This cherry fudge swirl ice cream is made healthier, paleo, and vegan with coconut milk and pure maple sugar. It’s rich and creamy with a dreamy chocolate fudge swirl and lots of chopped fresh cherries in every bite. Egg free, vegan, dairy free, refined sugar free and absolutely irresistible!
Cherries and chocolate – is there anyone who can say no to that combo? I mean who would ever want to?
I remember the first time I had a chocolate covered cherry. I believe it was from one of those boxes that you had to sell to family members/whoever back in elementary school in exchange for getting a slinky or something.
The chocolate cherries, of course, became my new favorite thing, and, perhaps, I might even consider them my favorite chocolate candy of all time. Or close. They’re definitely up there in the top 5!
I’ve thought about making a paleo version of actual chocolate covered cherries about a thousand times, but then, each time, I realize they’re just one of those desserts that needs to remain in its original form the sake of the memory!
However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to combine chocolate and cherries in other ways, like say, for example in an ice cream. And hey, look what we have right here – a paleo and vegan cherry fudge swirl ice cream!
What a coincidence. Obviously.
Joking aside, I’ve wanted to make a cherry/chocolate ice cream all summer. I was originally thinking about a fudge chunk ice cream, and to be totally honest, that was my intention when I began the recipe!
But, the fudge “chunks” I made never actually hardened (coconut milk measurement was off!) but rather chilled into a thick gooey sauce that I knew would be perfect to swirl in for rich chocolate flavor next to the vanilla base.
And also (of course!) alongside those cherries!
The ice cream itself is really simple if you have a great ice cream maker like this one I use. It’s a coconut milk base sweetened with both maple sugar and syrup – a combo I’ve been loving lately for homemade ice cream.
The maple sugar is fine enough to avoid any graininess and actually thickens the ice cream as well. If you haven’t tried it, you absolutely must! It’s become my go-to granulated sweetener for nearly everything and once you try it, you’ll be hooked too.
Even with the ice cream maker, I find that coconut milk ice cream can still become a bit icy in the freezer.
My solution to this is actually to add a bit of almond butter or cashew butter to the ice cream base – it helps make it creamier and avoid that “frozen solid” thing that can happen.
I also add extra vanilla extract to help with the iciness, and honestly, I’m not totally sure it works, but, it makes the ice cream taste amazing!
Okay, I think we’re all absolutely dying to finally make this cherry fudge swirl ice cream! Let’s get those cherries pitted and churn away!
Paleo + Vegan Cherry Fudge Swirl Ice Cream
Paleo + Vegan Cherry Fudge Swirl Ice Cream
Ingredients
Fudge:
- 3 Tbsp coconut milk full fat
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chopped, or dark chocolate chips
Ice Cream:
- 2 14 oz cans coconut milk full fat, canned *see note
- 1/3 cup pure maple sugar
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tbsp smooth almond butter optional, for texture**
- 1 cup cherries sweet, pitted and chopped
Instructions
Fudge:
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Place the chocolate and coconut milk in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave about 30 seconds. Stir until a thick fudgy mixture results. You can also do this step in a saucepan on very low heat, stirring constantly.
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Place the fudge mixture in the freezer while you prepare the ice cream.
Ice Cream:
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Make sure the bowl for your ice cream maker has been placed in the back of your freezer for 48 hours prior to using.
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In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer or whisk, cream together the coconut milk, maple sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and nut butter (if using).
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Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn for about 25 minutes or until at least soft serve texture.
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Stir in the chopped cherries and transfer the ice cream to a medium loaf pan or other freezer safe container.
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Remove fudge from the freezer and use a spoon to dollop in on the ice cream and a knife to swirl it in. Use as much or as little as you like. Cover the ice cream with plastic wrap and freeze another 2 hours or until solid.
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Once frozen solid, you can thaw the ice cream in the refrigerator to make it easier to scoop. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Chill for at least 24 hours prior to opening. After opening, discard about half of the water part (it’s mostly clear) from each can prior to using in the recipe **you can use any creamy nut butter for this is desired, it helps the ice cream not to freeze solid.
Nutrition
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Want More Paleo and Vegan Ice Cream Recipes? Try One of These!
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Chocolate Almond Butter Cookie Dough Ice Cream {No-Churn}
Espresso Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough No-Churn Ice Cream
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Would like to make this recipe, but don’t have an ice cream maker. Would I be able to just use the loaf pan and stir every so often?
Yes, in theory that would work, it will definitely be more icy though than if it were churned. If you do this, I’d wait until it’s mostly frozen before stirring in the cherries and fudge.
can i use frozen cherries in this recipe?
YUM! This ice cream looks so refreshing and perfect for the summer!
MADE this ice cream, amazing really delish! Not to sweet, which I like. Very easy! Probably taste great without cherries also!
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Can we make this ice cream without a ice cream machine?
I would love to hear how this flavor is! We tried peanut butter, chocolate, and vanilla.
I see the nutritional info, but what is the serving size?
Looks yummy…
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I actually tried to make this during the quarantine but it ends with a disaster. I am a content writer at https://www.thejacketoutlet.com/ not a professional cook, hell, I can’t even make a fired egg.
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I love all your recipes but this just didn’t turn out well. The chocolate was completely solid when I took it out of the freezer and it is unclear how to use the coconut milk. Do you use the cream at the top plus half of the water that is left over or just the cream at the top of the can? Also when I tried to use a hand mixer the coconut cream never completely dissolved, there were still chunks so I tried to smush them with the spatula. Once I added the cherries it made the whole thing go from ice cream back to soupy. I guess because of the juice from the cherries.
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