my favorite treats before going vegan. Such a fantastic recipe!
I’m so so happy you loved it so much, thank you Coby!!
I made this with some modifications for what I had and it tastes great. Used frozen sweet potatoes probably around 2+ cups and oat milk creamer which is very sweet. ( I bought it and couldn’t use as it was too sweet) didn’t add any maple syrup and put it with other ingredients in food processor. Tastes great. Thanks for the inspiration. I hate that all the nice cream recipes are banana based. This will open up some new doors.
Hi Brandi! Really want to try this recipe, I’m wondering if you think Butternut Squash could be a sub for sweet potato? (Already have it cooked on hand :))
Probably! I’ve never tried it, so I can’t say for certain, but it might!
with the chocolate sauce, this tastes like a peanut butter cup!! such a great, easy recipe! i love using your recipes because they have the ingredient weights listed and i can use a scale. and because they’re always good and simple.
Yay, really glad to hear that Taran!! Yes, see my chocolate sweet potato ice cream! https://thevegan8.com/4-ingredient-vegan-chocolate-ice-cream/
Brandi— this was absolutely delicious. No one believed it was vegan. You’re a genius! Wondering if you’ve tried any other variations of this recipe with the sweet potato base, like a coffee ice cream or another flavor? You’ve made me a believer! Wow.
We absolutely LOVED this ice cream. One of the best I’ve ever had, vegan or not. I opted to use soy milk instead of lite coconut milk. We finished off the first batch and are starting our second. Thank you Vegan 8 for another stellar recipe!!
Aww yay, thrilled to hear that KJ!!
This recipe is to die for! A true vegan gem and no one will even suspect it with the velvety texture and satisfying creamy flavor. I opted to use my ice cream maker after the base was blended and also followed another reader’s comment about mixing 3/4 cup of sweet potato and 3/4 cup peanut butter just to cut down slightly on calories. I also only used 1/4 cup maple syrup and it was plenty sweet for us – we don’t like overly sweet desserts. Super easy to make and well worth the minimal effort. You will be glad you tried this one 🙂
I’m not sure what happened to mine, but it is definitely not a “farily thick consistency”, it’s runny. I double checked all of my measurements and everything appears to be correct. I’m using plant milk so measured 1 and 3/4 cups milk. It’s going in the freezer now so fingers crossed it turns out ok.
Sounds like it was the milk you used. What kind of milk did you use? I use canned lite coconut milk always for ice cream recipes, so it is creamier than most. Using a whole cup of peanut butter though, hopefully yours will still be plenty creamy, as long as you didn’t use a light low fat milk.
We had a guest with a coconut allergy so I used soy milk instead. It didn’t firm up completely until the next day, but it still tasted good. I’ll make it again when I can use coconut milk. Making vegan desserts with a coconut allergy can be a little challenging at times.
the recipe sounds amazing ….. maple syrup is not easily available where i live…can you recommend any substitutes
Agave!
Was you peanut butter sweetened or unsweetened? Can’t wait to try this!
unsweetened! I never use sweetened nut butters.
Can you use almond butter instead of peanut butter?
Yes, definitely!
The ABSOLUTE BEST! I made this last night, along with the chocolate sauce, and it’s wonderful! I shared it with 3 of my friends and they all want the recipe. One didn’t believe I made any of it. I even ordered the ice cream container, everything was such a hit. Thank u sooooo much, Brandi for such a well thought out and super delicious recipe, you r a rock star ⭐️ 👍🏾👌🏾✌🏽
That’s the best feedback ever Trista!! Thank you so much for this awesome review!
Sweet potato and peanut butter is probably one of my favorite combos! And I love making healthy ice creams. I can’t wait to try this!
It’s absolutely creamy…. Love it. ( I used chunky peanut butter because that’s what I had and didn’t want to wait and it’s still really good.).
Yay Hortensia!! I’m so happy to hear you loved it so much! Thank you for the feedback! If you don’t mind, I’d love your star rating as well, it helps me out, thank you!
This looks really interesting. I was thinking about the possibility of a frozen desert made with potato. A google search for ‘potato ice cream’ lead me here. I don’t care for sweet potato. However I want to try this with Yukon Gold potatoes. Potato + cocoa powder + sugar + salt + coffee + thickened almond milk 🙂 That might work. I was also thinking of adding flax eggs or the liquid from garbanzo beans. That stuff is apparently good for making meringues and such. It would be awesome if I could come up with a tasty potato “ice cream”. Your recipe makes me optimistic that it can work.
Hi Jennifer! I have only tried this with sweet potatoes, so can’t say how gold potatoes would work or if you could taste the texture of them. Sweet potatoes are much more moist than regular potatoes, so they are completely undetectable, so if you are worried about tasting them, don’t let that hold you back. You can’t taste them at all, all it tastes like is ice cream! And you basically just described my other chocolate sweet potato ice cream. That is one of my most popular recipes, you should try that one! https://thevegan8.com/2015/07/02/4-ingredient-vegan-chocolate-ice-cream/
I made your divine ice-cream & loved it!
I also drizzled that lovely drizzle over the fab ice-cream: it was SUPERB! xxxx
Thank you so much Sophie, so glad to hear!!
I have been making a date or fig syrup with fruit and water and substituting it for the maple syrup. Have you every tried this? I figure it is less processed, and has more nutrition, cheaper and less calories then maple syrup.
Hi Linda! I’m actually not a real big fan of dates unfortunately, but I have had people sub date syrup in place of maple syrup in a few of my recipes like brownies or raw cakes. I have not tried it personally, so I can’t vouch for the taste/texture result. I’ve definitely never tried it in ice cream, but if anything it will just make it freeze less hard, which may be a good thing 🙂 Please let me know if you try it!
Oh my gosh this is insanely delicious! I wanted to devour the entire batch before it even froze up. I’m trying to eat better and this hits the frozen treat spot without the guilt. Thanks for sharing!
Yippee! I’m so happy to hear that Cris, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! Really appreciate it 🙂
Absolutely love your blog!! Wow, who knew you could make ice cream from sweet potatoes! I so have to try this!
Aww so sweet, thank you so much! It works amazing!