This Vegan Carrot Cake Ice Cream is the ultimate Spring dessert. This ice cream recipe is easy to make and uses as simple and clean ingredients. If you're looking for the perfect Easter dessert that isn't cake, this is the recipe for you!
Carrot Cake is the flavor of the season. However, if you're not a fan of cake, or are looking for a delicious dairy-free dessert to make this Easter, this ice cream is for you!
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Jump to:
- Ingredients For Carrot Cake Ice Cream:
- How To Make This Carrot Cake Ice Cream:
- Substitutions
- Carrot Cake Ice Cream Variations:
- What You Need To Make Homemade Carrot Cake Ice Cream:
- How To Store This Vegan Carrot Cake Ice Cream:
- Top Tip
- Frequently Asked Questions:
- Related Vegan Ice Cream Recipes:
- Vegan Carrot Cake Ice Cream
- Food Safety:
- More Vegan Desserts For Spring:
Ingredients For Carrot Cake Ice Cream:
For The Carrot Cake Ice Cream:
This creamy homemade Carrot Cake Ice Cream is a great homemade ice cream to make because it only requires a few simple steps, and tastes incredible.
- Raw Cashews - The base of this dairy-free ice cream is raw cashews and coconut milk. Make sure that you are using raw and unroasted cashews for this recipe. If you like this whole foods plant-based ice cream base make sure to try my Vegan Hot Chocolate Ice Cream or my Vegan Vanilla Rose Ice Cream that uses the same base!
- Medjool Dates - I love to naturally sweeten my vegan ice cream recipes with Medjool dates. They're super soft and creamy, and they'll blend well, and leave you with the perfect smooth and creamy ice cream.
- Raisins - I also like to use raisins to sweeten this carrot cake ice cream in particular. If you're not. a fan of chunks of raisins (like me), this is the perfect way to incorporate this essential ingredient.
- Full Fat Coconut Milk - Since this recipe is dairy-free and vegan, there needs to be something to replace the heavy cream that is typically found in ice cream. I recommend using coconut milk that contains guar gum because this will help to make the ice cream smooth and prevent it from becoming icy.
- Vanilla Extract - Using some type of extract is essential when making a homemade ice cream recipe like this carrot cake. This is due to the alcohol content in the extract. This will prevent the ice cream from freezing into a solid block.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice - Any spice blend such as pumpkin pie spice, or a mix of ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground allspice will work perfectly!
- Tapioca Syrup (optional) - This ingredient is completely optional. The ice cream will turn out perfectly creamy and delicious without it. However, I like to add it because it prevents the ice cream from freezing completely in the freezer. Dairy-free ice creams tend to freeze harder than milk-based ice creams. Therefore I like to add a little bit of tapioca syrup to achieve that perfect creamy texture.
- Sea Salt - A tiny pinch of sea salt helps to bring all the flavors together.
- Carrots - Of course, a carrot ice cream has to feature carrots. I like to make my own shredded carrots rather than using store-bought shredded carrots because you can get a much softer and finer shred by doing it yourself.
- Raw Walnuts - Walnuts added the perfect crunch to cake and ice cream!
For The Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Of Choice - Any brand of vegan cream cheese will work for this recipe. I always use the Kite Hill brand, because I think it has the most authentic flavor, and it's not coconut oil-based like most other vegan cream cheeses (it's completely oil-free!). If you prefer using homemade, you can make this Best Vegan Cream Cheese recipe for a clean ingredient recipe!
- Maple Syrup - I like to use maple syrup to sweeten the cream cheese because it doesn't affect the creamy texture, and it adds a delicious flavor.
- Tapioca Syrup (optional) - Again, the tapioca syrup is not necessary, I just find that it helps the texture to be more like traditional ice cream.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How To Make This Carrot Cake Ice Cream:
This carrot cake ice cream is the perfect homemade ice cream recipe for all! It only requires a few simple ingredients and hardly any hands-on work.
Begin by combining the raw cashews, Medjool dates, and raisins together in a large bowl. Cover with water and place in the fridge to soak for 4+ hours (overnight is best).
