Low-Carb Coconut Curry Ice Cream (vegan)

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low-carb curry ice cream pictured with toasted coconut strips and spices

This is a low-carb version of my original Coconut Curry Ice Cream. It’s rich, creamy, and highly spiced. Since the curry powder is the main flavor, choose it wisely! It should be mild and sweet, not hot. I like the sweet curry powder from Penzey’s, because it’s not as bitter as some curry powders. It gives the ice cream some mild heat.

The coconut flavor comes partly from coconut milk and partly from coconut milk powder. My grocery store carries coconut milk powder on the health food aisle, but you can also get it online. This is the one I use.

I’m also punching up the coconut by using toasted coconut flakes as a mix-in. I prefer the big flakes to the small bits of coconut, because it lets me taste the flavor and texture of the ice cream first, then I get a lovely, chewy bite of coconut. To me, the small coconut bits just feel grainy in ice cream. The coconut flakes can be sweetened or unsweetened, salted or unsalted, but really try to find flakes that are toasted. The toasted coconut flavor is incredible on its own and fantastic with curry. If you don’t see them in your grocery store, something like this should work well.

Allulose sweetens this ice cream instead of sugar. It tastes just like sugar and actually has the same structural effects as sugar in ice cream, like lowering the freezing point, keeping the ice cream soft and scoopable, and keeping the ice crystals small. For more on allulose, go here.

Coconut curry ice cream goes great with any kind of chocolate topping or chocolate flakes as a mix-in (instructions for that here). I also suspect it would be amazing with fresh or freeze-dried bananas on top.

low-carb coconut curry nutrition facts
scoop of coconut curry ice cream next to curry powder and toasted coconut flakes

Low-Carb Coconut Curry Ice Cream (vegan)

Makes ~1 quart

Recipe Category: Dairy Free Egg Free Lactose Free Lactose Free Low-Carb Low-Carb Vegan

Ingredients

For the ice cream base

For the mix-in

Instructions

  1. INFUSE THE SPICES

    In a large sauce pan on the stove, whisk together the coconut milk, allulose, salt, curry powder, powdered ginger, and saffron (if using). Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a low simmer, then turn off the heat. This will infuse the spices into the coconut milk, while reducing any bitterness.

     

  2. ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS

    Add all remaining ingredients for the ice cream base to the sauce pan. Use your whisk to break up the tofu and mix everything together. Don't worry if it's lumpy, because we're about to...

     

  3. BLEND

    Blend in the sauce pan with an immersion blender or transfer to a standard blender and blend thoroughly, scraping down the sides with a spatula, until you can no longer see white specks of tofu. This might take a couple of minutes!

  4. CHILL

    Transfer to a container and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.

     

    For a quicker chilling time, place the bowl containing your mixture in an ice bath (a larger bowl containing ice water) for a few hours. Stir the mixture occasionally. As the water in the ice bath warms up, pour off some water and add ice to keep the mixture chilling as quickly as possible.

     

    Ideally, the mixture will be about 40 degrees when you churn it. When your mixture is fully chilled, it will be thick, like pudding.

  5. CHURN

    Before you start churning, set up everything you'll need to quickly transfer the ice cream from the machine into a container for freezing. I use a knife to scrape down the dasher (or paddle) and a wooden spoon to scoop out the ice cream. Get your toasted coconut mix-in ready.

     

    Set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Pour your mixture into the ice cream maker and churn. Because this mixture is thicker than many ice cream bases, it churns more quickly than most. In my machine the perfect churning time is 13 minutes, but your experience may vary. In the last minute of churning, add the toasted coconut flakes.

     

    It's finished churning when it looks like soft-serve and is pulling away from the sides of the canister. 

     

  6. STORE

    When the ice cream has finished churning, scoop it as quickly as possible into your storage container. Cover it with plastic wrap or parchment paper, if using. (Placing a sheet of parchment paper between the container and lid will help prevent frost, or you can press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream.) Put the container in the freezer. The ice cream will be fully firm in a few hours.

     

Note

Optional additions:

  • 1-2 tablespoons of alcohol -- Adding alcohol improves the texture and scoopability of the final product and gives a little kick of extra flavor. Good choices here would be vodka, rum, coconut rum, or liqueur flavored with ginger or other spices. 

Suggested toppings and mix-ins:

  • Chocolate sauce 
  • White or milk chocolate bits (check out the mint chocolate chip recipe for how to create melt-in-your-mouth flakes of chocolate as a mix-in)

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