This Maple Bacon Ice Cream with Bourbon and Walnuts is a perfect combination of sweet and salty! It will be your new summer time favorite!
This post was originally posted in June 2013. | This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Maple Bacon Ice Cream with Bourbon and Walnuts
I’m a self professed ice cream addict. I LOVE ice cream. 24/7/365. There’s never a bad time for ice cream. Also, ice cream makes everything better. I kind of blame my mom. Every day when my siblings and I came home from school we’d sidle up to the kitchen counter for whatever kind of ice cream my mom was scooping. It was sort of a genius strategy—once we were all seated and happy with our ice cream we’d begin to spill the details of our day. It was a perfect way to unwind…and it’s still my go to at the end of a busy day. Which explains why I am constantly creating new ice cream flavors….like this Maple Bacon Ice Cream with Bourbon and Walnuts!
A Dad with a Sweet Tooth
My dad was the inspiration for this flavor—he has a serious sweet tooth. My mom is the real baker in our family, and my dad has definitely encouraged her in this endeavor! Which is all to say, it’s not my fault that I have a sweet tooth—it’s all my parents’ doing. When I was brainstorming ice cream flavors I thought of maple bacon—the perfect sweet and salty combination. Since my dad loves maple donuts, and also bacon, I thought he would be just the right person to make it for. (Hint: make this as a Father’s Day gift for the dads in your life!!!)
^^^ Doesn’t Irving make a nice hand model? Not the first time he’s played this role! Check out here and here!
Bourbon
If you caught my Instagram Stories the other day you might have seen that I had a bottle of bourbon out at 9:30 am. No, no, not a rough week. Just a regular day making homemade ice cream! Not only does bourbon add incredible flavor to this ice cream (seriously dad approved!), but it also helps improve the consistency of the ice cream. Because alcohol freezes at a lower temperature than coconut milk, it keeps the ice cream a tiny bit more scoopable! You can use a splash of vodka to keep it flavorless, but in this case the bourbon was perfect! I think dark rum would be really good here too.
Coconut Bacon Bits
I made my own bacon bits out of shredded coconut, following my coconut bacon recipe. And while you would never mistake it for the bacon that one might normally see next to eggs at a diner, it definitely has the same smoky taste reminiscent of the bacon I grew up with. After the coconut bacon is toasted it gets swirled into the maple bourbon base. Heavenly! If you love flavors like salted caramel, this sweet and savory combo will be your new favorite!
More Vegan Bacon Recipes
- Vegan German Potato Salad with Bacon
- Avocado Toast with Coconut Bacon
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes with Fried Onions and Bacon
Homemade Ice Cream
Homemade Ice Cream is really simple to make with an ice cream maker. We keep the freezer bowl in our second freezer so that it’s ready for us when we are! Simply mix your base (I use coconut milk for it’s creamy fat content), pour it into the freezer bowl, and let it churn. The churning process incorporates air into the mix for a better consistency than simply freezing. Once it’s churned as much as it will go I pop it into the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up the rest of the way.
If you love ice cream you’re going to love….
- Salted Caramel Pretzel Chunk Ice Cream
- Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars
- Coconilla — Date Sweetened Vegan Ice Cream!
- Candy Cane Ice Cream
- Almond Joy Ice Cream
More Dad Approved Recipes
- Sparkling Pineapple Mojito
- Bacon Cheese Dogs — Totally Vegan!
- Vegan Sloppy Joes with Lentils
- Teriyaki Veggie Burgers
Let’s Make Maple Bacon Ice Cream
Ready to get started? You’re just a few minutes away from decadent, sweet, and salty ice cream studded with coconut bacon and walnuts! Give it a go and let me know in the comments how you like it. Bonus points for star ratings!!!
Maple Bacon Ice Cream with Bourbon and Walnuts
Ingredients
For the Coconut Bacon Bits:
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce (be sure to choose vegan!)
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
For the Maple Bacon Ice Cream:
- 1 can coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen brand)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons bourbon
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted
Instructions
For the Coconut Bacon Bits:
- Preheat oven to 300°.
- Mix the bacon bit marinade together in a small bowl.
- Add the shredded coconut and mix to coat completely.
- Spread out on a baking pan lined with parchment and toast in the oven for 18 minutes, stirring every in the middle to prevent burning.
- Set aside.
For the Maple Bacon Ice Cream:
- Pour all of the ice cream base ingredients into a bowl and whisk together.
- Add 1/2 cup of the bacon bits (not the entire amount) and whisk them into the ice cream base. (you can save the other half to use as a topping)
- Pour the base into your ice cream maker and churn according to instructions. Mine takes about 20-30 minutes to be soft but frozen.
- Pour the walnuts into the churning ice cream and allow to mix in.
- Remove the ice cream from the churning bowl and place in a container with a lid. Cover with a small piece of parchment paper, touching the surface of the ice cream, to prevent freezer burn.
- Allow to set up in the freezer for another 1-2 hours so that it is scoopable and fairly firm. Scoop into bowls and garnish with extra bacon.
- Store any leftovers in the freezer.
