Pistachio Ice Cream
This pistachio ice cream is simply irresistible, offering the perfect balance of creamy richness and nutty flavor. You’ll get a smooth texture and subtle crunch of finely ground pistachio pieces, which make every bite a delightful experience.
Decorate with chopped pistachios on top for that extra finish and look.
A few weeks back, I was chatting with one of my very good friends. Our conversations always cover a bit of everything, but food is a regular topic. “What’s on your dinner menu tonight?” or “Any BBQ plans for the weekend?” And of course, we love sharing pictures of the dishes we make.
Desserts, especially ice cream, often sneak into the discussion too. And my friend’s ultimate favorite? Pistachio! So, this one’s for him! 🙂
Ingredients you need
Besides the whole milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla extract, the main ingredient in this recipe is, of course, the pistachios.
Some people use pistachio paste, but I like to ground them myself.
Make sure you use unsalted pistachios. This recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon salt, and although salted pistachios might not add much salt, I would like to control the amount added.
However, I found that using salted pistachios as a decoration is a great combination with this ice cream.
How to make Pistachio Ice Cream
- Add your shelled pistachios and half the sugar to your food processor and process it until you have fine ground. You do not want to make a paste, so make sure to stop before. A pistachio is a nut that contains a large amount of oil, so it can easily clump when you process it. Just take a spatula or spoon and divide it. Then process a bit more until you have your ground pistachios.
- Next, in a bowl, beat the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar together. Give it a good beating, so you get a nice pale yellow mixture.
- In a saucepan, add the milk, heavy cream, salt, and your ground pistachios. Heat the mixture using medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent the milk from burning, and to incorporate the pistachios. When the mixture starts to simmer (not boil), take it off the heat. Now add 1/3 of your heated mixture into your egg yolks while whisking. This will temper the eggs so you avoid scrambled eggs. Pour everything back into your saucepan and put it back on the heat. Bring it back to a simmer. When you can coat the back of a wooden spoon and draw a line with your finger through it, then you know it’s done. Take it off the heat again and pour it into a bowl. Leave it for 30 min to cool off and for the pistachios to infuse. Give it a stir once in a while.
- After the mixture has cooled off, pour it through a sieve to remove any solids.
Add the vanilla extract and churn the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s
Pistachio Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 125 g pistachios, unsalted and shelled (note #1)
- 150 g white granulated sugar
- 500 ml heavy cream
- 250 ml whole milk
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Optional
- pistachios, Salted, for decoration (note #1)
Instructions
- Process the pistachios and half the sugar in your food processor until you have a fine ground.
- Beat the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar together, until you have a nice pale yellow mixture.
- In a saucepan, add the milk, heavy cream, salt and the ground pistachios. Heat the mixture using medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent the milk burning, and to incorporate the pistachios. When the mixture starts to simmer (not boil), take it off the heat.
- While constantly whisking, add 1/3 of the heated mixture into your egg yolks. This will temper the eggs so you avoid scramble eggs.
- Pour everything back into the saucepan. Bring it back to a simmer. When you can coat the back of a wooden spoon and draw a line with your finger through it, then you know it’s done. Take it off the heat again and pour it into a bowl.
- Leave it for 30 min to cool off and for the pistachios to infuse. Stir once in a while.
- Add the vanilla extract and churn the mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.
Equipment
- Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker use any ice cream maker
- Vitamix 5200 Blender use any blender/food processor you have
Notes
- I use unsalted pistachios for the pistachio ground and salted pistachios for ice cream decoration.
