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No ice cream machine necessary for this easy three ingredient vegan chocolate ice cream! This non-dairy frozen dessert is perfectly chocolatey and sweet. With minimal time and effort, you’ll have an irresistible vegan summertime (or anytime!) treat.

three cones of vegan chocolate ice cream lying on a table

The Story Behind This Recipe

What most people don’t know about me is that my first job ever was actually at an ice cream shop. I worked there almost all through high school (before my dairy-free days) and ate ice cream literally every. single. day. Ohhhh what I wouldn’t do to have my high school metabolism again! So as you can imagine, once I went dairy-free in college I deeply, and I mean DEEPLY, missed ice cream. Back then, vegan/dairy-free ice cream wasn’t much of a thing. My options were typically limited to sorbet, which is already made without dairy. And while sorbet definitely helped cool me down and curb my sweet tooth, I longed for a big ole’ cone of classic chocolate ice cream.

These days, vegan ice cream isn’t nearly as hard to find, but what is hard to find is one that checks off all my boxes. I don’t want any funky ingredients such as fake sweeteners, gums, etc. Those cause just as much of a digestive nightmare for me as eating regular ole’ ice cream does. And most importantly, I don’t want to have to sell a kidney to afford it! The better the ingredient list, the more expensive it almost always is. Therefore, I came up with this vegan chocolate ice cream to both suit my needs and save me some money (because it’s either my bi-weekly manicure or $10 pints of ice cream, and I’d choose the former any day!).

The no-churn part of this recipe simply derived from the fact that I don’t own an ice cream maker. I’m looking into purchasing one now, but until I find one that doesn’t take up half of my freezer I will continue to make this no-ice-cream-machine-necessary recipe!

What You Need to Make Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

Full Fat Coconut Milk – None of that low-fat or lite coconut milk here! We need all that luscious healthy fat to achieve a thick and smooth texture. You could even use two cans of coconut cream if you’d like, only adding to the creaminess of this vegan chocolate ice cream.

Coconut Sugar – Coconut sugar keeps this three ingredient vegan chocolate ice cream completely refined sugar-free. This natural sweetener is more nutritious than regular sugar and contains 25% less sucrose than white sugar. Though if you don’t have coconut sugar, you can easily swap this out for cane sugar or white sugar if you’d like!

Cocoa Powder – This ingredient seems pretty self-explanatory. However, I will say that if you’d like you can substitute cacao powder for the cocoa powder in this recipe. Cacao has more nutrients and antioxidants than cocoa powder and would make this three ingredient vegan chocolate ice cream that much healthier.

Vegan No-Churn Chocolate Ice Cream (refined sugar-free)

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Freezing time

8

hours

No ice cream machine necessary for this easy three ingredient vegan chocolate ice cream! This non-dairy frozen dessert is perfectly chocolatey and sweet. With minimal time and effort, you’ll have an irresistible vegan summertime (or anytime!) treat.

Ingredients

  • 2 (14 ounce) cans full fat coconut milk or coconut cream, see Notes

  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar

  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder

Directions

  • Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Transfer to a parchment-lined container and freeze for 8 hours or until firm.
  • Remove ice cream from freezer 10-15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Coconut Milk: I used Let’s Do Organic heavy coconut cream for this recipe, but any full-fat coconut milk or cream will work!

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More Delicious Vegan Desserts

These vegan and gluten-free oreos are BETTER than the real thing! Sweet vanilla frosting is layered between two extra-chocolatey, crumbly cookies. These gluten-free oreos are not only fun, but surprisingly easy to make!

Five gluten-free oreos stacked on top of each other.

I. love. oreos. They’re easily one of my favorite packaged cookies (right next to milanos). Thought as I’m sure we all know, oreos are not gluten-free. *womp womp* But now that’s ok! I made these gluten-free oreos with all my celiacs and gluten-intolerant people in mind. These babies are completely gluten-free, though I’d argue they taste even better than regular oreos.

