This refreshing avocado and lime ice cream is dairy and egg free. It also has an option to be plant-based/vegan with just a simple swap!
Ever since I was gifted a large box of avocados from the lovely folks at California Avocados, I’ve been madly obsessed with them. It’s not that I didn’t love avocados before. I live in California! I love my avocados. But when you’ve got huge amounts of avocados, you can start eating them with abandon, as well as making things with them. I immediately set out to make guacamole, as well as an avocado corn salad and tons of avocado toast.
But then I came across a recipe in the Mexican Ice Cream (<-affiliate link) cookbook by Fany Gerson for avocado ice cream. I tweaked it a bit, punching up the lime in the recipe, as well as using coconut cream and honey to keep the ice cream scoopable. The resulting avocado lime ice cream has to be one of my new favorites! Refreshing, rich, and entirely dairy and egg-free (and plant-based/vegan if you swap out the honey).
Key Ingredients
- Avocados: The star of this recipe is avocados. They are buttery and smooth, adding a richness without egg or dairy cream
- Lime: Lime brightens the ice cream, adding a touch of acidity and prevents the avocado from browning. I use both the lime zest and the juice to give even more lime flavor.
- Sugar: Sugar not only sweetens the ice cream but also helps absorb some of the moisture, preventing the ice cream from becoming to icy.
- Honey: Honey is key to keeping this ice cream from becoming too watery. Honey is mostly glucose, which absorbs more moisture than just plain sugar. If you are avoiding honey and want to make this recipe completely vegan and plant-free, swap out corn syrup, which is also mostly glucose. Do not swap out maple syrup or agave syrup. Neither have enough glucose to keep this ice cream scoopable.
- Coconut cream: The liquid base is coconut cream, which is richer and has less water than coconut milk. You can substitute heavy cream for the coconut cream if you want but personally I love the slightly tropical flavor that the coconut cream lends to the ice cream. If you use heavy cream, add a teaspoon of vanilla to give it a little more dimension.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch also thickens the coconut cream further, and helps to absorb more moisture as well.
How to make avocado lime ice cream
If your ice cream maker requires you to freeze the canister ahead of time, place it in the freezer at least 24 to 48 hours ahead of time. Do not try making ice cream if the canister isn’t completely frozen (trust me, I’ve tried! It did not go well).
Once the canister is completely frozen (you won’t hear any sloshing around of liquid inside it). make the ice cream base by cooking the coconut cream and cornstarch together until it forms the thickness of plain yogurt. Add in the lime juice, lime zest, sugar, salt and honey.
Add ripe avocados, then puree the mixture with a stick blender or pour it all into a blender or food processor and puree that way.
Then chill the entire mixture overnight in the fridge with plastic wrap covered and touching the surface of the mixture. Or do a quick chill of the mixture by pour it into a gallon resealable Ziploc bag and immersing the bag in an ice bath for two hours. Once the mixture is fully chilled, freeze the ice cream as per your machine’s instructions (churning usually takes about 20 to 25 minutes) to bring it to soft serve consistency. Place it in the freezer to let it cure and harden overnight. Set the ice cream out on the counter for 15 to 20 minutes to let it soften and make it scoopable.
Storage
This homemade ice cream is best eaten within three to five days. It’ll last longer in the freezer, up to a month but the longer it stays in the freezer, the more it tends to harden and lose flavor. It also becomes a little more icy as time goes on. So enjoy it quickly!
If you like this avocado and lime ice cream, check out these other ice cream recipes:
- Fresh Mint and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
- Dark Chocolate Chip and Orange Olive Oil Ice Cream
- Brown Butter, Vanilla, and Bay Leaf Ice Cream
- Vanilla, Peach and Graham Cracker Ice Cream
Avocado and Lime Ice Cream (dairy and egg-free, with easy plant-based/vegan swap)
Equipment
- Ice cream maker
Ingredients
- 13.5 to 15 ounces unsweetened coconut cream 1 can
- 5 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey or corn syrup for plant-based/vegan
- 1 lime zest and juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 ripe large Hass avocados
Instructions
- If your ice cream maker has a canister that requires freezing ahead of time, place it in the freezer for 24 to 48 hours before making this ice cream. Do not try to make the ice cream without the canister completely frozen (I’ve tried before and it does not go well).Once the canister is fully frozen, place the coconut cream and cornstarch in a medium to large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the cream has thickened a bit into the consistency of plain yogurt. It should hold a line when you dip a spoon into it and draw a line with your finger over the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, honey, lime zest, lime juice, and salt.
- Scoop out and add the avocado flesh into the saucepan. Then use an immersion blender to puree the avocados into a smooth mixture. If you don’t have an immersion blender, add the avocados to a countertop blender or food processor, and pour in the coconut cream mixture. Puree with the blender or food processor until smooth.
- Cover the mixture with plastic wrap, touching the surface of the mixture to prevent any browning and refrigerate overnight. Or pour the mixture into a gallon freezer resealable Ziploc bag. Then submerge the bag into a large bowl filled with ice and water. Let it sit for 2 hours to fully chill.
- Once the ice cream mixture is fully chilled, freeze the ice cream in your machine as per the instructions. Typically, it takes 15 to 20 minutes to freeze. The ice cream should be the consistency of soft serve. Scoop and store it in an airtight container in the freezer to harden overnight. Once hardened, remove from the freezer 15 minutes ahead of serving to let it soften a bit and make it scoopable.
Nutrition
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