Chocolate Homemade Almond Milk Ice Cream, sweetener of your choice, and healthy raw cacao are churned into the best dairy-free ice cream ever!
Summertime Screams For Dairy-free Healthy Ice Cream!
There was a time when chocolate and vanilla ice cream were our only choices.
Also, there was a time when the only dairy-free frozen dessert, was a sorbet.
Back then, a sorbet or sherbet was mostly sugar-water, whereas now we’ve learned to create healthier dairy-free ice cream options.
Thankfully now, an ice cream maker is affordable and makes the job fast and easy, not like ‘back in the day.’
So why not make the best Chocolate Homemade Almond Milk Ice Cream at home!
Other Dairy-free Chocolate Ice Cream Options
Have you ever had almond milk?
Dairy products are not for everyone, and so luckily we are able to buy various types of milk, such as almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, even oat milk.
Even ice creams made with these various types of milk can be found in most grocery stores.
However, many of these options, purchased at regular grocery stores, are loaded with ingredients such as locust bean gum, xanthan gum and guar gum.
No thank you!
Let’s Talk About Homemade Almond Milk First
If you don’t want those weird ingredients in your milk, or ice cream, why not make your own almond milk ice cream!
I can promise you that homemade almond milk couldn’t be easier to make.
You will only need two tools and two ingredients.
Hopefully, you own a food processor or a blender.
These two kitchen tools have become very affordable and do much of the heavy work in the kitchen.
Secondly, you will need cheesecloth, a fine mesh strainer or a nut milk bag, used to strain the milk from the nuts.
Lastly, the two-ingredients you will need is raw Almonds and Water!
Did You Know REAL Almond Milk Only Has 2-Ingredients?
Soaking raw almonds overnight in water softens them, making it easiest to extract the most from their flavor.
Middle Eastern folks have been making nut milks at home for centuries, long before it was ever sold in a grocery store.
Soaking raw almonds overnight in water softens them, making it easiest to extract the most from their flavor.
This step can be sped up by soaking for 15 minutes in boiled water with a cover; not as perfect as the long soak but pretty darn good.
Once the almonds are soft, simply puree, drain and squeeze all the luscious white creamy milk from the pulp of the softened almonds.
Homemade almond milk is the best way to make chocolate almond milk ice cream.
How To Make Chocolate Almond Milk
Who doesn’t love a little chocolatey goodness, especially when it’s made with the natural flavor of real cacao powder, not cocoa powder, which has had much of its natural nutrients processed out.
Simply place a small amount of almond milk, raw cacao powder, and the sweetener of your choice in a saucepan on top the stove and simmer enough to blend the ingredients.
That chocolate ‘syrup’ you just made, becomes the base recipe for any of your chocolate almondmilk frozen dessert options.
Options For Sweetening Your Chocolate Almond Milk Before Making Ice Cream
Today’s sweetening options have become vast, so you can certainly swap out the sugar I put in my recipe, for any other sweetening ingredient you prefer.
Since you will be whisking up a small chocolate syrup on top the stove before adding it to the almond milk, you can taste to see which you prefer.
For a deeper dark chocolate taste, simply add more cacao powder.
Whisk in a little maple syrup, honey, stevia, monk fruit or any other sweetener you like with the taste of the chocolate.
Richer Chocolate Almond Milk Ice Cream
If you are looking for a richer chocolate almond milk ice cream, one that has more fat substance found in the dairy version, then simply whisk a few egg yolks into the chocolate syrup you will be making.
Adding egg yolks into an ice cream recipe requires heating the egg yolks, in a little liquid (ie the almond milk), until the thermometer registers 145.
This assures you that you are not eating raw eggs and the fat content will make the ice cream richer, though no longer vegan.
Vegan Chocolate Almond Milk Ice Cream
Is this chocolate homemade almond milk ice cream vegan?
For sure it is!
You are looking at only 3-ingredients, raw cacao, sweetener and homemade almond milk.
Simply stick to a sweetener that works for your vegan friendly cooking, which would eliminate honey.
Homemade Almond Milk vs Store Bought Almond Milk
Besides loving the rich earthiness of chocolate, I also love nut milks.
And so, one day while grocery shopping, I picked up a chocolate almond milk popsicle to enjoy on my drive home.
Yuk and more yuk!
It tasted mostly of water and little else.
Disappointed, I went home and made my own dang chocolate popsicle, which can be made with nut milk or dairy!
The chocolate flavor I was after, was all there!
In fact, I even added a little coffee to the water I soaked the almonds in and tadah… chocolate coffee almond Ice cream!
Speaking Of Popsicles
I have a weak spot, throughout summertime, for popsicles.
Guess it’s the kid in me that still loves popsicles!
Here are just a few of my favorites, in case you love them too!
- Summertime Watermelon Popsicles – with 2-ingredients, watermelon and honey!
- Raspberry Tea Popsicles – with caffeinated tea leaf, raspberry leaves and honey.
- Mocha Latte Popsicles – coffee, chocolate and milk of your choice.
- Lavender and Blueberry Popsicles – garden fresh lavender and seasonal blueberries.
- Wellness Popsicles – with citrus, ginger, chili peppers, honey and maybe a little booze for those times when a cough or sore throat need relief.
Options To Add To Your Homemade Ice Cream
I almost took this luscious chocolate ice cream a step further and added mint to the flavor.
Also, I thought to toss in marshmallows, or drizzle with a rich raspberry coulis.
Certainly there is the option to toss in a pureed banana with the chocolate almond milk and make a nice cream.
The rich chocolate flavor from raw cacao powder and my homemade almond milk was perfection all on its own.
Consequently, I chose to freeze some in popsicle molds to enjoy poolside all summer!
Ingredients Needed
- Almond Milk
- Cacao powder
- Sugar or sweetener of your choice
Equipment Needed
- Sauce pan
- Wire whisk
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Ice cream maker machine
- Cupcake papers (optional)
- Airtight Container
- Freezer
Chocolate Homemade Almond Milk Ice Cream
Equipment
- Ice cream machine
- Small saucepan
- Airtight container
Ingredients
- 1 quart Plain Almond Milk Homemade
- 3 tbsp Cacao powder
- 2-3 tbsp Cane Sugar or sweetener of choice
Instructions
- Step 1 Make sure your ice cream container from your ice cream maker has been in the freezer overnight so it is ready to churn your homemade ice cream.
- Step 2 In a small saucepan, over medium low heat, place the cacao powder and sugar with 1/4 cup of almond milk. Whisk the mixture while the sugar dissolves, creating a rich chocolate flavor base to make this creamy ice cream. Allow to cool.
- Step 3 Transfer the cooled chocolate mixture to a container along with the remaining almond milk and chill for about 30-minutes.
- Step 4 The chocolate almond milk is now ready to churn in your ice cream maker.
- Step 5 Now is the time to add options to your chocolate almond ice cream before churning. A double chocolate almond ice cream can be made by adding a handful of chocolate chips. Or perhaps a few spoons of almond butter, whisked into the chocolate almond milk mixture.
- Step 6 Pour the prepared mixture into your ice cream machine and churn until a firm ice cream has developed, about 20-minutes.
- Step 7 The ice cream can be transferred to an airtight container and placed into the freezer. An easier way of serving the ice cream later is to scoop ice cream, as soon as it's made, into muffin tins, placed in the freezer for about an hour and then transfer the pre-scooped ice cream into an airtight container.
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Notes
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