What You Need to Make Vegan and Gluten-Free Oreos

Vegan Butter – Found in both the cookie and the filling, vegan butter is key to this healthier recipe! A cup of softened vegan butter in the cookie dough makes them irresistibly soft and crumbly. While half a cup of softened vegan butter in the filling makes it light and fluffy. I use and love the Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Baking Sticks in most of my vegan/dairy-free recipes, though feel free to use whatever kind of vegan butter you’d like! Also, if you’re not vegan or dairy-free you can easily swap regular butter in its place.

Gluten-Free Flour – I prefer and recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour, though feel free to use your favorite gluten-free flour in this recipe. When picking out a gluten-free flour for baking, you always want to make sure that it contains xantham gum! If you’re not gluten-free, you can use regular all purpose flour instead.

Cocoa Powder – Any unsweetened cocoa powder will work for these gluten-free oreos! You could even use unsweetened cacao powder for extra vitamins and minerals in your cookies. Cocoa powder is usually pretty lumpy and is the main reason I recommend you sift the dry ingredients in this recipe. Sifting the cocoa powder in particular will ensure that the rich chocolatey flavor is distributed evenly throughout the cookie dough.

Filling gluten-free oreos with vanilla frosting.

Tips and Tricks

  • I know most of us, me included, forget to soften our butter ahead of recipes that call for softened butter. While you can usually get away with quickly microwaving butter to soften it, that trick won’t work for this gluten-free oreos recipe. The dough for these cookies is on the stickier side and if your butter is at all melted going into this mixture, it will make your dough nearly impossible to work with. Therefore, don’t forget to leave the vegan butter out for at least an hour before making this recipe!
  • I didn’t have a cookie cutter small enough for this, so I used the rim of a shot glass to cut out my cookies! If you find yourself in the same boat, take a look around your kitchen for other items you might be able to use. You’ll be surprised by how many round objects can double as a cookie cutter!
  • Any double-stuffed fans out there?? Simply double the filling recipes and pile on that sweet vanilla frosting! You’re free to stuff these gluten-free oreos as much as you want.

Gluten-Free Oreos (vegan)

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: DessertCuisine: American
Servings

24

oreos
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes
Total time

45

minutes

These vegan and gluten-free oreos are BETTER than the real thing! Sweet vanilla frosting is layered between two extra-chocolatey, crumbly cookies. These gluten-free oreos are not only fun, but surprisingly easy to make!

Ingredients

  • For the cookies:
  • 1 cup vegan butter, softened

  • 1 cup sugar, see Notes

  • 2 cups gluten-free flour

  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • For the filling:
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened

  • 2 cups powdered sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  • For the cookies:
  • Beat the butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy.
  • Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda together in a separate bowl and mix to combine.
  • Add the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar, mix until a dough forms.
  • Transfer dough to a floured surface and roll into 1/4-inch thick disc, then cut out 2-inch round circles.
  • Transfer all circles onto a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • For the filling:
  • Beat all filling ingredients together until light and fluffy.
  • Place a dollop of filling onto each cookie and top with another cookie – repeat for all remaining cookies!

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Sugar: I used coconut sugar in this recipe and had great results! Though feel free to use white or cane sugar.

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More Delicious Vegan and Gluten-Free Recipes

This strawberry rhubarb crisp is perfectly sweet, slightly tart, and finished off with a crumbly oat topping! This easy vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free dessert is a total crowd-pleaser and is perfect for summer parties. Serve this strawberry rhubarb crisp warm with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream for a delicious, healthier dessert!

Strawberry Rhubarb crisp in a baking dish surrounded by fresh strawberries.

One of my mom’s signature desserts is a strawberry rhubarb pie. Now I was never much of a pie person (still am not), but I LOVED this particular pie. Aside from being totally freaking delicious, rhubarb is pretty intriguing. I just couldn’t get over how delightfully sour and tart it was. I’ve wanted to recreate my mom’s strawberry rhubarb pie for a while now, but to be completely honest, I just don’t have the energy these days to make a whole a** pie. And that’s where pie’s easygoing, more forgiving younger sister comes in – fruit crisp! This strawberry rhubarb crisp recipe couldn’t possibly get any simpler, but still houses all of the delicious flavors I remember from my childhood.

