Recipe for a vegan & gluten-free Minty Cotton Candy Ice Cream which is made with Aquafaba (Chickpea Liquid). It’s super sweet and yummy!
Yeah guys!! This happened! It’s Minty Cotton Candy Ice Cream! Vegan & gluten-free and made with Aquafaba (Chickpea Water). I would be lying if I told you that I wanted to make a Cotton Candy Ice Cream on purpose- it just happened and it’s amazing. It’s sweet and airy and the consistency is so fluffy – just like cotton candy (or at least how I remember it).
What is Aquafaba?
Aquafaba is the liquid from canned chickpeas (or other beans/legumes). I know, I know… If this is the first time you hear about Aquafaba or if you haven’t worked with Aquafaba before or you must think that’s gross as hell. I promise, this ice cream tastes nothing like chickpeas. Aquafaba is pure magic. You can whip the liquid with an electrical hand mixer or with a stand mixer and it will get stiff and airy. If you want to read more about Aquafaba, you can do that here.
I haven’t had much luck with Aquafaba in the past – if you follow me on instagram (this was my try of making vegan meringues) you know what I mean – but now with this ice cream everything changed.
I’ve let my KitchenAid whisk the Aquafaba until it reached a stiff peak (this took about 5 minutes), then added in the rest of the ingredients, whisked again and froze it. Actually that’s super easy, right?!
The consistency is crazy! So airy and fluffy and weird, but awesome. Like cotton candy! It practically melts in your mouth.
- 1/2 cup Aquafaba* (liquid from canned chickpeas)
- 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar (or more to your personal preference)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder (ground vanilla beans)
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint liqueur (or extract**)
- Drain the chickpeas and fill the liquid of the canned chickpeas in a mixing bowl.
- Whisk it with a stand mixer until it reaches a stiff peak (about 5-10 minutes).
- Slowly add in the confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract and powder and peppermint liqueur and whisk it again for a few minutes. At this point, it's a good idea to taste it and to add more sugar or peppermint liquor to your preference.
- Then fill it in a freezer-safe dish*** and put it in the freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight. (You don't have to give it a mix every x hours, I didn't and it turned out great.)
- After that it's good to go! Serve and enjoy immediately. The ice cream melts a bit faster than regular ice cream.
GENERAL NOTE: This is probably the trickiest recipe I have on the blog. Aquafaba is not always easy to work with, so there is a chance that this recipe doesn't work for you, even if you follow the instructions. I have had readers tell me that the recipe worked for them, for others the liquid separated in the freezer. It's just a heads up, but if you do try it out, let me know how it works out for you! :)
*Aquafaba is the fancy term for the cooking liquid of beans and legumes, discovered by Goose Wohlt. You can read all about aquafaba on aquafaba.com.
**If you're using peppermint extract or essence, start with less and add more to taste.
***The container I used is 10 inches long, 4 inches wide and 2 inches high (25x11x5cm)
If you give this vegan Minty Cotton Candy Ice Cream recipe a try I’d love to hear how it turned out for you! Leave a comment or post a picture on instagram, use the hashtag #elephantasticvegan and tag me via @elephantasticvegan to make sure I’ll see it ^.^ I love to see all your lovely creations! Thanks! <3
This looks so dreamy!! My aquafaba ice creams always come out more like marshmallow fluff than cotton candy. Good, but your’s looks like a nice change!
Thanks, Hannah! I actually saw a recipe somewhere that used aquafaba to make marshmallows – very interesting, but I don’t think I could do that. Somehow I’ve lost hope in my achieving anything yummy with Aquafaba except that ice cream.
This is crazy and brilliant and it looks like clouds! Edible minty clouds <3 This might be the most enticing use for aquafaba I’ve seen yet!
