If you’ve been looking for a homemade oat milk ice cream recipe to help you beat the blistering heat, look no further. My Vegan Oat Milk Chocolate Ice Cream is just what the doctor ordered! Aside from bursting at the seams with chocolatey goodness, this no egg ice cream is a snap to make. In fact, it’ll be ready for churning in just 20 minutes or less!
This recipe is based on my vegan phish-food ice cream from my book, which is a coconut milk-based ice cream. Along with this and my chocolate soy-based ice cream, I wanted to create an oat milk alternative ice cream for those of you who are sensitive or allergic to soy or coconut, or simply prefer using oat products!
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📖 Recipe Overview
- Quick & Easy - All you need is about 20 minutes of active work to make a batch of the most decadent vegan chocolate oat cream recipe around!
- Rich & Creamy - Honestly, not even your omnivorous friends will be able to resist the allure of this frozen chocolate oat milk masterpiece.
- Made With Only 6 Ingredients - And all of them are easy to pronounce!
- Budget-Friendly - I’m not sure when it happened, but €3.50 for a SCOOP of ice cream is simply untenable! You can whip up a generous two pints of frosty goodness for what you’d pay for a double-scoop cone. I don’t know about you, but I like those maths. 😎
If you love chocolate ice cream as much as I do, one recipe is definitely not enough. You should check out my plant-based recipes for Vegan Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream, No-Churn Chocolate Ice Cream, Neapolitan Ice Cream, and Black Forest Ice Cream Cake next!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
As promised, you only need a handful of ingredients to make this dreamy vegan recipe for chocolate ice cream in an ice cream maker:
Ingredient Notes
- Vegan Dark Chocolate - Opt for a minimum 70% cocoa solids for the richest, dreamiest chocolate flavor. If you’re avoiding refined sugar, go for pure chocolate or sugar-free chocolate, and let the maple syrup do the rest of the work!
- Unsweetened Oat Milk - If possible, try and find a Barista-style brand. These blends have been specially formulated for frothing up into gorgeous lattes, which also gives them the perfect consistency for this chocolate oat ice cream.
- Oat Cream - I use Oatly single cream, but you can swap this for single soy cream or coconut cream instead.
- Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder - This cocoa has been alkalized, which results in a lighter color and smoother flavor. Feel free to swap in plain unsweetened cocoa powder or raw cacao powder for a slightly more bitter chocolate flavor.
- Pure Maple Syrup - To make this recipe completely refined sugar-free! In a pinch, you can swap in agave nectar, but I prefer the flavor of maple syrup here. Note that you should NOT try using a solid alternative like brown sugar, as you need the qualities of an invert sugar to prevent your homemade vegan ice cream from becoming unpleasantly icy in the freezer.
🥣 How To Make Oat Milk Ice Cream, Chocolate-Style
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
This is one of the easiest dairy-free ice cream recipes you can make. While no-churn chocolate ice cream is a quick and handy alternative if you don't have an ice cream machine, it does have a very rich and thick consistency. which, unlike this ice cream which is rich yet melty - super close to its dairy alternative. Here's how it's done:
Step 1: To a medium saucepan add the oat milk, oat cream, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Whisk well to remove any lumps and gently simmer over medium heat while stirring - do not allow it to boil.
Step 2: Pour the warmed chocolate oat milk mixture over finely chopped dark chocolate and allow it to sit uncovered for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Stir the mixture with a metal spoon until completely smooth, then whisk in the maple syrup and chill for 30 minutes until cool.
Step 4: Transfer it to the frozen bowl of your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Step 5: The ice cream is ready when it is super thick and sticks to the arm of the machine.
Step 6: Transfer it to a loaf pan or sealable container and smooth out the top of the ice cream. Freeze for 3-4 hours until solid or for soft serve consistency you can serve it straight from the machine.
🍫 Variations
If you want to put your own flair on this recipe there are so many ways to add exciting flavors and textures. Here are just a few:
- Milk Chocolate Ice Cream - Swap in dairy-free milk chocolate for a sweeter, lighter chocolate flavor.
- Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream - Add peppermint extract to the warmed oat milk mixture for a choc mint twist. Likewise, feel free to add a touch of orange extract if you're a chocolate orange fan.
- Mix-Ins - You can get really creative with adding your favorite mix-ins. Try Vegan Caramel Sauce (or Date Caramel to keep it refined sugar-free), Vegan Marshmallows, chocolate chips or chopped nuts.