What You Need To Make Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Rhubarb – OK let’s chat about rhubarb for a second. I know rhubarb is known and loved in some parts of the world. Though in my part of the world, it’s barely ever talked about (which makes me sad, because it’s worthy of our attention). Therefore, if you’re not familiar with rhubarb it’s a tart-tasting fruit that kind of looks like a pinkish/red celery stalk. Rhubarb is always paired with some type of sweetener to balance out its extremely tart flavor. The result is this almost sour candy flavor that is just incredible!

Strawberries – Oh, happy strawberry season! Strawberries, unlike rhubarb, are an extremely common fruit and I think we all know what they taste like. And the key here is fresh strawberries, as they taste best. You have the option to either leave your strawberries whole or slice them in half.

Almond Flour – Almond flour replaces the all purpose flour in this recipe. Aside from aiding in making this crisp gluten-free, I especially love the nutty flavor this flour gives this crisp. If you don’t have almond flour, you can use almond meal instead. If you don’t have either of those, feel free to use all purpose flour instead!

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

  • Add dairy: If not vegan or dairy-free, use regular butter instead of dairy-free butter in this recipe.
  • Use different fruits: Feel free to use whatever berries you’d like in this recipe in place of both the strawberries and rhubarb. Whatever fruit you decide to use, just make sure it measured out to a total of 6 cups.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (V/GF/RSF)

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes
Total time

45

minutes

Ingredients

  • For the filling:
  • 3 cup rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces

  • 3 cups strawberries, halved

  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar

  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest, optional

  • For the crisp:
  • 1 cup oats, see Notes

  • 1/2 cup almond flour, see Notes

  • pinch of salt

  • 1/4 cup dairy-free butter, see Notes

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
  • Add all filling ingredients to a bowl and toss to coat fruit, then transfer to a 9×13-inch baking dish.
  • Add all crisp ingredients to a bowl and mix together with a fork, then sprinkle over filling.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Almond Flour: You can use regular all-purpose flour instead of almond flour if you’d like.
  • Dairy-Free Butter: I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks for this recipe, as they’re my favorite for baking. Though you should be able to get away with using any non-dairy butter you’d like. And if you’re not vegan or dairy-free, you can use regular butter instead!

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More Easy Vegan and Gluten-Free Desserts

These hummingbird cupcakes are the perfect spring-time sweet treat! They taste incredibly decedent despite being grain, dairy, and refined sugar-free. These adorable cupcakes are chock-full of delicious crushed pineapple and shredded coconut. And in case you thought they couldn’t get any better, they’re also topped off with a dairy-free cream cheese frosting that is out-of-this-world good.

Hummingbird cupcake topped with pineapple and toasted coconut with a bite taken out.

It’s funny because I’m literally eating a hummingbird cupcake (and getting cream cheese frosting all over my keyboard) as I write this. I’m full-on addicted to the babies. They’re sweet, but not too sweet. Incredibly versatile – enjoy them as a snack, dessert, or heck you can even eat them for breakfast!

The first time I ever ate a hummingbird-anything was at this cute little muffin place by my parents house. My mom got me to try one of their hummingbird muffins and I’ve truly been hooked ever since. I then discovered hummingbird cake and was like – woahhhh, I didn’t know life could get EVEN better! And in case you’re like, Sam WTF is a hummingbird cupcake?! It’s similar to carrot cake, but has crushed pineapple and shredded coconut instead of carrots. It also features a cream cheese frosting, just like carrot cake. If you’re looking for a muffin instead of a cupcake, simply make these without the cream cheese frosting. My suggestion here is – take a plain cupcake, top it with a little crunchy almond butter, and enjoy it as a sweet afternoon snack!

What You Need To Make Hummingbird Cupcakes

Almond Flour – I chose almond flour as the base of these cupcakes for two reasons. One, it’s grain-free, making these cupcakes so light and healthy that you could literally eat them for breakfast if you wanted to. And two, it yields a soft, crumbly cupcake that doesn’t fall apart when bitten into, but also isn’t too dense.