You’re right, it really looks like clouds :O And I didn’t even notice. Thank you Natalie, it seems like this ice cream is the only thing I can make with Aquafaba that actually works. My meringue tries were… not so good :D
Oh my gosh, this icecream looks so good…I can’t believe it’s mostly aquafaba! I still have never had much success with aquafaba, so it just ends up down the drain. But I really want to give this icecream a go the next time I have some aquafaba! I’ve got some strawberry extract, I might try that instead of the peppermint liqueur :)
Mhhhh, strawberry aquafaba ice cream sounds yummy too! I bet the color will be gorgeous – I imagine it will be a pastel pink? My meringue tries with aquafaba were terrible, the ice cream is much easier :D
I LOVE aquafaba. I use it all the time in baked goods and its makes everything so wonderfully light and soft and fluffy. However, I am in awe that you made ice cream from aquafaba….and basically JUST aquafaba….wow!! I am definitely going to try this! Sounds amazing!!!
Thank you, Jenn! Sounds like I should give Aquafaba in baked goods a try. I only tried meringue and everything was great until I baked it :D So I figured I need to something with it, but without the baking part. Freezing was the obvious choice, then. And I really liked how flaky and airy it turned out.
I seriously need to try playing around with aquafaba! This looks insanely delicious!
Oh yes, definitely! I can’t believe I’ve tossed the chickpea liquid for years. :'(
I am so excited that you are posting recipes with aquafaba- I always make marshmallow fluff with it, but seem to eat it straight out of the bowl before I can do much with it. I can’t WAIT to make this ice cream now! Do you think instead of the confectioner’s sugar, I can take my granulated sugar and grind it down in my blender? I don’t have confectioners on hand.
Thank you for yet another amazing recipe!!!
:)
Thank you, Lizzy! Oh.. that marshmallow fluff sounds good too! Do you have a recipe for it? I’d love to try out more recipes with aquafaba. I think you could totally make your own confectioner’s sugar by blending granulated sugar and use it in this recipe. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. If you do try it, I’d love to know how it worked out for you and how you liked it :)
Bianca, I can’t wait to try this! You should definitely give aquafaba a try in baked goods. I use it to veganize recipes all the time and it comes out just as good as the original, maybe even better. Bread is actually my favorite to use it for. I have made the best hot dog and burger buns using it and I actually veganized a wheat dinner roll recipe tonight and they turned out amazing! Another tip: I have experimented a lot, with great success, in using aquafaba as an oil replacer, too. You should give that a shot of you’re interested in low-fat or fat-free meals.
Wow :O I didn’t know one could use Aquafaba in bread too – it’s such a magical ingredient! Thank you so much for your tips, Celeste! I love baking my own bread, so I’ll give it definitely a try soon. :)
This ice cream is seriously incredible! Its crazy that aquafaba was the magic ingredient! Cant wait to try!
Aquafaba is truly a magical ingredient :) I don’t even want to think about that I’ve been tossing the liquid for years :O
Very disappointed when I have 2 scan thru & no comments from ppl that actual made it so… 4 those who feel the same, the following IS from a COMMENTER WHO ACTUALLY MADE THIS –
Firstly, thanks 4 your recipe. U had me at “cotton candy” but lost me at peppermint but I tried with what I had.
My results! I followed it all except I did not have (nor do i know what it is, first I ever heard of it!) vanilla powder & no peppermint extract (did butter flavor extract instead and more vanilla) since I wasn’t in the mood 4 peppermint. I had trouble with the AF texture, so when my AF was taking too long 2 do the peak thing, I added some creme of tartar in hopes of thickening it up.
Now the end result was good overall but not perfect. The texture at frozen was very much like a slightly melted icecream in look and mouth feel, VERY impressive! It melted pretty quickly in the hotter than normal room temp thought, but no big deal. The taste was good but something was off, missing maybe? There was an oddly tart background flavor that I couldn’t put my finger on…almost like how sour cream was (when I wasn’t vegan, the reg stuff). It did remind me a lot (since how I flavored it) more of a thinner version of fluffer nutter.
Now the taste, if I can get rid of that odd tang/tart thing would b really game changing! If I can get my hands on the vanilla powder, I will b interested in knowing if this will resolve my odd taste issue!
