Vegan ice cream: how to keep it creamy without dairy

Dairy does a lot of quiet work in ice cream. Cream brings fat, milk brings proteins and milk solids, and together they hold water, air and fat in a smooth structure. A vegan base has to cover each of those jobs with plants.

What does dairy do?

• Fat makes ice cream feel creamy and rich.
• Milk proteins bind water and help keep air bubbles and fat droplets in place.
• Milk solids add body and take the place of water that would otherwise freeze.

Why do plant drinks freeze icier?

Plant drinks are mostly water. Most of them have less fat than cream and less protein than milk. Swap them in one for one and you get more free water, more ice and a thinner texture. Oat drinks bring some starch and body, soy drinks bring protein, and almond drinks are usually very light. Sugars still do the same job as in any ice cream: they keep the base soft enough to scoop.

Which fats give structure?

Fats that are solid when cold, like coconut oil or cocoa butter, give vegan ice cream structure and a creamy bite. Coconut cream brings that fat too, with its own flavor. Refined coconut oil adds the body without much coconut flavor. Nut butters bring fat, protein and solids together, along with their own flavor. Liquid oils add creaminess but less structure.

Why do stabilizers matter more?

Without milk proteins, stabilizers such as locust bean gum, guar or tara gum do more of the work of binding water and slowing ice crystal growth. They're used in very small amounts, because too much makes the texture gummy.

What about sorbets?

Fruit sorbets rely on sugars and fruit solids instead of dairy. If you need a strictly vegan recipe, check every label, because some sorbets and toppings contain milk, egg white or honey.

How gellatti helps

In gellatti you pick a flavor, your machine and how much to make, and gellatti's engine works out a balanced recipe to the gram, with ingredients you can buy locally. Recipe cards show the photo, the story and the first six ingredient names before you sign in. Exact grams come with the HOME or PRO plan.