Pistachio Ice Cream
Delicious and creamy homemade pistachio ice cream flavored with fresh pistachio paste and a tiny hint of orange. Studded with crunchy candied pistachios, it’s a real treat.
Table of contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
For this recipe I wanted an ice cream base with a noticeably nutty taste, which is achieved by whisking freshly made pistachio paste into the custard base. But first I had to make a really good pistachio paste.
I tested this recipe 5 times before I was happy with the results.
I tried making the pistachio paste with raw pistachios but it was bland. I tried briefly blanching the pistachios in water before grinding them to a paste which resulted in a weirdly chalky texture. I tried cooking in the nuts in sugar syrup hoping they’d make a creamier paste, they didn’t.
Each time the texture of the nuts was unpleasantly gritty and the ice cream had a muddy flavor.
Finally, I found that grinding freshly toasted pistachios with a little corn syrup and hot water made a delicious, flavorful ice cream that actually tastes like pistachios. As a bonus, the corn syrup enhances the texture of the ice cream by preventing icy crystals.
Steeping a piece of orange zest adds a fresh note to the ice cream. Candied pistachios add crunch and another layer of deep pistachio flavor to the ice cream.
There’s plenty of chemistry working behind the scenes in every ice cream recipe. If you’re a geek like me and enjoy the science behind a recipe, you should visit this post about making Homemade Ice Cream.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Milk/Cream – Using a combination of milk and cream results in an ice cream that is plenty creamy yet firm enough to be scoopable.
- Pistachios – Use unsalted raw pistachios for the best pistachio paste.
- Corn syrup – Corn syrup helps to grind the pistachios into a paste, but it also improves the texture of the ice cream. Corn syrup prevents ice crystals from forming in the ice cream for a creamier texture.
- Orange Peel – Pistachio and orange are natural flavor partners. Briefly steeping the zest in the cream adds a touch of orange flavor without over powering the nut flavor.
- Salt – The tiniest bit of salt rounds out the flavor of the ice cream. Omit the salt if you used salted pistachios.
- Egg Yolks – Homemade ice cream made with egg yolks has a luscious custardy texture and it melts more slowly than ice cream made without eggs or yolks.
Process Photos
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- Toast the pistachios in a non-stick skillet.
- Wrap the pistachios in a clean kitchen towel. Rub vigorously over the towel.
- Some of the skins will come away from the pistachios.
- Leave the skins behind. Transfer half the pistachios to a small bowl.
- Return the other half of the pistachios back to the skillet and sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar into the pan.
- As you heat the pan the sugar will start to melt.
- Stir the nuts and sugar until all the sugar is melted and coats the nuts.
- Transfer the candied pistachios to a parchment lined pan. Be careful, the caramelized sugar is very hot. Allow the nuts to cool completely.
- Place the other pistachios in a food processor.
- Grind the pistachios to a powder.
- Add the corn syrup, vanilla and hot water.
- Process until you have a thick paste.
- In a medium saucepan, cook the cream and milk with the sugar and egg yolks until the custard thickens.
- Whisk in the pistachio paste.
- Strain the ice cream base into a clean bowl.
- Leave larger bits of pistachio and the orange rind in the sieve. Chill the ice cream mixture until very cold, at least 5-6 hours or overnight.
- Churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instructions for your machine. If you want to deepen the color, add a drop of green food coloring while the ice cream is churning.
- When the ice cream is ready, add the candied nuts and let them mix through the ice cream.
- Remove the ice cream from the machine and transfer to a freezer container.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream. Freeze until solid.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a star rating and a quick comment. Ratings and comments help my recipes show in search results. Thanks!
Pistachio Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz raw unsalted pistachios (2 cups)
- 8 oz granulated sugar (1 cup, divided)
- 2 oz light corn syrup (3 tablespoons)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 oz whole milk (1 ½ cups)
- 12 oz heavy cream (1 ½ cups)
- 6 large egg yolks
- 2" strip of orange zest
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
Instructions
- Spread a clean kitchen towel out on the kitchen counter. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan.
- Toast 8 oz raw unsalted pistachios in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat just until they are fragrant. Turn off the heat. Transfer the nuts to the clean towel in an even layer. Fold the towel over the nuts. Rub back and forth vigorously over the towel. This will remove some of the skins from the pistachios.
- Lift the pistachios off the towel, leaving the skins behind. Place half of the nuts in a small bowl and reserve for making the pistachio paste. Put the rest of the pistachios back into the skillet.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup (2oz) of the granulated sugar over the pistachios in the pan. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until the sugar melts and glazes the nuts. Turn off the heat and immediately transfer the candied pistachios to the parchment lined sheet pan to cool. Be careful, the caramelized sugar is very hot!
- Once the candied nuts are cooled, use a mallet or heavy object to break the nuts into small clusters. Transfer them to a covered container. The candied nuts can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days.
- Place the other reserved pistachios in the bowl of a small food processor. Process for 2-3 minutes until it looks like coarse sand. Add 2 oz light corn syrup, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of hot water. Continue to process the mixture until it forms a thick paste. Set the paste aside while you make the custard.
- Set a sieve over a medium size bowl and place it near the stove. Combine 12 oz whole milk and 12 oz heavy cream in a medium sauce pan. Whisk in the remaining 6 oz of granulated sugar, 6 large egg yolks, a 2" strip of orange zest and ⅛ teaspoon table salt.
- Heat the milk mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook the custard until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not allow it to come to a full boil. Turn off the heat and whisk in the pistachio paste.
- Strain the custard into the bowl. Leave any larger bits of nut and the orange zest in the sieve. Cover the bowl and chill until very cold. At least 4-5 hours or overnight.
- Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions for your ice cream machine. If you want the ice cream to have a more prominent green color, add a few drops of green food coloring to the ice cream as it runs in the machine.
- Just before removing the ice cream from the machine, add the candied pistachios and let them mix in. Scoop the ice cream into a container and smooth to an even layer. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream, cover tightly and freeze until firm.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Made this today. It is delicious. Thanks for the recipe
You’re welcome!