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Dairy Free Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches (Gluten Free)

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Cool off this summer with our dairy free caramel ice cream sandwiches! These are homemade so you know exactly what’s in them, and they are completely dairy free, vegan, gluten free, and peanut free. These take a few different steps, but are so worth it!

Disclosure: this post is sponsored by Fermat Commerce and GoNanas. This post also contains affiliate links for GoNanas. All opinions are my own.
photo collage showing dairy free and gluten free ice cream sandwiches.

When it gets hot in the summer, it’s the perfect time for cool and creamy ice cream sandwiches! Our caramel ice cream sandwiches aren’t your average ice cream sandwich, either. These have salted caramel ice cream between chocolate chip banana bread cookies, and it’s all dairy free and gluten free.

You read that right: these frozen treats are allergy friendly!

This recipe has a few different steps in it, these are so delicious and taste amazing put together (or each part on their own)! The cookies are the easiest to make since they use the GoNanas baking mix for the cookies.

Our caramel ice cream sandwiches are:

  • Gluten free
  • Dairy free
  • Peanut free
  • Tree nut free
caramel ice cream sandwich with chocolate chip banana bread cookies.

How to make dairy free salted caramel ice cream sandwiches

Here are the steps for making these dairy free frozen treats. The full recipe card is at the bottom of the post, this is just an overview.

We’ve broken this down into its separate parts for easier reading.

How to make the dairy free caramel

This is our recipe for dairy free wet method caramel, which works great in this recipe. I recommend reading through our in-depth post about wet method caramel since we don’t have room to add everything into this post.

This caramel recipe takes a little bit more time and attention, so if you want something easier, try our easy caramel recipe. The caramel flavor won’t be as deep with the easy recipe, however.

  1. Add the sugar, water, and cream of tartar to a small heavy-bottom saucepan.
  2. Heat over low to medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
  3. The sugar water will change forms a few times. It will look like it’s going to get dry and turn into sugar again right before it melts and deepens in color. This is normal.
  4. Once it starts to get a darker straw color or amber color, remove from the heat right away and whisk in the dairy free butter (it won’t completely mix in yet, that’s fine).
  5. Add the coconut milk, vanilla, and salt and whisk again until everything is fully mixed and smooth.
  6. Pour into a heat proof container (heat proof glass is good), and allow to cool.
  7. The caramel will stay hot for a while, make sure to allow this to cool for at least 30 minutes before using in the recipe. It will thicken as it cools, and will be thick once it’s completely cooled.

You’ll end up with some extra caramel sauce out of this recipe since the ice cream recipe doesn’t use all of the caramel. Use the extra caramel for adding caramel swirls in the ice cream or drizzle it on the cookies!

photo of a spoon drizzling dairy free caramel into a small glass dish.
Dairy free wet method caramel

How to make the banana bread cookies

In the recipe video, we made a half batch of cookies with half the GoNanas baking mix, but in the full recipe we have it written for a full batch. If you want fewer cookies, you can do a half batch as well, but they are delicious and you’ll probably end up wanting a full batch!

  1. While the caramel is cooling, make the cookies.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (don’t skip this since the cookies tend to stick to the pan slightly on the bottom).
  4. Mash the bananas in a medium bowl, then whisk in the dairy free milk and maple syrup.
  5. Stir in the GoNanas Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Mix. You’ll have a thick batter.
  6. Scoop the batter onto the prepared pan, smooth out slightly, and bake for 14 minutes.
  7. Cool on the pan about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
  8. Cool completely before assembling the ice cream sandwiches.
overhead photo of GoNanas baking mix and banana bread cookies.

How to make the caramel ice cream

  1. Once the caramel has cooled (it can be a bit warm, just not hot), in a large bowl whisk 1/3 to 1/2 cup caramel into the room temperature canned coconut milk.
  2. Once this is whisked together and smooth, whisk in the creamy oatmilk and Silk heavy cream (or more canned coconut milk).
  3. Turn on your ice cream maker and pour the ice cream mix into your ice cream maker and churn for about 20 minutes or until it’s soft serve consistency (may be different depending on your ice cream machine, ours takes about 20 minutes).
  4. Scoop the ice cream onto the cooled cookies for ice cream sandwiches.
  5. Store in an airtight freezer-safe container in the freezer.

When the ice cream has been stored in the freezer, it can get a bit hard (as many homemade dairy free ice creams tend to do), so we usually heat it up for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave for easier scooping.

Assembling the ice cream sandwiches

These ice cream sandwiches are the easiest to assemble and eat right after the ice cream is done churning and it’s a soft-serve consistency.

