For Thick And Creamy Milkshakes Without Ice Cream, Use Avocados

As contradictory as it might sound, you don't need dairy-filled ice cream to make a satisfyingly creamy milkshake. Those adhering to vegan diets have options when looking to bulk up sweet beverages that can deliver a smooth, icy mouthfeel. While tofu can thicken smoothie and milkshake recipes, so, too, can slices of avocado. If you're wanting to bulk up vegan milkshakes, avocados are your golden tickets to creamier, smoother treats.

While you can use vegan ice cream made with bananas, cocoa powder, and maple syrup, you can also blend up a mixture of avocado slices, ice, and dairy-free milk before flavoring the mixture with your choice of sweeteners, fruit, and spices. The inclusion of avocado in your drink helps create a luxuriously decadent sipper, and when blended with agave syrup or honey and spiced up with your choice of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, or pumpkin pie spice, you can create the milkshake of your dreams — sans dairy products.

You'll want to use ripe avocados for the creamiest result. Combine with frozen fruit for an icier effect, and for chocolate-flavored varieties, add cocoa powder, or toss a scoop or two of vegan chocolate ice cream into your blender. Tahini sauce can bring an earthy, nuttier flavor to your milkshake recipes, while boxed cake mix can steer your milkshake creations into a sweeter, dessert-inspired lane. To turn up the thickness dial of your milkshake, add a frozen banana to your icy concoction and consider including coconut milk ice cream for a subtle taste of the tropics. 

Blend your chosen compilation of ingredients until smooth and top filled glasses with the garnishes you'd use to crown a traditional milkshake. For a more aesthetic pour, you can drizzle caramel or chocolate sauce down the sides of your glass before pouring in the mixed milkshake. Dollops of dairy-free cream, drizzles of salted caramel sauce or chocolate syrup, toasted coconut flakes, cherries, and sprinkles of chocolate chip cookies are all welcome to enter this chat as crowning finishes to this deliciously smooth treat.