This Is The Best Dairy-Free Milk To Use For The Creamiest Ice Cream

Some people have a love-hate relationship with ice cream ... as in, they love the taste of the rich, frozen treat, but not the fact that it's made with dairy. Of course, it's easy to make ice cream at home, even without a machine – or any animal milk at all. For pointers on how to achieve the silkiest dairy-free scoops, Chowhound reached out to vegan culinary TV personality, chef, and cookbook author Priyanka Naik. When asked about her favorite preferred substitute for making plant-based ice cream, she responded, "I love using full-fat coconut milk or full-fat cashew milk, sometimes combined with coconut cream to achieve a creamy, sweet, and thick product."

Naik makes a point of specifying full-fat non-dairy milks, since fat helps give the dessert its signature creaminess. In fact, a review by the Journal of Dairy Science found that removing the fat content from ice cream made it brittler rather than velvety. (If it's too chunky, a splash of vodka can make your dessert smooth again.) Especially when using plant-based substitutes, maintaining textural integrity is the key to great dairy-free ice cream.

Using coconut and cashew milk for ice cream makes a lot of sense. Coconut has long held a place in tropical cuisines as a flavoring for curry, rice, and puddings. Cashew milk will be slightly nuttier, with a mild, buttery taste. Each of these kinds of milk has around 5 to 10 grams of fat per cup, which is close to whole milk's average of 8 grams per cup, which is why they can achieve the same creamy consistency. Coconut and cashew milk are a great base for several ice cream flavors, too — especially peanut butter, chocolate, coconut, and caramel.

Ice cream's strength and appeal lies in its versatility, and makers of the frozen dessert have certainly gotten quite creative, even inventing a spicy ghost pepper ice cream you have to sign a waiver to eat. Dairy-free ice cream is no exception, as demonstrated by Priyanka Naik. Another substitute she often reaches for is vegan condensed milk, which can be made from any plant-based milk (like coconut or cashew). She uses this product in creamy and delicious vegan desserts, such as her two-ingredient mango ice cream, which she garnishes with ground cardamom and dried rose petals for a pop of color and floral spice.