This vegan, dairy-free Rocky Road Ice Cream is what summer dreams are made of. A slight s’mores vibe with those fluffy marshmallows, crunchy almonds in every bite and a silky, totally rich and dreamy chocolate ice cream base. I use cashews to achieve my favorite plant-based, totally vegan, ice cream texture.
Let’s do this, chocolate ice cream fans!…
Vegan Rocky Road Ice Cream
This dreamy chocolate ice cream is totally dairy-free, using a base of soaked cashews instead of dairy. The marshmallows are also vegan. I used the brand Dandies. Mini marshmallows are the perfect ice cream size, or you could chop up large marshmallows.
The cacao is naturally vegan. I use unsweetened cacao powder. And the sweetener I used is maple syrup. Though agave syrup works really well too.
You seriously won’t be able to notice that this is dairy-free, made from plants!
Churn it
Whenever I post churned ice cream, I always get the “can I use this without an ice cream maker” question. And no, this type of ice cream really needs to be churned to make a fluffy, creamy texture. When blended, it is quite watery, so if you just froze it in it’s watery state, the ending ice cream would be really heavy and frosty. More like a popsicle texture. So sure, if you want to do popsicles, go for it, but for ice cream, invest in a $40 ice cream maker and use it for years to come!
I also saw this interesting $20 ice cream maker on Amazon. I kinda want to try this one!!
Vegan Ice Cream Recipes
This recipe for Rocky Road Ice Cream is just one more flavor I get to add to my growing collection of vegan ice creams. I seriously love making these recipes because I always wow myself with how delicious homemade vegan ice cream can be – each and every time I make a batch. It’s one of those foods where you are like, OMG, did I actually make this myself??? This tastes amazing!
Next stop, ice cream shop.
Or maybe just a vegan ice cream cookbook, eventually.
When I get the time.
HA.
Summertime Dessert
This Rocky Road Ice Cream is the perfect dessert for summer as the temperatures warm up! I finally feel like summer is here and we have been getting outside as much as possible. Rosalie loves her park picnics, strolls around the neighborhood and beach outings. I’m having SO much fun with her! She is just about 11 months in a few weeks. Wow. Time flies. And I love every second of being a mom.
Recent little photoshoot on the beach… (She broke out of her carrier during the shoot, but promise, she was in good hands lol…)
Rocky Road Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 cups cashews, raw, unsalted, soaked
- 2 cups non-dairy milk, something high fat – soy, oat..
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup maple syrup, or agave
- ¼ cup cacao powder, unsweetened
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
fold in:
- 1 ½ cups marshmallows, vegan
- 1 cup almonds, toasted, chopped
Instructions
- Prep: Soak your cashews for at least four hours before starting on your recipe. I usually use about 2 ½ – 3 cups of raw cashews. When soaked and drained, I get around 3 cups of cashews, more or less a few is totally fine. You also want to make sure your ice cream churn container is fully frozen overnight.
- In a blender, blend the cashews (soaked, drained), milk, vanilla, syrup, cacao, salt. Blend until silky smooth.
- Set up ice cream maker. Turn on. Pour the blended liquid into the maker.
- Churn for 15-20 minutes, or until thickened.
- While churning, toast the almonds. Warm a skillet over high heat. Add the almonds. Toast for 3-5 minutes, or until the outside shell starts to crunkle to a crisp state. Some browning is ok, but do not overcook and burn nuts. Remove from pan, chop. Set aside to cool before adding to ice cream.
- While still churning, add in the toasted and chopped (and fully cooled) almonds and marshmallows. Turn off machine.
- Transfer ice cream to a freezer-friendly container.
- Chill for at least 10 minutes to firm up for soft-serve. Or chill longer – 20-30 minutes for scoopable texture. Store leftovers in the freezer. Note: Once fully frozen(and very firm) — to unfreeze to a scoopable state – allow 20 minutes of defrost time.
Equipment
- ice cream maker
- blender
- skillet
