This vegan pistachio ice cream is indulgent, extra creamy and easy to make using only 3 key ingredients. And it includes an easy pistachio swirl for extra flavor! You don’t need an ice cream maker, bananas, cashews or coconut milk for this dessert.
Simple ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Dairy-free cream that’s meant for whipping. Canned coconut cream will also work, but it tends to produce less volume than dairy-free whipping cream, so your ice cream will be denser.
Dairy-free sweetened condensed milk adds sweetness and gives your ice cream a creamy texture, even after freezing. I used oat and coconut condensed milk, although soy condensed milk will also work. I love the ones by Nature’s Charm! You don’t need any extra sweeteners for this recipe.
Pistachio nuts that are raw and unsalted, so you can have more control over the flavor of your homemade ice cream. I prefer shelled pistachios, but you can use unshelled pistachios if you don’t mind removing all of the shells.
Vanilla and salt for flavor. In addition to the condensed milk, they help minimize ice crystals from forming, so you get a smooth and soft ice cream.
Make the pistachio mixture
Before anything, I recommend roasting the pistachios for 7-10 minutes. We want to release some of the natural oils from the pistachios so they’re easier to blend, and deepen their nutty flavor. However, we don’t want to roast the pistachios so much that they turn brown.
You will need a high-speed blender or food processor to blend the pistachios. Compared to other nuts, pistachios require a little more power and patience to blend, probably because they’re lower in fat than other nuts. As pistachios take a while to blend, you’ll need a strong appliance.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to blend the pistachios into a runny nut butter; a thick paste is fine (Image 1). Once you have a paste, add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, then blend until just combined (Image 2). Finally, remove some of the sweetened pistachio mixture as we’ll be swirling this through the ice cream.
Mix the ice cream
Whip your cold cream until it reaches firm to stiff peaks. If it’s a really warm day, pop your mixing bowl in the fridge or freezer for a couple of hours beforehand so the cream stays chilled.
Add the sweetened pistachio mixture to the cream and beat for 1 minute to loosen the pistachio mixture. If you have a hand mixer, hold your mixer above the pistachio mixture and use small circular motions to loosen that small area (rather than beating the whole bowl of cream).
When you can’t see any more chunks of pistachio, use a wide spatula to fold everything together. This easy technique means we can just use one mixing bowl and we don’t deflate the cream!
Layering the ice cream in your container
I suggest using a 9-inch (23cm) loaf pan or similar-sized airtight container for your ice cream. Note that the amount of ice cream you’ll get will depend on how much your cream whips up.
If you made the pistachio swirl, I suggest layering the ice cream in three batches. So, it would be ice cream, pistachio swirl, ice cream, pistachio swirl, then once more.
The pistachio swirl is quite thick, so don’t worry about how it swirls into the ice cream. We want chunks of the pistachio swirl, not for it to be completely mixed in!
Customizing this vegan pistachio ice cream recipe
The color of your ice cream will hugely depend on your variety of pistachios. You can see the spectrum of colors in this pistachio butter recipe by Love and Olive Oil.
One way to get a greener ice cream is to blanch the pistachios in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, cool them down and peel off their skin (I did this for the ice cream in the photos). However, this takes a lot of time. For a more vibrant green color, you can add a few drops of green and yellow food coloring to your pistachio mixture. I have tried blending spinach into ice cream but it makes it slightly icey.
It would also be delicious with:
– a dash of almond extract, to enhance the pistachio flavor (add this at the same time as the condensed milk)
– dark chocolate chips/chunks (add at the end)
– cookie dough bites (add at the end)
More vegan ice cream recipes
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Vegan Pistachio Ice Cream
This vegan pistachio ice cream is indulgent, extra creamy and easy to make using only 3 key ingredients. And it includes an easy pistachio swirl for extra flavor! You don’t need an ice cream machine, bananas, cashews or coconut milk for this recipe.
Servings: 12 scoops
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Instructions
Prepare the sweetened pistachio mixture:
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Preheat your oven to 180°C (320°F). Line 1-2 baking trays with parchment paper.
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Spread the pistachios on the baking trays. Roast for 7-9 minutes or until slightly aromatic. They will slightly darken in color, but should not turn brown. Allow to cool slightly.
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Add the pistachios to a high-powdered blender or food processor. Blend until you get a thick but smooth pistachio paste (it doesn’t need to be a runny nut butter). This can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes depending on your appliance.
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Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt and blend until combined. Remove about ½ cup (150g) of the blended mixture for the pistachio swirl.
Prepare the ice cream:
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Add the chilled whipping cream to a bowl (if using a hand mixer), or the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whip the cream until you get firm to stiff peaks. Add the pistachio mixture to the bowl and whip for up to a minute to just loosen the pistachio mixture. Then use a spatula to fold the mixture until there are no more green streaks.
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Pour your ice cream mixture into a 9″ (23cm) loaf pan, or freezer-safe container. If you made the pistachio swirl, pour one-third of the ice cream into your container, dollop a few spoons of pistachio mixture on top and swirl through with a knife. Repeat twice until you have used up all the ice cream mixture,
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Cover the ice cream and freeze for 4 hours to overnight, or until firm. Scoop, serve and enjoy! Garnish with extra chopped pistachios or any leftover sweetened pistachio paste (note 3).
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Store leftover ice cream in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. This ice cream is usually soft enough that you can serve it straight from the freezer. However, if your ice cream is firmer, let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If you don’t want to make a pistachio swirl, use 200g pistachios and 320g or 11.25oz (exactly 1 can) of sweetened condensed milk.
- This recipe works best with a dairy-free whipping cream (such as Country Crock, Flora, Elmea, etc). Canned coconut cream will work, but it results in a denser ice cream.
- If you have any leftover sweetened pistachio paste, mix it with some dairy-free milk to make a runny syrup, and drizzle this on top of your ice cream before serving.
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