Once the cashews are soft and the dried fruit has softened, Strain the mixture (you can save this water for adding to smoothies, oatmeal, or coffee as a low-calorie sweetener), and add to a blender with coconut milk, vanilla extract, spices, and tapioca syrup. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes, or until the perfect smooth and creamy texture has been achieved.
Pour the ice cream base mixture into your ice cream machine and set it to churn ice cream for about 25 minutes. After 5-10 minutes the ice cream should start to look like ice cream, and you can add the shredded carrots and crushed walnuts.
Make the cream cheese frosting by combining all frosting ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. You can use a hand mixer, or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment to whip up the frosting (this can also be done by hand). Add the frosting to a piping bag and cut a hole about the size of a pencil eraser at the point.
Once the ice cream is thick and creamy, scoop it into an airtight container, loaf pan, or ice cream pints. Start by adding an even layer of ice cream to the container and smoothing it out with the back of a spoon, then piping the cream cheese frosting on top. Use a chopstick or knife to make swirls. Repeat this process until you have run out of ice cream and frosting.
You can either enjoy it immediately as a soft serve ice cream or freeze it for 3-4 hours and scoop the ice cream later. Enjoy!
Hint: When you are blending the ice cream base, it is super important that you blend it until it is silky smooth. Make sure there are no bumps of cashews in the mixture. This may take a while to achieve, but it's worth it!
Substitutions
This vegan ice cream recipe is great for all diets because it's very allergen-friendly, and there are plenty of easy substitutions that can be made.
- Sweetener - If you prefer not to use dates or maple syrup, there are plenty of other sweeteners you can use. Brown sugar, cane sugar, and coconut sugar are all great replacements and will give this recipe the perfect flavor. You can also replace the raisins with golden raisins for a slightly sweeter mix.
- Vanilla - You can replace the vanilla extract with vanilla bean paste if needed. It may freeze slightly harder, but it will have a stronger vanilla flavor.
- Coconut Milk - Replacing coconut milk is a great way to lower the calories of this carrot cake ice cream recipe. I'd recommend using lite coconut milk, or oat milk.
- Tapioca Syrup - It can be hard to find tapioca syrup in stores (I always order it online), so some substitutions will work. Tapioca syrup has a similar consistency to high fructose corn syrup (it is much healthier!!), so any syrup with that consistency will work. Sunflower lecithin also works great!
Carrot Cake Ice Cream Variations:
This carrot cake Ice cream recipe is great because there are plenty of simple and fun variations that can be made to mix it up.
- Ice Cream Cake - Use this ice cream as the filling alongside your favorite carrot cake recipe to make the most delicious carrot cake ice cream cake. Simply add the ice cream between the cake layers and place it in the freezer for about 2 hours.
- Chocolate - Add a handful of plant-based chocolate chips to the ice cream base for a fun chocolate blend. You can also add 1 tablespoon of cocoa butter to the blender mixture for a stronger natural flavor.
- Caramel- Add swirls of my 2 ingredient vegan caramel for a caramel carrot cake ice cream variation!
What You Need To Make Homemade Carrot Cake Ice Cream:
Equipment can always have an impact on how a recipe turns out. Here's the equipment I recommend using:
- High-Speed Blender - Any blender will work for this recipe. However, I strongly recommend using a high-speed blender such as a Vitamix. They are pricy, but in my opinion, they are worth investing in.
- Ice Cream Maker - I recently upgraded my ice cream maker, and I couldn't recommend it enough. It makes ice cream in 25 minutes (compared to my previous one which would take 40+ minutes). The ice cream comes out smooth and creamy, and it looks much prettier.
- Ice Cream Containers - Any airtight container will work. If you make homemade vegan ice cream often, I recommend purchasing ice cream pints.
As always you can find all my go-to equipment on my Amazon storefront or my affiliate page.
How To Store This Vegan Carrot Cake Ice Cream:
This vegan Ice cream recipe is super easy to store. You can either store it in ice cream pints or an airtight container.