Coconut Sugar – Just a 1/2 cup of coconut sugar is all you need in these cupcakes! This is what I mean by they’re sweet, but not too sweet. Coconut sugar is lower on the glycemic index than the usual white sugar. It also contains many more vitamins and minerals than most other sugars. If you don’t have coconut sugar, you can either use brown sugar, cane sugar, or white sugar instead.

Mashed Bananas – You won’t find a single hummingbird recipe without mashed bananas in it. In conjunction with the pineapple and coconut, a little banana is truly magnificent. It adds a touch of sweetness and incredible flavor. You can use 1 cup of apple sauce instead, if you’d like.

Crushed Pineapple – Like I said earlier, crushed pineapple is a main ingredient in these hummingbird cupcakes. I buy canned crushed pineapple and rinse out the liquid before using in this recipe. Though you can use finely chopped fresh pineapple instead.

Shredded Coconut – Similar to the crushed pineapple, these wouldn’t be hummingbird cupcakes without a little coconut. My one thing when baking with coconut is to make sure it is unsweetened. Our cupcakes are sweet enough, we don’t need the coconut adding to that.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

  • Make it Paleo – Leave out the dairy-free cream cheese frosting and you’ll have yourself delicious little paleo hummingbird muffins!
  • Make it Vegan – Use your favorite egg-substitute in place of the eggs in this recipe. I have not tested this recipe using flax eggs, though I can image that it will yield less-fluffy but still tasty cupcakes.
  • Make it Sugar-Free – Leave out the frosting and sub 1/2 cup of your favorite sugar-free sweetener for the coconut sugar. You can also leave out the coconut sugar altogether, if you’d like!

Hummingbird Cupcakes (GF/DF)

4 from 3 votes
Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Intermediate
Servings

12

cupcakes
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups Almond Flour, see NOTES

  • 1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar

  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

  • 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

  • 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted, see NOTES

  • 1 Cup Mashed Banana, about 2 bananas

  • 2 Eggs, see NOTES

  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

  • 1/2 Cup Crushed Pineapple, drained

  • 1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut, unsweetened

  • For the cream cheese frosting:
  • 1/2 Cup Dairy-Free Cream Cheese

  • 1/4 Cup Dairy-Free Butter, softened

  • 2 Cups Powdered Sugar

  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners.Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 1
  • In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 2
  • In a small bowl, mix together the coconut oil, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla extract.Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 3
  • Add the wet ingredients, crushed pineapple, and shredded coconut into the dry ingredients and mix to combine.Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 4
  • Fill each cupcake liner with 1/4 cup of batter and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 5
  • Transfer cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.DSC_0118Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 6
  • Make the frosting by adding all ingredients to a bowl and beating with either a hand or stand mixer until combined. Dollop frosting onto cooled cupcakes and enjoy!DSC_0118Hummingbird Cupcakes Process Photo 7

Notes

  • Almond Flour: Be sure to use almond flour, not almond meal.
  • Coconut Oil: You can use 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or melted butter instead.
  • Eggs: I like to remove my eggs from the fridge a couple hours before baking. If your eggs are too cold when added to the batter, they might cause your coconut oil to re-harden.

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More Healthier Dessert Recipes You’ll Love

This gluten-free and dairy-free banana bread is truly the best EVER! Fool your friends and family with this recipe that tastes just like the real thing. Toast up a thick slice of this ultimate gluten-free and dairy-free banana bread, then top it with your favorite non-dairy butter for a heavenly snack!

Gluten-free and dairy-free banana bread with a slice removed.

Not sure why, but I hated banana bread as a kid. Though I started to enjoy it a few years ago. And well, I quickly went from hating it, to enjoying it, to being totally obsessed with it. And I am specifically obsessed with this ultimate gluten-free and dairy-free banana bread recipe. It’s light, fluffy, not too sweet, and yields the perfect amount of that yummy banana flavor. I love this recipe so much that I often use this trick to ripen all of my bananas, because I’m way too impatient to wait for them to ripen on their own.

