Cashew Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Treat yourself to this delicious peanut butter cookie dough ice cream! Would you believe it’s dairy-free? Surprisingly creamy, this version owes its luscious texture to blended cashews. It’s lighter, salty-sweet, seriously satisfying, and loaded with cookie dough in every bite. We have two methods: one for those with an ice cream maker and one for those without.

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This delicious peanut butter cookie dough ice cream features savory, rich, nutty peanut butter with irresistible cookie dough chunks! Vegan ice cream can get a bad rap, as many are made from coconut milk, which doesn’t have the same fat content or consistency as cream. Enter cashews. They make a neutral base, and the high fat content makes the ice cream super creamy, just like regular ice cream! This recipe also includes LOTS of cookie dough! You know when you buy those little tubs of ice cream from the store, and each time you reach in with your spoon, you’re hoping, fingers crossed, that you’ll come up with a chunk of cookie dough? That doesn’t happen with this ice cream! There are enough cookie dough pieces to have some with every bite – just how it should be.

Key ingredients

Vegan ice cream might not sound… well, creamy. However, the superhero of this dessert are the cashews – they blend up to a luscious consistency, making this peanut butter cookie dough ice cream taste as indulgent as any full dairy ice cream! This is what you need:

Raw cashews: Bring a luscious creamy texture without the need for heavy cream.
Peanut butter : Use salted, all-natural peanut butter. If you have unsalted on hand, just add a pinch of salt to the ice cream.
Coconut oil or butter: Opt for butter for its richness, or coconut oil for a dairy-free option – both making a creamy base of the dough.
Mini chocolate chips: Infuse pockets of chocolatey goodness. You could also sub this for caramel bits to make a peanut butter caramel cookie dough ice cream.

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If you need to make this gluten-free, we suggest using almond flour or a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour.

Should I heat treat the flour?

Raw flour can contain bacteria, so you may want to heat treat it. Heat it in the oven at 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 7-10 minutes, then let it cool before using it.

Do I have to mix the ice cream every 30 minutes for the no-churn method?

You do! This step is important to ensure the ice cream doesn’t form ice crystals and freezes uniformly, resulting in a velvety texture. An ice cream maker continually moves the ice cream around, so without it, it’s best to manually stir every 30 minutes to disrupt the ice cream setting with a gritty or icy texture.

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Ingredients

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

▢ 2 cups raw cashews (see notes)
▢ 1 ½ cups water
▢ ½ cup all-natural salted peanut butter (see notes)
▢ ⅓ cup sugar

▢ 6 tablespoons softened coconut oil or butter
▢ ¼ cup brown sugar
▢ ½ cup all-purpose flour
▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla
▢ ½ cup mini-chocolate chips

Instructions

Place the cashews in a glass jar and cover them with hot water. Let them soak for 30 minutes. 2 cups raw cashews
Rinse the cashews under cold running water and then add them to your blender or food processor. Add 1 ½ cups of fresh water, the peanut butter, and sugar. Blend on high until completely smooth. Note: if you don’t have a high-powered blender, you may want to strain the ice cream through a fine-mesh sieve so it is smooth. ½ cup all-natural salted peanut butter, ⅓ cup sugar, 1 ½ cups water
Place the blended cashews into your fridge and let them cool completely, for about 1 hour.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the coconut oil or butter and sugar with a fork. Add the flour and vanilla and mix until a dough is formed. Stir in the chocolate chips. Break the dough into small pieces and place them on a small baking sheet. Place the tray into your freezer to freeze the cookie dough. 6 tablespoons softened coconut oil or butter, ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons vanilla, ½ cup mini-chocolate chips

Ice Cream Maker Method

Pour the blended cashews into your ice cream maker and process according to manufacturers directions.
Once the ice cream is firm, stir in the frozen cookie dough bites.
Transfer the ice cream to a freezer container and freeze.

No Churn Method

Pour the blended cashews into a large, shallow baking dish and sprinkle the frozen cookie dough bites over the top. Place the dish into your freezer.
After half an hour, remove the dish from your freezer and scrape the ice cream with a spoon to mix it up. Place it back in your freezer. Repeat the scraping and freezing until the ice cream is frozen, about 3-4 times.
Transfer the ice cream to a freezer container and store in your freezer.

Notes

Nutrition

We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here .

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