Thank you so much for your comment, CeaCea. I always appreciate it when people who make the recipes, leave a comment, but I can’t force them to ;)
As I didn’t have any sour taste at all in the ice cream, I can only guess that it’s because of the added cream or tartar? Did you use a lot of that? I haven’t worked with cream or tartar at all, but I think the general ratio is to use a maximum of 1/4 teaspoon per 1 cup of chickpea water.
I added a link to the vanilla powder I meant, it’s made out of ground vanilla beans, has a vanilla flavor and adds lovely little specks of vanilla into the ice cream.
Yes, I noticed too that it melts faster than regular ice cream.. that’s the price we have to pay for cotton candy ice cream. ;)
As you’ve skipped the peppermint extract, you’ll need something else to mask the flavor (maybe the butter flavor isn’t strong enough or it wasn’t enough of the extract). Any extracts would be possible, strawberry extract sounds nice… very cotton candy-y. :D
I read that some brands of canned chickpeas work better than others, so maybe just try it with a different brand and you won’t need the cream of tartar to whip it to a stiff peak at all.
U r welcome! I know u can’t force feedback, though I kinda wish we coooould on any recipe blog lol. Nonetheless, I thought others would appreciate my experimentation results as well—as it’s what *I look 4 when debating on trying a recipe.
I think..THINK it may b either the cream of tartar OR my aquafaba. MOST Likely the former as i make my beans myself and they r in no way seasoned, not even with salt. But then again AF is rather fickle, isn’t it!?!
I do not work much with tartar much but I only added it after my AF wasnt stiff-peakin’ as many recipes call 4 it and I assumed this was a help in the process from what I read. That being said, when I try it again (and i surely will!) I will repost my results NOT using the tartar. I did use vanilla (doubled cuz i loves me some vanilla) and BUTTER extract vs peppermint as mentioned so it was the same amount of ingredients except ADDING the tartar.
Don’t get me wrong… i ate the whole damn thing! whatever i did, i can see that taste being valuable in vegan sour cream (minus the sugar and buttery flavours!)
Will repost results. when i try the same method but sans the tartar!
Once i eliminate the sour I want 2 try 2 figure out how 2 make it into a coffee ice cream, and if i get REAL ambitious..how 2 add calcium 2 this 2 make it count 4 nutritious! Ok, who am I kidding…prob leave the latter 2 the EXPERTS…still I have a vision!
Thanks again, genius recipe!! Keep it up!
I’m sure other readers appreciate your comment too :)
I’m glad you still were able to eat the whole thing :D despite the slightly sour taste.
Ehm, yes, Aquafaba is super tricky! Sometimes it works, sometimes not and there’s no way knowing it beforehand.
Vegan sour cream made with aquafaba sounds like a really good idea, I’m sure this could work. And I really like your ideas about the coffee ice cream and adding calcium. I haven’t worked with added nutrients at all, but I find it super intriguing.
Thank you & I’d love to know how your next try will turn out :)
Can this be sweetened with honey or maple syrup rather than sugar?
Unfortunately not. I wish there was a healthier alternative, but the chickpea water needs the bad white sugar stuff to make it stiff and peak. You might want to take a look at my 2-Ingredient Cantaloupe Ice Cream recipe (no sweetener needed) or Kiwifruit Banana Ice Cream (no sweetener) or my Avocado Ice Cream recipe (I used brown rice syrup in this one, but maple syrup works just as great).
This looks great! I don’t suppose you have any suggestions on how to make this plain vanilla flavoured? I actually made a similar ice cream yesterday but it had coconut cream added to it which helped to mask the chickpea flavour..
Sorry, I should probably say that although it was lovely with the coconut cream added, I would love to be able to make a version like yours as it is so low in fat!
Thank you for your comment, Lianne. I haven’t tried a vanilla-only variation yet but I guess with more vanilla extract or essence it could work. I still have some chickpea water in the fridge, so I might give it a shot soon. I’ll let you know when I do :)
Thanks Bianca! :)
If you use peppermint extract, use much less of it. I put 1/4 tsp. and it is very strong! I also added more than double the sugar because it wasn’t sweet at all. Mine is in the freezer so I will know how it turned out tomorrow.
