Vegan Rocky Road Ice Cream Recipe (2024)

Fudgy chocolate ice cream with soft pillowy vegan marshmallows, chocolate, and slivered almonds. Is there anything better? This vegan Rocky Road ice cream tastes just as good as the dairy kind, but it’s completely dairy-free! Plus it’s easy to make using just 5 ingredients (plus mix-ins), and it’s crazy-good.

This ice cream is made with a base of coconut milk (the full fat kind from a can) which gives it the perfect thick creaminess that we all want in our ice cream. Not a huge fan of coconut? Don’t worry, there isn’t a strong coconut flavor. In fact, it’s hard to detect the coconut amidst all the chocolatey goodness. I myself am not a big fan of store-bought coconut ice creams, but after playing with a lot of homemade vegan ice cream recipes, I’ve found that those with a coconut milk base have the best consistency, creaminess, and taste the most like dairy ice cream.

Why This Vegan Rocky Road Ice Cream Recipe is So Awesome

So Delicious
Simple, easy, and fun to make
Soy-free
Dairy-free
Customizable amounts of candy, chocolate, and nuts
Free of preservatives, additives, and anything you don’t want
Fun activity to do with the family

Do You Need An Ice Cream Maker In Your Life?

Friends. How did I go a full decade as a vegan without an ice cream maker? I was gifted this Cuisinart ice cream maker over the holidays this past year (thanks, Andy!) and have been blown away by how easy it is to make my own vegan ice cream from scratch. In minutes.

Okay, the whole process takes some time because things need to chill and freeze, but the actual hands-on work is so simple it’s crazy. Totally worth every minute for the taste.

Tips For Serving Up Your Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

The most obvious choice is to just spoon this dairy-free ice cream right out of the machine and into your mouth! But, we’re civilized, right? (hmmmm…might be debatable) Anyway, if you’re looking to elevate the enjoyment of this delightful and decadent dessert, here are a few of our favorite tips:

Glam It Up with Fancy Glasses – Nothing makes ice cream look more magnificent than a pretty cut glass filled with creamy goodness. Short and stocky or elongated and elegant, you can’t go wrong!
Treasure the Toppings – What you add on top of this rocky road vegan ice cream is just as important as what’s inside. Consider vegan chocolate sprinkles, mellow marshmallows, crunchy nuts, and luscious coconut whipped cream. Go for the gold standard with thick pieces of rich chocolate bark or silky smooth vegan nutella. Yum!
Opt for Ice Cream Sandwiches – Super easy to do, friends! Take two of your favorite vegan cookies, add a large scoop of vegan rocky road ice cream inside, and top with another cookie. Press well and wrap in freezer page or place in a freezer-safe container. Free for about 30 minutes, grab, and enjoy! Mix it up by using a different cookie on the top and the bottom! Whoa.

Equipment You’ll Need For This Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert

To make this recipe you’ll will need an ice cream maker and a blender. It’s also helpful to have containers to store the ice cream in (I love these), but any Tupperware containers or silicone bags will work in a pinch.

Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Rubber Spatula or Wooden Spoon
Serving Bowls or Ice Cream Cones

Vegan Rocky Road Ice Cream

Author: Michelle Cehn

5 from 17 votes

This is the best vegan rocky road ice cream ever! It's easy to make at home, as long as you have an ice cream maker. You must give it a try!

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Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Ingredients

2 cans coconut milk, full fat
⅔ cup cocoa powder
⅔ cup agave nectar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegan mini marshmallows, I love the brand Dandies
⅓ cup vegan chocolate chips, roughly chopped
¼ cup almonds, raw or toasted; sliced, slivered, or finely chopped

Instructions

Advance Prep: Freeze the ice cream maker bowl for at least 24 hours before beginning (or follow ice cream maker directions). This is an essential step for getting the right ice cream consistency!
In a blender, add the coconut milk, cocoa powder, agave nectar, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and blend until completely smooth. Pour into a bowl, cover, and set in the fridge for at least 1 hour to chill (longer is fine too).
Set up your ice cream maker with the fully-frozen canister, turn it on, and gently pour in the chilled soupy chocolate mixture. Allow ice cream maker to run until the mixture turns from soup to thick soft serve. This usually takes about 10-15 minutes, but look for visual signs of readiness and follow your ice cream maker's instructions as the time can vary significantly.
Meanwhile, prepare the add-ins so they're all ready to mix in as soon as the ice cream maker is done. In this case, measure out the marshmallows and chop up the chocolate and almonds.
As soon as it's ready, using a spatula, quickly scoop all the soft ice cream into a storage container and gently fold in the prepared marshmallows, chocolate, and almonds. The ice cream will be very soft (similar to soft serve) and will melt quickly, so work fast and transfer to the freezer as soon as you're done!

Notes

Do not store the ice cream in the ice cream maker's basin. That tub gets so cold in the freezer that it will be near-impossible to get the ice cream to soften enough to come out of it when you want to eat it. You can use a generic plastic tupperware or you can find reusable pint ice cream containers online.

Nutrition

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword dairy-free ice cream recipe, vegan ice cream recipe, vegan rocky road ice cream

Rocky Road Q&A

Does Rocky Road ice cream have gelatin?

Yes, most commercial dairy ice cream contains not only cornstarch to thicken the mixture, but also gelatin. Gelatin is not vegan.

What flavor of ice cream is Rocky Road?

Rocky Road is usually a blend of chocolate ice cream with marshmallows, nuts, and chocolate.

Where does the name Rocky Road come from?

It all started after 1853 in Australia when traveling businessmen were having a hard time selling candies and chocolates. They decided to mix them up and see if they would sell as something new. Because this “new” treat was first tried out around the rough and rocky terrain area of Melbourne, they used the name “rocky road” to describe it.

More Vegan Ice Cream Recipes To Try:

Perfect Vegan Ice Cream Cake
Strawberry Ice Cream
Healthy Banana ‘Nice Cream’
Vegan Ice Cream Guide
Matcha Chip Vegan Ice Cream
Mango Berry Nice Cream

Vegan Rocky Road Ice Cream photos and recipe by Michelle Cehn for World of Vegan. Recipe and photographs copyright of World of Vegan™, all rights reserved. We want to thank our amazing recipe testers Taylor Gillespi and Aubree Summersfor helping us perfect this recipe! Please note that this article contains affiliate links which means shopping through them helps lights on at World of Vegan!