How to Make Nice Cream

Sharon Palmer

Published on September 6, 2020

Updated on October 13, 2020

Learn how to make nice cream (also called plant-based, vegan ice cream) with this foolproof step-by-step guide.

Making home-made vegan ice cream is not as hard as you might think it is. With a basic recipe, you can make a wonderful batch in a matter of minutes for special occasions, or just plain old comforting meals with friends and family. While it only takes a few minutes to mix up this recipe, you do have to plan ahead. I freeze my ice cream maker container a few days ahead of time to make sure it’s really cold. In fact, if you make this recipe often, you can keep your ice cream maker container in the freezer, so it’s ready for a batch in no time. Then you just mix up with only 4 ingredients—coconut milk, coconut cream, agave syrup, and vanilla—over the stove to emulsify it, and chill it down before putting it in your ice cream freezer container and turning the machine on. There are many types of these machines, so just use this guide below and follow the instructions that come along with your ice cream maker for best results. Once it’s thickened, then you can freeze it for an hour or two until it achieves your desired consistency. Check out my basic recipe, which I’ve added dark chocolate chunks and toasted walnuts to, for an ultimate taste explosion. It really is the best! Follow along with my Step-By-Step Guide below.

Step-By-Step Guide:

How to Make Nice Cream — Gather these 4 key ingredients: coconut milk, coconut cream, agave syrup and vanilla.

Here’s what you’ll need before you get started:

1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk (do not use coconut milk beverage, or light coconut milk)
1 13.5-ounce can coconut cream
¼ cup agave syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
Immersion blender or blender
Ice cream maker