This delicious vegan ube ice cream is smooth, creamy, and beautifully purple! You don’t even need an ice cream machine to make this recipe! It’s easy and simple, and you’ll enjoy this delicious ube ice cream in no time.
If you don’t know what ube is, it’s a purple yam. A staple ingredient for traditional Filipino desserts, such as ube halaya, ube pie, or ube cheese pandesal. It has a mild and sweet flavor, which some have said is a cross between vanilla and pistachio. This ube ice cream recipe will give you a burst of that ube flavor that you’re looking for.
So, if you grew up eating Magnolia or Selecta ube ice cream, and are now vegan or dairy-free, then this recipe is for you!
✨Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Very easy to make. You won’t need an ice cream machine to make this recipe (no churn)!
- You’ll only need a few ingredients to make this vegan ube ice cream.
- It’s just like the ube ice cream you grew up eating.
✏️Ingredient Notes
- Dairy-free heavy whipping cream - Traditional ice creams use heavy cream, we’ll be using dairy-free heavy whipping cream for this version. It incorporates air that helps the ice cream light and tender. The fat also adds to flavor and creaminess. I love using Silk's dairy-free heaving whipping cream.
- Vegan-sweetened condensed milk - This is what gives this no-churn ice cream its creamy consistency and its sweetness.
- Ube halaya - This is the key to giving this ice cream its ube flavor. Try making my homemade ube halaya.
- Ube extract - This not only boosts the ube flavor, but it gives the ube ice cream that beautiful purple color. You can find this at your local Filipino store or on Amazon.
- Vanilla extract - Adding a touch of vanilla helps enhance the flavor
- Salt - A little bit of salt will help balance out the flavors and sweetness.
- Xantham gum - Adding xanthan gum to ice cream slows ice crystal formation and creates a creamier texture. You’ll only need a tiny bit of this.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
📝Substitutions & Variations
- If you can’t find dairy-free heavy whipping cream, you can use full-fat coconut cream!
- Add macapuno strips for a vegan ube macapuno ice cream.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
🍴How to Make Vegan Ube Ice Cream
Step 1: Using a chilled metal bowl, whip the dairy-free heavy whipping cream on high until stiff peaks form.
Step 2: Then, add the vegan sweetened condensed milk, ube halaya, ube extract, vanilla extract, salt, and xantham gum. Whip again on high until all the ingredients have combined and the mixture is light and fluffy.
Step 3: You can finish here and freeze the ube ice cream overnight, or you can get creamier results. To do that, chill the bowl in the freezer for 45 minutes. Mix the ube cream on low for 1-2 minutes. You’ll repeat this four more times. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl before each round.
Step 4: After the last round, pour the ube cream mixture into a freezer-safe container. Cover the surface with cling film and cover tightly with a lid. Then freeze overnight! Allow the vegan ube ice cream to soften at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping.
⭐Expert Baking Tips
- Want a better and creamier vegan ube ice cream? Use the freeze and stir method. This is the alternative to churning ice cream, but you don’t need a fancy ice cream machine to do this. This helps produce less ice crystals so you can get a creamier ice cream. You’ll use whatever machine you’re using to make this recipe, whether that be an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer.
- Use xantham gum. It's used in ice cream as a stabilizer. It also prevents ice crystals from forming, which is the key to a rich, creamy, and smooth ice cream. Combining xanthan gum with the freeze-and-stir method gives the best results for no-churn ice cream.
💭Common Questions
Sugar plays an important role in this recipe. It helps lower the freezing point of the ice cream, which helps it produce a softer and creamier product. Without sugar or using sugar substitutes, the ice cream will become icy and rock-hard.
I prefer using a freezer-safe container, my favorite one to use is Tovolo.
But you can also use a large, airtight plastic container with a lid. Plastic is better for freezer as glass is a poor conductor of heat. When you store ice cream in a glass, it may develop freezer burn which can affect the taste and texture.
Metal is an okay choice if that’s all you have. But, most metal bread pans don’t have a tight-fitting lid, which can lead to a freezer burn. It also doesn’t allow the ice cream to properly melt. You’ll find that the edges of the ice cream will melt faster than the center, making it hard to scoop.
