This fun peanut butter and jelly ice cream is the perfect summer ice cream flavor that's sure to bring back memories of the childhood classic. This take on the classic sandwich is made with simple, clean ingredients and is naturally sweetened. This recipe is: vegan, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and gluten-free!

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

scoops oof peanut butter and jelly ice cream in cones with the jar of peanut butter on the side

I am so excited to share this Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Recipe with you guys! This creamy peanut butter ice cream mixed with homemade tangy strawberry jelly creates the ultimate fun summer ice cream flavor!

Best Peanut Butter For This Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream:

This is the Best Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream, because it uses the best tasting peanut butter. If you’re a fellow nut butter lover like myself, allow me to introduce you to Georgia Grinders. Georgia Grinders creates high quality nut butters made with simple, clean ingredients.

I used their Creamy Peanut Butter for this ice cream. I am obsessed with this peanut butter, because it is slow roasted, made with just peanuts and sea salt, and has the perfect texture. My biggest issue with most natural nut butters is the texture. It’s either way too runny, or takes 15 minutes to churn.

This creamy peanut butter is the perfect texture right when you open it. No churning required! The natural creaminess of this peanut butter is what takes this ice cream to the next level.

If you use a low quality nut butter for this ice cream you will run into a list of problems. The ice cream may become too solid, or have trouble solidifying at all. The flavor will also be effected, since most store bought peanut butters are made with low quality peanuts, and are not slow roasted.

the peanut butter and jelly ice cream scoops in a bowl with scooper

Ingredients For This Peanut Butter And Jelly:

Georgia Grinders Creamy Peanut Butter – You can also use their crunchy peanut butter for an added crunch!
Raw Cashews – Make sure you use raw, unsalted cashews. Roasted cashews contain added oils and have a much different flavor. If you use them you will end up with a grainy ice cream.
Medjool Dates – You can use any date variety, but medjool dates are always my go-to. They are ultra sweet and have a slight caramel taste that compliments every dessert!
Vanilla Extract – Any vanilla extract will, but I personally love using Mexican Vanilla. The flavor is incredible. It’s buttery and creamy – perfect for this Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream!
Full Coconut Milk – If you want to make this recipe low fat, you can use lite coconut milk. However, it can become slightly icy. I would recommend making the recipe as is unless you strictly follow a low-fat diet.
Fresh Strawberries – You can use frozen strawberries as well, because they’ll be cooked. However using fresh strawberries for the homemade jelly is much easier, and tastes better.
Lemon Juice – Helps to add a tartness and enhance the flavor of the strawberries.
Ground Chia Seeds – This is what helps bind the strawberries together to make the jelly. You can use whole chia seeds if you don’t mind the texture. I like to blend mine up for a smoother jelly consistency.
Ice Cream Cones – These are completely optional, but I find that cones replace the bread flavor in a classic PB&J!

the pb&J ice cream in ice cream cones laying flat with the jar of peanut butter next to it

How To Make This Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream:

If you’ve never made homemade ice cream before, you are missing out! It’s easy, fun, and so much healthier! This PB&J Ice Cream is the perfect healthy dessert recipe to make at home.

To make this vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream, begin by combining the medjool dates and cashews together in a medium bowl. Add the water and place in the fridge to soak for at least 2 hours. I like to prepare mine the night before so I don’t have to think about it!

You can also prepare the homemade strawberry jelly ahead of time. To make the jelly, dice the strawberries up and add to a small pan with the lemon juice, date, and ground chia seeds. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the strawberries have broken down. Set in the fridge and allow to cool.

Once the cashews and dates are soft, strain the water out. I like to save this water, because it’s super sweet from the dates, and makes a wonderful healthy sweetener for smoothies and oatmeal. Add the cashews to a blender along with the coconut milk, vanilla extract, and Georgia Grinders Creamy Peanut Butter. Blend on high for at least a full minute. I let mine blend for about two minutes just to be safe.

Once the ice cream base is silky smooth, pour into your ice cream machine and let churn for 40 minutes. Once the ice cream is spreadable, scoop into container of choice. You can use a bread pan, brownie pan, ice cream container, etc.

Spread a layer of the ice cream on the bottom and smooth out. Add dollops of the strawberry jelly, followed by the Georgia Grinders Peanut Butter. Use a knife, or chopstick (my method of choice) to create beautiful swirls. Repeat this step once more.

