This Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream is dairy-free and made from fruit and natural unrefined sugar! Fresh blueberries and black grapes give natural sweetness and color while the cashews and non-dairy milk make it creamy. This is perfect for summer and a pretty darn healthy ice cream too!
3/4cup(180g) "lite" canned coconut milk or cashew milk
1/2cup(120g) vanilla dairy-free yogurt (any type should work)
2tablespoons(30g) lemon juice (use 3 for a more tart flavor)
1cup(150g) blueberries
1/2heaped cup (90g) black grapes (this is what additionally helps the purple color and natural sweetness)
1/4cup(80g) pure maple syrup or agave
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1/4teaspoonfine sea salt
optional: 2 tablespoons (20g) coconut sugar for a sweeter ice cream (I felt the ice cream was plenty sweet with all of the fruit, so taste the mixture before adding the sugar)
Instructions
If you do not have a high-powered blender, then you will need to soak your cashews for 8 hours or overnight (preferred) in a bowl of warm water to soften them first. Otherwise, your ice cream will be gritty. Drain and rinse the cashews and proceed. No need to soak them if you have a high-powered blender.
Add all of the ingredients (except the sugar) to your blender and process until 100% smooth. Taste and if you feel you want it sweeter, add the sugar. The grapes are very sweet, so I didn't feel it was absolutely necessary but of course my daughter liked it better with the sugar.
Now, if you have an ice cream maker, then by all means, use it. Your ice cream texture will be even better AND more creamy, but if you don't have one, it will still work. Pour into a tight-fitting container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the ice cream and a tight lid. Place in the freezer for about an 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 to an hour until it is solid or at your desired consistency. A few 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.
Notes
Nutrition per 1/2 cup (doesn't include coconut sugar): 229 calories, 12.5g fat, 26.4g carbs, 5.1g protein, 16.3g sugars, 1.6g fiber, 116mg sodium