This Homemade Pistachio Almond Ice Cream uses a custard-style base (with eggs) to make a deliciously creamy scoopable pistachio ice cream.
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If you love pistachio ice cream from one of the many brands that make it, you’re going to love this homemade version. The first time I made it, I was so surprised by how creamy it was. The pistachios soak with milk and sugar for an hour, helping them to release their own natural flavors and texture. The resulting milk mixture is heavenly.
I’ve added just a touch of almond extract to the mixture to boost the flavor profile. You can let the pistachio go it alone, but the two together is actually much more flavorful.
We use our ice cream maker for this recipe, so be sure to put the barrel in the freezer a day ahead so it’s good and frozen by the time you want to use it.
Ingredients You Need
This ice cream uses a custard base, so it has egg yolks in it.
- Shelled roasted pistachios – The higher quality the nuts, the better the ice cream will be. If you’re shelling them yourself, try to make sure you’ve removed all of the tough outer shell.
- Half and half or heavy cream – There is a debate out there about how much butterfat the best ice cream has. It can range anywhere from non-fat all the way up to 20%. Using half and half and whole milk results in the best texture and fat level for me. Use heavy whipping cream if you like your ice cream super creamy.
- Whole milk – I always use whole milk – we’re not pretending this is a low-fat dessert.
- Egg yolks – Set the eggs and milk out about 15 minutes before you start to get them to room temp
- Sugar – Granulated sugar is fine in this recipe. If you’re going to replace it with a sugar substitute, I recommend using only allulose, because it doesn’t harden like erythritol and the others do. This makes a big difference.
- Vanilla extract – Use the highest-quality vanilla you can. The flavor of the vanilla is strong and can be a little off-putting if you use a low-quality vanilla. You can also add vanilla bean to this recipe.
- Almond extract – this stuff is really strong so you only need a small drop to flavor this ice cream. If you have a choice, I’d buy the smallest bottle available.
- Green food coloring – If you want to give the ice cream a green tint, you’ll need a food-grade green coloring.
What Ice Cream Maker to Use?
If you’re really wanting to make great ice cream at home, you have to invest in an ice cream maker. I’ve had the same one for many years and it’s never made a bad ice cream.
The one I recommend is the Cuisinart 1.5 quart ice cream maker. It comes in a few different colors and it looks neat and tidy. You just have to keep to recipes that are small enough to fit, which shouldn’t be a problem.
The Cuisinart ICE-70 Electronic Ice Cream Maker is a slightly more professional model that’s 2 quarts and has an LCD screen and 3 settings plus an improved paddle with faster processing time.
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Homemade Pistachio Almond Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (154 g) shelled roasted pistachios divided
- 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) whole milk
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar divided
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon (0.62 ml) almond extract
- Green food coloring optional
Instructions
- Be sure to chill the ice cream maker bowl at least a full day in advance so it’s cold enough to churn the ice cream.
- In a food processor, crush one cup of pistachios with 1/4 cup of sugar.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the crushed pistachios and the milk. Stir the mixture constantly as you bring it just to a simmer (do not boil). Once steaming, remove from heat, cover and soak for at least 1 hour. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve and press the nuts with a spatula to extract as much milk and flavor from the nuts as possible.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar.
- To temper the eggs, slowly add 1/2 cup of the pistachio milk mixture in a drizzle into the egg mixture. Do this slowly so as not to cook the eggs.
- Pour the entire egg mixture back into the saucepan with the pistachio milk mixture. Simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Do not boil.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and cool.
- Once cooled, pour in the heavy cream, vanilla, and almond extract. If desired, add one very small drop of green food coloring and stir. Add more if necessary until desired color is reached.
- Refrigerate the mixture for at least two hours until very cold.
- Roughly chop the remaining pistachios into bite sized pieces to add at the end of the churn. You can also add the strained pistachios in at the end of the churn, if you want.
- When ready to churn, pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for 15-20 minutes, until soft-serve consistency. Add the remaining pistachios in the last 2 minutes of the churn.
- Transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container and freeze for at least 3 hours before serving.
Equipment Needed
- Spatula
- Sauce pan
Notes
- This recipe makes half a gallon.
Nutrition
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Laura is a home cook, with 25 years experience behind the stove, who spends an extraordinary amount of time in the kitchen cooking. She loves making new recipes and finding wonderful new things to eat, both at home or abroad. She spends a lot of time researching, crafting, and perfecting her recipes.
Made this the other day, best ice-cream ever. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to go through the extra steps of soaking the pistachios and extra chilling times, but it was so worth it. Even my husband that has a hard time with dairy is willing to suffer the consequences for this tasty treat.
Thanks Theresa, we are so happy to hear that you like it!
Good morning! Did you use salted or unsalted roasted pistachios?
It’s best to use unsalted pistachios.