This aquafaba ice cream is simply the best way to make ice cream without an ice cream maker. It comes out light, fluffy, creamy and delicious every time. Easily make your favorite ice cream flavors by adding fruit, chocolate, peanut butter or caramel. This no-churn ice cream is vegan, nut-free, and gluten-free too so everyone can enjoy it!
How can I make ice cream without an ice cream maker?
Make your ice cream from aquafaba for a light and fluffy ice cream that will stay soft enough to scoop when completely frozen.
What is aquafaba?
Aquafaba means bean water in Latin. It is the liquid that you drain off a can of beans. This cooking water contains enough protein from the beans that it acts like egg whites in many ways, therefore, you can whip it into a meringue or whipped cream like substance.
What you need to make Aquafaba ice cream…
Ingredients:
- Aquafaba – the liquid from a can of garbanzo or white beans. You can use red or black beans, but that will be the color of your ice cream too.
- Cream of Tartar – or lemon juice as an acid to break down the protein and make it form a fluffier meringue.
- Sugar – to sweeten the ice cream. I like to use powdered sugar since it doesn’t weigh the aquafaba down as much and give you a light and fluffy result. You can also use granulated sugar.
- Plant-Based Milk – like soy, almond, oat, or cashew milk. This gives the ice cream a creamy dairy flavor.
- Vanilla Extract – for flavor.
- Oil – for a richness of ice cream. Canola oil works best, but you can use any neutral flavored oil. You can omit the oil, but it just won’t be as rich and creamy.
- Flavoring – you can add chocolate, pureed berries or fruit, caramel, or peanut butter for your flavor of choice.
Tools:
- Mixer – a stand mixer is nice to have so your arm doesn’t get tired, but you can use any type of electric mixer.
- Container – with a good seal to store the ice cream.
How do I make aquafaba ice cream?
- Simply whip the aquafaba from a can of chickpeas or white beans with a mixer.
- Then, add a little cream of tartar or lemon juice, this is an acid that helps break down the protein and fluff it up into a whipped cream texture.
- Mix the aquafaba for 6 minutes and then add vanilla and mix for another minute.
- Then slowly add powdered sugar while continuing to mix for 3 more minutes until it is all incorporated and it forms firm peaks.
- Make sure to beat the aquafaba for at least 9 minutes total.
Time to make the flavor ice cream of your choice….
- Combine your favorite plant milk, canola oil, and your ice cream flavor of choice in a blender.
Vanilla: An additional teaspoon vanilla
Strawberry: Add a ½ cup of fresh strawberries
Chocolate: Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder
Peanut Butter: 1/3 cup peanut butter
Coffee: Add 1 tbsp. instant coffee
- Blend your flavor mixture of choice with the vegan milk in a blender and then slowly add it to the Aquafaba. Turn the mixer to the lowest setting and beat for about 10 seconds, just long enough to incorporate the mixture. (You can also simply fold the milk in with a spatula. Just don’t overbeat once the milk mixture has been added or it will collapse the aquafaba)!
- Then simply pour your ice cream mixture into a dish (large enough to hold 6 cups of ice cream) and immediately freeze for at least 4 hours.
Your ice cream will set perfectly and easily scoop out of the pan even days later.
Tip: I like to use these 6 cup sized Snapware containers because the batch fits perfectly and it has an airtight lid so your ice cream doesn’t absorb the flavors of the freezer. If you don’t have a container like this, cover your ice cream with plastic wrap to seal in freshness.
What if I want to add other flavors to the ice cream?
To add swirls of flavor, make the vanilla ice cream and then fold in chocolate syrup, vegan salted caramel sauce, peanut butter or chocolate chips just before freezing it. You may want to give it another stir about 1 hour after freezing if items look like they are sinking to the bottom.
Do you want to make a vegan ice cream Sunday?
Top your aquafaba ice-cream with vegan salted caramel sauce, berry compote, or vegan butterscotch sauce.
Don’t forget to pin the aquafaba ice cream recipe for later!
A simple way to make vegan ice cream without an ice cream maker. Free of dairy, gluten, and nuts.
- 3/4 cup aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas)
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar or lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup plant-based milk of choice (like soy milk)
- 1/4 cup canola oil or any other neutral flavored oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (additional for vanilla ice cream)
- 1/2 cup berries or fruit
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1 tbsp instant coffee
Drain a can of chickpeas into a medium sized mixing bowl and sprinkle with some cream of tartar. (This will be 3/4 cup of aquafaba liquid).