Lightly toasted, smeared in dairy-free butter, dairy-free cream cheese, and a drizzle of honey is the my preferred method of enjoying this ultimate gluten-free and dairy-free banana bread. I also love enjoying it as an afternoon snack with a big ole’ dollop of crunchy almond butter on top. It’s also totally delicious on its own! I recommend slicing it and then storing it in the fridge, to maintain its freshness. I also recommend doubling this batch and throwing a few slices in the freezer for a later date. Simply remove from the freezer, toast until defrosted and enjoy!

What You Need To Make Ultimate Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Banana Bread

Gluten-Free Flour – I use and love Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour, it has truly never failed me. Though if you’re not gluten-free, you can easily sub all purpose flour for the gluten-free flour in this recipe.

Cinnamon – While developing this recipe, I realized that no other banana bread recipes out there include cinnamon. To me, adding cinnamon was a no-brainer. I honestly thought it was one of those signature banana bread ingredients. When I realized no one else includes it in their recipes, I tried making this recipe without it. Oh man, never doing that again! Cinnamon adds incredible flavor and aroma to this recipe that it simply, to die for.

Mashed Banana – Make sure your bananas are SUPER ripe for this recipe. The more ripe your bananas are, the softer and sweeter they’ll be in this recipe. If you don’t have any ripe bananas but want to make this banana bread, use this trick! I use the quickly-ripen banana method often and can attest to its success. Now as far as mashing goes, remove the bananas from their peel, place them in a bowl and press down on them with the back of a fork. You’ll want to mash your bananas until you achieve a consistency similar to apple sauce. Measure out the 1 and 1/2 cups of banana once they are completely smooth.

Eggs – Remove your eggs from the fridge an hour or two before using them in this recipe. Room temperature eggs are always ideal in baking. If your eggs are too cold when mixed into the batter, they may cause the melted butter or oil you used to harden.

Non-Dairy Milk – Any non-dairy milk will work in this recipe. I used a homemade almond milk and has great results. If you’re not dairy-free, you can easily swap the non-dairy milk with cow’s milk.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

  • Make it Vegan: Use two flax eggs or your favorite egg-substitute in place of the flax eggs in this recipe. Expect your bread to be slightly more dense than the one pictured, but still delicious!
  • Add Gluten: Use all purpose flour instead of gluten-free flour in this recipe.
  • Add Dairy: Use melted butter instead of coconut oil and cow’s milk instead of non-dairy milk in this recipe.

Ultimate Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Banana Bread

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: SnacksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

10

slices
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

50

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

This gluten-free and dairy-free banana bread is truly the best EVER! Fool your friends and family with this recipe that tastes just like the real thing. Toast up a thick slice of this ultimate gluten-free and dairy-free banana bread, then top it with your favorite non-dairy butter for a heavenly snack!

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups Gluten-Free Flour, see Notes

  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

  • 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

  • 1/4 Teaspoon Salt

  • 1 1/2 Cups Mashed Banana (about 3 bananas), see Notes

  • 1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar, see Notes

  • 2 Eggs, see Notes

  • 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil, melted

  • 1/4 Cup Non-Dairy Milk, see Notes

  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions

  • Preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit and grease of line a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
  • Mix together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, coconut sugar, eggs, melted coconut oil, non-dairy milk, and vanilla extract.
  • Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
  • Transfer batter to your prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Notes

  • Gluten-Free Flour: I use and recommend Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour. Whatever gluten-free flour you use, make sure it contains xantham gum. If you’re not gluten-free, use all purpose flour instead.
  • Mashed Banana: Remove very ripe bananas from their peel, place them in a bowl, and the mash them with the back of a fork. Continue mashing until you achieve a consistency similar to apple sauce. Measure out the mashed banana then use it in this recipe.
  • Coconut Sugar: Feel free to use white sugar, cane sugar, or brown sugar in place of the coconut sugar in this recipe.
  • Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature before using in this recipe.
  • Non-Dairy Milk: Use any non-dairy milk you’d like in this recipe! I use homemade almond milk and have always had great results. If you’re not dairy-free you can easily use cow’s milk instead.

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Other Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Snack Recipes You’ll Love