Name: Dairy Free Gelato Recipe: Chocolate and Raspberry
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 135 min
Ingredients: 150 grams raspberries; 2 tablespoons maple syrup; 300 ml dairy free double cream, (I use Elmlea Plant Based Double Cream); 100 grams vegan condensed milk; ½ teaspoon vanilla essence; 1/3 cup cacao powder; pinch sea salt; 25 grams dairy free dark chocolate, (at least 70% cocoa)

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This Chocolate and Raspberry Dairy Free Gelato recipe is made using vegan condensed milk and dairy free cream. It’s your answer to a convenient and easy vegan and dairy free dessert that the whole family will love!

This is a no churn ice cream recipe, so you don’t need any special equipment, and you can whip this ice cream together in 15 minutes and freeze for later. Perfect!

Dairy Free Gelato - Chocolate and Raspberry Flavour

After my dairy allergy began, I remember the moment I realised most vegan gelato flavors were made using coconut milk or cream.

It was so disappointing!

Your taste buds are geared up for something heavenly like chocolate or vanilla and instead all they got was coconut.

Urgh.

That’s why I’ve done some hunting for you and come up with this gem: homemade chocolate and raspberry dairy-free ice cream. It’s sweet, delicious and tastes as good as regular ice cream.

For the sake of all you dairy free gelato lovers, we’ve skipped the coconut milk and gone straight in for the yummy chocolate and raspberry flavors.

Chocolate & Raspberry Dairy Free Gelato in a cone

Why You’ll Love this Dairy Free Ice Cream Recipe

Easy to make
No coconut flavor
No churn (no ice cream maker required!)
Make in 15 minutes
Make ahead dessert

Dairy Free Gelato Ingredients

Vegan double cream: I use Elmlea Plant Based double cream which is widely available in grocery stores across the UK. The US equivalent would be vegan heavy cream or whipping cream.

Vegan condensed milk: I use the Carnation brand, but you can also make it yourself if you’re feeling adventurous.

Cacao powder: It isis naturally vegan and dairy free and is packed with health benefits. I always keep a big bag of organic cacao powder in my store cupboard as it also works great in smoothies and cakes. You could substitute cocoa powder, which tends to be slightly sweeter but has less of a rich and true chocolate flavor. Be careful not to choose a chocolate powder that contains dairy: always check the label.

Dark chocolate: For this recipe I used 70% dark chocolate. You could also choose 85% or higher, but it will have a more bitter flavor. Choose a high quality dark chocolate, as the low quality dark chocolate often contains milk products. Always check the label.

Sea salt: A pinch of sea salt will help to bring out the chocolate flavor, balancing the bitterness and sweetness.

Fresh raspberries: Fresh raspberries look amazing on the top of the finished ice cream. Money hack alert… you could substitute frozen raspberries which are cheaper. You’ll need to defrost them and drain off any excess water before making the compote otherwise it will be very runny.

Maple syrup: Raspberries and maple syrup are a flavor match made in heaven! Substitute 1 tablespoon sugar or another sweetener if you don’t have maple syrup.

Cornstarch: Optional extra if you’d like a thicker raspberry compote (sauce). Mix a teaspoon of cornstarch with a little water to make a paste. Stir the paste into the compote, continuing to heat for a few more minutes until it has thickened.

Dairy Free Ice Cream: Chocolate & Raspberry

Variations

Chocolate: Feel free to ditch the raspberry and go all-out with chocolate ice cream. You could add more cacao powder and chocolate chunks to increase the flavor, if you like.

Vanilla: Hello vanilla ice cream! Leave out the chocolate and raspberry and add vanilla bean paste instead.

Strawberry: Any combination of either chocolate or vanilla ice cream with strawberries is totally delish. Make a compote using our recipe below, substituting the raspberries for strawberries.

How to Make Gelato Dairy Free

Step 1 – TIP: Do this ahead of time. To make the compote, place a small saucepan on a medium heat and add the raspberries and maple syrup. Leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until you have a thick purée. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Step 2 – Tip: Do this ahead of time. Place a large bowl in the freezer 10-15 minutes before you want to make your gelato.

Step 3 – Remove the large bowl from the freezer and, using an electrical hand whisk, whip the vegan condensed milk, double cream snd vanilla essence until soft peaks form. With my whisk, this took approximately 5 minutes. Do not over whisk at this stage, as we will whisk again when the cacao powder is added.

Step 4 – Add the cacao powder and salt and whisk until fully combined. The gelato should now be a thick creamy texture with no white cream left visible.

Step 5 – Chop the dark chocolate into small chunks.

Step 6 – Line a 450g loaf tin with parchment paper. Layer the gelato and raspberry compote in the tin. I did 2 layers of each. Top the gelato with any remaining raspberry compote, a few fresh raspberries and the chopped chocolate.

Step 7 – Carefully wrap the gelato with plastic wrap (clingfilm) and place in the freezer. It will be ready to eat in a couple of hours, depending on the efficiency of your freezer. Remove from the freezer 10-15 minutes before you want to serve and use a warm ice cream scoop for best results.

Top Tips

Put your mixing bowl in the freezer for 10-15 minutes so it’s nice and cold for the gelato
Make the raspberry compote ahead of time so it has time to cool before being mixed with the chocolate gelato
This tastes best when eaten within a week

Frequently Asked Questions

Is gelato the same as ice cream?

Technically not quite. Traditional gelato has a lower fat content due to having more milk and less cream, and it uses fewer egg yolks and less sugar. This gives it a more creamy and intense flavor. Regular ice cream is made with more cream and is lighter and fluffier.

As we’re not running a professional gelato shop here, we reckon we can call it what we like! Technically this dairy-free recipe uses neither cream nor milk (not of the cow variety, anyway) so we’re using the words interchangeably. Call it gelato, call it ice cream, we don’t mind. You do you.

How long can I keep this dairy free gelato in the freezer?

This dairy free gelato is best eaten within a week. After this time you may find ice crystals begin to form on the gelato and it begins to lose flavor. It never lasts long in our house and I’m sure it won’t in yours either!

What other flavors can I make?

Great options would be to add vanilla bean paste to create vanilla ice cream, or swap the raspberries for strawberries. Feel free to mix and match and experiment. If you love what you come up with, let us know in the comments!

Where can I buy Vegan Condensed Milk?

Vegan Condensed Milk is available in all major supermarket retailers in the UK, and in the US in Walmart and many other major retailers. I found it located with the regular condensed milk rather than in the ‘Free From’ section.

If you’re feeling adventurous you could even make your own!

I can’t find double cream. What can I use instead?

Although we haven’t fully tested this substitute recipe, you should be able to swap the fairy free cream and vegan condensed milk for 1x 400g can of coconut cream or milk and ¼ almond or oat milk. This will alter the flavour but should still create a nice creamy textured gelato.

If you make this vegan gelato recipe I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!