Honey Walnut Ice Cream (Dairy Free, Ninja Creami)

This creamy Honey Walnut Ice Cream combines a sweet vanilla ice cream base with crunchy walnuts caramelized in honey. The honey-coated walnuts become sweet, toasted, and crispy, adding the perfect contrast to the creamy ice cream. Made in the Ninja Creami, this easy homemade ice cream is dairy free, gluten free, and paleo, with simple vegan and traditional ice cream maker options.

I love caramelized nuts! The sweet and salty flavor, and crunchy and gooey textures make them absolutely addictive. As an ice cream fanatic, I knew I had to combine two delicious things into one with this honey nut ice cream. And, of course, I had to make it in my beloved Ninja Creami for the easiest ice cream that sounds fancy!

You only need a handful of ingredients to make this easy dairy free Ninja Creami ice cream and I even provide instructions for how to make it in a traditional ice cream machine. Make the base, freeze, spin, and fold in the caramelized honey walnuts for a seriously good dessert.

Why You'll Love This Honey Walnut Ice Cream

• Dairy free: this homemade ice cream recipe is completely dairy free, gluten free, paleo, and soy free.
• Vegan option: swap honey for maple syrup and you've got a fully plant-based version without losing the caramelized flavor.
• Naturally sweetened: honey (or maple syrup) does double duty, caramelizing the walnuts and sweetening the base for a refined sugar free ice cream.
• Easy to make: no tempering egg yolks, no heating and cooling an ice cream base. We use simple main ingredients and a straightforward mix and spin process.
• Caramelized walnuts: toasting walnuts in honey deepens their flavor (and the honey flavor) and gives you a deliciously sweet crunch in every bite.

Why Caramelize the Walnuts for Ice Cream?

Raw walnuts can taste flat or bitter when frozen in ice cream. Caramelizing them in honey brings out their natural richness and adds a deep, toasted flavor. A little cinnamon adds warmth, while the honey creates a lightly candied coating that gives the walnuts a satisfying crunch even when they're folded into the frozen ice cream.

Ingredients for Honey Walnut Ice Cream

For the caramelized walnuts:

• Walnuts: you'll need shelled walnut pieces or walnut halves roughly chopped.
• Coconut oil: you can also use dairy free butter.
• Honey: a light or dark variety will work.
• Coconut sugar: adds a little extra sweetness and helps create a crisp, caramelized coating around the walnuts.
• Cinnamon: cinnamon balances the sweetness and provides a warming flavor to the walnuts.
• Sea salt: I suggest using a flaky salt to balance the sweetness and create the perfect sweet-and-salty bite.

For the honey ice cream base:

• Coconut milk: stick to full fat coconut milk for the best texture.
• Honey: any honey will do. I advise sticking to a lighter variety for the base. Darker honey can have a much richer flavor which can be overpowering for the ice cream base, but will work beautifully for caramelizing the walnuts.
• Coconut sugar: just a little bit of coconut sugar goes into the ice cream base to balance the flavors.
• Vanilla extract

How to Make Ninja Creami Honey Walnut Ice Cream

1. Make the walnuts first by combining all ingredients in a large sauté pan, making sure walnuts are evenly coated. 
2. Toast nuts for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until fragrant and honey has darkened in color (but not burnt).
3. Pour walnuts onto a parchment lined baking sheet to cool. Be sure to pour any leftover liquid in the pan over the walnuts. Store walnuts in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
4. For the ice cream base, whisk or blend all of the ingredients together until smooth.
5. Pour base mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container to the max fill line, place storage lid on top, and freeze for 12-24 hours. Be sure the pint is sitting on a level surface in the freezer.
6. Before spinning, microwave the ice cream base for 30 seconds or run the outside under hot water for a minute.
7. Add the pint to the Ninja Creami container and secure the outer bowl lid.
8. Spin on the lite ice cream setting. Don't worry if the ice cream looks slightly chalky after the first spin. The mix-in step will help smooth the texture, so there's no need to re-spin before adding the walnuts
9. Break up the chunks of walnuts and add half of them to the pint. Use the mix-in setting.
10. Serve with extra caramelized walnuts and a drizzle of honey.

