Pistachio Ice Cream
It only took me five and a half years to finally make my husband his favorite ice cream flavor.
My husband has always loved pistachio ice cream. Every time we’d pick out ice cream, pistachio was almost always his first choice. So naturally, after years of him asking me to make his favorite ice cream flavor, I figured it was finally time to make it for him. (hehe)
And honestly? I wish I had made this recipe sooner.
This homemade pistachio ice cream is unbelievably creamy, rich, and packed with real pistachio flavor. It tastes like something you’d order from a specialty ice cream shop, but it’s made right at home with simple ingredients and an ice cream maker.
Why You’ll Love This Pistachio Ice Cream
There are a lot of homemade ice cream recipes out there, but this one is truly special.
The combination of a cooked custard base, egg yolks, heavy cream, milk powder, and an overnight chill creates an incredibly smooth texture. The ice cream base ages overnight in the refrigerator before churning, which allows the fats to solidify and the proteins to fully hydrate. The result is an ultra-creamy ice cream with a luxurious mouthfeel and almost no iciness.
Seriously, the texture of this ice cream is incredible. It’s rich, silky smooth, and scoop-shop worthy.
The Secret Ingredient: Nuuva Pistachio Spread
To give this ice cream even more pistachio flavor, I blended in Nuuva Pistachio Spread along with roasted pistachios.
The spread adds both flavor and richness, creating a deep pistachio flavor throughout the entire ice cream.
If you’d like to try it for yourself, you can shop the pistachio spread here:
Shop Nuuva Pistachio Spread: Get it here!
Use code THESEASONALOVEN for a 10% discount on your order.
The Ice Cream Maker I Use
For this recipe, I used my ice cream maker, which makes homemade ice cream incredibly simple. If you’ve been intimidated by homemade ice cream in the past, don’t be. Once you make it once, you’ll wonder why you waited so long.
Shop my ice cream maker here: Get it here!
The Ice Cream Containers I Use
I love storing homemade ice cream in these cute reusable containers. They help keep ice cream fresh and are perfect for gifting or stocking the freezer with multiple flavors.
Shop my favorite ice cream containers here: Get it here!
My Favorite Way to Serve It
As amazing as this ice cream is on its own, my favorite way to serve it is piled on top of a warm Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie.
The contrast between the warm, gooey cookie and the cold, creamy pistachio ice cream is absolutely unreal.
You can find that recipe here:
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Whether you serve it in a cone, in a bowl, or on top of a warm skillet cookie, this homemade pistachio ice cream is guaranteed to become a new favorite.
Ultra-Creamy Pistachio Ice Cream
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add 1/2 cup (68 g) roasted pistachios and 200 g (about 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) of the milk to a high-speed blender. Blend until as smooth as possible, then set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 200 g (about 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) milk, 1 3/4 cups (400 g) heavy cream, 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (120 g) sugar, 2 tablespoons (40 g) glucose syrup, 1/4 cup (25 g) milk powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Heat over medium heat until steaming.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the 5 egg yolks. Slowly stream some of the hot dairy mixture into the yolks while whisking constantly to temper them.
- Pour the tempered yolks back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard reaches 170-175°F (77-79°C). Do not boil.
- Remove the custard from the heat. Add the reserved pistachio-milk mixture, 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (220 g) Nuuva pistachio spread, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. Blend with an immersion blender (or back into high speed blender) until completely smooth.
- Transfer the ice cream base to a container. Let cool on the counter for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 12 hours.
- Before churning, whisk well to recombine anything that settled.
- Churn according to your ice cream maker’s instructions until the ice cream reaches a thick soft-serve consistency.
- Transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for 4-6 hours, or until scoopable.
- To serve, finish with chopped pistachios and a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt.
Notes
- Blending real pistachios into the custard gives this ice cream a deeper, more authentic pistachio flavor.
- The pistachio spread is blended directly into the base rather than swirled through to keep the texture exceptionally creamy.
- Chilling the ice cream base overnight allows the fat molecules to fully solidify and gives the proteins time to hydrate. This aging process results in a smoother, creamier ice cream with improved body and texture.