Beat on high speed with a mixer for 6 minutes until very fluffy.
Add a tbsp. of vanilla and beat again for about a minute.
Continue to beat the aquafaba while slowly adding the powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time until it is well blended and very fluffy. (This should take about 2 more minutes). Make sure to beat the aquafaba for a total of 9 minutes from start to finish.
Put milk of choice, oil and any flavor of choice (Berries, chocolate, coffee, etc…) into a blender and mix for about 30 seconds.
Pour the milk mixture into the fluffy aquafaba a little at a time, folding in. Don't over stir or your ice cream will lose its fluffiness.
Pour into a freezer safe container and immediately freeze for at least 4 hours to set completely.
- Be sure not to overbeat once the milk mixture has been added.
- Omit the oil to make it fat-free. (It's just not a rich and creamy without oil).
- Use canned coconut milk instead of other plant-based milk. (If using coconut milk, there is no need to add additional oil).
i just wonder if i heat up the milk mixture with coffee powder without cooling down and pour to the meringue. Does the hot mixture break the air inside the meringue? Thanks.
It should be okay to do it with hot coffee/milk. I make a hot syrup and add it to the aquafaba to make marshmallows and meringues and it doesn’t deflate it. Good luck! 🙂 You can check out that recipe here…https://thehiddenveggies.com/vegan-marshmallows/
I have been trying to make vegan vanilla since a long time and have failed a few times – i did try aquafaba with coconut milk + condensed coconut milk and it tasted good but not very easy to scoop – i am excited to try your recipe – how long can u store in the freezer? also, can you make thick milkshakes from this icecream since its so fluffy and runny? Please let me know!
Hi Krupa, I have had it keep well for about a month. It starts to get icy after a while. I have never used it for milkshakes, so I can’t say for sure about that. I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
I’ve just made this with the peanut butter version, and it’s worked great – I’ve had experiences with the meringue deflating to liquid while attempting ice cream before, so this time I added about half a teaspoon of xanthan gum to the meringue before adding the milk/peanut butter mix to stabilise it. I expect that helped it not to separate.
Next I’m planning to make it with soy skyr for frozen yoghurt! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
So happy that you liked it Sara! Thanks for the tip about the xanthan gum! I will test that out for sure! 🙂
Hi Monica! Thank you for the nice recipe. I made chocolate ice cream today and it’s about 6 hours in the refrigerator now, seems to be not icy and soft for easy scooping. I made a mistake pouring all the milk mixture to the whipping aquafaba ( in slow speed) and it turned out to the watery texture, lost its fluffiness. I was little confused with the instructions – should we continue whipping the mixture in the mixer after adding the milk on slow position (Turn the mixer to the lowest setting and beat just long enough to incorporate the mixture.) or just carefully stir with spatula or spoon the mixture to fold in all milk?(Pour the milk mixture into the fluffy aquafaba a little at a time, folding in. Don’t over stir or your ice cream will lose its fluffiness. ) The other question is when we add the berry or fruity puree should we reduce the milk amount ? I thought the fruits have enough water and the final result may be an icy of hard texture ice cream, that what I really afraid of?
So happy that you liked it Zoi! Sorry about the confusion with the directions. I have done it both ways and they both work well. Just don’t over mix or it will become flat as you found out. I have made it with fruit a few times and haven’t found the need to reduce the milk. If you are worried about it being icy, make sure to use a very rich and creamy plant-based milk. If you use a watery milk, it will be icier. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! I’m hooked on the possibilities now. This was my first time using aquafaba to make anything and I’m mourning all the wasted aquafaba I’ve just sent down the drain in the past.
The ice cream turned out very soft, more like a whipped soft-serve consistency or similar to what you’d get with “cheap” “frozen dessert” (I dont’t mean this as a bad thing – just making a comparison by referring to those supermarket ice creams aren’t made of real cream and have tons of additives but still taste guilty/good and are light and fluffy – but I know this one doesn’t have anything bad added to it since I made it myself!).
One thing someone reminded me to watch out for is EDTA and preservatives in the aquafaba if using the stuff from a can. Next time I’ll look out for that.
I made lavender cardamon flavour. I did blended the dried lavender with regular sugar to make powdered lavender sugar. I had this already made, leftover from a previous recipe, otherwise I would have blended the cardamon in, too. Instead I shook the milk, oil, and cardamon vigorously (since my blender wasn’t working).
