PB&J Oat Milk Ice Cream

After scanning the grocery store dairy aisle, do you ever feel like we’ve found a way to make milk out of just about anything? Take almonds, hemp, cashews, and rice, for instance. While all these milk varieties have their merits, one in particular has us feeling especially appreciative, and that’s oat milk.

Made from water, oats (yes, the kind you use in your no-bake cookies and overnight oats), and sometimes dates, this nut- and dairy-free alternative provides one more milk option for those with lactose intolerance and other food allergies. It’s lower in fat than most dairy varieties and higher in fiber than its competitors because you’ve kept all the soluble fiber intact. Not only that, it has a built-in sweetness, unparalleled rich texture, and great taste that lends itself well to iced coffees and lattes as well as ice creams.

While baristas are now perfecting their oat milk lattes, and juice shops are adding it to smoothies, we’re using this super-creamy milk in an ice cream that’s jazzed up with swirls of peanut butter sauce and our favorite homemade strawberry jam. If you’ve turned to oat milk because of a nut allergy, just remember to refrain from adding the peanut sauce or other nut products to your ice cream.

Because homemade dairy-free treats pose more of a challenge in freezing, we used an ice cream maker to create our PB&J oat milk ice cream. However, if you’re going the no-ice-cream-maker route, you can make a plain oat milk ice cream by pouring the ice cream base into a freezer-friendly container, placing it in your freezer, then removing the ice cream every 30 to 45 minutes to stir vigorously with a spoon or spatula until the mixture is chilled throughout (about two to three hours total). You can add swirls of peanut butter sauce and jam to the top layer before you freeze the ice cream one final time.

Try this one out with your kiddos this summer and surprise them with just how refreshing this take on a classic PB&J can be!

What You’ll Need:

Ice cream:

• 1 ½ cups rolled oats
• 3 cups cold filtered water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt
• Your favorite Joy product

Homemade Jam:

• 1 quart strawberries, washed and stemmed
• ½ package powdered fruit pectin (whole package should be 1 ¾ ounces)
• 3 ⅓ cups sugar

Peanut Butter Sauce:

• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• ¼ cup light brown sugar (packed)

What To Do:

Strawberry Jam:

1. To make the jam, crush 1 quart of strawberries and measure 1 ¼ cups of the crushed berries into a large saucepan. Stir in half of the package of pectin and bring to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add the sugar and return to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
2. Remove from heat and skim off foam. Allow time to cool slightly – but make sure jam is still slightly warm to complete the rest of the ice cream recipe (you want the jam to be just warm enough to spread easily).

Peanut Butter Sauce

1. Combine the peanut butter, whipping cream, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Chill thoroughly.
2. Remember, you can reserve any leftover peanut butter sauce to drizzle over your ice cream later!

Ice Cream:

1. Soak the oats in water overnight.
2. Blend oats and water in blender on high speed until smooth and foamy.
3. You can use a nut milk bag, muslin cloth, or clean panty hose to hold over a large bowl and pour the contents of your blender into the cloth and strain it. We don’t mind some oatmeal in the ice cream batter, so we opted for a mesh sieve instead. If you use the other options, gently twist the top of the bag, or wring the cloth or panty hose, to squeeze the milk into the bowl.
4. Place the oat milk, salt, and vanilla in a small sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a low boil while continually whisking.
5. Continue whisking as you reduce heat to low for about 5 minutes. The mixture should turn into a thick cream.
6. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. If the mixture starts to clump, whisk occasionally or blend again once it has completely cooled.
7. Place mixture into the chilled bowl of your ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
8. Transfer half the ice cream mixture to a bread pan and dollop peanut butter and jam on top, swirling the two with a butter knife. Pour in the rest of the ice cream and repeat with peanut butter and jam on the surface before covering with plastic wrap and freezing for 2 to 4 hours.
9. Once fully frozen, remove ice cream from freezer and let sit for about 15 minutes before serving with your favorite Joy product.

We love seeing what creations you come up with in the kitchen using Joy products. Tag us on Facebook and Instagram at @JoyConeCo and you could be featured on our social media pages!