I wouldn’t recommend it. Ube halaya will give this vegan ube ice cream most of its ube flavor. While you can use ube extract, I find that using too much of it can give the ice cream an artificial flavor. But, you can make my ube halaya recipe at home. It makes about 4 cups, so you can use it for other ube recipes like ube latte or ube rolls.
🥗How to Serve
The most popular way to eat ube ice cream is in halo-halo! It is the ultimate summertime treat.
🥣Storage & Reheating
This vegan ube ice cream will last about 2 weeks in the freezer, be sure to use it all up before then!
❤️More Recipes You'll Love
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️ rating and comment below! Tag @flouredframe on Instagram & Facebook!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Ube Ice Cream
Equipment
- Metal mixing bowl if using a stand mixer, you should already have a metal mixing bowl
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Rubber spatula
Ingredients
- 1 pint Dairy-free Heavy Whipping Cream (see notes for substitutions)
- ½ cup Vegan ube halaya
- 1 can Vegan sweetened condensed milk (11.25 oz can)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Ube extract
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Xanthan gum
Instructions
- Chill a metal mixing bowl or the metal bowl of a stand mixer in the fridge for 15 minutes. Then, whip the heavy cream on high until stiff peaks form.
- To the bowl, add the vegan sweetened condensed milk, ube halaya, ube extract, vanilla extract, salt, and xantham gum. Whip again on high until all the ingredients have combined and the mixture is light and fluffy.
- For this next step, you can either pour the mixture into a freezer-safe container and freeze the ice cream overnight or for better and creamier ice cream you can follow these next steps.
- Chill the bowl in the freezer for 45 minutes. Then whip the mixture on low for 1-2 minutes. Continue this process 4 more times. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- After the last mix pour the ube cream mixture into a freezer-safe container.
- Cover the surface of the ube cream with cling film and cover tightly with a lid. Freeze overnight! To serve, allow the vegan ube ice cream to soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Notes
- Substitute for heavy whipping cream:
2 cans of Full-fat coconut cream, my favorite brands are Savoy or Nature’s Charm. It must be full-fat to get the same creaminess and texture. Do not use fat-free or less fat.- How to use: Chill 2 cans of coconut cream in the refrigerator overnight, make sure not to shake or tip the can to encourage separation of the cream and liquid. Then measure out 2 cups (480g) of the cream and proceed with the recipe. Save the water for something else, like smoothies!
- Can I use less sugar or make this sugar-free?
Sugar plays an important role in this recipe. It helps lower the freezing point of the ice cream, which helps it produce a softer and creamier product. Without sugar or using sugar substitutes, the ice cream will become icy and rock-hard. - What’s the best container to store the ice cream?
I prefer using a freezer-safe container, my favorite one to use is Tovolo.- But you can also use a medium-sized, airtight plastic container with a lid. Plastic is better for freezer as glass is a poor conductor of heat. When you store ice cream in a glass, it may develop freezer burn which can affect the taste and texture.
- Metal is an okay choice if that’s all you have. However, most metal bread pans don’t have a tight-fitting lid, which can lead to a freezer burn. It also doesn’t allow the ice cream to melt properly. Most of the time the edges of the ice cream will melt faster than the center, making it hard to scoop.
- Want a better and creamier vegan ube ice cream?
Use the freeze and stir method. This is the alternative to churning ice cream, but you don’t need a fancy ice cream machine to do this. This helps produce less ice crystals so you can get a creamier ice cream. You’ll use whatever machine you’re using to make this recipe, whether that be an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. - Use xantham gum
Xantham gum is used in ice cream as a stabilizer. It also prevents ice crystals from forming, which is the key to a rich, creamy, and smooth ice cream. The combination of xantham gum along with the freeze-and-stir method will give you the best results for this no-churn ice cream.
Joycr says
Sooo good! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Floured Frame says
Thank you! I'm so glad you loved this recipe!!
Danielle Moore says
Looking forward to making this. Can I just mix all the ingredients as mentioned above and pour into an ice cream maker?
Floured Frame says
Hi, yes you can!