Coconut Lime Ice Cream

Hi Kari, I made the ice cream without avocado as it is not the season of avo in my country. The texture is not smooth and creamy as in the picture. Can I improve the texture by putting in some gelatin powder or frappe? And, I don’t have enough lime so I substitute one lime with one kumquats (coconut water with kumquat and ice is a traditional drink in my country). Maybe the kumquat is too strong, as my ice creams turns out a bit sour, the after taste is all lime, without any hint of coconut. My nephew didn’t like it at his first spoon. I wonder what your cream taste like, how much hint of sourness in it? Your pictures look amazing, wonderful color and texture. Thanks Kari.

The creamy texture of this ice cream has everything to do with the avocados, and I can’t think of perfect substitute. You could try skimming the cream from the top of several cans of coconut milk for a richer texture, but it still won’t be quite as creamy as with avocado. I know some people use gelatin for a smoother texture, but I don’t know how much to use since I’ve never tried it. I’ve never tried kumquats in this, but I think that’s where the bitterness is coming from unless the limes in your country are bitter. This ice cream is definitely lime flavored, but not sour, and there should be coconut flavor as well. The lime is predominant, but you can still taste the coconut. I hope some of this helps, and maybe you can try it again when avocados are in season. Let me know if you have anymore questions!

I’m currently eating this ice cream at nearly 2 AM because I couldn’t sleep and I thought I should taste my creation I made earlier. I sold my ice cream maker a while back after failing to find a great ice cream to make without dairy. I can’t say I’ll reinvest yet, but this could be motivation. I did a double batch because I had so much coconut milk, limes and avocados to use up. It worked out really well! I nixed the water because I haven’t seen it in any other recipes like this and I reduced the maple syrup to a 3/4 cup (per recipe). I also added 1/8 tsp salt to enhance the lime flavour. I had 5 small avocados (for the double batch) on hand and since it didn’t say what size, I used all of them. I have two tubs of this stuff and I may share with friends if I don’t become an addict. It was a bit tedious juicing 8 limes and zesting 3 of them, but it was worth it. I might knock back the lime a tad next time since I nixed the water and mine turned out almost puckery, but I would rather that than too little which I find to be the case in a lot of recipes. I know I made some tweaks, but this is still an awesome recipe!!

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And I’d definitely cut down on the lime if you cut down on the sweetener to keep them balanced. 🙂

I am so excited to try this right now! I have everything blended but the syrup…Iam wondering could I use bananas for the sweetness instead on maple syrup? Thanks so much!

You could use bananas if you’d like but it will definitely affect the flavor – bananas tend to overwhelm other flavors. You could also use date paste which might not compete as much as bananas would. I hope you enjoy the recipe, and be sure to let me know how it goes, or if you have anymore questions!

I so love love this ice cream have used lemons in place of the limes and it’s still delish. Try a few raspberries on top with the lime, they go great together. I add them to my key lime pies now. I love using coconut milk in place of cows milk for ice cream, so much healthier for us. THANK YOU KARI for all your wonderful recipes! You need your own healthy cooking show on Food Network! I follow you on FB

Thanks so much Teresa for your kind words, I’m so glad to hear you’ve been enjoying the recipes – it always makes my day! I’ll definitely try some raspberries next time, they’re my husband’s favorite so he’s going to love the combination!

The color here is absolutely stunning, what lovely visual appeal! Lime and coconut are my favorite flavor combo. Just LOVE it. This dessert gives such a relaxed feel, maybe that’s why in the Caribbean they say “we’re limimg” to just say we’re “chilling out” Lime has that power. And those avocados. Can never get enough of them. Thanks for this!!! Now I gotta go prune my tomatoes. Haha. Or nag my husband to do it!

Lime and coconut is relatively new to me, and I just can’t get enough of it! I had to add some supports to my tomatoes today because they’re starting to break with the weight of the fruit coming on, pretty sure I need a tutorial from you on pruning!

Can I substitute Stevia for the maple syrup? It’s just too much sugar.

You can substitute stevia, the texture won’t be quite as smooth (sugar helps with that in the freezing process) but I know it will still be good! 🙂

If I don’t have avocado – is there anything else I can substitute to make it creamy? The green color in your photos is beautiful. But I ALWAYS have coconut creme on hand – avocados are harder to come by.