I also used an electric hand mixer and it worked great.
Looking forward to trying this again in different flavours!!!
I’m so happy that you liked it Nale! Mourning the wasted Aquafaba made me laugh! 🙂 Lavender cardamon flavor sounds delicious! Make sure you check out my Aquafaba chocolate mousse! I think that you would love that too!
Any thoughts about using stevia for the sweetener?
Stevia should work. I have not tried it personally, but I don’t see any reason that it wouldn’t work. Just add it slowly and taste to get the sweetness that you like. Enjoy! 🙂
I cheated a little because I swapped the balloon whisk for the regular paddle and drizzled in the liquid mixture with the machine on its slowest speed. I also have an ice cream machine that doesn’t require pre-freezing, so I did churn the mixture to give it a head start. The recipe is GREAT! I added peanut butter and shavings of dark chocolate and it was just as good as shop-bought. The fact that ice cream made with aquafaba is scoopable straight from the freezer is a major advantage over other recipes. I will use this as my base recipe from now on – thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that you liked it Julianne! The peanut butter and chocolate shavings sound amazing! I love how the aquafaba keeps the ice cream soft and scoopable too! 🙂
Can I use coconut sugar instead of the powdered sugar if I blend it into a fine powder? Well, as fine as my ninja can process it.
Yes Tere, you can. Granulated sugar will also work, but it just seems to weigh the aquafaba down a little. Pulsing it in you ninja should work well.
Hi,
I have made vegan ice cream before using coconut cream so when I was searching for aquafaba for whipped cream, I came across this recipe of yours. I tried it this afternoon. However, after I did the mixing of aquafaba, I followed the recipe and folded in the milk (coconut milk, so I omitted the oil). When I put it in the freezer and checked after sometime, I saw there was a separation of the fluffy stuff on top and the liquidy stuff below. What did I do wrong? I followed the timing of mixing it as well.
So what i did was, I just took it out from the freezer, and just whipped it again on low speed for a short while just until it is well incorporated and I put it back in the freezer. I just did the mixing in the container itself.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
It usually settles a little, but not enough to notice very much. I usually use soy milk in mine. I wonder if the coconut milk was heavier and made it settle. Also, if you over stir it, your aquafaba starts to lose its fluffiness.
can I double the recipe in one batch or do you recommend making one batch at a time?
I would do one batch at a time. If you over stir it, it will cause the aquafaba to deflate and the “milk” will sink to the bottom. I would be worried that doing a big batch would cause you to stir too much after adding the “milk.”
Hi! I just made this for the first time and I’m wondering where I went wrong. After being in the mixer for about a minute and thirty seconds the aqua faba/cream of tartar mixture was huge and fluffy. I continued mixing it for the remaining seven minutes and added in the other ingredients as indicated. When I froze it though, all the “fluffy stuff” went to the top and the liquid sunk to the bottom. I’m wondering if I should defrost it and mix it again to blend it better? Thank you so much!
It sounds like you did it right for the most part. You may have stirred it too much after you added the milk. You could try to defrost and mix it again, but I’m not sure if that will help. Once it’s overmixed, you can’t get the fluff back. It sometimes settles a little, but it shouldn’t settle with more than a thin layer of milk at the bottom.
I made the vanilla last night using coconut milk and it is a hit here! There is a slight difference in taste, but I can’t put my finger on it. My husband says its the coconut milk, but he didn’t mind it. I do have a couple questions though:
1) when using coconut milk do you use 1 cup to equal 3/4 cup of other milk + the 1/4 fat? That’s what I did.
2) something settled to the bottom. I feel its the bean juice. I folded as little as I felt possible to get the milk stirred in. Anything I could do different to keep settling from occurring.
The vanilla was so good, I made the chocolate tonight using raw cacao powder (and didn’t have quite enough coconut milk, so I made up the difference with homemade cashew milk that I always have on hand). My little guy is happily lapping up a little of the chocolate batter and approves. I’ll know by morning what the final result is once it freezes. I’m prepping for his 8th birthday party this weekend. Not only do we try to eat healthier, I have a niece that has a severe allergy to dairy so I’m hoping everyone enjoys this.
I’m so happy that you liked it! You did the right thing by adding 1 cup of coconut milk to replace the milk plus the fat. Sometimes you get some liquid that settles to the bottom. Make sure to whip the aquafaba for the full amount of time suggested or longer to get the proteins strongly bonded. Then make sure to freeze it immediately after making it. This should help it not settle at the bottom. Happy Birthday to your son! I hope that everyone enjoys it at the party! 🙂
Can i substitute butter for oil?
