With peak strawberry season running right now (April through June), I have been keeping busy by buying a lot of fresh, local, organic strawberries and filling my freezer with pint after pint of strawberry ice cream. Life could be worse. Ice cream always makes it better.
Of all the not-so-good-for-me things I have been willing to give up over the years, ice cream has never made the cut. That’s because me and ice cream go way, way back. For as far back as I can remember, I have associated ice cream with good times and happy days. Nothing has changed. And as I approach my 40th birthday, ice cream remains one of my favorite desserts, with classic strawberry ice cream being one of my favorite flavors.
The only time me and ice cream had a big problem was when I got into clean eating in a big way and realized that the two main ingredients in my beloved dessert—dairy cream and sugar—were pro-inflammatory “problem foods.” Luckily, I have found a way to work around the issue without compromising flavor….
Homespun Dairy-Free Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe Is Good For You and Super Easy to Make. Here’s How to Make Strawberry Ice Cream the Healthy Way:
I learned full-fat coconut milk and pureed cashews can take the place of dairy cream from a taste and texture standpoint while pureed bananas, dates and pure maple syrup (which is not a refined sugar, by the way) can do the same for sugar. Ingredient problem solved. The only problem remaining in making homemade ice cream was the dreadful memory of my mom trying to make ice cream at home when I was about five years old or so. The clearest memory I have of the whole ordeal is mom struggling with a bunch of ice and salt, dad getting mad and all the hard work ending without any edible ice cream. Not able to relive such a time-consuming disappointment of an episode, I was elated to discover that Cuisinart has an incredible ice cream maker that is not only super cheap, but also super easy to use. I am not one who likes to stash my kitchen with mounds of unnecessary culinary appliances, but for anyone who loves ice cream and clean eating, the Cuisinart® Classic White Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream and Sorbet Make is a kitchen essential.
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Dairy Free Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups frozen organic strawberries
- 1 frozen banana (cut into chunks)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup raw cashews (note: to improve digestibility, soak the cashews in water for 2 hours, rinse and drain before blending)
- 1 can chilled full-fat coconut milk
- 6 medjool dates
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Pinch of unrefined sea salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a high-speed blender and process until smooth and creamy. If the mixture is not cold, transfer to the freezer for about 45-minutes, or until very cold.
- Pour the cold creamy mixture into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturers instructions.
Nicole f says
This was so delicious and creamy! My only regret is that I didn’t try to make it sooner. It was also my 21-month-old’s first taste of ice cream, and she loved it! Thank you, Ivy!
★★★★★
Ivy Larson says
Hi Nicole, Aww, I’m SO happy to hear you (and baby!!) liked it so much =) Thank you for taking the time to let me know!
Alice says
Wow, this is amazing! Thank you, Ivy.
★★★★★
Ivy Larson says
So happy you like it Alice! Thank you for letting me know 😉
Terri Willoughby says
Anyway to get around not using an ice cream maker?
Ivy Larson says
Hi Terri! So so sorry I am just not getting back to you—your comment somehow got approved but I didn’t see it until just now. But as for trying to make the ice cream without the ice cream maker—I really don’t think that would be possible =( The only thing that could maybe (just maybe!) work is to put the mixture in a blender and blend on low speed for like 5 minutes (this might whip some air into it) and then freeze in individual cups. I don’t think it would be exactly like the real deal, but it may just come close? I would just cross my fingers if you go this route though 😉
Laura says
Hello. This sounds delicious. However, I am allergic to cashews. Can I substitute with something else? Even another nut? I can do peanuts and almonds. Thank you!
Ivy Larson says
Thank you so much Laura! And not to worry, raw macadamia nuts would be a great substitute for the cashews. You could also try hemp seeds–but if you do use hemp seeds I would add 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (bc the hemp seeds can sometimes be a bit bitter) Hope this helps!?
Diane Hornsby says
Hi Ivy, I have read you book Clean Cuisine and now follow this website. I am trying to stick to a low saturated fat diet, but some of your recipes seem to have a lot of fat in them from coconut milk. Isn’t rheMS diet supposed to be low in saturated fat?
Ivy Larson says
Hi Diane, I know it can seem confusing, but the saturated fat in plant-based foods like coconuts is not at all the same as the animal-based saturated fats found in foods like beef or even chicken. I actually wrote an article on this a while back: https://cleancuisine.com/is-the-saturated-fat-in-coconut-harmful/ hopefully this helps clear up the confusion? If not, feel free to ask me any questions =)