A delicious Caribbean inspired frozen dessert! Creamy coconut milk ice-cream flavoured with lime, spices and brown sugar is an indulgent, dairy free dessert recipe.

According to Jewish dietary laws (kashrut) one cannot eat a dairy dessert after a meat meal. This has been taken as something of a challenge by kosher cooks, who strive to produce gooey, creamy puddings without any milk in them. With varying degrees of success.

A metal bowl containing two scoops of lime and coconut ice-cream.

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Parve ice-cream

Dairy-free (parve) ice-cream is pretty easy to come by, and like most things, some are better than others. Like all pseudo-foods, many of them contain a whole host of stuff I’d rather not eat, given a choice. Therefore I decided it was time to attempt a parve ice-cream made with only natural ingredients.

A bowl containing a slice of grilled pineapple and two scoops of coconut milk ice-cream. The edge of a spoon is just visible.

Totally tropical – coconut milk ice-cream

Given that my starting point was a can of coconut milk, it seemed only right to run with the tropical theme. Thinking back to a wonderful holiday in St Lucia a few years ago, I flavoured my coconut ice-cream recipe with lime and spices, and used brown sugar to add a hint of Caribbean sweetness. If I hadn’t been planning to serve this to children, I would probably have added a dash of rum too.

A bowl containing a slice of grilled pineapple topped with two scoops of coconut milk ice-cream with lime and spices.

Zingy and delicious

I was a bit worried that one lime wouldn’t be enough, but in fact the flavour was perfect – just enough citrus to balance the coconut, and with a warm molasses undertone from the brown sugar and spices. Delicious!

Although not quite as creamy as a dairy ice-cream, this coconut ice-cream slipped down a treat, and went perfectly on top of barbecued pineapple.

Overhead image of a bowl of dairy free lime & coconut ice-cream with barbecued pineapple. A spoon is to the left.

I will certainly be experimenting with further flavours of dairy-free coconut milk ice-cream, so watch this space! If you have any suggestions for flavours to try, please leave them in the comments.

This made about 700ml of ice-cream.

Coconut milk ice-cream with lime and tropical spices.

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📖 Recipe

Lime and coconut ice-cream (dairy free, parve)

A delicious Caribbean inspired frozen dessert – coconut ice-cream flavoured with lime, spices & brown sugar to create an indulgent, dairy free treat.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Course Dessert

Cuisine Vegetarian

Servings servings

Calories 249 kcal

Ingredients

400 ml can coconut milk (approx. 1¾ cups)
125 g light brown sugar (demerara or muscovado) (approx. ⅔ cup)
1 egg
Zest and juice of a lime
½ teaspoon mixed spice

Instructions

400 ml can coconut milk, 125 g light brown sugar (demerara or muscovado), 1 egg, Zest and juice of a lime, ½ tsp mixed spice
Thoroughly mix all the ingredients until the sugar is dissolved and everything is very well combined.
Pour into an ice-cream maker and churn for around 30 minutes until frozen. Eat immediately, or transfer to a container and store in the freezer until ready to serve.

Notes

Delicious served with barbecued pineapple or tropical fruits such as mango or papaya.

NB This recipe contains raw eggs and this ice cream should NOT be consumed by pregnant women, or those with a weakened immune system.
In the UK, lion stamped eggs are guaranteed to be free from salmonella. Raw eggs may be more or less risky to consume depending on where you are located and the source of your eggs.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Lime and coconut ice-cream (dairy free, parve)

Amount per Serving

Calories

249

% Daily Value*

Fat

Saturated Fat

Trans Fat

0.003

Polyunsaturated Fat

0.3

Monounsaturated Fat

Cholesterol

Sodium

Potassium

228

Carbohydrates

Fiber

Sugar

Protein

Vitamin A

Vitamin C

Calcium

Iron

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword coconut, lime

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More delicious dairy-free ice-creams

If you’re after more dairy-free ice-creams, try these:
Vegan stem ginger ice-cream from Family Friends Food.
Home made fab ice lollies from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary.
Vegan chocolate ice-cream from Penelope’s Pantry.
Almond banana ice-cream from Recipes from a Pantry.
2-ingredient peanut butter ice-cream from the Petite Cook.
No-churn honey cake ice-cream from Family Friends Food.

