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Homemade Coconut Ice Cream

Homemade coconut ice cream with a silky custard base and toasted coconut flakes folded throughout for a dense, fragrant, deeply creamy scoop. This easy coconut ice cream recipe uses coconut milk and churned, then frozen until firm.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Coconut ice cream base
  • 27 oz full-fat coconut milk Use canned coconut milk for best texture.
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar Stir until fully dissolved before custard cooking.
  • 4 egg yolks Whisk smooth to prevent streaks.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.5 tsp coconut extract
  • 0.25 tsp salt Balances sweetness.
Toasted coconut flakes
  • 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut Toast until golden before folding into the churned ice cream.

Equipment

  • 1 ice cream maker
  • 1 saucepan

Method
 

Make the coconut custard
  1. Heat the full-fat coconut milk and granulated sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture steams.
  2. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth, then slowly whisk the hot coconut milk mixture into the yolks to temper them.
  3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 175F and coats the back of a spoon.
  4. Strain the custard, then stir in the vanilla extract, coconut extract, and salt and cool completely.
Chill, churn, and freeze
  1. Refrigerate the cooled custard at least 4 hours, until thoroughly chilled.
  2. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, then fold in the toasted shredded sweetened coconut during the last 2 minutes.
  3. Freeze the churned ice cream until firm.

Notes

For the smoothest custard, temper the egg yolks slowly so they don’t scramble; whisk continuously and keep the saucepan at a steady medium-low once cooking begins. Refrigerate the finished base up to 24 hours before churning. Freeze the finished ice cream up to 2 months for best texture. Dairy-free swap: this recipe is already dairy-free because it uses coconut milk instead of cream or milk.