This recipe for dairy-free strawberry cheesecake ice cream was submitted by Mary Shivers for a recipe contest that we cohosted with So Delicious. Mary also adds fresh blueberries to this recipe as it churns, but we find them a little icy when frozen, so we’ve kept her recipe simple. She also makes 5 quarts at once! We’ve halved the batch, so it fits in most ice cream makers.
Dairy-Free Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Ingredient Options
Mary’s original recipe used a few products that are no longer readily available, so we have modified it and also have these options to help you with the ingredients.
- Whipping Cream Alternatives: Mary uses Rich’s Non-Dairy Whip Topping, which is dairy-free. It can be hard to find, so I have some other options. Silk Heavy Whipping Cream Alternative, Country Crock Plant Cream, and straight up coconut cream should work great. For the coconut cream, let two cans of coconut milk or coconut cream settle in the refrigerator for several hours. Open and skim the very thick cream from the top for this recipe.
- Milk Beverage: Mary uses almond milk, but you can use your milk beverage of choice. We like richer alternatives, like coconut milk beverage, cashew milk, or pea milk, like Ripple. If using one of our cream options noted above, use a sweetened original or vanilla variety to add more sweetness to this dairy-free strawberry cheesecake ice cream. The Rich’s that Mary uses is sweetened.
- Cream Cheese Alternative: Since this is a no-bake recipe, most varieties of dairy-free cream cheese will work well. Use your favorite variety. See our dairy-free cheese reviews for options. We have used Tofutti, Daiya, Violife, and Treeline in recipes like this one with good results.
Special Diet Notes: Dairy-Free Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian. Just be sure to choose the cream cheese, milk, and cream alternatives that suit your dietary needs. See above for options.
- 1 cup fresh strawberry puree (about 2 cups strawberries)
- ½ cup water
- 4 ounces dairy-free cream cheese alternative
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 cups plain or vanilla dairy-free milk beverage
- 1 cup dairy-free whipping cream (see post above for options)
- Add the strawberries and water to a medium heavy bottom saucepan, and place it over low heat. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or just until the mixture begins to bubble, stirring often.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and optionally strain the strawberries if you don't want any strawberry chunks in the ice cream. Let cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese alternative on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in the sugar, followed by the strawberry mixture. Stir in the milk beverage, and then the whipping cream alternative.
- Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- Pack the soft serve ice cream into a freezer-safe container and freeze for 4 hours or more for hard-packed ice cream.