Substitutions and Variations

• Coconut milk: if you don't like coconut milk, you can use another full fat dairy free milk like cashew milk. For a lower fat version, use half full fat coconut milk and half milk of choice (like almond milk or oat milk). This will result in a less creamy texture, but still taste good.
• Honey: use maple syrup for a vegan option.
• Coconut sugar: brown sugar will also work, but is not refined sugar free.
• Walnuts: pecans or pistachios would be a great substitute for a flavor variation.
• Baklava ice cream: this ice cream reminds me a lot of Baklava and you could turn this into a Baklava ice cream by mixing in some crushed sheets of puff pastry (just be sure to use a gluten free variety).
• Other variations: add a splash of bourbon extract to the base for extra depth. You could also mix in frozen bananas for a banana walnut ice cream.

Ninja Creami Tips for the Best Honey Walnut Ice Cream

• Don't walk away while caramelizing the walnuts! Honey burns fast, so you want to stir frequently and keep watch.
• Let the caramelized walnuts cool completely and harden before mixing in, or they'll melt into the base instead of staying crunchy
• Use full fat coconut milk for the creamiest texture.
• I always suggest microwaving the frozen ice cream base for 30 seconds or running the outside under hot water for a minute or two to soften the ice cream base for best results. This helps with ice crystals and the number of times you have to re-spin for a creamy texture.
• For this recipe, don't re-spin the ice cream if chalky after the first spin. Adding the walnuts on the mix-in setting will smooth out the ice cream.

Storage

If you don't finish this dairy free honey walnut ice cream, smooth over the top of the pint and re-freeze any leftovers. You can re-spin the ice cream when ready to eat the rest, following the same directions as above. Just note that the walnuts will become blended into the base upon re-spinning, so you'll need to add a fresh handful of caramelized walnuts when serving leftovers.

FAQ

More Delicious Homemade Ice Cream Recipes

Dairy Free Salted Honey Ice Cream

Dairy Free Honey Roasted Fig Ice Cream

Ninja Creami Kitchen Sink Ice Cream

Vegan Cinnamon Ice Cream

Vegan Salted Caramel Ice Cream

If you try this Honey Walnut Ice Cream, please leave a rating and review below! I love hearing from you.

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Honey Walnut Ice Cream (Dairy Free, Ninja Creami)

Walnuts are toasted in honey and cinnamon until caramelized and crunchy, then folded into a rich dairy free coconut milk ice cream made in the Ninja Creami. Sweet, salty, crunchy, and fully dairy free and paleo with a vegan option.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword caramelized walnuts, dairy free honey ice cream, dairy free ice cream, gluten free ice cream sandwiches, honey ice cream, honey walnut ice cream, ninja creami ice cream, paleo dessert, paleo ice cream, walnut ice cream

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Freeze Time 12 hours hours

Total Time 12 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 1 pint

Author Victoria Faling

Equipment

• Ninja Creami

Ingredients

Honey Walnuts

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or dairy free butter
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon flaky salt

Ice Cream

• 2 cups coconut milk
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Instructions

• Please note: ice cream needs 12-24 hours to freeze, so you can make the base a day or more in advance and keep in the freezer.

Walnuts

• To make the walnuts, combine all ingredients in a large sauté pan, making sure walnuts are evenly coated.
• Toast nuts for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until fragrant and honey has darkened in color (but not burnt).
• Pour walnuts onto a parchment lined baking sheet to cool. Be sure to pour any leftover liquid in the pan over the walnuts. Store walnuts in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

Ice Cream

• For the ice cream base, whisk or blend all of the ingredients together until smooth.
• Pour base mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container to the max fill line, place storage lid on top, and freeze for 12-24 hours. Be sure the pint is sitting on a level surface in the freezer.
• Before spinning, microwave the ice cream base for 30 seconds or run the outside under hot water for a minute.
• Add the pint to the Ninja Creami container and secure the outer bowl lid.
• Spin on the lite ice cream setting. Don't worry if the ice cream looks slightly chalky after the first spin. The mix-in step will help smooth the texture, so there's no need to re-spin before adding the walnuts
• Break up the chunks of walnuts and add half of them to the pint. Use the mix-in setting.
• Serve with extra caramelized walnuts and a drizzle of honey.