This dairy free rocky road ice cream is a chocolate lovers delight! Silky smooth and creamy chocolate ice cream, loaded with mini marshmallows, peanuts and chunks of dark chocolate. This ice cream is completely dairy free and vegan but I guarantee everyone will love it!
There is nothing better than a delicious scoop of ice cream on a hot day but often the dairy free or vegan options can be quite limited or only include sorbets.
There are beginning to be more and more delicious vegan flavours available in supermarkets, but for $15 for less than 500ml for a tub of Ben and Jerry’s dairy free ice cream, it’s just not affordable. Which is why it’s time to start making ice cream at home!
For some reason I’ve always been a bit intimidated by ice cream making, even though both my mum and grandmother used to make their own ice cream when I was growing up. It just feels like a lot of effort. And what I’ve discovered through this process is that it’s not really effort, in fact it’s quite easy to make, it’s just a little time consuming but the results are very very worth it.
When I think about my favourite homemade ice cream I’ve always preferred those made with an egg or custard base. I just find they are creamier and have a lot more flavour. So when I was developing this recipe I knew that’s where I wanted to start but was a little stumped as to how to create a custard base without eggs.
I did some research and came across Christina’s method from Addicted To Dates who created a custard base using corn flour to thicken. I was familiar with this method having made a very similar chocolate pudding several times before so I knew this was going to be a great base for the ice cream.
For this recipe, I wanted to hero the flavour of rocky road so we have a rich, chocolatey ice cream that is filled with crunchy nuts, chewy marshmallows and some extra bits of chocolate because why not. But feel free to get creative with your mix-ins – that’s the benefit of making it yourself!
Key Ingredients
For this vegan chocolate ice cream we have a few ingredients but all are essential to ensure the best flavour and texture without the need for dairy products.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Oat milk – this is going to form the base of the ice cream. You can use any milk you prefer but for the best creamy consistency and more neutral flavour I like to use oat milk.
- White sugar – gives the ice cream sweetness but also structure.
- Corn flour – also known as corn-starch in the US, thickens the base of our ice cream to act similarly to eggs in a custard based ice cream.
- Cocoa powder – giving a rich, chocolate flavour.
- Vanilla extract – adding extra flavour and enhancing the chocolate.
- Vegan condensed milk – the easiest to find is Pandaroo brand sweetened condensed coconut milk found in both Coles and Woolworths but any dairy free or plant based version will work. The coconut condensed milk will add a slight coconut flavour to the ice cream but with the chocolate it’s really delicious and not overpowering.
- Plant-based cream – you can use any dairy-free cream alternative but the best I’ve found by far taste and texture wise is the new Flora thickened plant-based cream.
- Mix-ins – for this chocolate ice cream we’re adding in a combination of mini marshmallows, crushed peanuts and chopped vegan dark chocolate to give it that classic rocky road taste.
Step-By-Step Instructions
To make this vegan rocky road ice cream you will need a few tools, most importantly an ice cream maker as this recipe does require churning.
You can get many standalone ice cream makers but the one I have is an attachment to my Kitchenaid stand mixer. If you’re planning to make this ice cream you will need to remember to put the bowl in the freezer 24 hours before.
The first step is to make your custard base. To do this, you’ll need to heat the oat milk, white sugar, corn flour, cocoa powder, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Make sure that you are stirring constantly with a whisk for approximately 5 minutes until the mixture comes together and thickens. If you find the mixture sticking, use a spatula to scrape the to the bottom or the edges of the pan.
Once the mixture is smooth and silky and resembles the consistency of custard or pudding, take off the heat. Add the salt and continue to mix a little as you let it cool slightly to prevent a skin from forming.
Transfer the mixture into a heat proof bowl and cover with plastic wrap, ensuring the plastic is touching the top of the mixture again to prevent a skin from forming when cooling. Refrigerate for at least an hour or until the mixture is completely cool. If we add a warm liquid base to the ice cream maker, it’s not going to churn properly and we won’t get the texture we want from our ice cream.
Once the custard mixture is cool, it’s time to finish the ice cream base. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together the plant-based cream and condensed milk until thick and creamy. Add in the cooled chocolate mixture and beat into the cream mixture until completely combined and smooth.
Now this is where the magic happens! Add the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn as per the manufacturer instructions (mine takes 20-30 minutes). About halfway through, add in your marshmallows, peanuts and chopped chocolate and continue to churn until your mixture is thick and resembles soft serve.
Pour the mixture into a shallow dish or loaf pan, cover and freeze until set, usually a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Store the ice cream covered in the freezer. When ready to serve, take it out and let sit for about 10 minutes before scooping.
More dairy free desserts:
Vegan Choc Ripple Cake
Easy Rocky Road
Vegan Ferrero Rocher
Chocolate Peppermint Brownies
Rocky Road Cookies
Dairy Free Rocky Road Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup oat milk
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup corn flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 320 grams / 1 cup vegan condensed milk
- 250 ml/ 1 cup plant-based cream
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- ½ cup crushed peanuts
- ½ cup chopped vegan dark chocolate
Instructions
- Before starting, make sure your ice cream bowl has been in the freezer for at least 24 hours.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the oat milk, white sugar, corn flour, cocoa powder and vanilla stirring constantly with a whisk for approximately 5 minutes until the mixture comes together and thickens. If you find the mixture sticking, use a spatula to scrape the to the bottom or the edges of the pan.
- Once the mixture is smooth and silky and resembles the consistency of custard or pudding, take off the heat. Add the salt and continue to mix a little as you let it cool slightly to prevent a skin from forming. Transfer the mixture into a heat proof bowl and cover with plastic wrap, ensuring the plastic is touching the top of the mixture again to prevent a skin from forming when cooling. Refrigerate for at least an hour or until the mixture is completely cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together the plant-based cream and condensed milk until thick and creamy. Add in the cooled chocolate custard and beat into the cream mixture until completely combined and smooth.
- Add the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn as per the manufacturer instructions (mine takes 20-30 minutes). About halfway through, add in your marshmallows, peanuts and chopped chocolate and continue to churn until your mixture is thick and resembles soft serve.
- Pour the mixture into a shallow dish or loaf pan, cover and freeze until set, usually a minimum of 2 hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
Made this recipe? Leave a review!