Avocado is essential for the smoothest texture, but you can try subbing in and additional can of coconut milk, or coconut cream if you have it. The flavor will still be good, but speaking from experience the texture won’t be quite as smooth. I hope you enjoy it, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions! 🙂

Oh my! Thank you for giving me back some pleasure! I’m currently going through chemo for breast cancer and I’ve changed my diet completely, including no sugar. Even though maple syrup is a safe sweetener for me, I cut the amount back to 3/4 cup and the ice cream was still sweet enough. This will be my treat when I get home from chemo tomorrow (Round 5 of 6 – Yay!)! Trying the chocolate skillet cake next and planning to have it along with a new batch of ice cream for my celebration dessert after my last treatment!

Changing your diet is a really difficult process even in the best of times, so I’m really glad you found our recipes! I hope everything goes well for you, and I’d love to hear more about how the Chocolate Skillet Cake goes. Also, if you’ve been craving brownies, I have a really good recipe on the blog that uses maple syrup as well. I just discovered by accident this weekend that if you double the amount of baking soda that I call for in the recipe, it makes a crispier edge more like the boxed mix versions I remember growing up with. I’ll be updating the recipe sometime this year, but I wanted to let you know in case you are a fellow brownie fan. Wishing you all the best!

Looking forward to trying this flavor tonight! Have been hooked on strawberry ice cream I make with gmo free xylitol and homemade kefir (made with 1% organic milk). This sounds like it will be a great flavor too. I have tried many different natural sugar substitutes in ice cream. Xylitol made from birch bark in the US (not the chinese kind made from corn) gives the best taste and texture.

I hope it turns out well for you, if you don’t mind writing back with how much sweetener you used, I’m sure others will appreciate it! 🙂

This is a fantastic recipe!! Its so smooth and delicious, I definitely will be making this on a regular basis!

I just made it again over the weekend, my husband never gets enough of it and even asks for it on his birthday!

Thanks so much for this recipe! It is delicious! I even substituted coconut sugar for the maple and its amazing!

I’ll have to try that sometime, I think the flavor would be delicious even if it would turn the ice cream brown!

When you switch over to making strawberry ice cream with this recipe… What adjustments do you make to the recipe. EG: Same amount of avocado? Same amount of sweetener? I gather we drop the lime and the lime zest!?!?

When I talked about strawberries I meant the combination of the two, sliced fresh strawberries are a great topping to this ice cream. Let me know if you have anymore questions, and I really hope you enjoy the recipe!

Woo hoo! I enjoyed it with bananas 🙂

So glad you liked it, this is Tyler’s all time favorite ice cream and I think it’s mine too! We’re having it this weekend with strawberries!

I’ve purchased my first ice cream maker and have just made my first ice cream….this one. So easy and so delicious. This will make a delicious and refreshing finish to my next meal for guests. I didn’t have enough maple syrup so added some honey until the taste was to my liking….it’s just perfect thankyou Best wishes from Australia

I’m so glad your first ice cream experience went well! I really love putting fresh strawberries on this ice cream in the springtime when they’re extra sweet and juicy!

Hi Kari, I am eager to try the coconut lime ice cream. I also love ice cream anytime of year. My question is, Can I cut down on the amount of maple syrup in this recipe. A cup sounds like it could be a little to sweet for my taste. Also, could I substitute agave sweetener for the maple syrup? Thanks, Michele

You can definitely cut the sweetener back, and you should be able to substitute agave instead (although sometimes it has a slightly bitter aftertaste). When you’re making the ice cream base start by adding a small amount of maple syrup/agave, then taste to see if it’s sweet enough for you and add more until you get to the right amount! Also once the ice cream is frozen it will taste less sweet than when you first made the base because our taste buds don’t perceive the sweetness the same way once it’s frozen! Let me know how it goes for you, and I really hope you enjoy the recipe!

This was the best ice cream recipe! I made it for a valentines day potluck party. It was such a hit as it was gluten free and lactose free. I had to adjust the number of avocado and limes as the sizes of each differ but it was awesome. As I had no ice-cream maker I used a hand blender to beat it up twice. It was perfect dish for a Costa Rican summer party! Thank you for sharing this recipe.

So glad you enjoyed it! This is my favorite ice cream for the summer months because it’s so refreshing yet still decadent and creamy!