Yes, that should work the same. Just melt first of course. 🙂
Hi,
Can you use homemade nut milk instead of soy milk?
I’m sure that nut milk will work too. I haven’t tried it yet, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I just came across your recipe today. I am loving the idea of this. I can’t wait to try it. I have few questions before I try it. Have you ever put your ice cream on a warm dessert like warm brownies or apple crisp? Does it melt well while eating it with my warm dessert? Does it change up texture or consistency because it next to something warm or does it change the flavor? Have you added vanilla bean to your mixture along with the vanilla? Also I can’t have cane sugar, maple or honey. Would Swerve powder sugar work in place of the regular powder sugar? I cant find many dairy free sugar free ice cream options out there and sometimes I don’t want to taste coconut while eating my ice cream on my dairy free sugar free brownie or apple crisp. I am so excited to try this.
Hi Rachel, It works well over pie and brownies, but it does melt a little faster than traditional ice-cream since it has so much air whipped into it. It won’t change the tastes, just simply melt faster. I have not added vanilla bean or swerve powder myself, but I think it would work fine. I just don’t know the amount to tell you to add. You can just add it slowly and taste along the way until you like it. I hope it works for you! Let me know how you like it! 🙂
I finally got around to making this. Thanks for replaying back to me. I did not add the vanilla bean but I did use the swerve powder sugar. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly the way it is listed. I put it in the freezer and it was only in 3 1/2 hours before I needed to serve dessert (a warm sugar free and dairy free apple dessert). It was creamy and a little soft but tasted the way I was hoping. The next day I had some of my leftover dessert with this ice cream. It was very grainy and not at all like the day before. I am not sure why the long it sat in the freezer it became more grainy. It could be because of the swerve powder sugar but not sure. Just responding to let you know how it went. Again it has been very hard for me to find a sugar free and dairy free ice cream that does not taste like coconut or like frozen bananas. Missing the taste of just plain vanilla ice cream. I have used the aquafaba and swerve sugar in other desserts with great success. This is why I was so hopeful. Thanks again for the great recipe and for getting back to me so quickly.
This sounds amazing! Have you tried making it with the Aquafaba after cooking chickpeas from scratch?
Yes, you can use the liquid from when you cook them from scratch. The amount of cooking water you use will change the amount of protein in the liquid and change how it whips up. You want your cooking water to be slightly thick once it cools to whip up the same as canned chickpeas. (You can also use white beans or other bean liquid). Let me know if you try it. 🙂
I don’t have a mixer, can I use an immersion or regular blender for the entire process?
I don’t want to waste all the ingredients. thanks!
You need to whip a lot of air into it, so you will really do need a mixer, it just won’t work the same using any other method. I cheap little hand mixer will work fine.
Wow this recipe is so good! I’ve tried to make vegan ice cream before with coconut milk, and was left really disappointed when it turned out hard like popsicles. This turned out beautifully soft and easy to scoop, and as another reviewer mentioned, you get so much bang for your buck! It makes such a large quantity for what goes in it!
I was wondering though if we could half the sugar or use a different kind? I’m not a huge fan of the taste of powdered sugar, and the lingering taste it gave bothered me a bit. I also just don’t like super sweet desserts. I know that lots of sugar is normally necessary for vegan meringues to make stiff peaks, is that the same case here?
Oh by the way, I heated up the milk and added two heaping tablespoons of coffee and let it steep for 30mins, since I don’t have instant coffee. It worked perfectly and the coffee taste was divine!
Thanks so much!
Hi Kara, I’m so happy that you liked it! Yes, you can use any other sweetener that you would like. If you use something liquid like maple syrup or agave, just make sure to add it to the milk mixture and don’t add it to the aquafaba while it’s whipping up. I find that the powdered sugar is a little lighter and smoother than other sugars, but regular granulated sugar works well too. Great idea for the coffee! Thanks!
delicious ice cream
Wow….this stuff is amazing! I’ve tried making my own ice cream before but its always a pain. This couldn’t be easier and you can make tons of it for almost nothing (I’m cheap and rarely buy it at the store due to the expense).
My kids love it and don’t even realize what they’re eating. Thank you for inventing so many great recipes!
You’re welcome Hannah! So happy to hear that you and your family like it! 🙂