Comments

Malka

April 01, 2023 at 11:53 pm

This ice-cream has such rave reviews and i’d love to make it.
Not necessarily for pesach, is there a substitute I could use for the raw egg in this ice-cream?

- Helen
  
  April 03, 2023 at 10:05 am
  
  Hi Malka, I think the best thing would be to omit the egg and use cornflour to thicken the mixture into a custard as per this recipe for stem ginger ice cream. It’s slightly more involved but it does give a lovely creamy result without using egg. I hope this helps! All the best, Helen.
  
Sarah Klinkowitz

August 05, 2015 at 4:39 pm

Lime and coconut is a match made in heaven, and I am loving the grill on that pineapple slice!

- Helen
  
  August 05, 2015 at 5:13 pm
  
  Thanks Sarah. It really is delicious!
  
Foodie Quine (@foodiequine)

July 19, 2015 at 11:58 am

This sounds lovely! I often do fresh pineapple on the BBQ and this would be a perfect match.

- Helen
  
  July 19, 2015 at 2:57 pm
  
  It was fabulous with grilled pineapple. Make sure to add a splash of rum too 🙂
  
Rosana, Hot&Chilli Food and Travel Blog

July 13, 2015 at 9:40 pm

I love both coconut and lime, its a taste of my childhood. This recipe sounds great and simple, ideal for the weather we are having. Thanks for sharing it. R

- Helen
  
  July 13, 2015 at 9:45 pm
  
  Thanks Rosana. You’re right – it is simple, and it is great! I love easy summer food 🙂
  
fashionandstylepolice

July 13, 2015 at 9:25 pm

This looks yummy. Fab summer dessert.

- Helen
  
  July 13, 2015 at 9:27 pm
  
  Thanks! It was delicious, and very summery.
  
hann182014

July 13, 2015 at 9:18 pm

This looks really nice and great to cool you down in this hot weather too x

- Helen
  
  July 13, 2015 at 9:22 pm
  
  Thanks – it is certainly very refreshing 😀
  
choclette

July 13, 2015 at 8:48 pm

The flavours here sound wonderful and using coconut cream is no hardship, er, although I haven’t actually tried doing it myself yet! How about trying a chocolate sorbet using dark chocolate – another thing on my very long list I want to try.

- Helen
  
  July 13, 2015 at 9:08 pm
  
  Oooh, chocolate sorbet! Now you’re talking! I shall add it to my ‘to do’ list…
  
Lisa

July 13, 2015 at 6:24 pm

Wow I never knew that about kosher desserts! And coconut and lime sounds delicious! I am definitely trying this x

- Helen
  
  July 13, 2015 at 6:59 pm
  
  Thanks Lisa! I hope you enjoy it.
  
Emily @amummytoo

July 13, 2015 at 12:56 pm

Ooh lime and coconut sounds like a lovely combination. And fab that’s it’s dairy free.

- Helen
  
  July 13, 2015 at 12:58 pm
  
  Thanks Emily! It’s delicious and really refreshing and summery 🙂
  
Andrea @ The Petite Cook

July 13, 2015 at 12:27 pm

I tend to make more dairyfree ice cream than normal, so this is gona be a must-try for me! Love the grilled pineapple idea too 🙂 thanks for sharing my 2- ingredient peanut butter ice cream recipe!

- Helen
  
  July 13, 2015 at 12:44 pm
  
  Thanks Andrea. The barbecued pineapple is brilliant – with or without the ice-cream!
  
  - Andrea @ The Petite Cook
    
    July 18, 2015 at 9:24 am
    
    Definitely genius! I’ll try it out today for another recipe, thanks for the illumination 🙂

Lime & coconut ice-cream – dairy-free, parve tropical frozen dessert

Parve ice-cream

Totally tropical – coconut milk ice-cream

Zingy and delicious

📖 Recipe