Vegan Strawberry Pudding Pops

I was inspired to make these vegan pudding pops after visiting Eckert’s Farm to pick my own strawberries.

I wanted to make a creamy ice cream like dessert that incorporated fresh fruit and was completely vegan. You can also make these vegan pudding pops Paleo and Whole 30 Compliant by leaving out the sugar!

Strawberry Vegan Pudding Pops Ingredients

• 2 (13.5oz) cans unsweetened coconut milk
• 1.25 – 1.5 cups fresh strawberries, chopped into small chunks
• 3 tbs sugar
• 5 tbs arrowroot powder (If you are OK with grains you can substitute cornstarch)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

1. Put 1 of the cans of coconut milk in the freezer for at least 6 hours. I know this is a pain, but it’s a key part of making these vegan pudding pops thick and creamy!
2. After the first can has been frozen, open the second can of coconut milk. Measure out 1 cup and side aside in a small bowl. Pour the rest of the can into a medium saucepan.
3. Open the frozen can of coconut milk. Carefully scoop out only the cream which has settled on top and put it into the saucepan. Be careful not to get any of the coconut water that should have settled at the bottom. Save the leftover milky coconut water. You can either use it for smoothies or for this other popsicle recipe. 
4. Add sugar and sea salt to saucepan, heat over medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar and salt dissolves. *
5. While sugar and salt are dissolving, whisk arrowroot into the the coconut milk you set aside. Whisk until smooth.
6. Add strawberries to saucepan. Stir and cook until the coconut milk gets a little pink from the strawberries.
7. Whisk the arrowroot and coconut milk mixture into the saucepan. Make sure you whisk continuously for 30-60 seconds. Your mixture should thicken up a bit, but you don’t want to cook it past 60 seconds, as it could break down some of the arrowroot.
8. Turn off heat. Whisk in vanilla.
9. Let cool to room temperature.
10. Once cooled, pour into popsicle molds and allow to set for 5-6 hours.

*If you want to make this recipe Paleo & Whole 30 compliant, you can skip the sugar. However, if you do this, I recommend adding an extra half a cup of strawberries and letting them cook for a little bit longer in step 6. This will allow some of the fruit sugars to release into the milk mixture, giving you more sweetness without the sugar. 

I know what you’re thinking. That’s a lot of steps, can’t I just mix coconut milk with strawberries? I thought the same thing, and tried a similar recipe, Strawberry Blackberry Popsicles. It’s much simpler and certainly tasty, but it’s not going to give you that creamy ice cream like texture. I absolutely loved these vegan pudding pops, and I’m a total ice cream snob that loves dairy. So, I think they were worth the trouble. Also, as an added bonus, if you have any leftovers, you can eat that pudding as well. Bonus dessert with no freezing required.