The vegan pumpkin ice cream is a total treat, any time of the year! With no dairy and refined sugars, this is a nutritious ice cream to serve your family or atop your favorite pie for an ala mode experience!
Dairy free pumpkin ice cream makes a special addition to your Thanksgiving feast!
This ice cream was born in a very unlikely time of year. I certainly am not CRAVING cold treats, living in the chilly northwest assures that!
But I needed to do two things: clear my ice cream maker’s bowl out of the freezer for the season, AND make my ridiculously picky son a nutritious snack.
And as is sometimes the case: I got lucky. REALLY lucky.
And this time of year, the world EXPLODES with all things pumpkin! And what a pleasure it is! One of my favorites are my paleo vegan pumpkin snickerdoodles. As soon as I cook up my own winter squash and pumpkin…the baking frenzy begins!
One taste of this luscious ice cream will send you spinning into dessert heaven and you will wonder how something so darn easy and with a vegetable as a first ingredient could be so darn delicious.
But it is. And you should make this…now! Think gluten free pumpkin pie! a-la-mode!
Dairy free pumpkin ice cream serving suggestions:
I am sure y’all have some great ideas too…but here I are few ideas on things to add in or on top this luscious ice cream!
- candied pepitas, I mean it’s part of the pumpkin after all!
- toasted pecans, or paleo candied pecans
- cacao nibs, an unsweetened deep chocolate addition!
- chocolate, melted or otherwise! I have a paleo fudge sauce too!
- dried cranberries, easy to find apple juice sweetened ones if you like
- some paleo vegan toffee, crumbled up
- coconut whipped cream would make an excellent topping
Vegan pumpkin ice cream ingredient notes:
- Lucuma powder is most likely a new ingredient for you. It is made from a South American root that tastes more like a fruit than a tuber and is touted as a superfood. In some instances, it adds a decidedly butterscotch flavor to foods. It really shines in this ice cream, but the ice cream will still be yummy without it.
- Want creamy ice cream??!! The water content of your pureed pumpkin or squash will effect the creaminess of ice cream The more water, the more ice crystals in the ice cream…therefore less creamy (think snow cone). Try and use the driest puree you can (cooking some of the water out is always an option, simmer over low heat until the volume is reduced!) In this batch, I used some fresh roasted butternut squash which is generally a much drier squash. Some cans I open are stiff and dry, while others are more soft and pliable. Kabocha, Buttercup, and Chioggia varieties are two more dry varieties I see often!
- I also know some of you will ask, using light coconut milk is totally fine! But know that in doing so, you are adding more WATER to the mixture, and the end result will not be as creamy (same concept as the squash puree!). AND if you can do dairy, then some raw cream instead of the coconut milk would work well too!
Here are some gluten free pumpkin recipes to get you going on a pumpkin kick!!
- My healthy pumpkin cake is gluten free and vegan and there is an optional caramel glaze that is bombtastic! And my paleo pumpkin cake leaves out the grains all together and is topped with a brown butter frosting!
- This full meal paleo pumpkin smoothie uses many of fall’s best produce: pumpkin, apples, and fresh cranberries!
- Wonderfully moist and tender, these paleo butternut muffins are made with cocoa powder for a healthy chocolaty treat!
- These savory Harry Potter inspired gluten free pumpkin pasties are something to write home about: amazing!!!
Like pumpkin? Click here to see all my recipes that include pumpkin or squash!! There’s kind of a lot…I may have a problem!
No ice cream maker? No problem!!
Making your own vegan ice cream without an ice cream maker is totally an option! Simply pre freeze a bread loaf pan in the freezer. Then:
- pour pumpkin mixture into the frozen pan, place back in the freezer
- for the first hour or so, stir the mixture every 15 minutes to ensure even cooling
- continue to freeze until desired texture achieved
Paleo Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe:
If you try this delectable dairy free ice cream, be sure to come back and let me know what you thought! Comment below!
Paleo Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin or winter squash puree. I have used butternut, and kabocha, any sweet squash puree will work, the drier the better for the creamy factor!
- 14oz can full fat coconut milk see notes above in post. May also use 3/4cup soaked raw cashews and 1 cup any milk instead
- 1/2 cup palm sugar replace with erythritol for low carb
- 2 tablespoons lucuma powder optional, but this lends an unbelievable butterscotch flavor to the end product!
