Vegan Key Lime Ice Cream – a refined sugar-free and paleo friendly key lime ice cream made with a secret ingredient…can you guess what it is??
Avocados!
Cue record scratch.
Do what?
For reals, avocados are the secret ingredient in this key lime ice cream.
As seen in guacamole.
As seen in all the dinner salads to make them more palatable.
As seen in many-a-vegan-and-or-paleo baked good for fat infusion and butter reduction.
I know, it’s a mind blow…but you guys, avocados make the creamiest, dreamiest, most scoopable vegan homemade ice cream that ever made your tongue’s acquaintance.
Because vegan (or paleo) ice creams need a little help in the texture department, I’m always on the prowl for secrets to make it soft that don’t (obvi) involve egg yolks or heavy cream. As it turns out, avocados get the job done in great form!
I promise, you can’t taste the avocado, on account of all the lime juice and pure maple syrup. It really just tastes like key lime coconut bliss.
And it’s about as addicting as a Netflix Original. Following this key lime adventure, I made a chocolate version (sans lime juice butofcourse, cause that’d just be weird), and it turned out marvelously as well. It almost comes out with a gelato-like consistency.
How to Make Vegan Key Lime Ice Cream:
We all know how much I love to use my blender for preparing sweet treats, and this recipe was no exception. All of the ingredients went into my Vitamix Blender, then straight into my ice cream maker. No heating necessary, no stirring or whisking…just the zippity do dah in the ol’ blender (or food processor if that’s your jam).
All things considered, this ice cream is:
- Paleo-friendly
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free
- Refined sugar-free
- Super fatty
- Fatty, fat, fat
- But the healthy kind though
- Worth the extra time at the gym
- Will give you wings
- Your one stop shop for tongue bud bliss
This ice cream was inspired by those No-Bake Vegan Key Lime Tarts I showed you a while back.
I ended up freezing a lot of them, and noticed upon consumption that the filling stayed soft and creamy, at which point it dawned on me, lose the silly crust, I just need the filling, and then it dawned on me some more that holy MACKEREL, I can just make ice cream out of the filling and so on and so forth.
So I basically took the exact recipe for the tart filling and turned it into ice cream.
Sweetener Options:
I like using pure maple syrup, but you can also use honey or coconut palm syrup. Make this recipe low-carb and keto by replacing the liquid sweetener with a powdered zero-sugar sweetener, such as Swerve, Stevia, or Monk Fruit Sweetener. If using a zero-sugar sweetener, start with 1/3 cup and increase up to 1/2 cup to your personal taste.
No regrets. Just tears of joy. My hips don’t lie. Roll with it.
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this Vegan Key Lime Ice Cream, please feel free to share a photo and tag me at @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
More Delicious Ice Cream Recipes:
- Keto Coffee Ice Cream
- Keto Vanilla Ice Cream
- Paleo Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
- Boozy Roasted Cherry Dark Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
- Green Tea Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Here’s that recipe I’ve been talking about:
Key Lime Avocado Vegan Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 large avocados peeled and pitted
- 3/4 cup key lime juice
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil melted and cooled
Instructions
- Start by placing the bowl of your ice cream maker in your freezer and freeze overnight.
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth.
- Transfer ice cream base to your ice cream maker and churn until thick and creamy.
- Serve immediately for soft serve consistency, or transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze until hardened, about 2 hours.
- When ready to serve, thaw ice cream 5 to 10 minutes before scooping.
I had the same problem with the coconut oil. The ice cream turned out gritty and lumpy. It looks like quite a few people have the same comment, but no one has responded with a solution.
Maybe omit the oil completely in turn for more coco milk…
Hi Emily,
I’ve tried the recipe with the coconut oil and without it and I personally prefer it with. That said, the amount of coconut oil I have used in the past probably isn’t necessary for the soft texture, so I reduced it in the recipe. This way, no graininess should be detected and the texture of the ice cream should still be nice and soft. Let me know if you give it another try with less coconut oil, otherwise, leaving it out entirely works too, it just won’t be as soft.
My husband and I don’t consume oils, what could I use as a substitute?
Hi Maria! You can replace the coconut oil with more full-fat canned coconut milk (or coconut cream). Hope you enjoy!
