Sweet Potato Ice Cream Cups with a spicy flavor, made with homemade vegan and dairy free ice cream, 5 main ingredients, and easy to put together in dark chocolate cups.
Sweet Potato Ice Cream Cups
Sweet potato ice cream in snappy chocolate cups. Homemade ice cream snack that is easy to make. I love the ice cream because it is a cool spicy creamy treat. I love the snappy chocolate shell. And together, we have a dazzling multi-season dessert.
Why Sweet Potato Ice Cream Is Delicious
This veggie is the perfect addition to an ice cream recipe because it adds a sweet flavor, and as a puree adds a smooth, thick texture.
To make a puree, you can microwave a sweet potato for 5 minutes, first poked with a fork and wrapped in a paper towel.
BUT I suggest making your ice-cream-making life much easier by using Farmer’s Market Foods sweet potato purees. The sweet potato puree is made of just sweet potatoes. The cans are BPA-free. So using their sweet potato puree in any recipe is a terrifically nutritional addition, but it is especially fun in ice cream because of the flavor and texture it provides.
I also use a bit of pumpkin pie spice, so the flavor is spicy and cool and creamy, and perfect for a summer-time fall treat.
What Are The Benefits Of Eating Sweet Potatoes?
An easy question! Sweet potatoes are wildly nutrition, so high in fiber as well as essential vitamins and minerals. They are rich in antioxidants, boost healthy vision, support the brain and strengthen your immune system.
SO I’d say it’s a great idea to add them to your dinner, lunch, and ice cream…
About Farmer’s Market Food’s Purees
I love using quality canned organic purees for the ease of use and nutrition. The best brand for this in my view is Farmer’s Market Foods. You can visit their website here.
But I will also tell you a bit more. This awesome company does not just sell organic sweet potato puree, but also organic pumpkin and organic butternut squash. The beauty of these canned purees is that they are just the veggie, no additives. And the can is BPA-free. The 16-year-old Oregon company is family-owned and farms their own veggies.
The company’s products are also verified non-GMO, and have a strict allergen control program in place. They block both direct and cross-contamination of peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, eggs, diary, fish and shellfish.
Thinking canned veggies aren’t as healthy as fresh? Think again. Actually quality canned and frozen foods can be healthier because they are not aged and drained of nutrients via shipping. Read this article about why canned foods are healthier for more info!
I have long used Farmer’s Market Foods purees, including in my Butternut Squash recipe here. Watch for more recipes from me that include all their purees this year.
Meanwhile, let’s talk about these terrifically fun and frosty sweet potato ice cream cups.
What Ingredients Are In Sweet Potato Ice Cream
There are a 4 main ingredients and a few others from your pantry.
1. Sweet Potato Puree – I use Farmer’s Market Foods organic sweet potato puree. Find it online or in most markets, especially Whole Foods.
2. Coconut Milk in a can, full fat. I use cans found in the Asian grocery section or sometimes just canned food aisle. Look for brands Thai or Native Forest, or even 365 brand if shopping at Whole Foods. Sometimes the full fat version is called “Classic”. Don’t use coconut milk from the dairy case, that is watered down. And don’t buy “lite” canned coconut milk for this recipe, it is not creamy enough.
Also you want this coconut milk can to be at room temperature. If you refrigerate it before making this ice cream, it will have separated and you’ll have trouble blending it together. If you only have a chilled can available, open the can and pour the contents into a sauce pan and warm gently until the solids and liquids become a creamy milk. Let it cool before pouring into the blender for this recipe.
3. Maple syrup for a sweetener
4. Arrowroot powder is a great thickener, but cornstarch or tapioca powder also work.
5. Vanilla
6. Pumpkin Pie Spice (this collection is normally used for pumpkin pie recipes. You can buy it or use my homemade pumpkin pie spice recipe here.)
How to Make Sweet Potato Ice Cream
I make sweet potato ice cream just like I make all my homemade ice cream. Very simple.
One tip, if you intend to use an ice cream maker, put your ice cream maker container into the freezer the night before (most brands require it). I use this easy simple Cuisinart ice cream maker. I resisted buying one but I finally did and LOVE it. It’s really easy to use and clean, and makes homemade ice cream a BREEZE. Just pour in the blended mixture and churn! But, I include no churn steps too if you don’t have or want an ice cream maker.
To make the ice cream, take these steps:
1. Into a blender, pour 3/4 cup of Farmer’s Market Foods sweet potato puree, and a full can of full-fat coconut milk. Add in maple syrup, arrowroot, vanilla, pumpkin spice and a pinch of salt. Blend the mixture until creamy.
2a. If you plan to use an ice cream maker, put the blended mixture in the refrigerator to chill for an hour. After that, assemble your ice cream maker and turn it on so it is spinning. Pour into the spinning machine the chilled blended mixture, and churn until you have a creamy texture and the churned mixture slows and stops churning in the spinning machine (this means the ice cream is done churning). For me, that was about 20 minutes.
You can eat it right now, a bit soft. Or put it in containers and freeze for good.
2b. If you want to make the ice cream without an ice cream maker, pour the freshly blended mixture into a parchment-lined loaf pan and freeze for an hour. After an hour, chop up the mixture and blend again. Freeze another hour. Chop and blend again. At this point, it should be creamy enough to put into an container and freeze for good.
I am excited because I bought pint paper ice cream cups so I can make and store a lot more homemade ice cream this season.
How to Make Sweet Potato Ice Cream Cups
Once your ice cream is made, melt the chocolate chips in a glass pyrex measuring cup for about 1 minute. I add a tablespoon of coconut oil to the chips beforehand to make the chocolate easier to use.
Then, using a spoon, coat the inside of paper cupcake liners with chocolate. And set the coated liners in the freezer for a few minutes to set the shell.
Add a few tablespoons of ice cream into each chocolate cup, top with chocolate, and freeze for an hour or so before eating. Store frozen.
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