Next time I will use powdered raspberries instead of the mint.
Oh, Yum! I love the texture!
Thank you so much, Jo-Ellen! I’m glad you liked it!
I’ll add a note about the peppermint extract in the recipe.
Powdered raspberries sounds great as a variation.. I can only imagine the beautiful color :)
Oh my, I am so excited to try this! I’ve been seeing so many recipes lately about the things you can do with chickpea water. Who knew?! So, I was wondering if you can save the chickpea water in the fridge or something if I wasn’t able to make this the day that I use the chickpeas?
Welcome to the magical place of aquafaba :) I’d say it’s possible to store the liquid in the fridge.. but I’m not entirely sure how long it will last. Do you know the Vegan Meringue FB group? https://www.facebook.com/groups/VeganMeringue/ It’s an absolutely warm and welcoming group of aquafaba-loving people. I’m sure some of them have had experiences with storing the aquafaba for longer – so maybe it’s best to ask there. They also have info, guides and everything about aquafaba there :)
Oh, cool! Thank you so much! So I tried to make the ice cream (with fresh, room temp aquafaba). I got it to beat into stiff peaks after the 10 minutes, but when I added the peppermint extract and vanilla it turned completely soft again. I beat it for quite a while afterward trying to get it back, but it stayed soft. Any suggestions?
Sorry for getting back to you so late! You probably have tossed the mixture already… To be honest, working with aquafaba is quite tricky. The stiff peaks didn’t collapse when I added the extract and vanilla, but you could try adding a bit more sugar or cream of tartar to get the stiff peaks again. Good luck next time, if you give it another try! :)
Will do, thank you! :)
Hey! Really cool recipe, all the vegan ice cream recipes are always cashews, bananas, and coconut milk, so this was refreshing. I just made a batch that’s freezing now.
A word of caution! My first attempt, I used a peppermint flavor oil (ingredients: Peppermint flavor, propylene glycol) and my meringue totally dissolved back into chickpea water and it failed. :(
So super cautiously I tested a second batch, testing how ingredients + aquafaba fare together. Adding coconut milk makes it less stiff-peaky, adding strawberry extract keeps it intact, and sugar is fine too. I was too afraid to mess it up, so the one in the freezer only has sugar in it (added one more tablespoon of icing sugar because my chickpea water was salted).
The next time I try this recipe I’ll add more stuff. :) I’ll update you to tell you how it goes.
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation, Michelle! I’m glad you’re giving it a few tries. I know it’s a very tricky recipe, probably the trickiest I have on the blog – but when it works, it’s amazing. I once added coconut flour to the whipped chickpea water and it completely dissolved too. I wanted to make meringue :D
By the way, do you know the Aquafaba (Vegan Meringue – Hits and Misses) FB group? There’s a lot of knowledge about Aquafaba in the group :)
Liquid sweeteners can be used in aquafaba. But anything with oil will not work.
Meringue only works with real sugar. Not sweeteners. I love the chocolate mousse with aquafaba.
Gonna make this in a minite. Ive wondered about ice cream.
Wish me luck lol
Aquafaba can be tricky, but at the same time, the results can be amazing. :) So it’s always worth giving it a shot. Oh, I’ve seen the aquafaba chocolate mousse, it looks amazing, I haven’t tried it yet though :(
I hope the ice cream turned out fine!
Hi. Looking for a dairy-free, sugar-free ice cream. Regret, also no cashew or chemical sweetener; prefer no soy. Hoping for unsweetened or with stevia. Have you heard of any such product?
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Many thanks.
I think you’ll love this 1-ingredient ice cream recipe! I’ve included lots of variations at the end of the post. :)
Hi Biance,
Finally a promising recipe. This sounds fantastic… :)
But I have one question, is Vanilla Powder necessary? Can we substitute with something else because I can’t find it where I live? Maybe something like rose essence or coconut shavings or desiccated coconut?
Thanks :)
Hi Cheryl, the vanilla powder is not necessary at all (I just wanted to have those speckles of vanilla in there). ohh, coconut in form of shavings or desiccated sounds so good!