Key Lime Pie Coconut Milk Ice Cream was inspired by some ice cream we had at a local shop here in Raleigh. Along with the Brookie flavored ice cream I mentioned the other day, they had a dairy-free Key lime flavored dessert made with coconut milk. Technically, it's not ice cream since it's made without cream, but when you're limiting dairy it feels good to pretend it is. Coconut milk creations are a decent stand-in.

Key lime pie coconut milk ice cream in a pint carton.

So here's the version I made at home. I was going for maximum Key lime pie flavor without using lime extract, so I used a combination of Nellie & Joe's Key lime juice, lime zest and vanilla. I also tested with both gluten-free graham crackers and gingersnaps and both cookies worked well.

Key Lime Syrup aka Sugar and Lime Juice Reduction

Syrups are often used in ice cream to enhance the creamy texture. This is why a lot of coconut milk ice cream recipes call for corn, maple or agave syrup. For my first batch, I used a combination of corn syrup and Nellie & Joe's Key lime juice. The ice cream was good, but a little icier than I wanted it to be, which was probably due to the straight key lime juice. So for the second and third rounds, I omitted the corn syrup and made my own lime syrup by boiling sugar with a mixture of water and Nellie & Joe's Key lime juice. Here's a picture of the lime syrup.

A syrup made from sugar, water, and Key lime juice. — 187 grams of Key Lime Juice/Water/Sugar reduced to about 112 grams. Also reduced a batch to 85 grams. Both worked, but the one that was slightly less reduced had a cleaner flavor and was thin enough to just whisk with the coconut milk.

Very Lime-y, Very Creamy

Once the syrup cooled, I blended it with some lime zest, vanilla and coconut milk then chilled the creamy mixture before processing in the ice cream machine. The Key lime syrup did the trick! Compared to the first batch, this one was much smoother and creamier. And it was lime-y! I'm sure "tart" is a better word, but the whole family kept saying "lime-y" so we'll go with that. The fact I added ½ tablespoon of lime zest might have also had something to do with this. Feel free to use less, although I think Key lime lovers appreciate tartness.

Softened coconut milk ice creak — Here it is after standing for about 10 minutes.

Vodka

I have mixed feelings on whether or not the vodka did anything for coconut milk ice cream, but since the texture was so pleasing I'd be hesitant to leave it out. If you can't use vodka, then skip it. In theory, alcohol is supposed to make ice cream more scoopable, and I guess it does to some extent. Or at least for the first 12 hours or so. Even if you use alcohol, the ice cream will become fairly solid in 24 hours and you'll still need to let it soften for 10-15 minutes or so before serving. So if you have vodka, use it. If you don't want to, then don't.

Key Lime Coconut Milk Ice Cream that has not yet softened.

Small Batch Key Lime Pie Coconut Milk Ice Cream

This is a small batch recipe, and I plan to keep it that way so I can make it often and test out different brands of coconut milk. I may even try it with coconut cream, but honestly the coconut milk versions are rich enough. Just don't use the "light" kind! So far I've tested with Wegmans and 365 brands, both of which have guar gum. Given that guar gum is also used in ice cream as a stabilizer, it's probably beneficial to the ice cream's texture. So if you don't have problems digesting gums you may want to stick with coconut milk with guar gum. Or not! If you test it with a guar gum free coconut milk, let me know how it goes.

Recipe