This watermelon ice cream recipe was first posted in 2014 and has since been revamped and rephotographed for relevance and quality!
It’s general consensus that the all-time-favourite summer food for most people is watermelon. Of course there’s the odd duck who doesn’t like watermelon (seriously?) but for the most part it’s a big crowd-pleaser and a must-have at any summer gathering.
On a hot summer day this perfectly sweet, hydrating, juicy, and nourishing fruit definitely hits the spot and it’s oh-so-good for you. Watermelon is packed with vitamin C, making it a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, and as the name suggests, it’s loaded with water making this fruit a natural diuretic that helps cleanse the body.
I first made this watermelon ice cream back in the summer of 2014 when I was brainstorming ideas on how to use watermelon in a recipe that was a little…unlikely. We often see watermelon in fruit platters, punch, salads, popsicles, even smoothies, but not very often do we find creamy, rich, satisfying watermelon ice cream.
So, to the “drawing board” I went… or in this case, the Vitamix!
In my trusty high-speed blender I combined rich and creamy coconut milk, added in dates for natural sweetness and a touch of fibre, vanilla, a pinch of salt to draw out the flavours and then, the main star of the show, fresh, vibrant, juicy watermelon. This created a smooth, beautifully pink, watermelon ice cream liquid that I popped in the freezer to set.
A few hours later when all was frozen nicely, I broke it into chunks then placed it back in the Vitamix which blended the watermelon mixture to create the perfect ice-cream consistency. This is the best method for creating homemade ice cream if you do not have an ice cream machine.
When I put the first spoonful of watermelon ice cream in my mouth I was SO pleasantly surprised at how well the watermelon flavour shone through. I was a bit worried it would taste too much like coconut but the two flavours worked together beautifully and there was no mistaking that the main ingredient was watermelon…and the pretty pink hue helped too!
Isn’t it so great that all you need is a blender and you can make your own ice cream with barely any effort at all?! Next I plan to try apricot ice cream, blueberry ice cream, maybe even coffee ice cream? The sky’s the limit my friends!
You can make so many varieties of this simple homemade ice cream, just use coconut milk, dates, and vanilla as the base and add in whatever you wish.
Today, it’s watermelon ice cream for the win! Be sure to pin the photo below to save this recipe for later!
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 5 pitted medjool dates or 2 tablespoons of honey
- ⅛ teaspoon scraped vanilla bean or ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1½ cups cubed watermelon
- Blend all ingredients in a blender and transfer to a brownie or cake pan.
- Place in the freezer for 3 hours or until hardened.
- Break frozen watermelon mixture into chunks and place back in the blender.
- Blend until a creamy consistency is reached.
- Place back in a container or large bowl and place in the freezer to firm up for about 30 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Christal // NITK
Curious as to how you’d make coffee ice cream???
Add in a touch of ground coffee to the ice cream base! 🙂
Love no-churn ice cream recipes! Such a fun summer flavor to try with coconut and watermelon 🙂
Thanks Brittany!
Hello – please fix your link as my website is not “Nutrition Stripped” it is “Nutritionist in the Kitch”