VERY StrawBERRY
So. much. strawberry FLAVOR! If you LOVE strawberries, you're gonna love this homemade fresh strawberry ice cream! It's so luxuriously smooth and creamy. You won't believe it has no dairy and no added sugar!!
And possibly the best part (besides the amaaazing taste!)?? You don't have to do any COOKING! It's made in a blender! Woohoo!!
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NO COOK Recipe
My son has been begging me to make strawberry ice cream ever since I got my ice cream maker a few months ago. That's his favorite flavor!
I was reluctant to make it because I know with conventional strawberry ice cream recipes, you HAVE to COOK the berries in order to reduce the liquid (strawberries are VERY juicy, and juice = icy texture).
And you cook them to concentrate the flavor (otherwise it has VERY little actual strawberry flavor).
I don't know about you, but I MUCH prefer EASY, no-cook recipes... the throw everything together and blend type. YES.
So with this recipe, I made it SO SIMPLE for ya. You don't have to do any cooking to get a concentrated and CREAMY *not icy!* amazing strawberry ice cream! 
Strawberry Ice Cream SECRET Ingredient
What's the secret ingredient to ULTRA concentrated delicious strawberry FLAVOR and gorgeous PINK color without the hassle of cooking the berries??
FREEZE DRIED Strawberries!! This fruit that allllll the moisture completely removed, giving it a crispy, almost chip-like, LIGHT as air texture.
I buy them at ALDI (for $2.99) but my buddy, Mandy notified me that she found them at the 99 CENT store!! 99 cents?! Awesome!!! (Thanks, Mandy!) 😀
You can also find freeze dried strawberries at Target, Trader Joes, Whole Foods and many other stores! Typically in the snack food section by the nuts. Or Amazon, too!
BONUS: The berries add enough sweetness to this ice cream that you DO NOT need the typical one CUP of sugar that traditional recipes call for. YAY.
If your berries are a little tart, or you like your cream super sweet, add a pinch of pure stevia, or a little monkfruit or coconut sugar.
ps. Looking for more EASY recipes using freeze dried strawberries? Be sure to check out my Easy Strawberry Mousse, Strawberry Lime Cheesecake and Strawberry Daiquiri Bites! LOVE.
DAIRY-FREE Delish
I promise you WON'T miss the dairy in this Paleo/Vegan strawberry ice cream. The rich and creamy texture is achieved through coconut cream and almond butter. Mmmm. Soooo dreamy creamy!
(And if you're wondering, there is ZERO coconut or almond flavor. For real. Just INSANELY delicious INTENSE strawberry yum.)
Unlike my previous ice cream recipes, I used *ONLY* the coconut CREAM instead of the whole can of coconut milk. This is because I added in a whole cup of fresh JUICY berries and I didn't want to water down the ice cream.
So, you may purchase a can of cream only, or - what I do to save $$ - buy a can of Thai Kitchen coconut milk and refrigerate it overnight (or for several days). The solid white cream rises to the top so you can scoop it out and save the yummy leftover coconut water for a smoothie! (It's full of electrolytes!)
Do you NEED an Ice Cream Maker?
I get this question a lot -- can I make this WITHOUT an ice cream maker? The answer for this is not really 🙁
To get the REAL DEAL ice cream texture, I highly recommend churning so that it's light and fluffy and creamy smooth instead of hard and popsicle-like. Totally worth the investment (plus have you SEEN the price of dairy-free ice cream at the store and at an ice cream shop?? Omg.)
How to Store
This ice cream is best enjoyed fresh, since it will harden if frozen too long due to lack of additives/thickeners/emulsifiers (aka junk). What I recommend if you have any leftovers, is to freeze it into a popsicle mold! Strawberry Creamsicles - YUM!
Sweetener Swap
If you don't want to use stevia, replace it with 1-2 Tbs powdered monk fruit or other powdered sweetener or coconut sugar (to taste). Liquids are not recommended because they can make it icy.
Click the image below to save this on Pinterest. Follow me on Pinterest for lots more healthy delicious recipes 🙂
Very Strawberry Ice Cream (Vegan, Paleo, No Sugar Added)
Ingredients
- 1 13.7 oz can coconut milk - solid cream only ~ ¾ cup
- 1 cup fresh strawberries - about 10 small
- ¼ cup natural almond butter - + pinch of salt if unsalted
- 1 1.2 oz bag freeze dried strawberries
- 2 Tbs vanilla extract
- 1/16 teaspoon pure stevia powder - optional
Instructions
- Blend freeze dried strawberries in a small blender or food processor for 5-10 seconds to make a powder.
- (Use a can of coconut milk that has been refrigerated overnight) Scoop out the solid cream into the blender along with all the remaining ingredients and blend smooth.
- Chill. Place blender cup in the freezer 1 hour prior to churning. *no longer, or it will freeze solid*
- Churn mixture in an ice cream maker for 5-10 min. Optional - throw in a handful of finely diced strawberries during the last 2 minutes, if you like!
- Eat immediately as soft serve, or place in a shallow dish and freeze 1-2 hours until firm for true ice cream consistency. Enjoy!
Notes
iza
delicious ice cream
Emily
Thank you 🙂
Adrienne Artale
Intense strawberry flavor as you describe, but I found the almond butter overpowering and took away from the strawberry experience. What happens if the almond butter is left out?
Emily
Oh no, I’m sorry. Certain brands of almond butter can have a stronger flavor. Mine was raw, all natural almond butter that is very neutral tasting.
You can leave it out, but it may have a slightly icy consistency. Another option is to use more coconut cream instead of the almond butter.
Hope that helps!
Toni
I always buy organic strawberries because they're at the top of the dirty dozen list, so this freeze dried version is off limits for me. Thanks anyway.
Emily
Just buy organic freeze dried strawberries 🙂 Available on Amazon
Pat
Why don’t you add what a serving size is to your nutritional info? You say, “per serving”, but nothing to help us know what size of a serving we can use the nutritional info. I have found this true on the other recipes that I have checked out so far.
Emily
My nutrition label only allows for serving sizes in grams (which I have added to my newer recipes.) But I list the number of servings on the recipe card and the nutrition is based on the number of servings (1/5 of the recipe). My ice cream recipes serve about a scant half cup. For other recipes, everything is based on a serving size of 1 (such as one cookie, one donut, one piece of pie, etc), for simplicity.
Pat
I’m sorry but I forgot to ask another question in the post I just sent.
You suggest that we use the ice cream right after we churned it and that if we have left-overs we can put it in popsicle molds. That’s a great idea. My question is, will the popsicle forms of this ice cream, after frozen, taste more like popsicles (meaning in an ice watery taste) or like ice cream bars (nice and creamy)?
Thanks,
Pat
I remember a long time ago I went to one of those quick-cooking gluten free classes at a Whole Foods store. One of the recipes was for a type of ice cream using avocados as one of the ingredients. I wish I knew where the recipe was. This ice cream was so very good and very creamy. It did not taste like avocado at all. The teacher said it was the avocado that made it creamy like ice cream. Just an idea.
Emily
Hi, for popsicles, it will be a little bit icy, but will still be made of cream so it will have a creamy taste as you eat it and as it melts. You can let them thaw in the fridge for a short time to soften them some. Hope that helps.
Also, I actually have an avocado ice cream recipe! LOVE IT 🙂 link here. It's chocolate with a brownie center!! Definitely check it out.