Lately, I’ve been having fun experimenting with ice cream recipes that don’t use banana or coconut milk, and this batch is the product of another one of those ideas. No churn ice cream takes no time to whip and rarely lasts a long time in my house, mostly because I tend to devour it as soon as it freezes. So for the sake of my lovely figure I tend to only make my no churn ice creams when I go to friends’ houses and I can bring it to them as my contribution to the meal.
Avocado ice cream isn’t new, it’s been around for a few years now stealing some of the summertime avo stardom from guacamole. This was the first mention I remember seeing of the concept, but last week was the first time it’s made it into my ice cream bowl. And I must say I am quiet a fan. It’s creamy, it’s healthy, it’s nearly undetectable underneath all the other sweet stuff in here, and it’s the perfect colour for pistachio ice cream. Meant to be.
Pistachio ice cream was my absolute favourite ice cream flavour growing up. I have so many incredibly fond memories of my dad and I going to the quaint little side-walk cafe strip near our house as a kid. I got to pick and order any flavour I wanted. I always picked pistachio ice cream on those occasions. It trumped cherry garcia. It trumped rocky road. It trumped everything because for whatever reason I was super attached to enjoying this green goodness with my dad (and because I always thought pistachios to be the prettiest nuts in the world!).
This creamy dreamy avocado pistachio goodness has got all the right stuff in it: no refined sugars, dairy, eggs, or questionable commercial fillers and funky colours — just real goodies like pure avocado, delicious raw pistachios. It is like the best of both worlds — a dessert that’s actually good for you! If you told me a few years ago that you can make ice cream (and I mean real tasting ice cream!) out of those ingredients I would have laughed right in your face. And here I am, a reformed foodie swearing by this recipe. If there’s one gelato flavour I can’t resist, it is pistachio. Offer me a cone with two scoops, one pistachio and one dark chocolate, and you’ll be my friend forever.
Conventional pistachio ice cream is often distinctively green but doesn’t be fooled because this is achieved by adding green colouring. Homemade pistachio ice cream is more on the beige side when made from scratch. To get it to a lovely shade of green you can choose any food colouring you like. I went with matcha (green tea powder) because it is what I always have at home. You can also omit the avocado, but I had one lying around in the fridge and I like the creaminess, healthy fat and nutrients it added to my breakfast. The result was a thick and luscious ice cream that reminded me of my beloved gelato, without all the added sugar and fat. As usual, go ahead and play with the ingredients, adding more pistachio for a more intense taste.
Avocados are bursting with heart-healthy fat and fiber, plus potassium that can help you replenish after sweat losses from a tough workout. This ice cream is sweetened with dates so you’ll benefit from not just some sweetness, but plenty of fiber and minerals. Pistachios provide even more green and some protein-packed crunch to this frozen dessert. They have several health benefits ranging from providing you with a good amount of antioxidants to lowering bad cholesterol. They also have the lowest calorie content while carrying the largest amount of protein among all nuts. Also, you benefit from their iron, calcium and zinc content while the healthy fats of the nuts give this ice cream an incredibly soft texture.
Pistachio ice cream is one of those flavours that tend to polarise. For some reason, people either love or loathe it due to its very distinct flavour. Personally I love pistachios and think they’re so underrated! But that colour! So beautiful! Don’t you think pistachio ice cream is such an under appreciated ice cream flavour, but it’s one of the best?! This ice cream is practically transcendent with a texture unlike any other ice cream.
Another awesome thing about this recipe is that it’s made without an ice cream maker — in fact there’s no churning involved whatsoever. Easy peasy & hands off — score! I trust that you will like it as much as I do, and I’m pretty sure it will very quickly become a staple recipe in your kitchen!
IF YOU EVER GIVE THIS RECIPE A TRY, DO LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW AND/OR TAG @FRUITYEMZ AND HASHTAG #FRUITYEMZ ON YOUR INSTAGRAM POST! 🙂
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