This Ninja CREAMi vegan ice cream may become your new favorite “nice cream”!
Made with a few key (even secret!) ingredients, this vegan ice cream recipe is not just delicious – but quite simple to prepare.
Even better, this ice cream doesn’t have even one slice of banana… and not a drop of coconut milk or other coconut products. (No hate on bananas, it’s just they make all nice creams taste the same. No hate on coconut either, but people hate on my recipes when they include coconut! So, I take a breather from coconut comments and reviews.)
And, as much as I love chocolate… I don’t always want chocolate ice cream. In fact, vanilla ice creams are my favorite (unless the ice cream has some chunky bits of cookie or caramel swirl goodness in it – chocolate or vanilla that’s a bonus). I regularly have Nora’s ice cream in my freezer, and when I can get in a US grocery shop… Wicked vanilla.
Actually, I have more than a *little* selection of vegan Ice creams in my freezer. I love trying new vegan ice cream brands that make their way to stores – and consider it my duty as a vegan foodie to know all the flavors. 🤩
Trouble is, for me anyhow, a great many popular vegan ice cream brands include pea protein as an ingredient. I’m not sure why, maybe as a filler or to make the ice cream look more nutritious. (I mean, it’s ice cream, I don’t think we need to look at protein count). 🤷🏻♀️
So, I scour ingredient labels to buy varieties that don’t have pea protein – and there are only a few! Which is why making ice cream at home is so brilliant. Not only can you avoid those sneaky troublesome ingredients, you can also tweak the amount of sweetener, or add other flavors and add-ins as you like.
Up until this Ninja CREAMi machine hit the market, making vegan ice cream was possible, but not simplified. Since many vegan ice creams use bananas or other whole foods ingredients, when they are frozen after churning, they turn rock-hard!
Enter the Ninja CREAMi, which takes that rock-hard vessel and turns it into luscious and unbelievably dreamy ice cream.
When I got this machine, I knew the first vegan ice cream recipe I wanted to make with it would be vanilla. I think vanilla is often overstepped to create a chocolate or nutty version of vegan nice cream. Probably because bananas are usually in the base and so chocolate and nuts help to balance the flavor (and mask the color when bananas oxidize).
When I finished this recipe, our youngest daughter, Hope, said “Mom, I think this is the best ice cream you’ve made“. 💚
I won’t disagree! It’s delicious and really simple to prepare the blend.
The secret ingredient? Come on, guys… you know me…
Yep. Sweet Potatoes.
Not orange sweet spuds, but yellow. Preferable Hannah sweet potatoes, but Murasaki can also be used. I explain more in my video (and also show how to use the Ninja CREAMi):
In addition to the yellow sweet potato, that small amount of oat flour is a must. It brings a thick, creamy texture that only oat flour can offer. And, using flour instead of oats allows for a smoother texture if you don’t have a high-powered blender.
But, if you are shopping for a high-powered blender, I highly recommend a . Pro tip: Shop . These units are brand new housing with a reconditioned motor – basically brand new for a sweet deal.
Now it’s time to get to this ice cream… before it melts!
Yep, catch THAT drip! 😍 x Dreena
NOW try this ice cream with my dreamy vegan fudge sauce!
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked yellow sweet potato flesh not orange
- 1 1/4 cups plain or vanilla non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup soaked cashew pieces
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup light unrefined sugar see note
- 2 tbsp oat flour
- 1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- In a blender, add all ingredient and puree until very smooth, stopping to scrape down blender bowl once or twice as needed.
- Transfer mixture to a CREAMi container and freeze (see note).
- Once fully frozen, place in CREAMi machine and set to ice cream function, running through that cycle twice.
- Serve! Once at an easily scoopable, smooth texture, serve!
Brenna says
I’m coming back to comment again just because I want to add that if you can get Hawaiian sweet potatoes (whitish on the outside, deep purple on the inside — check your Asian market), they make this ice cream a beautiful lavender color, and I think the taste is just as good or maybe even better! I grab the Hawaiian sweet potatoes when I can, bake them, freeze them in 1-cup portions, and then keep them on hand to make this ice cream any time.
Jan Herrbach says
Deena, I want to try this recipe, but, who sells plant-based waffle cones, or is it easy to make them?
Dreena Burton says
Hi Jan, you can find sugar cones very easily vegan, and there are some waffle cones and bowl products that are vegan (we have a local brand that is). You’ll have to check the ingredients on the label. There are also some vegan recipes online. Of course, you can make the ice cream and just enjoy without the cones as well. Hope that helps!
Eileen says
This was the first ice cream I made in my Ninja Creami and it’s the best! I made my first one with orange sweet potatoes (I know) and with the coconut sugar, it looked and tasted like butterscotch or the butter rum flavor of Life Savers. It was fine but not what I hoped for and not what you intended. I got myself some white flesh sweet potatoes (Japanese?) and it was much better. I also tried half sweet potato and half banana, which came out pretty good, as my husband didn’t like the idea of sweet potatoes in his ice cream. Next time I used 5 Medjool dates in place of the coconut sugar along with the correct sweet potato and I am so-o-o-o-o satisfied. This will be my go-to recipe from now on. Also, I have “fixed” the taste of some too chocolaty slightly off tasting ice cream that I tried, not your recipe, with your “secret ingredient” 2 tablespoons of oat flour. That and the cashews I believe help to make this so very creamy and luscious. Thank you very much for this recipe.
Dreena Burton says
Thank you Eileen for this wonderful feedback. I’m so happy you are loving the recipe!
Dominique Vaillancourt says
Holy moly this ice cream is luscious ! Where I live, Japanese sweet potatoes are hard to come by so when I got my hands on some, I immediately tried the recipe. I have had my Creami for close to a year now and I do not like coconut milk. I follow chef AJ’s way of eating. So I was so happy about the result. Thanks Dreena ! I ate it with some nectarine crisp ! Unbelievable !
Dreena Burton says
Thanks Dominique, I’m planning a few more similar recipes, stay tuned!
Anne says
This recipe is spectacular! It comes out creamier and richer than the standard vanilla recipe from the ninja Creami recipe booklet using real dairy. Just made it for my husband who is very picky and he loved it, thought it tasted very close to regular vanilla ice cream. I used regular granulated sugar in this recipe and regular vanilla extract, the powder is on order. The rest of the recipe I followed exactly.
Dreena Burton says
Thanks Anne for the glowing review! That’s so cool that you also tried the recipe from the booklet and found this one so rich and creamy. Love that! Thank you