Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe (with Almond or Oat Milk) |Keeping it Real

Strawberry ice cream has always been a stable at our house during the summer (remember the Strawberry Milkshake Ice Cream Popsicles I posted here a long time ago already?), but over the years my daughter's lactose intolerance has worsened, so I've been looking for vegan alternatives that work just as well for us.

This creamy vegan strawberry ice cream is made with simple ingredients and fresh strawberries. It's obviously dairy-free, and we make it with either almond milk or oat milk.

Ingredients

2 cups of fresh or frozen strawberries, hulled
¾ cup of granulated sugar (brown sugar works great for this)
1½ cups of unsweetened almond milk or oat milk
1 cup of full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
a pinch of salt

Instructions

Place the strawberries and the sugar in a blender or food processor and blend until it turns into a puree.
If you prefer a smoother ice cream (or if you're my picky son), pour the puree through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Otherwise, skip this step.
In a large bowl, mix together the strawberry puree with the rest of the ingredients, until fully combined.
Cover the mixture and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Churn. If you have an ice cream maker, pour the chilled mixture in and churn according to the instructions, usually about 25–30 minutes, until thick and creamy, then freeze. If you don't have an ice cream maker, just pour the chilled mixture into a freezer-safe container and place it in the freezer, stirring vigorously every 30–45 minutes for about 3–4 hours to help break up the ice crystals until the ice cream reaches a creamy consistency.
Fully freeze the mixture for 2–4 hours before serving for the best scoopable consistency.

Additional tips

The full-fat coconut milk can replaced by vegan cream
Though I prefer fresh strawberries, frozen strawberries work just fine too
You can add 1–2 tablespoons of strawberry jam to the mixture, for an even more intense strawberry flavor.
Taste the mixture before freezing and adjust the sweetness if your strawberries are especially tart (if you need to add additional sugar, use powdered sugar or mix it together really well, to avoid having crunchy sugar crystals in your ice cream later)
The ice cream can be stored in an airtight container in your freezer for up to two weeks. Let it sit at room temperature for 5–10 minutes before serving.