Ultra creamy and delicious homemade COFFEE ice cream. No dairy, no eggs, no sugar. 5 simple ingredients! This healthy ice cream is paleo, vegan and low-carb/keto friendly!

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Healthy Ice Cream

Hello, summer! I don't know about where you are, but here in Texas it is HOTT, and there's nothing like a COLD bowl of homemade ice cream on a scorching day.

It's time to bust out your ice cream maker. >> This Cuisinart is the one I've used for years!

I'm gonna show you how EASY it is to make dairy-free, sugar-free homemade ice cream (with a smooth coffee kick!) that actually tastes delicious!

How to Prep

First things first, you'll need to make sure your ice cream bowl is in the freezer for at LEAST 24 hours... make it as cold as possible. Place it in the bottom/back of your freezer.

If you're not sure if it's frozen enough, give it a shake. Hear any liquid jostling around? It's not frozen enough.

This is crucial to your ice cream success. Your ice cream maker's manual may say it only takes 4 or 6 hours, but I wouldn't chance it myself!

The No-Cook Ice Cream Method

Next to prep is your ice cream mixture. It's so simple!

Add all your ingredients to a blender and blend smooth.

There's NO need to cook your mixture (because there's no eggs) and no need to dissolve the sugar!

AND something else I discovered: granulated monkfruit *does* dissolve in liquids.

I was hesitant before to try a granulated sweetener because I have seen in other recipes that you need to heat it to fully dissolve. But I tried it and it worked fine!

I used Lakanto classic monkfruit granules. There was no weird aftertaste, no cooling effect. Just sweet deliciousness.

Tips for the Best DF Ice Cream

To achieve the ideal creamy, soft, scoopable classic ice cream texture, I recommend following these tips. It can make a world of difference! Totally worth the effort.

1. Chill your ice cream mixture for a minimum of 1-2 hours (or even overnight) to ensure that it's super super COLD.
   • This will prevent it from sticking to your bowl.
   • I place my blender cup in the FREEZER for about an hour right before churning.
2. Even in ideal circumstances, a little bit of the mixture will stick to the sides. What I do is use a rigid plastic spatula (the scraper that came with my food processor) and press it against the sides as the ice cream is churning to help release it. Just be careful not to hurt yourself or break your machine 😉
3. For ice cream that scoops and holds its shape like in the photos, chill it an extra hour or two (but no longer)
   1. Immediately after churning, you'll have a soft-serve consistency. But for scoops, give it some more time in the freezer.
4. Read my original Dairy Free Keto Ice Cream post for more details.

Keep in Mind

Since this ice cream does not contain stabilizers/gums/additives, it will freeze hard if left in the freezer for more than a couple of hours. So, it's best served same-day.

This recipe makes about 4 servings, (not a huge batch) so that you're not forced to eat a gallon of ice cream at once, ha.

But if you do need to serve more, you can absolutely double the recipe.

If you do have leftovers, you can save them for later (all is not lost!) What I do with the too-hard frozen ice cream leftovers is place it in the *refrigerator* for an hour or so. This will soften it back up to a scoopable soft texture. Magic! 🙂

Dairy-Free Keto Ice Cream Ingredients and Substitutions

I like to keep things as simple as possible, while still having the most delicious outcome I can create. Minimal, simple ingredients you probably have in your pantry. Nothing weird or that you'll only use once in your life.

• Instead of heavy cream, coconut milk.

I ONLY recommend Thai Kitchen coconut milk. It is my favorite go-to brand that 99.9% of the time provides stellar results in terms of flavor, consistency, texture, ratio of cream to water.. there is a lot to consider! And it's easily accessible from Amazon and many other retailers.

Substitutions: if you're not dairy-free, you can use heavy cream. I haven't yet found a perfect sub for coconut milk, as my tests with almond milk and cashew milk haven't turned out as smooth as I would like. (PS if you're wondering, no, ithis doesn't really taste like coconut, at least not to me! Flavor does vary by brand of coconut milk though!)

