5 Minute Fresh Strawberry Sorbet with Coconut Cream
This easy strawberry sorbet is bursting with fresh strawberry flavour and a hint of creaminess from rich coconut cream. Freeze your ingredients ahead of time so you can enjoy strawberry sorbet in 5 minutes flat, whenever the craving strikes!
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Confession: one of my biggest vegan pet peeves is when things that arenβt supposed to taste like coconut – like, say, a strawberry ice cream – taste more like coconut than strawberry. It happens all the time in the plant world, and as a plant-based recipe developer, I find it super annoying.
Now, donβt get me wrong – I LOVE coconut! Coconut macaroons or a creamy coconut milk curry? Iβm ALL in!!
I just donβt want EVERYTHING to taste that wayβ¦which is why I typically eat cashew-based ice creams or fruit sorbets. And then I had my mind blown by the magic that is strawberries and coconut together.
This recipe is inspired by Savannah, Georgia and the ridiculously good strawberry coconut ice creams I ate there..at two different places! The first was a creamy strawberry ice cream from Leopoldβs that tasted EXACTLY like Haagen Dazs. So much so that I had to confirm that it was vegan!
And the second was a strawberry coconut sorbet at Common Thread which, again, blew me away with a deeply concentrated strawberry flavour and actually, no hint of coconut. I was there for a dietitian conference and was so amazed by all of the incredible plant-based options that Savannah has now!
When I came home, I knew I had to recreate this flavour and decided to do a more strawberry-forward sorbetβ¦I hope you love it as much as I do! Itβs made like nice cream in the food processorβ¦no ice cream maker required!
Looking for more delicious, nourishing plant-based recipes? Pick up a copy of Eat More Plants!
Grab your ingredients to make this fresh strawberry sorbet
Just 3 core ingredients – strawberries, coconut cream and maple syrup – plus a few pantry flavour enhancers create a luscious, strawberry-packed sorbet!
- Ripe strawberries: you can absolutely buy frozen strawberries in a pinch, but this recipe hits it out of the park when youβve got those red-all-the-way-through in season berries.
- Coconut cream: rich and creamy, coconut cream creates a lovely, less ice-y texture without lending too much coconut flavour to the sorbet
- Maple syrup: just a little sweetness to enhance the flavourβ¦but if you have perfect berries, and like a more tart sorbet, you can omit it if you want.
- Lemon juice: a bit of acidity brightens the flavour and makes this even more delicious!
- Vanilla: lends a βcreamyβ note to the flavour and enhances sweetness without adding extra sugar
- Salt: donβt skip this – just a tiny amount of salt really enhances the flavour of this sorbet and does NOT make it salty!
FAQ: what is the difference between coconut cream and coconut milk? Coconut cream and coconut milk are both made from blending coconut flesh and waterβ¦but they differ in the percentage of coconut flesh (therefore fat) and water they contain. Typically, coconut cream hovers at around 20% fat while coconut milk is lower, often between 10-15%. Some brands will actually put the fat percentage on the container. Iβve seen some coconut milks at 17% fat and coconut creams at 25%!
How to make a delicious, no-churn strawberry sorbet
When I was researching techniques for this recipe, I saw there was a lot of recipes out thereβ¦I must have tried 3 or 4 different strategies for making this and in the end, decided to do things a bit differently:
The first is that I use fresh, ripe strawberries which I freeze myself. Why? Frozen strawberries ensure an βinstantβ sorbet, but have you noticed that most frozen strawberries donβt actually taste like strawberries? Freezing ripe berries yourself makes for a much more flavourful treat.
Second, I also freeze coconut cream into cubes before blending. Most other recipes use room temperature coconut milk. I like coconut cream, which has a higher percentage of fat, because it creates a creamier, less ice-y texture and again, makes it instantly soft scoopable! You have to do a bit of extra scraping to ensure the coconut gets well-incorporated but I think itβs worth it.
Hereβs how to make this juicy, flavorful sorbet:
Step One: Freeze your strawberries and coconut cream. Halve strawberries and freeze them on a parchment-lined baking sheet until solid. Pour coconut cream into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid. Overnight should do it!
Step Two: Blend your sorbet. Add strawberries, frozen coconut cream, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and salt – donβt skip the salt! Process until it comes together, scraping down the sides often, about 5 minutes. Be patient – it will look like it wonβt happen, kind of like a nut butter, but then it DOES!
Step Three: enjoy a soft-serve textured sorbet immediately, or place in a parchment-lined loaf pan to firm up a bit (1-3 hours) so itβs firmer and even more scoopable.
Why strawberries are so dang good for you!
Ripe, red-all-the-way through strawberries are one of the great joys of life. Which is honestly enough for me but yes, theyβre incredibly nutritious too! So buy βem by the flat, and freeze them for later so you can enjoy them all year round.
- 1 cup (250 mL) of strawberries contains 3.5 grams of tummy-friendly fiber as well as 100% of your daily intake of vitamin C.
- Strawberries also contain small amounts of calcium – yes, calcium! – as well as plant-based iron and magnesium. They also contain trace amounts of choline, an important nutrient on a plant-based diet.
- Plus, 5 medium strawberries is a low FODMAP serving, making them a great option for boosting fruits and veggies on a low FODMAP diet for IBS!
Tips, Tricks and Suggestions
- Want the sorbet a bit firmer? Just freeze for 2-3 hours! You can prep the sorbet before dinner and have it the perfect consistency for dessert.
- You also can store this treat up to 2 weeks in the freezer – but note, it will freeze rock solid! Youβll need to let it thaw before you can scoop it, which can easily take 10-20 minutes.
- If you have an ice cream maker, you can absolutely just blend fresh strawberries and coconut cream and then process until firm, according to the manufacturerβs instructions. It should take about 20-30 minutes.
More nourishing strawberry recipes
- Fresh Strawberry Oatmeal Bars with Hemp Hearts
- Unbelievably Good (and easy!) Strawberry Granita
- Watermelon Strawberry Smoothie With Almond Milk
- 3 Minute Strawberry Hemp Milk
- Quick Strawberry Balsamic Chia Jam
5 Minute Fresh Strawberry Sorbet with Coconut Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved and frozen overnight
- 1 cup coconut cream, frozen into cubes overnight
- ΒΌ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- β teaspoon salt
Equipment
- Food Processor you need a strong motor for this one!
Instructions
- Here's how to freeze the strawberries and coconut cream: halve berries and place on a small, parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer overnight. Pour the coconut cream (well-stirred!) into an ice cube tray and freeze overnight.
- Make the sorbet: place the frozen coconut cube, strawberries along with maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and salt into a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Process, scraping down often, until a thick sorbet forms, about 5 minutes.
- Be patient…and trust the process! It's kind of like nut butter…you think it won't come together until it does. The frozen ingredients mean you need to scrape so that it all gets blended but it's so much easier this way than A) pulling out the ice cream maker or B) having to stir a liquid mixture every 30 minutes as you freeze it to incorporate air.
- You can serve this immediately, or, if you want a firmer texture, freeze in a parchment-lined loaf pan for 30 minutes – 3 hours so it's scoop able. You can also freeze longer, but it freezes ROCK SOLID. You'll need to let thaw for 10-20 minutes so you can scoop.
