Did you just say “Cauliflower WHAT the heck?” Yep, I had the same reaction…
One Sunday morning my daughter and I were watching the cooking show on NBC channel. There was a cute guy blogger named Danny Seo, demonstrating his DIY and lifestyle hacks and recipes featuring all natural stuff. Then he showed one of his recipes in action and it was called Cauliflower Ice cream! My daughter and I looked at each other: Cauliflower what? We watched the exciting very well put together video and the ice cream looked quite delicious.
My thoughts: After I made it, the cauliflower ice cream did not taste like cauliflower at all. It was smooth in texture almost like a gelato, there was a hint of coconut flavor and some presence of vanilla. It definitely would go well with some crushed nuts or something crunchy or even a brownie.
1 cup cashews, soaked and drained – yep, there’s more benefits to soaked cashews – just place them in filtered or warm water and and soak for at least 3 hours.
1 can coconut milk – Found in most supermarkets, canned isle. I used full fat Goya coconut milk, you can sub for low fat.
2 vanilla beans, scraped. You can also use pure vanilla bean paste.
¼ cup coconut oil
½ cup maple syrup (Can substitute for sugar free maple syrup)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon almond extract
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup pistachios, chopped as a topping (or preferred topping of choice)
- Cut the cauliflower into florets. Steam or boil for 2 minutes, or until tender. Drain and cool.
- Add the cooked cauliflower, cashews, coconut milk, scraped vanilla beans, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt to a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
- If you have an ice-cream maker – churn the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I don’t have an ice-cream maker so I poured the blended mixture from the blender directly to the glass loaf bakeware. Stir in the pistachios before storing the ice cream in the freezer. Or you can pour them on top after you scoop your ice cream.
- Freeze for at least 3-4 hours and take it out of freezer 20 minutes before serving or when you see it is soft enough to scoop with the ice cream scooper. Sprinkle with pistachios or other nuts or your favorite topping and enjoy while it’s cold! Remember to try similar recipe with raspberries for an unbelievable flavor mix!
If you have friends that are dairy free or low carbers, please feel free to share this impressive Cauliflower ice cream dessert with them. If you make, it I would love to know what you thought of it. Write me a comment below or post a photo on my Facebook page.
Handy Cauliflower ice cream recipe printable and ice-cream making video in action is below and here’s the nutrition facts. If you worry about saturated fat in coconut, feel free to substitute with lower-fat coconut milk.
Also try: Turmeric-Cumin Roasted Cauliflower bites – so easy and also loaded with vitamins and nutrients to help fight various diseases.
Disclosure: This recipe is NOT sponsored or paid in any way. Affiliate links are present. If you purchase through my links I receive a small commission to support my blog, but it will not affect your purchase price. I only recommend what I love and what I use in my own kitchen. All photos and suggestions are mine.
- ½ head cauliflower (about 1½ cups florets) – You can also use 1½ cups of frozen riced cauliflower
- 1 cup cashews, soaked and drained – yep, there’s more benefits to soaked cashews – just place them in filtered or warm water and and soak for at least 3 hours.
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 vanilla beans, scraped ( I got mine vanilla beans on Amazon. You can also use pure vanilla bean paste)
- ¼ cup organic coconut oil
- ½ cup organic maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup pistachios, chopped for topping (or favorite topping of choice)
- Cut the cauliflower into florets. Boil for 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain and cool.
- Add the cooked cauliflower, cashews, coconut milk, scraped vanilla beans, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt to a high speed blender and process until smooth.
- If you have an ice-cream maker – churn the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I don’t have an ice-cream maker so I poured the blended mixture from the blender directly to the glass loaf bakeware. Stir in the pistachios before storing the ice cream in the freezer. Or you can pour them on top after you scoop your ice cream.
- Freeze for at least 4-5 hours and take it out of freezer 30-40 minutes before serving or when you see it is soft enough to scoop with the ice cream scooper. Sprinkle with pistachios or other nuts or your favorite topping and enjoy while it’s cold!
What is the calorie, cholesterol, sugar, etc. count on this ice cream?
Hi Linda, I will update the post, but this is what I have calculated so far based on 10 servings (1 scoop) I hope this helps
Calories 217.7
Total Fat 16.1 g
Saturated Fat 9.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 4.1 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 98.1 mg
Potassium 138.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 17.1 g
Dietary Fiber 0.9 g
Sugars 10.9 g
Protein 2.7 g
Vitamin A 0.0 %
Vitamin B-12 0.0 %
Vitamin B-6 3.4 %
Vitamin C 13.7 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 0.5 %
Calcium 2.0 %
Copper 16.1 %
Folate 4.4 %
Iron 6.6 %
Magnesium 9.9 %
Manganese 33.5 %
Niacin 1.4 %
Pantothenic Acid 2.7 %
Phosphorus 7.3 %
Riboflavin 2.3 %
Selenium 2.6 %
Thiamin 2.4 %
Zinc 9.8 %
Wow, that’s a lot of calories for one scoop of ice cream! Can anything be substituted to reduce calories by at least half?
YOu can perhaps try to substitute coconut milk with water or lower calorie drink, like almond milk. But it’s all good fats in this concoction 🙂
Thanks for the reply. I’m not as concerned with the fat content as I am with the calories.
Hello!
I want to try this but I’m allergic to all nuts. Is there anything I can sub with?
Thank you!
Hi Kristen, You don’t need to use pistachios. You can use your favorite toppings of your choice. Are you allergic to coconut milk and coconut oil?
What about sunflower seed butter instead of cashews.
I have not tried this recipe w sunflower seeds. Would you give this a try and to see if this works? Let me know how it come out..
