This post may include affiliate links; see our disclosure policy.

This mint chocolate chip ice cream is lusciously creamy and refreshingly minty: and it’s vegan too! Here’s how to make delicious vegan ice cream at home.

Vegan ice cream

Looking for something to beat the heat? Here in Indiana, temperatures are soaring. We whipped up a bit of ice cream the other night and it hit the spot! Unlike a typical ice cream, this version is made with coconut milk. This means it’s vegan and it’s quick and easy to make since it doesn’t require heating a custard over the stove. It’s also naturally sweetened with some agave syrup (though adding chocolate does cancel out a bit of the natural sweetness!). Keep reading for our vegan ice cream recipe: mint chocolate chip flavored, which is my childhood favorite!

Why vegan ice cream?

Neither Alex nor I eat strictly vegan / plant-based. So you might be wondering, why vegan ice cream? But since there are so many traditional ice cream recipes out there, we enjoy the challenge of experimenting with creating delicious dairy free ice cream. Also, it tends to sit better with my stomach than the dairy version. And to us, vegan ice cream is just as good as the real thing! We’ve got a few other vegan ice cream flavors: Jamocha almond fudge, salted chocolate pistachio, and straight up dark chocolate, but we decided we needed another one. And this one’s my childhood favorite: mint chocolate chip! For years, this was the only flavor that I would order.

How to make vegan ice cream

The secret to this mint chip vegan ice cream is…full fat coconut milk! And in this case, the mint chocolate flavor covers it so it’s not too coconut-y, just rich and refreshing. Cornstarch also helps to give the vegan ice cream more of a body. And simmering the mixture until it is thick and using liquid sweetener like agave or maple syrup also helps for a creamy texture. And the flavor? As I noted, though it’s made of coconut, this version is not too coconut-y. The mint helps to balance it out. And you’re left with a really, really good mint chocolate chip vegan ice cream!

What’s the best ice cream maker?

What’s the best ice cream maker? Alex and I use this 2 quart ice cream maker and love it: it’s a great holiday or birthday present to ask for if you don’t want to splurge for it. Churning the ice cream takes about 15 minutes. After it’s done you can eat your ice cream right away for a soft serve texture. Or, follow the instructions in the recipe below to freeze it to a hard ice cream texture: it takes about 4 hours to freeze up!

Have you tried making ice cream at home? Let us know in the comments below!

Looking for more vegan desserts?

Outside of this mint chocolate chip vegan ice cream recipe, here are a few more of our favorites:

This vegan ice cream recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.

Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Print

Mint Chocolate Chip Vegan Ice Cream

Save Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

This mint chocolate chip ice cream is lusciously creamy and refreshingly minty: and it’s vegan too! Here’s how to make delicious vegan ice cream at home.

  • Author: a Couple Cooks
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 quart 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Frozen
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 15-ounce cans full-fat coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ½ cup agave syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • 2 ounces vegan dark chocolate

Instructions

  1. Freeze the ice cream maker base overnight.
  2. In a small bowl, mix ½ cup coconut milk with 2 tablespoons cornstarch and set aside.
  3. Add the remainder of the coconut milk to a medium pan. Warm the coconut milk over medium low heat for a minute or two, whisking to incorporate the solids. Then add the agave syrup. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Heat until it mixture is thickened, 6 to 8 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and peppermint extract.
  4. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-gallon Ziplock bag. If churning immediately, place the bag in an ice bath for 30 minutes until cool; if churning the next day, refrigerate 4 hours or overnight (either way, the mixture should be as cold as possible before churning).
  5. Churn the ice cream in the ice cream maker until it thickens to the consistency of soft serve. Meanwhile, chop the mint chocolate. Add to the ice cream maker in the last 2 minutes or so.
  6. Eat immediately for a soft serve consistency, or for a hard ice cream texture, freeze using the following instructions: press a piece of parchment or wax paper into a sealable container, then scrape the ice cream into the container using a spatula, making sure to scrape in the bits frozen to the edges of the ice cream maker base. Freeze for 4 hours for a hard ice cream texture.

Did you love this recipe?

Get our free newsletter with all of our best recipes!

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

Leave a Comment

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

17 Comments

  1. Heather says:

    Hello! Could I sub powdered Swerve for agave, and also a non starch for cornstarch? Thanks!

    1. Alex says:

      Hi! Sorry, we haven’t tried it with this subs so I’m not sure! Let us know if you try it.

  2. Chloe says:

    I have looked and looked and there isn’t a mint chocolate bar or chips or candy including Lindt brand that is dairy-free. They all have milk of some sort in them. Read the ingredients! You can’t say this is dairy-free.

    1. Alex says:

      Hi!

      You could definitely use regular chocolate since the ice cream is flavored. You could also purchase a vegan mint chocolate bar like this: https://amzn.to/2tMgcdg

      Hope that helps!

  3. Kim says:

    So excited to try this. What’s mint chocolate? Is there a brand of mint chocolate bar? Thanks.

    1. Alex says:

      You could use any chocolate — I think we used a Lindt mint chocolate bar. Hope you enjoy!

See More Comments