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon could use pumpkin pie spice if you enjoy it.
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia or 3-4 tablespoons more palm sugar, optional. To personal taste.
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and whir until smooth.
- Incidentally, at this point, it is like a thick and creamy pumpkin pudding and totally delicous!
- Place into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturers instructions. I have a Cuisenart Ice Cream Maker and love it!
Notes
Nutrition
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Do you need an ice cream maker to make this delicious sounding recipe? Would love to make it, but I don’t own an ice cream maker. Thanks .
This article list 6 different ways!!! Good luck! https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-machine-171060
I have pumpkin that needs to be used up, and I think it is calling for this recipe… haha. Thanks!
I was sold at ice cream!!! Thanks for this tasty suggestion and I need to give this a whirl.
I’m gonna be ALL over this come pumpkin season!
This looks so creamy & yummy! Would it be naughty to put a scoop on top of a slice of pumpkin pie?
Yum! Why wait till fall to have delicious pumpkin things! This is perfect for summer!
YUM!! I love all things pumpkin. I’m so looking forward to making this.
I have so many pumpkin puree at home and was thinking how to use them. This recipe comes at the perfect timing ! It’s so delicious and creamy !
I love all things pumpkin, and am growing my own this year!! Pinning this for later!
Oooo I love that butterscotch flavor addition – how special! I can’t wait to make this soon!
Wow, this looks so good, and I’ve never tried lucuma powder before but I love butterscotch so I’d better order some soon!
Looks amazing! I love the combination of summer and fall with this recipe. Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors!
Oh yum!!! Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors during the fall and I LOVE it in smoothies and ice cream. Such a fun, seasonal flavor!
Hi Tessa,
I write for Path Magazine, and am working on a roundup of health Thanksgiving recipes. I was wondering if I could include a link to your recipe for Pumpkin Ice Cream (https://www.tessadomesticdiva.com/2012/11/paleo-vegan-pumpkin-ice-cream-nut-free.html) and a photo from your article (with credit given to your blog, of course)!
Please let me know!
All the best,
Theresa Schilling
Email: theresahschilling@gmail.com
Phone: (973) 934-5121
Skype: theresa.schilling5
Linkedin: theresaschilling
That would be awesome Theresa!! Thank you!
Love it! Looks so good!
Wow, I’ve never heard of/tasted lucuma root before. What a cool superfood!
Also…my husband has been craving ice cream of late, and this is exactly the wonderful, seasonal recipe I’ve been looking to make at home! Thanks for sharing the dessert – and all the helpful tips.
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays Party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 I can’t wait to see what you share next time!
-Cindy
Hi Marla! I use my Blendtec, so that is probably why my sugar dissolves completely. I have two ideas for you…either use maple syrup, or use a little of the coconut milk, warm it up, and then dissolve the sugar in it before adding it to the mixture.
Hi Tessa,
I just tried this today and I used organic cane sugar instead of the Palm sugar and didn’t add the Lucuma since I did not have either. It tasted really good but it got a little grainy. What would cause that? Would the difference in sugar make the grainy texture? I know that I had it mixed really well in the food processor but I did have a grainy look to it. Just curious so I know what to change the next time I make it. Thanks so much!
I love this and I have printed it out to try it. Thanks so much for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & twitted.
I’ve been experimenting with paleo pumpkin ice cream, and I’ve never heard of lucuma powder! I’ll have to search for it to try it out.
I’ve been wanting to create some version of paleo ice cream like this! Your results with pumpkin look outstanding! We eat ice cream any month of the year—doesn’t matter how cold it is outside!
I”ve always wanted to make homemade Ice Cream, but I do not own an Ice Cream maker. But this ice cream looks so good. Is there an alternative way I could make this since I don’t have an Ice Cream Maker?
two ideas for you Valerie: if you own a high powered blender like a BlendTec or Vitamix, using mostly frozen ingredients should work.
Here is another tutorial: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/how-to-cook/how-to-make-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-maker
And I have also seen it done with a food processor where you make the mix, freeze it, then whir in a food processor until smooth.
I am allergic to coconut, what else would you reccomend to use in place of the coconut milk?