If stored properly, this ice cream can be kept fresh for up to 3 months.
Top Tip
If you are making this ice cream in the summer, I recommend churning it for 10 minutes longer. The ice cream bowl will defrost quicker due to the hotter temperatures, and it may not freeze as quickly. I'd also recommend freezing it before serving because it will melt much quicker when it's fresh out of the machine.
Frequently Asked Questions:
People often assume that carrot cake is healthier than other cake flavors because it contains carrots. While it is true that carrot cake is slightly healthier, because it contains carrots and spices, it is not significant enough to justify it.
However, this carrot cake ice cream is very healthy. This recipe does not contain any unhealthy ingredients and is packed full of nutrient-dense ingredients. It's the ultimate guilt-free treat!
This carrot cake ice cream recipe is perfect for all! Although I strongly recommend making this recipe with an ice cream machine, it can be made no-churn if needed. It won't be quite as fluffy and creamy, but it will still be delicious!
To make this vegan ice cream recipe no-churn, you will need ice cube trays and a blender. Follow the steps through blending the base. Pour the mixture into the cubes and freeze overnight. The next day add back into the blender and blend until creamy. Stir in the carrots and walnuts, and enjoy!
Related Vegan Ice Cream Recipes:
Looking for other vegan ice cream recipes like this? Try these:
If you try this Vegan Carrot Cake Ice Cream recipe, I’d really love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. I’d also really appreciate a recipe card rating! Thank you for supporting The All Natural Vegan!
Vegan Carrot Cake Ice Cream
Equipment
- 1 ice cream container
Ingredients
For The Carrot Cake Ice Cream:
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup medjool dates
- ⅓ cup raisins
- 1 13.5oz can full fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tablespoon tapioca syrup optional
- ⅓ cup crushed walnuts
- ⅓ cup shredded carrots
For The Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 8oz vegan cream cheese
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ tablespoon tapioca syrup optional
Instructions
- Begin by combining the raw cashews, Medjool dates, and raisins together in a large bowl. Cover with water and place in the fridge to soak for 4+ hours (overnight is best).
- Once the cashews are soft and the dried fruit has softened, Strain the mixture (you can save this water for adding to smoothies, oatmeal, or coffee as a low-calorie sweetener), and add to a blender with coconut milk, vanilla extract, spices, and tapioca syrup. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes, or until the perfect smooth and creamy texture has been achieved.
- Pour the ice cream base mixture into your ice cream machine and set it to churn ice cream for about 25 minutes. After 5-10 minutes the ice cream should start to look like ice cream, and you can add the shredded carrots and crushed walnuts.
- Make the cream cheese frosting by combining all frosting ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. You can use a hand mixer, or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment to whip up the frosting (this can also be done by hand). Add the frosting to a piping bag and cut a hole about the size of a pencil eraser at the point.
- Once the ice cream is thick and creamy, scoop it into an airtight container, loaf pan, or ice cream pints. Start by adding an even layer of ice cream to the container and smoothing it out with the back of a spoon, then piping the cream cheese frosting on top. Use a chopstick or knife to make swirls. Repeat this process until you have run out of ice cream and frosting.
Food Safety:
It's important to always practice good food safety habits whenever you are in the kitchen.
- Wash hands before handling food
- Do not stick foreign objects into an ice cream machine connected to power
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
More Vegan Desserts For Spring:
Looking for more Spring inspired vegan desserts like this Carrot Cake Ice Cream? Try some of my other delicious recipes!
Nancy
Just hearing Vegan Carrot Cake Ice Cream makes my heart skip a beat. Making this on the weekend
Jess
So delicious and perfect for spring!
Sage Scott
This sounds so yummy! My daughter and I typically make a different homemade ice cream each week when the weather is warm. I can't wait to add this one to our list!
nancy
wow this recipe is like everything i love all in one. what a fabulous carrot cake ice cream recipe
nancy
I love this vegan carrot cake ice cream so much. My kid keeps asking me to make more.