It seemed only fitting to celebrate National Ice Cream Day with the very first dairy-free ice cream recipe that I made. I shared this recipe for vegan chocolate ice cream over ten years ago, and wanted to make sure it was every bit as good as I remembered. But since my freezer is packed with non-dairy ice cream pints for review (two dozen – no joke!), I asked Leah to test it again. She also took some lovely pictures to show you just how rich and creamy this easy, classic dessert is.
Leah gave this vegan chocolate ice cream a very positive review, but recommended further heightening the flavors with a little salt. Brilliant! If you’re a fan of Modern Family, then you know that even Sophia Vergara can’t resist that perfect pinch of salt in chocolate.
And if you don’t have an ice cream maker, all is not lost. Simply use firm silken tofu, chill in the refrigerator, skip the freezing process, and enjoy it as a creamy chocolate mousse!
Special Diet Notes: Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
- 1 12-ounce bag dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 12-ounce box soft silken tofu (such as MoriNu)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (see note below)
- 1 cup dairy-free rice milk beverage or soymilk (or milk beverage of choice)
- Generous pinch salt
- Melt the chocolate and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Put the tofu in a blender and process until very smooth. Add the melted, cooled chocolate and process until well combined. You may have to stop and scrape down the sides of the blender.
- Add the milk beverage, vanilla, and salt and puree until smooth.
- Cover and chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 1 hour or more, to cool.
- Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions.
- Enjoy immediately as soft serve or pack into a freezer-safe container and freeze until solid.
11 Comments
Thinking of flavor variations. Do you think peanut butter with cocoa powder would produce the same creamy texture?
It won’t be quite as rich, but should be tasty!
Hi Alisa I’m on a roll looking for recipes to help me reach and keep my goal to achieve my million steps in 90 days and to continue to make many nutritious foods. like you I want to blog and share stories, food and more with other women who struggle in their life journey. when God, completes making the garden of eden, he said it was good. and on that note so is your silken chocolate tofu ice cream. i’m on the bus watching and typing so please excuse my typos.
regards,
Carrol
That’s great Carol! And thank you for sharing this 🙂
It looks so super creamy and dreamy! I’ve never made ice cream out of tofu before…definitely going to try!
You’ll love it Jenn!
seriously, this ice cream looks So rich and creamy!! YUM
Wow, this looks so perfect! Never seen one made with tofu but it looks like it works a treat!
Really?! I think all the “original” dairy-free ice cream recipes were tofu-based, but I’m probably just old-school 🙂
I don’t have my ice cream maker anymore, but I have always wondered if silken tofu would work like this. Do you think the chips are necessary? I was thinking about making it with cocoa (which I do for mousse all the time), but I wonder if the stabilizers in the chips do something to help with the freezing part.
Hi Katie, the chocolate provides two major components over cocoa powder – cocoa butter and sugar. You can of course sweeten to taste, but it won’t be as creamy, the proportions will need adjusting, it will make less, and will have a more pronounced tofu flavor. That said, you might just try freezing your mousse recipe! The cocoa butter in the chips definitely helps to make a richer, creamier ice cream and adds bulk.