You can either enjoy the ice cream as a soft serve, or cover and freeze for about 3 hours and scoop and serve!

the peanut butter and jelly ice cream in an ice cream cup with the Georgia grinders peanut butter being poured on top

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can I Make This Peanut Butter And Jelly Ice Cream Without An Ice Cream Maker(No-Churn)?

If you don’t own an ice cream maker, but want to make homemade ice cream, there are a couple tricks you can do. The first is to make this recipe as you would until you get to the point of pouring in the mixture into the ice cream machine. Instead of freezing with the machine, you can pour the mixture into ice molds and freeze.

Once frozen, allow to defrost slightly (about 5 minutes) and add to a blender. Blend until smooth. If you use this method you will achieve more of a soft serve ice cream. Instead of freezing with the peanut butter and jam, simply top the ice cream with them.

If you want the ice cream scoop-able without an ice cream maker, you can use a metal bowl and an electric mixer. Make sure to freeze the metal bowl overnight. Then follow the previous steps, and pour the mixture into the bowl. Mix it for about 15 minutes, then pour into a container and freeze. This will not be as light and fluffy as the ice cream machine, but it will help to keep it from freezing into a solid block.

the healthy vegan date sweetened dessert with nut butter on the side

How Do You Make Vegan Ice Cream Creamy?

The quality of vegan ice cream can be all over the place. It’s ether icy, rock solid, or doesn’t freeze like ice cream at all. Luckily, I’ve been making vegan ice cream recipes for years, so I have mastered the art. What do you need to do to make it smooth and creamy?

First, it’s important to use a quality blender, and an ice cream machine. You can make this recipe without these, but I highly recommend investing in them. The blender helps to make the mix super creamy, and the ice cream maker makes the ice cream fluffy, and prevents it from hardening into a solid block.

Second, don’t skip the fats! If you make vegan ice cream using whole foods plant based ingredients, you don’t need to fear the fats, because they’re healthy fats. Fat is what gives ice cream the signature creaminess we all know and love. This Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream uses raw cashews, natural peanut butter, and coconut milk to create the perfect creamy vegan ice cream.

Is Store Bought Jelly Healthy?

If you’re looking for ways to speed this recipe up, using pre-made jelly is the best way. However most pre-made jellies are packed full of refined sugars, preservatives, high fructose syrup and more. If you look hard you may be able to find one with clean ingredients, but I personally prefer to make my own homemade jelly.

It’s simple, free of artificial ingredients, and is delicious! Making homemade jelly is also great, because you can completely customize the flavor! For example: if you wanted to make this Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream using raspberry jelly and strawberry jelly you totally could! All you would need to do is add raspberries to the strawberry jelly mixture and you’re all set for a tangy homemade jelly.

Can I Make This Ice Cream With Different Jelly Flavors?

I’ve always been a firm believe that peanut butter and jelly is made from peanut butter and grape jelly. However after surveying you guys on my Instagram, and apparently grape jelly is not the fan favorite. The good news is that you can make this Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream using any fruit jelly.

If you’re making the jelly homemade, you can keep the measurements the same and sub out the fruit. You can use grapes, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, the list goes on.

the peanut butter and jelly ice cream piled high in a glass cup with the peanut butter jar on the side

What Makes This Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Healthy?

My favorite thing about this Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream recipe (aside from the flavor) is how healthy it is. This recipe is not only made with simple, unprocessed ingredients, but it also contains health promoting ingredients!

What diets/allergies is this recipe good for?

Vegan – Since this recipe is coconut milk and cashew based, it is completely dairy-free!
Oil-free -The whole cashews and canned coconut milk work as the creamy base of this PB&J, allowing it to be oil-free and creamy. By using the unprocessed ingredients, you retain the fiber. Fiber works to make this recipe healthy and filling!!
Refined Sugar-Free – Medjool dates are my go-to natural sweetener, because they are super sweet in their whole foods form. They’re also incredibly easy to add to liquids, because they get super soft after soaking. All you have to do is blend them and they work just like sugar!
Gluten-Free – If you’re following a gluten-free diet, make sure to use gluten-free ice cream cones for this recipe!
Whole Foods Plant Based (WFPB) – This ingredient doesn’t use anything artificial, just simple plant based ingredients!

Related Recipes: