Homemade Pineapple Ice Cream - dairy free, vegan, paleo

This Homemade Pineapple Ice Cream is super easy to make without an ice cream maker. Thanks to the creamy frozen banana base this pineapple nice cream recipe is dairy free, vegan, and paleo. Add frozen coconut milk for a tropical piña colada twist.

About this Pineapple Nice Cream

This refreshing pineapple nice cream is creamy almost like a dole whip that you would get at Disneyland, but it doesn't contain any dairy, eggs, cream, or condensed milk. Additionally, you don't need a saucepan to make it like you sometimes have to to make the custard for other types of ice cream. Instead, this ice cream comes together in a food processor or blender and comprises several healthy, whole food ingredients.

The pineapple is the star of this dessert, which is a fruit high in vitamin C. However, it also contains bromelain which can aid in digestion, reducing inflammation, and eliminating pain, among others. Pineapple is also high in fiber which is an important part of everyday diets.

How to make Pineapple Ice Cream – in a blender or food processor

Food Processor:

I find that my food processor is the best at turning frozen ingredients into creamy, smooth ice cream. I just add all ingredients to the food processor bowl, close the lid and turn it on.

It will be loud at first, but as the frozen ingredients break down the fruit, it will quiet down. At this point, you might think that these frozen fruit crumbles will never turn into a smooth and creamy texture, but just keep going.

It may be necessary to stop the food processor a few times to scrape down the sides or to break up any large lumps that form and don’t seem to want to break down.

But finally, after just a few minutes you’ll end up with luscious and smooth homemade Pineapple Ice Cream.

Serve it right away for the melty soft-serve texture or transfer the pineapple and coconut ice cream mixture to a container and let it firm up in the freezer for about 2 hours. This way you’ll end up with a firmer ice cream texture.

If you need to keep it in the freezer any longer than that, the vegan pineapple ice cream might get quite firm. If that happens, remove it from the freezer and let it soften on the counter for a few minutes before attempting to scoop it.

Blender Method:

Quite honestly, I find that blenders don't do as good a job of making nice cream. Usually, blenders require a good amount of liquid to keep the ingredients moving along. But with too much liquid the texture will quickly turn more into a smoothie than ice cream.

For making this pineapple ice cream recipe in a blender I recommend only high-speed appliances like Vitamix or Blendtec.

How to make Pineapple Ice Cream in a Vitamix:

Add all ingredients to the blender jar, turn on the Vitamix and quickly move to the highest blending speed. Meanwhile use the tamper to push the ingredients into the blades. This will also keep the Vitamix from overheating

How to make Pineapple Nice Cream in a Blendtec:

Add all ingredients into the twister jar. Close the lid and turn it while the blender is in process. The prongs in the lid will ensure that the ingredients keep moving along and are a being processed by the blades.

How To Freeze Coconut Milk - for Smoothies or Pineapple Nice Cream

Freezing liquids can oftentimes be a pain. If you use a jar or Ziploc they can take forever to thaw.

Whenever you have some leftover coconut milk, fill it into your ice cube tray. This way you have small portions that thaw quickly (if necessary) to use for anything from smoothies to sauces and of course nice cream.

A frozen coconut milk cube is perfect to take simple pineapple flavour to the next level of Piña Colada! You could do this with pineapple juice and other fruit juices if you like as well.

Tools I used in this Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream

Of course, there is my beloved food processor. I don't think I would have ever started loving nice cream so much without this trusty small appliance.

I feel like I have tried every coconut milk brand under the sun, and I even love to make my own at home, but when it comes to store brands Aroy-D is and has been my favorite every since I first had them in Thailand.

For scooping nice cream, I like to use my cookie scoop because it makes smaller scoops.

Possible Variations

While the pineapple in this recipe gives it a wonderful tropical flavour, you may decide you would like some variation sometimes. Rather than making it with pineapple, simply replace it with an equal amount of frozen fruit like raspberries, peaches, blueberries, mixed berries, mango, and more.

Additionally, you don't always have to use storebought frozen fruit if you don't want to. In fact, this recipe is a wonderful way to use up leftover fruit that is just getting past its prime. Simply chop up leftover fruit into cubes or slice it if it is bananas. However, you can keep berries whole. Then, place it in Ziploc baggies and place them in the freezer to hold until you are ready to make nice cream. This is even wonderful for storing leftover canned fruit like crushed pineapple, sliced peaches, or maraschino cherries.

More delicious recipes related to this:

• Agua de Horchata
• Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream
• Mango Lassi
• Pineapple Salsa