This easy homemade vegan peach ice cream recipe requires nothing more than a blender and a few whole food ingredients: fresh peaches, coconut milk, maple syrup, and fresh orange zest.
Spring can’t come soon enough so in eager anticipation of warmer weather, birds singing in the sky, and the occasional pollen allergy, I am revisiting my favorite vegan ice cream recipe-- the coconut peach ice cream. Light yet creamy, subtly sweet, and fragrant, this is exactly what you need to ease yourself into the next season.
A lot of ice cream recipes call for an ice cream maker but because I never owned one of these space-hogging machines, I used a good ol’ Blentec when I first developed this recipe (but if you do have an ice cream machine, this is a good opportunity to bust it out!). To this day, a blender is all I use for making ice cream, pie fillings, and even soup bases.
This recipe is mind-blowingly simple and starts with ripe peaches. But wait...
How do you know if a peach is ripe?
A ripe peach should be firm but not hard. When you give it a light squeeze, it should yield a little but not bruise. When shopping for ripe peaches, consider when you’ll be eating them. If you’re still a few days away from snacking on them or cooking them, you can pick a firmer peach which will completely ripen in a few days. However, if you are cooking or eating them pronto, choose a ripe one right away.
Ingredients
- Fresh Peaches
- Coconut Milk - Full fat and unsweetened.
- Maple Syrup - 100% Pure
- Orange Juice - Freshly squeezed
- Orange zest
Step by Step Instructions
- Remove the pits of the peaches and chop them before tossing them into a blender.
- Grate the orange zest from the orange and set aside. Then slice the orange and squeeze the juice from the orange.
- Add the coconut milk, maple syrup, freshly squeezed orange juice, and orange zest and blend at a high speed till smooth and creamy.
- Pour the ice cream mixture into a bread tin, cover with foil, and freeze overnight.
- Move the ice cream from the freezer to the refrigerator 1.5-2 hours before serving to allow the ice cream to soften.
- Serve using a hot wet ice cream scoop.
Can I use frozen peaches for this recipe?
I have no qualms about using frozen fruit because sometimes this is the only option! So yes, feel free to use frozen peaches for this ice cream recipe. There’s no need to thaw them fully -- just enough to cut them into pieces small enough for your food processor, if that’s what you’re using.
How long will this vegan peach ice cream last in a freezer?
Most homemade vegan ice cream made with fresh, whole food ingredients keep very well in a freezer for a month. There’s really no reason why it shouldn’t especially when properly stored (read: with a cover). But believe me, this yummy thing will be gone even before you can start worrying about how long you can keep it fresh.A few more recipe notes...
Go with full fat coconut milk to get that creamy texture. You can also substitute brown sugar or stevia sweetener or just stick with maple syrup but make sure to add a bit of vanilla extract to add nuance to the sweetness.
This homemade peach ice cream has a consistency that’s a bit grainier and chunkier than a soft serve and pairs well with some fresh berries and honey roasted granola. Enjoy those sunny days!
More Healthy Vegan Desserts
Homemade Vegan Peach Ice Cream
DESCRIPTION
INGREDIENTS
- 32 oz fresh peaches, peeled and chopped
- 13.5 oz full fat coconut milk unsweetened
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon orange juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon orange zest grated from the orange
METHOD
- Remove the pits of the peaches and chop them before tossing them into a blender or food processor.
- Grate the orange zest from the orange and set aside. Then slice the orange and squeeze the juice from the orange.
- Add the coconut milk, maple syrup, sweetener, orange zest, orange juice and blend at a high speed till smooth and creamy.
- Pour the ice cream mixture into a bread tin, cover with foil, and freeze overnight.
- Move the ice cream from the freezer to the refrigerator 1.5-2 hours before serving to allow the ice cream to soften.
- Serve using a hot wet ice cream scoop.
Vee S. says
You mention adding stevia sweetener in the directions, but you don't list the amount in the ingredients list. ???? Thanks.
Puja Verma says
You can try using stevia sweetener as a substitute (1/2 tsp of pure stevia extract for 1/2 cup maple syrup), but keep in mind that this will change the overall flavor. Another option is to try replacing just 1/4 cup of maple syrup (half) with 1/4 tsp of pure stevia extract. To avoid too much change in flavor, other options include coconut nectar or agave nectar.