Pistachio ice cream is my favorite flavour, and I am always looking for ways to make this frozen treat at home. This pistachio ice cream is crunchy because I leave all the grounded pistachio in.
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For years I thought that making ice cream at home was too difficult to bother with, so I continued to eat store-bought stuff. That is until I lived for a couple of months in Italy, where I went into a gelato-induced coma every day. When I got back to the UK, I couldn't deal with the synthetic taste of store-bought ice cream anymore and I started to make my own.
This pistachio ice cream is a bit different and quite unorthodox because I don't bother with straining. Most of the recipes you'll find require straining so you get a smooth texture, but that means you have to throw away most of the grounded pistachios.
I used to do that in the beginning, but one day I decided that I wanted to benefit from all the fibers and other nutrients in the pistachios, so I skipped the straining part. The ice cream turned out amazing, and even though you can feel the bits of pistachio in, I quite like it like that. Plus, there are 10 grams of fibre in 100 grams of pistachio, so what's not to like?
Most recipes for pistachio ice cream call for almond or pistachio extract, but I skip that gracefully as well, as the flavour of the grounded pistachio is perfect on its own and I like to keep things as natural as possible.
To make this ice cream, you will need an ice cream maker. I use a very cheap one that does the job great, but I might upgrade at some point because I sometimes forget to put the container in the freezer the day before.
You can freeze the ice cream in a large container and use a scoop to serve, or you can divide the mixture into portions and freeze in small containers for better portion control.
What do you need to make this crunchy pistachio ice cream?
- Shelled pistachios - you can get them already shelled or spend a bit of time to get the kernels out of pistachio in a shell.
- Eggs
- Sugar - I use caster sugar for this, but regular white sugar should work, too.
- Milk - I made this with plant-based alternative milk, but the creaminess just wasn't there. Stick to old-fashioned milk, preferably organic.
- Double cream (heavy cream for readers across the pond)
How do you make pistachio ice cream?
- Grind the pistachio and 50 grams of sugar in a food processor.
- Add the milk to a pan, mix in the ground pistachio, and bring it to a boil. Do not boil it though - remove from heat as soon as the mixture reaches the boiling pint.
- Separate the egg yolks and mix them with the rest of the sugar in a bowl.
- Add the hot mixture to the bowl gradually, whisking continuously.
- Return the custard to the pan and cook over low heat until it thickens, but be careful not to boil it. It should have the consistency of a thick custard.
- Remove the custard from the heat, transfer to a bowl, and let it chill completely (2 or 3 hours).
- Whisk the double cream and add it to the custard.
- Churn the mixture into an ice cream maker according to the instructions of the manufacturer.
- Transfer to a container and freeze until firm.
Crunchy Pistachio Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 125 g (1 cup) unsalted shelled pistachios
- 175 g (6 oz) sugar
- 500 ml (2 cups) full-fat milk
- 2 large eggs
- 300 ml (1 ⅓ cups) double cream
Instructions
- Grind the pistachio and 50 grams of sugar in a food processor.125 g unsalted shelled pistachios175 g sugar
- Add the milk to a pan, mix in the ground pistachio, and bring it to a boil. Do not boil it though - remove from heat as soon as the mixture reaches the boiling pint.500 ml full-fat milk
- Separate the egg yolks and mix them with the rest of the sugar in a bowl.2 large eggs
- Add the hot mixture to the bowl gradually, whisking continuously.
- Return the custard to the pan and cook over low heat until it thickens, but be careful not to boil it. It should have the consistency of a thick custard.
- Remove the custard from the heat, transfer to a bowl, and let it chill completely (2 or 3 hours).
- Whisk the double cream and add it to the custard.300 ml double cream
- Churn the mixture into an ice cream maker according to the instructions of the manufacturer.
- Transfer to a container and freeze until firm.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving and is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
Karin Anderson says
I can't agree more regarding the crunchiness, I love nuts in ice cream. Will definitely try this recipe.
Alice says
Right? What's ice cream without nuts? 🙂
CarolCooks2 says
Nice, ice cream recipe ...i have read a couple of your recipes which are well written and sound good. Thank you for the follow 🙂
Alice says
Thank you, Carol!
Bernice says
Yummy!!