But if you need to make the ice cream first and assemble these later on, make sure to thaw the ice cream at room temp for a bit before scooping onto the cookies. Or pop the container of ice cream in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to soften it for easier scooping.

glass dish filled with dairy free salted caramel ice cream with an ice cream scoop in it.

If you want, you can make these sandwiches and freeze them for later, just make sure the ice cream isn’t too soft or it will make the cookies soggy before it has a chance to freeze fully. Once they are assembled, wrap them in plastic wrap or parchment paper before freezing.

These will need thawed slightly at room temp for a few minutes before you eat them if you keep these in the freezer.

Whether you choose to make these ahead or right before eating, just make sure that the cookies are completely cooled before assembling. They firm up as they cool, so they’ll be too soft to assemble if they aren’t completely cooled.

GoNanas gluten free banana bread mixes

If you have multiple food allergies and love banana bread, check out the GoNanas gluten free and dairy free banana bread mixes!

overhead photo of GoNanas gluten free banana bread baking mixes.

The GoNanas mixes come in several flavors, like Salted Caramel and Blueberry Crumble. We used their Chocolate Chip flavor in this recipe for the cookies since the chocolate chips go great with the carael ice cream.

The Salted Caramel mix would also be amazing in this recipe as well! This flavor contains soy, but some of the other flavors don’t (like the chocolate chip mix we used).

Dairy Free Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches (Gluten Free)

Cool off this summer with our dairy free caramel ice cream sandwiches! These are homemade so you know exactly what's in them, and they are completely dairy free, vegan, gluten free, and peanut free.
Gluten free, dairy free, vegan; Free of: peanuts, tree nuts, eggs
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Desserts, Frozen Desserts
Cuisine: American
Keyword: dairy free ice cream sandwiches, gluten free ice cream sandwiches
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Freeze time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 44 minutes
Servings: 10 ice cream sandwiches
Calories: 327kcal

Ingredients

Caramel

Cookies

  • 2 medium ripe bananas
  • 2 Tablespoons dairy free milk
  • 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 package GoNanas chocolate chip banana bread mix

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

  • cup + 1 Tablespoon homemade caramel (from recipe above)
  • 1 cup canned coconut milk (room temperature)
  • ½ cup creamy oatmilk
  • ½ cup Silk half and half or Silk heavy cream (or additional canned coconut milk)

Equipment

  • Ice cream maker

Instructions

Wet Method Caramel

  • Add the sugar, water, and cream of tartar to a small heavy-bottom saucepan.
  • Heat and simmer over low to medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
  • The sugar water will change forms a few times. After a little bit, it will for a sugar crust for a little bit right before it melts again and deepens in color. This is normal, continue to stir periodically, but avoid scraping down the sides too much.
  • As the color starts changing, stir more frequently. Once it starts to get a darker straw color or amber color, remove from the heat right away and whisk in the dairy free butter (it won't completely mix in yet, that's fine).
  • Add the coconut milk, vanilla, and salt and whisk again until everything is fully mixed and smooth.
  • Pour into a heat proof container (a heat proof glass container is good), and allow to cool. It will thicken as it cools, and will be thick once it's completely cooled.
  • This makes about 1 cup of caramel.
  • There will be extra caramel from this recipe, you can use the additional caramel wherever you like (lattes, ice cream, etc.)!
  • For more in-depth instructions and photos, go to our wet caramel recipe post. If you want an easier caramel recipe, check out our easy caramel recipe.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (don't skip the parchment paper since these cookies tend to stick slightly).
  • Add the ripe bananas to a medium bowl and smash with a fork or flat whisk.
  • Whisk in the dairy free milk and maple syrup.
  • Stir in the GoNanas mix and stir, a thick batter will form.
  • Scoop onto the parchment covered baking sheet and smooth out slightly.
  • Bake for 14 minutes.
  • Cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before assembling the ice cream sandwiches.
  • This makes about 20 cookies.

Caramel Ice Cream

  • Take 1/2 cup of the caramel and whisk it into the room temperature canned coconut milk (cold milk will make this harder to mix together).
  • Once this is mixed and smooth, whisk in the creamy oatmilk and the Silk half and half or Silk heavy cream (or just use more canned coconut milk).
  • Turn on your ice cream machine and pour this mix into the ice cream maker and churn for about 20 minutes or until your ice cream is a thick soft serve consistency.
  • Makes about 2 ½ cups of ice cream.
  • Scoop out the ice cream and assemble the ice cream sandwiches right before eating.
  • If you assemble these ahead of time, wrap in freezer paper, parchment paper, or plastic wrap and freeze until ready to eat.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1ice cream sandwich | Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0g | Sodium: 278mg | Potassium: 301mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 69IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 2mg
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