Wonderful! Taste-tested and husband-approved. Just the recipe I needed. OK, to be honest, I always mess with recipes. In this case, the hubby vetoed the 2 whole avocado idea, but he relinquished when I said I’d do 1/3 cup for this try. He didn’t care to taste maple syrup and didn’t want honey or agave, so (yikes) I went with a heaping 1/2 cup of white sugar. Couldn’t help myself and subbed the water with Silk Vanilla Soy (might use some pure coconut water next time) and tossed in a scant pinch of fine salt. All of that went into the Ninja and whirled away for 2-3 minutes? The coconut milk really creamed up beautifully. Without a doubt, the avo adds to the smoothness. And to the nice color. 🙂 After close to 30 minutes in our hot kitchen churning in the Cuisinart Auto-Ice Cream Maker, it was soft-serve consistency and ready to set until our guests arrive this evening. The secret is in the avo. I’ve added them to our smoothies before, so it should be a no-brainer for ice cream, so THIS recipe is stellar. BONUS: We have so many avos (with thanks to a friend), that our neighbors are coming over for a Guacamole Party to help us make use of all of these. The ice cream is just so perfect to fit the avocado “theme” of the evening. This will be the finale to a meal of grilled and also chilled shrimp (shrimp 2 ways), mixed greens, roasted-marinated grilled red bell peppers,some refried beans and maybe a chilled black bean salad… Guac-A-Lot and margaritas. Thank you for such a versatile recipe. Can’t wait to try again and again. Aloha from Hawaii. KC

Your guacamole party sounds amazing – wish I was in Hawaii right now!!! If you’re trying to change over to more natural sweeteners, try Grade A maple syrup because it has very little maple flavor compared to the Grade B which most people put on pancakes. The next best thing would probably be agave nectar (as far as flavor goes) but it sounds like you figured out the perfect way to make this work for you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, it’s one of our all-time favorite recipes! 🙂

Hi Kari, I love this ice cream. Making my second batch now. Totally delicious.

So great to hear from you! This is my husband’s absolute favorite ice cream, and I don’t think I can ever make enough batches! 🙂

I made this ice cream last night and it is so amazingly good!! Even my kids loved it. Thank you so much for the recipe. I went out and bought more ingredients today so I can always have this on hand. Being an ice cream fanatic, it’s so nice to have a healthy version of ice cream for a change.

We’re ice cream fanatics too, doesn’t seem to matter what season it is ice cream always tastes good! I’m so glad your whole family enjoyed it, and if you’re looking for another flavor I think you’d like my Homemade Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream, it also uses avocado as a base which makes for a nice rich texture! 🙂

wow, that coconut lime ice cream recipe looks wonderful! i need something good and healthy to eat treat wise, i hope it works for me. thank you for this recipe. linda

I hope you enjoy it! I can’t seem to make it often enough for my husband – he absolutely loves it! 🙂

I’ve made this recipe twice now – the first time just to test it out, and the second time because the first time was so delicious! I posted about it on my blog, too – the colours of the ice cream are so lovely. Definitely a 5 out of 5 star recipe.

Thanks Emily, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! This ice cream is our favorite dessert to make, and we never tire of pairing it with different berries and peaches!

Found your recipe a couple of weeks ago and made last week. Yum! Used stevia instead of maple syrup due to low carb diet. Also, I don’t have an ice cream maker, so I put the mixture in the freezer and took it out to blend every 30 minutes 3 times and then let sit in freezer over night. Was rock hard. Microwaved for a couple of minutes on low setting and was able to then put in blender one last time to break it up. Was grainy but awesome tasting!! Very refreshing. Next time I will not refrigerate the coconut milk beforehand and saw your suggestion to whip the coconut milk first. My husband is already asking when I am going to make this again.

If you make ice cream often, you’ll probably find you’ll love an ice cream maker. The texture is so much better when it’s frozen properly, still I’m glad you enjoyed it anyways! 🙂

Wow, this sounds terrific! I’m new to your blog and eager to read more! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Liz! Let me know how you like the recipe, it’s a huge hit with my family!

I only have been buying the B and C grade maple syrup for flavour lately. Would this overpower the recipe? Any suggestions?

The maple flavor might be overwhelming it’s hard to say, you could try honey instead. It has a strong flavor, but I think it might be more complimentary! Let me know which one you end up trying!

Awesome ice cream. Whole family loved it… Do you have any idea what the calories/fat and serving size are????

Glad your family loved the ice cream, it’s a favorite in our house as well! I don’t know the calorie count for this ice cream, but you could plug it into a calorie counter if you wanted, (a serving size is 1/2 cup for ice cream).

