Description
This no-churn Homemade Dairy-Free Cranberry Swirl Ice Cream is perfect for small holiday gatherings and made right in your blender! This ice cream recipe uses real cranberries swirled with vanilla coconut milk ice cream for the most delicious dairy-free dessert!
Ingredients
Cranberry Syrup/Sauce
- 1 heaping cup fresh cranberries
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 cup water, divided
- pinch of salt
Vanilla Ice Cream
- 1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour/starch
- pinch of salt
For Serving (optional)
- gluten-free ice cream cones
- sugared cranberries
Instructions
Plan to make this over 2 days, and preferably refrigerate the coconut milk the night before you start. The day before you plan on serving this ice cream make the cranberry syrup and the vanilla ice cream.
Cranberry Syrup/Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, add the cranberries, maple syrup, 1/4 cup of water and pinch of salt and heat over medium high heat until all of the cranberries burst and start to reduce. Turn the heat down to low and let the cranberries simmer for 5-10 minutes then stir in the other 1/4 cup of water. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.* Allow the cranberry sauce to cool to room temperature and then cover and place in the fridge overnight.
No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the coconut milk (SOLID PART ONLY!– that's why I say to refrigerate it the night before, it seperates the solid from the coconut water), pure vanilla extract, maple syrup, tapioca starch/flour, and pinch of salt. Heat until the mixture is smooth and starts to thicken. Remove from heat and pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freezer overnight.
Putting the Ice Cream Together
- The next day, blend the cubes of ice cream until you achieve a creamy ice cream texture, adding just a splash of milk if you need it (but not too much! We don't want to make a smoothie! I didn't need any, I just used the blender stir stick to help it along). Spoon the ice cream into a small-medium bowl, spreading it out to cover the whole bottom.
- Dollop the cranberry sauce over the ice cream and then with a spoon or butter knife swirl it throughout the vanilla, but not mixing it completely or it won't have the swirl effect (would still be delish!). You'll most likely have leftover cranberry sauce, feel free to spread it on toast or warm it up and drizzle it on pancakes or waffles!
- Place the bowl back into the freezer for about 30 minutes (depending on how melty it got), scoop into bowls or a cone, garnish with sugared cranberries if desired and enjoy! Keep any leftover ice cream in an airtight container in the freezer.
Notes
* You don't have to blend the cranberry sauce if you don't mind chunks of cranberries and the skin.
** After freezing leftover ice cream, allow it to sit out for about 5-8 minutes to soften just a bit before enjoying.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Additional Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American