Avocados are in most of my homemade, Clean, nutrient dense Smoothies, so this will be a win-win since Key Lime is a hubby fav. I’m loving the total 3 Net Carbs, woohoo!!
So happy you enjoy the recipe, Joy! xoxo
This sounds scrumptious and I will be trying it this afternoon! One note, however; you know how good the vanilla and orange works in a creamcicle? Have 3ever tried the chocolate orange candy that usually comes out around the holidays? Chocolate and citrus is delectable together! Many years ago, when I worked in a chain that served ice cream and shakes I used to make a special using sherbet and chocolate syrup, almost any citrus flavor works. Folks went nuts for it! So don’t write off the chocolate and lime combo, it rocks!😉
Oh, YES! My brother and I are both obsessed with that chocolate orange candy! We used to always get it in our Christmas stockings 🙂 Love the idea of key lime and chocolate now that you’ve mentioned it! xoxo
@Julia,
I made this tonight and I have to say this taste amazing! Zero taste of avacado and it’s the ONLY way I have been able to keep an avacado down! I am sooo looking forward to the health benefits that comes from something so tasty yet so healthy!? Thank you for sharing this!
Xo
I’m so happy you enjoy it, Sarah!! I felt the same way when I first made it…kinda like I had struck gold, lol. Thanks so much for the sweet note! xoxo
@Julia, I finally got the time to make this, and yummy!!! I followed the recipe almost exactly – left out the vanilla because I dislike the aroma and flavor unless in creamcicle form, and added about 1/4 cup of dairy free dark chocolate chips during the blender step, so some got chopped, some got powdered and some stayed intact for a variety of texture. It so delicious!!! So glad I don’t have to share!
I love that! So happy you made and enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know, Sylvia…much appreciated! xo
Oh wow – this looks so so good. And super healthy too!
Let me know if you try it! It has been a favorite on this site for years! 😀 xoxoxo
Oh my! I just acquired a hand cranked ice cream maker at a thrift store a few days ago and was wondering what my first recipe would be……I wonder no more! I am already a fan just based on the ingredients – I love avocados and lime is my favorite citrus <3 Once I have gathered a couple missing items (or found them hiding in my absurdly stocked pantry LOL) I will check in to report on how it turned out 🙂
Yaaaay looking forward to hearing how it turns out, Sylvie!! xoxo
Hi. Has anyone tried substituting monkfruit sweetener for the maple syrup to cut down on sugar?
Hi Lori,
I haven’t had a chance to try a low-carb version yet, but I assume it will work great! If you happen to have a liquid sugar-free sweetener, it may turn out better, as liquid sweeteners tend to help keep homemade ice cream soft. I use this brand quite a bit: https://amzn.to/2AejooV Let me know if you try it!
My wife and I have just become vegan … def going to make this..
Definitely going to try this out. We need more vegan pie recipes! Can’t believe you use avocados!
It’s so great! Hope you love it!
I made this. It’s really not bad at all. Quite tasty. But the color is not like the photo, if you use two whole avocados. It turns out looking more like Guacamole ice cream instead. The next time I made this ice cream with only half an avocado and more coconut milk (coconut cream, actually) and it looked more like the photo. Still very good. So overall, great recipe!
Thanks, Jannah! I appreciate the feedback! xo
Amazing, I left out the oil and it was loved by all.
I want to make this, don’t have lime and would like to do chocolate how much coco should I put in instead of lime?
I can’t have maple syrup , honey or agave. DO you think i could try using powdred ethyritol in its place?
Hi Debbie, I definitely think you can use erythritol. I would start with 1/3 cup and add more according to your desired level of sweetness. Hope you enjoy! xx
Debbie, did you try this?
Wow! Avacados in ice cream! I haven’t seen that before. Presumably there for the fat content? Can you taste them at all in the final ice cream?
Thanks
Carl
Hi Carl!
You got it, the avocados are in the recipe for the fat content and the natural creaminess. You can’t taste them at all in the ice cream, as the lime overpowers the subtle avocado flavor 🙂 Hope you enjoy! xx
How many servings does this make? I mean, IF you were gonna share?
Hi Alice! It feeds 3 to 4…assuming one would share 😉