Hi Kari….Success !!! The ice cream was like a soft serve when I took it out of the ice cream machine but then we left it in the freezer overnight and this today the texture has changed its lovely…so nice and refreshing…Can’t wait to make your other recipes. Thanks so much Julie xxx

Glad to hear it went well! The Coconut Lime Ice Cream keeps it’s texture longer in the freezer than the plain Coconut Ice Cream, I think it has something to do with the avocado. Just thought I’d let you know in case you try that one next. 🙂

Hi Kari I made this ice cream and the taste is absolutely delicious but I added 2 tblspns of arrow root powder to the recipe would this make a difference to it, all my other ice creams have this arrowroot added to them to stop them icing up when put in the freeze, so that’s why I added it to the mix…it does not seem to be going nice & thick like yours in the pic could that be the reason do you think ? Love your site by the way, I am going to work my way through your recipes…..Julie xx Australia

I’m not sure if the arrowroot would affect it or not since it’s not cooked. Every time I’ve made this, the mixture has been thick even before I put it in the ice cream machine. You might need to leave it in the ice cream maker for a little bit longer so that it’s thickened before you take it out. Also, the ice cream in the picture was frozen for an additional 4-6 hours in the freezer after it came out of the ice cream machine because it comes out soft serve. Hope this helps, if not, be sure to write me with more details and maybe we can piece together what happened! 🙂

What can I substitute for maple syrup or honey so it is sugar free? Would granalute stevia be ok? Thanks Denise

Granulated stevia would be a great replacement for maple syrup or honey in this ice cream. Be sure to check the ingredients in your stevia. I was shocked to see the first ingredient in my powdered stevia was agave nectar, which doesn’t bother me but it’s definitely of dietary concern for some people.

Avocados? You devil. That’s how you got that beautiful green colour. I can’t wait to try this!

Is there a substitute for the maple syrup? Agave maybe?

I don’t use agave myself, but I like to use honey. Honey is sweeter than maple syrup, so substitute 3/4 cup honey for the 1 cup of maple syrup.

I gave my husband an icecream maker for his birthday, and he said he would christen it (with vanilla) and then I was free to make what I want. So, I just whipped up the mixture and have it in the fridge for after dinner. I’ll give it another whirl in the blender, and then into the ice cream maker, can’t wait!

This looks like a real winner for summer evenings when the evening temperature is in the +90° range… and congrats on being featured on FoodPornDaily!

We’ve been loving it with the abundance of summer berries that are finally in season here!

I am excited to try your recipes, I’ve been looking for a simple “pure” coconut Ice cream recipe. I want to try your coconut-Lime recipe too. the addition of Avocados is a great idea. I’ll post again to tell you how it came out.

I think you’re really going to like the Coconut Lime Ice Cream, it’s my husband’s favorite dessert!

This looks delicious! I’m looking for gluten-free dairy-free recipes for when my mother in law comes over. I always wonder: what is the difference between canned coconut milk and the coconut milk sold in cartons? (ex. Silk, SoDelicious). Can they be substituted?

The coconut milk in the carton is more diluted than the kind in the can. I would’t use the coconut milk from the carton or your ice cream won’t be as creamy.

What if you don’t have an ice cream maker? Can you just stick it in the freezer?

You can stick it in the freezer and it will still be good, but with a slightly icy texture. You can also whip the coconut milk in a mixer until it’s like whipped cream. Then, mix it with the rest of the ingredients before placing it in the refrigerator. (The whipping process adds air so the ice cream is smoother).

Since you get a green ice cream due to the avocado, I suppose it can be done with mint also. I love mint or choco-mint like the After Eight chocolates.

You could use avocado and mint if you really wanted that ice cream to be green. I’ve made mint ice cream before and it turned out totally white! Also, some people use a few tablespoon of spinach juice, but I don’t know if you would taste it or not.

Could you substitute lemon for lime? I loved lemon custard ice cream as a kid. Would the avocado in this recipe work with lemon? Guess I should try and find out.

Lemon would be delicious – the only thing is your ice cream will be light green, otherwise I think it will be great!

This sounds amazing and you have beautiful photos too! Perfect for summer!

Thanks so much – I hope you like it!

This look SO GOOD!

I’m already making my second batch this week!

Does it stay creamy after it has been in the freezer overnight, or does it turn rock hard?

It depends on the temperature of your freezer. In my freezer above my fridge, this ice cream stays at a scoop-able texture but when I put it in my deep freeze it gets rock hard. To soften it, I place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

OMG we must have been on the same wave length. I made a coconut-lime-avocado smoothie last night. This looks gorgeous.

The flavors are soo.. good together. I’m going to need another batch of ice cream soon – a smoothie might be a quicker fix though!