• Instead of sugar, monkfruit.

I only recently tested granules in ice cream, but surprisingly, it worked great! Again, no need to heat it to dissolve. Just blend it right in. It did not make my mixture gritty in the least.

Substitutions: Monkfruit can be subbed for Swerve, erythritol or any granulated sweetener that measures like sugar. You can also use ⅛ teaspoon pure stevia powder, to taste. For non-low-carb, coconut sugar, but I haven't tried it myself. Should be a 1:1 sub.

Why almond butter?

I decided to add almond butter years ago to help the consistency. Since nuts don't freeze, almond butter was added to help the ice cream not turn into an ice cube, and to stay more soft and scoopable. I also added almond butter to make up for the lack of sugar, which adds quite a bit of bulk to traditional ice cream.

Side note: I always make my own almond butter and I find that the flavor is much better (in my opinion). I use dry roasted unsalted almonds and blend them in my food processor for just a few minutes to make it. Easy and delicious!

Substitutions: any other nut or seed butter will work great!

How to Make Coffee Ice Cream

Don't worry, you *don't* have to brew an extra pot of coffee, or have an espresso machine. This method is SUPER simple.

It's my favorite way to add coffee flavor to desserts like my 10-Minute Tiramisu, Healthy Frappuccinos, Mocha Mousse, Dalgona Whipped Coffee and more!

Instant Espresso Powder!! I love this stuff! It's *not* ground coffee. It's *freeze-dried* espresso! You can find it at most grocery stores in the coffee aisle. I typically buy it from Whole Foods/Amazon. Another option is this King Arthur brand espresso powder.

And another bonus: No, you don't have to mix it with hot water! Just add it to the blender with all the ingredients. It dissolves great and adds a rich, velvety coffee flavor (without any of the hassle!)

Who's ready to savor this caffeinated creamy cold treat? Let me know if you make it!

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Emily

Dairy-Free Keto Coffee Ice Cream

5 from 3 votes

Ultra creamy and delicious COFFEE ice cream. No dairy, no eggs, no sugar. 5 simple ingredients! This healthy ice cream is paleo, vegan and low-carb/keto friendly!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Chill Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings: 5 servings

Calories: 198

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 13.7 can can coconut milk full fat *not lite*
• 3 Tbs natural almond butter
• 3 Tbs monkfruit granules to taste
• 2 Tbs instant espresso powder
• pinch of pink salt if your almond butter is unsalted
• 2 Tbs vanilla extract

Equipment

• Ice Cream Maker
• Blender

Method

 

1. Place ice cream bowl in freezer for 24 hours or until completely solid.
2. Blend all ingredients in a small blender.
3. Taste and adjust if needed.
4. Chill mixture. Place blender container of ice cream mixture in the freezer for 1 hour prior to churning so it gets very cold, but not frozen.
5. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and churn for about 10 minutes (or until thickened to soft serve consistency)
6. Transfer ice cream to a loaf pan of shallow dish and freeze 60-90 minutes.
7. Thaw on the counter 5-10 minutes to soften, if needed. Enjoy!

Notes

I recommend Thai Kitchen brand Coconut Milk for best results. (always buy FULL FAT. The low fat is watered down and will be icy) Buying in bulk on Amazon makes it cheaper 

To serve: That on the counter for a few minutes to soften to desired consistency if needed. 

To store: Best served same day - freshly made. Keep frozen. Thaw in the fridge to soften to desired consistency.

Sweetener swap: You may use any dry sweetener you like such as swerve, coconut sugar or powdered monkfruit.

Monkfruit drops or stevia drops work, too. -- the equivalent of 3-4 Tbs sugar, to taste.

OR ⅛ teaspoon pure stevia powder or pure monkfruit powder, to taste. Liquid sweeteners are not recommended, as they usually make the mixture too icy.