📝 Recipe Tips
Be Prepared. Don’t forget to freeze your ice cream drum at least 12 hours (and preferably 24 hours) in advance! Unless of course, you’re using an old-school churning machine that requires ice and salt, in which case, make sure to layer the ice and salt (being quite generous with the salt) and keep adding both as needed during the churning process. Or, if you love making ice cream and don’t want to be patient, splurge on a compression model so you can churn up a batch whenever the mood strikes!
Don’t Rush Perfection. This goes for four of the steps: first, when you pour the hot oat chocolate milk over the chocolate pieces in a bowl — give them a minimum of 5 minutes to melt entirely, then whisk until completely smooth. Second, when you churn the ice cream — let the machine keep churning until it sounds like it’s beginning to strain a bit. Then, move quickly to pack it into your freezer-safe container and get it in the freezer!
Rest At Room Temp. When it comes to scooping, note that homemade ice cream has a tendency to freeze harder than store-bought. To combat this, give your ice cream container a cheeky 10 minute rest at room temp before scooping to make your life easier.
To store homemade vegan ice cream, make sure to press a piece of parchment or plastic down on top of the ice cream before covering it. This will help prevent ice crystals from forming! Also, make sure to invest in proper freezer-safe storage. Don’t try using your old plastic takeaway containers — they’ll become brittle from the cold and have a tendency to crack.
💬 FAQs
In terms of making this chocolate milk ice cream, quite a lot, actually. Generally speaking, oat milk is the perfect choice for making ice cream for a few reasons.
First, it's typically creamier than rice milk, creating a velvety smooth ice cream texture that makes every bite heavenly. Plus, oat milk has more fat than rice milk, which is definitely what we want here.
Plus, the natural sweetness of oat milk blends perfectly with the cocoa and chocolate, resulting in an extra sweet and delicious treat. Lastly, oat milk is more easily accessible than rice milk, so it seems like a win-win-win to me!
Absolutely! If you bought a carton specifically to make this ice cream and aren’t sure what else to do with it, you can freeze the remainder of your oat milk to extend its shelf life with no problems.
Or, you can churn it up into another batch of homemade ice cream and freeze that for the tastiest vegan ice cream around. OR, feel free to flavor it and freeze it into oat milk popsicles. Plus, if you use barista blend oat milk, it has quite a long refrigerated shelf life, so it can hang out in the fridge for upwards of a week. SO. MANY. OPTIONS!
Remember, this isn’t store-bought ice cream that’s stabilized with a bunch of weird emulsifiers and artificial preservatives. For the best flavor, eat it within 2 weeks of churning!
🍨 More Dairy-Free Ice Cream
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Oat Milk Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 g (7 oz) vegan dark chocolate minimum 70% cocoa solids
- 360 ml (1½ cups) unsweetened oat milk Barista-style if possible
- 400 ml (1⅔ cups) oat cream *see note 1
- 25 g (5 tbsp) Dutch-processed cocoa powder *see note 2
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 180 ml (¾ cup) pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Prepare: Freeze your ice cream maker bowl for at least 12 hours (ideally 24 hours) prior to making the recipe. Finely chop the chocolate using a serrated knife and place it in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Heat: Add the oat milk, oat cream, cocoa powder, and sea salt to a saucepan and whisk out any lumps. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer whilst stirring - do not allow it to boil.
- Flavor: Pour the heated oat milk mixture over the chopped chocolate and allow it to sit uncovered for 5 minutes.Stir the mixture with a metal spoon until completely smooth. Then whisk in the maple syrup. Set it aside to cool to room temperature then chill for 30 minutes.
- Churn: Transfer it to the frozen bowl of your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions (usually this can be 25-40 minutes). The ice cream is ready when it is super thick and sticks to the arm of the machine.
- Freeze: Transfer it to a loaf pan or sealable container and smooth out the top of the ice cream. Freeze for 3-4 hours until solid or for soft serve consistency you can serve it straight from the machine.
- Storage: Store it in an airtight container or loaf pan sealed with plastic wrap in the freezer. It is best served within 2-3 weeks. I also recommend taking it out of the freezer to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before diving in for the perfect scoops!
Notes
- Oat Cream: I use Oatly single cream, but you can swap this for single soy cream or coconut cream.
- Dutch-Processed Cocao: Swap for plain unsweetened cocoa powder or raw cacao powder for a slightly bitter flavor.
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