Try chestnuts I believe they are actually a fruit but are still listed as a nut! They are very healthy! Gluten free too
Can you use Cocoa Powder with the same recipe to make Choc Ice cream? Or other flavorings and use this as a base?
Good question – I’d love to know that as well,
You can absolutely use Cocoa Powder with the same recipe to make Choc flavored Ice cream. Also to make it more fruity, try with berries like raspberries, strawberries and blueberries
Hi! and thank u for coming up with a sneaky awesome recipe for cauliflower! My son is very very very picky and will not even look at vegetables! This I have to try! I love it cause theres no baking involved! I tend to burn myself or the food! I have my family help a alot!
I wanted to ask u if I dont have coconut milk and use skim milk will it still freeze the same? Anything in your recipe that is absolutely a must to freeze okay? I appreciate your advice!
HI Yolanda,
I haven’t tried this with skim milk. Although I know that any milk should be able to freeze.
Why don’t you cut the recipe in half or quarter and give it shot. But I still recommend to use a little coconut milk , it needs for consistency, because it is much thicker. vs. regular milk is thinner and more liquidy.
Good luck and let me know if you tried it and how it come out?
Could you use sugar free syrup to cut carbs even more?
Hi Cheryl, yes, Absolutely !
1/2 cup Maple Syrup wouldn’t be good for Diabetics or folks wanting a true Keto diet. Too many carbs and pure sugar.
My hubby suggested changing this to Splenda or Swerve and add Mapleine for the flavor (probably 1/4 to 1/2 tsp).
We haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds similar to Coconut milk based ice creams but much less sugar.
Absolutely,! You can also use Low carb Maple syrup. I found the monkfruit sweetened that tastes good. https://amzn.to/2Z6SdnP
Not sure how this is low carb with 1/2 cup maple sugar in it?
Hello,
Most importantly, I want to thank you for this recipe as it is the only one I have found for cauliflower ice cream. I have a few questions though – do you mean a teaspoon each of vanilla and almond extract? I followed the instructions and used 1 tablespoon and it was so overpowering I had to make another batch without any extract to balance out the taste. Also, while delicious, the coconut and almond tastes overpower the cauliflower. Do you have another recipe in which the cauliflower taste shines through a bit more?
Thanks,
Michelle
HI Michelle,
Thanks for your comment.
The recipe asks for both 1t Vanilla and 1 t almond extract. I used both.
Although later I thought that you can just get away with vanilla only….
It also asks for scraped vanilla beans. I added them too. I felt like next time I would add just 1tsp vanilla and vanilla beans.
Maybe cut the vanilla beans in half?
I love this recipe because cauliflower adapts the taste of coconut and almonds. You don’t even practically taste the cauliflower.
Also if I may suggest, try to add berries if you like berry taste. It tasted amazing
I was surprised to see cauliflower ICE CREAM! Sounds delicious, I’ll be trying it. Thank you so much for sharing it!
I have tried the cloud bread, yet, for me it seems to be missing something, I will try your pizza crust with almond meal!
Thanks for trying Patricia! For cloud bread you want to experiment to add your favorite spices, herbs or chocolate
Do you think the cashews can be substituted for socked almonds? Thanks
Hello…
I haven’t tried but yes, absolutely…
Please let me know if you try and how it came out….
If I use frozen riced cauliflower should I cook it first? If so, for how long? I am anxious to try your recipe!!
Yes frozen should work too… cook it according to the package instructions but I’d say 3 to 5 minutes
What are the nutrition facts per 1/2 cup serving? Or atleast just the calorie amount?
Calculated and added to the post
We need to avoid cashews, pecans and pistachios due to allergy. All other tree nuts and legumes (including peanuts) are ok. Any recommendations for substitutions? Thanks!
Peanuts would be totally replaceable… also try to add some berries… delicious!
1/2 cup Maple Syrup wouldn’t be good for Diabetics or folks wanting a true Keto diet. Too many carbs and pure sugar.
My hubby suggested changing this to Splenda or Swerve and add Mapleine for the flavor (probably 1/4 to 1/2 tsp).
We haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds similar to Coconut milk based ice creams but much less sugar.
Just made this for the first time using the recipe as is other than almonds in lieu of cashews. Can you use a nut butter instead of nuts? Mine came out a bit gritty.
Also would highly recommend reducing the almond extract or just doubling the vanilla extract. The almond flavor was so strong that after a serving I said…well..we’ll do better next time and called it a loss.
Definitely no coconut or cauliflower taste…and I think once the flavor is perfected my dairy free husband may have a frozen treat!
HI Sharon… I loved your ideas… Yes, def. Nut butter can be substituted ….
I agree… it is better to use just Vanilla extract…. The original recipe suggested almond extract…
Let me know if you going to try with nut butter and here we go…. looks like the recipe is perfected for your dairy free husband!!
If I wanted to make strawberry ice cream would your make it by the recipe and then stir in cut up strawberries? Or add strawberries during the mixing process?
I can’t have cashews or the maple syrup. Are there substitutes for these ingredients? Like almonds and a simple syrup made from a sugar substitute? I have to keep my carbohydrates even lower as the ice cream as written would be 1/2 my data carbs.
Absolutely! You can substitute with almonds and sugar free syrup ?
Thanks for the reply! I’ll post after trying it.
Do you need the maple syrup for sweetness or to bind it. Wondering if I can skip it or add no sugar sweetener.
Absolutely! You can add your preferred sweetener
Do I have to use cashews? I have so many nuts in the house but no cashews.
Absolutely ? you can use the nuts you have.. not just cashews
HoW do you use frozen rides cauliflower? Do you boil it also?
Hello.
See instructions on the package. Most cauliflower rice is much quicker to cook using microwave.. few minutes and done ✔. Good luck
Let me know how it came out