I am so excited to share today's Sweet Potato Ice Cream with you guys! This fall ice cream flavor is the perfect healthy treat. Not only is it made with whole foods plant based ingredients, but it also has hidden veggies thanks to the sweet potatoes!
What Is Sweet Potato Ice Cream:
Sweet Potato Ice Cream might sound a bit odd when you first hear it, however I can assure you that this homemade vegan ice cream is bound to be a favorite! It's thick and creamy, and has the perfect amount of natural sweetness.
Sweet potato ice cream is not a savory, and does not taste like you're eating a vegetable. It resembles your favorite sugary sweet potato casserole, or a classic sweet potato pie. Not only is it delicious, but it's super healthy! It's full of fiber, healthy fats, and contains important vitamins and minerals.
I may be a bit biased since sweet potatoes are one of my favorite foods ever, but this ice cream recipe is definitely a new favorite fall dessert of mine.
Ingredients For Sweet Potato Ice Cream:
- Sweet Potato Puree - This Sweet Potato Ice Cream recipe uses an entire can of sweet potato puree (make sure to use puree and not pie filling). This lowers the overall calories of the recipe, and adds vitamins and minerals.
- Raw Cashews - I love using raw cashews in my ice cream recipes. They add the perfect amount of thickness and creaminess to vegan ice cream recipes. It's super important that you use raw cashews and not roasted. Roasted cashews will not achieve the same creamy texture, and they're full of unhealthy highly processed oils.
- Coconut Milk - Another favorite ingredient of mine when making vegan ice creams. Coconut milk is rich and creamy, and works well with many different flavors. If you dislike the taste of coconut, don't worry, if you use the right ingredients, it's very easy to hide the flavor of the coconut!
- Medjool Dates - I love using medjool dates in my homemade vegan ice cream recipes. They're rich, sweet, and add the perfect vanilla caramel flavor to my recipes. They're packed full of fiber as well as health promoting vitamins and minerals.
- Maple Syrup - Another one of my favorite natural sweeteners is maple syrup. Although maple syrup does not contain any fiber, and therefore does have a bigger impact on blood sugar levels, it is still loaded with vitamins and minerals. If you're keeping an eye on your blood sugar, and don't want the spike, or you're trying to reduce your sugar intake, you can leave the maple syrup out of this sweet potato ice cream recipe.
- Vanilla Extract - I always recommend using Mexican Vanilla. It has a much deeper flavor, and instantly elevates any dish. It is slightly pricier, but a little goes a long way, so ultimately I think it is totally worth it.
- Cinnamon - Of course I had to add a touch of spice to this recipe! Cinnamon is the perfect addition to this Sweet Potato Ice Cream.
- Raw Pecans - I personally love a bit of crunch in my ice cream. You can either leave the pecans out, or add to taste!
- Vegan Marshmallows (optional) - Vegan marshmallows are an absolute wonder! They taste exactly like regular marshmallows. This is the best tasting brand, and this is the healthiest brand.
How To Make Sweet Potato Ice Cream:
Making Sweet Potato Ice Cream isn't much different than making other vegan ice cream recipes. This recipe uses the same ice cream base used in almost all my ice cream recipes, except with a couple healthy additions. All you will need to make this recipe is: a large bowl, a high speed blender, and an ice cream maker.
To make this ice cream recipe, ensure that your ice cream machine bowl has been in the freezer overnight ( I always keep mine in the freezer, because I will forget this step if I didn't). Then combine your pitted dates and cashews to a bowl. Fill with water and place to soak in the fridge for at least 4 hours. I like to just let mine soak overnight so I don't have to think about it.
Once the dates and cashews are soft, strain them and add to a blender along with the sweet potato puree, coconut milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Blend until silky smooth (I blend mine on high for 1 full minute).
Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn for 40-45 minutes, or until it sticks to the paddle. Add the marshmallows and pecans and mix until combined. The ice cream can either be served immediately as a soft serve, or it can be covered and placed in the freezer to become scoop-able. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I Use Fresh Sweet Potatoes In This Recipe?
I typically like to stay away from canned goods and opt for the fresh ingredient. Canned goods can contain BPA's, and the food loses a lot of the healthy bacteria during the canning process. However canned goods can be a life saver, and they are ultimately still healthy. I always recommend looking for BPA-free canned goods.
If you really want to avoid canned goods, you can use fresh sweet potato. however it will take much longer to use. What you'll need to do is bake a sweet potato (or two, depending on size), then scoop out the insides and add to a blender. Blend until silky smooth and place in the fridge to chill completely before adding to the ice cream mix.
Can I Use Purple Sweet Potatoes Or Other Sweet Potato Varieties?
I absolutely love all sweet potato varieties. They're all unique in their own ways and contain different nutrients. One of the more popular sweet potato varieties is purple sweet potatoes. Purple sweet potatoes are full of antioxidants, and they're beautiful.
Any sweet potato variety can be used in this ice cream recipe. However traditional orange sweet potatoes are the only variety of sweet potatoes that can be found canned. Therefore if you want to make this recipe using any other variety, you will have to follow the steps above for using fresh sweet potatoes.
What Can I Use Instead Of Maple Syrup?
I love using maple syrup. It's sweet, has a unique flavor, and is full of vitamins and minerals. However maple syrup does not contain any fiber, and therefore does spike your blood sugar more than some other natural sweeteners. However it is still far better than cane sugar.
If you are watching your blood sugar, or just generally stay away from maple syrup, there are other options out there. My two favorite plant based sweeteners are date syrup, and yacon syrup. They're super sweet and they contain fiber (as well as vitamins and minerals). This means that there is less of a blood sugar spike when you eat them. They're a bit more expensive, but totally worth it!
Related Fall Vegan Recipes:
- Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies
- Sweet Potato Mac And Cheese
- Oatmeal Raisin Ice Cream
- Vegan Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Sweet Potato Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 can sweet potato puree
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup medjool dates pitted
- Ā¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Ā¼ cup pecans or to taste
- ā cup vegan marshmallows or to taste
Instructions
- To make this ice cream recipe, ensure that your ice cream machine bowl has been in the freezer overnight ( I always keep mine in the freezer, because I will forget this step if I didn't).
- Combine the pitted dates and cashews to a bowl. Fill with water and place to soak in the fridge for at least 4 hours. I like to just let mine soak overnight so I don't have to think about it.
- Once the dates and cashews are soft, strain them and add to a blender along with the sweet potato puree, coconut milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Blend until silky smooth (I blend mine on high for 1 full minute).
- Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn for 40-45 minutes, or until it sticks to the paddle. Add the marshmallows and pecans and mix until combined. The ice cream can either be served immediately as a soft serve, or it can be covered and placed in the freezer to become scoop-able. Enjoy!
Jess
I love sweet potato and this is delicious!
Tina
This is such a fun recipe! I would have never thought to make sweet potato ice cream. Love it for the holidays!!
Holly
Very good! I pureed a freshly cooked sweet potato because I always buy too many and had them on hand,
Cindy
I never thought of using sweet potatoes for ice cream. It's great!
nancy
wow this vegan sweet potato ice cream is so cozy and satisfying. the flavours are unreal I can't believe i can make this at home!
Erin
This sweet potato ice cream is rich, creamy and just the right amount of sweet!