Hi Cait, any full -fat milk will work. Homemade almond milk (extra creamy), or any creamy nut milk will work!
Just got lucuma powder in the mail from Amazon! Need some recipes now! It looks like you can help me!
Isn’t coconut a nut??
Looks tasty though!
Hi GiGi! There is a lot of conflicting information out there…but anyone with tree nut allergies is usually fine with coconut according to all the food allergy doctors, and that has been my experience too. In Autoimmune diet protocols, coconut is allowed too unlike other nuts. Ultimately, consult with your doctor if you are confused or scared about it!
Yup, I’ll take a big bowl of this, please! 🙂 This ice cream looks FABULOUS! Omg, I can just imagine having it on a cone after Thanksgiving dinner! Why couldn’t I see this LAST week?! Ha! I followed you here from the link party at Chef in Training & I’d like to invite you to come link up to my party, too. It’s Tasty Tuesdays & I pin EVERY POST that gets linked up! You can find this week’s party here from tomorrow: http://anyonitanibbles.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=tasty+tuesdays
Holy moly this looks amazing! Ice cream and pumpkin are two of my favorite things…I don’t care how cold it is!!
Looking forward to making this tonight. I don’t think lucuma powder is available to me as I’ve never heard of it but would pumpkin pie spice suffice? I’m also subbing out stevia/sugars with raw honey (Paleo here!) so I hope it’ll come out nicely. This is my first ice cream with the new maker I got for xmas, so I’m excited to try it!
Sure….the flavors will be different…palm sugar is more Maple-esque than honey. Pumpkin spice would be good too…as long as you like it! Let us know how it turns out…recipes with so few ingredients can be tricky with subs, so would love to know if yours works!
I am so in need of pumpkin recipes. Love this one.
Thanks Rachel! Hope you try it soon!
This sounds great – I was able to glean from a local pumpkin patch after Halloween so this give me something besides pumpkin soup, pie, cookies and bread to fix!
I would love to have you share this on Thursday at Tasty Traditions: http://myculturedpalate.com/
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
This sounds delicious! Lucuma powder sounds interesting.
Thanks for sharing on Natural Living Monday!
I am an ice cream freak. This looks so good!
Ok, so I made this today. Yum, yum, yum!! I even found some lucuma powder online. It was such a nice addition! This ice cream is creamy, flavorful, rich, and satisfying, even for those of us who are used to milk-based ice cream. Thanks!
Angie@ConsciousEatery
Yay Angie! We had some for thanksgiving too! Thank you for letting me know!
Time to hunt down some lacuma powder- this recipe sounds and looks so delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this with us at Seasonal Celebration Sunday! Happy Thanksgiving! Rebecca x
I love this. I’m sharing this with the peeps this week at Keep it Real Thursdays! See you there.
I have got to get my hands on this lucuma powder!! Can’t wait to expand my cooking!! 🙂 Your ice cream looks amazing and something that we have been missing! Got it tweeted and pinned!
I was interested to learn about lucuma powder as I had never heard of it before. It sounds like a delicious ingredient. I really like the idea of a pumpkin ice cream – it sounds wonderful!
Wow. This sounds awesome! Excited to learn about Lucuma powder.
Thanks so much for linking up to “Simple Meals Friday”. Hope to see you again next week!
http://littleowlcrunchymomma.blogspot.com/2012/11/simple-meals-friday-7.html
Ooh, yum! I have not made any pumpkin ice cream yet this year. I should do so soon, though—we love ice cream year round here. 🙂
Looks wonderful!
This sounds wonderful. Can’t wait to try it (maybe this weekend???)
Please do Anne…then come back and report!
I just bought some lucuma powder, something I had never heard of! Thanks for expanding my horizons! As soon as it comes in, I’ll be making this for my daughter (and me)!
Gorgeous ice cream, Tessa! I know I would love it. Time to get some lucuma powder. I’ve been wanting to for recipes of Ricki’s for some time anyway. 😉
Thanks for this recipe, dear.
Shirley
I am sure you would too…i am hoping the lucuma powder doesn’t scare people off! It is an unusual ingredient not found in most people’s pantries….
I’ve never used or had lucuma powder, but it’s on my list of things to try! Your ice cream looks wonderful, Tessa!
Megan
It’s fun to play with Megan!