This No-Churn Pistachio Ice Cream is lusciously creamy and nutty. In this recipe, whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk is combined with pistachio butter and vanilla for a simple, delicious ice cream.
It’s Friday and I think we all could use an easy treat in the form of ice cream.
Never in my life have I ever had pistachio ice cream until this moment.
Yes, it’s true. Why? I have no idea and I could kick myself for all the wasted years! Two things played into me making pistachio ice cream before ever trying it. 1) someone on Facebook reached out to me a few times asking and urging me to try it. 2) Then after making this cookie butter version over winter, I was instantly inspired to make a nut butter version. Because of these two things this no-churn pistachio ice cream was born. #fate
Luxuriously creamy and deliciously nutty and the prettiest shade of green. I’m officially in love and a forever a pistachio ice cream fan.
To Make This No Churn Pistachio Ice Cream You Will Need:
- lightly salted shelled pistachios, plus more for topping or mixing into the ice cream
- sweetened condensed milk
- pure vanilla extract
- heavy whipping cream
I’m officially the biggest fan of no-churn ice cream. It’s incredibly easy and ridiculously creamy. Besides this pistachio version, I’ve made the aforementioned Belgium cookie butter version. However, more to come. Send me your requests!
In the bowl of your food processor, add 1 cup of lightly salted shelled pistachios.
Secure the lid and process. At first, it will be crumbly.
And then you will see it starting to come together.
Scrape down the sides as you go. Even if it forms a tight ball, keep going.
Eventually, the oils will smooth out the pistachio butter even more.
1 cup pistachios equals about 1/2 cup pistachio butter. Which is the perfect amount for this recipe.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and the pistachio butter.
Stir until thoroughly combined.
In a separate bowl add 2 cups heavy whipping cream and using a handheld mixer, beat on high until stiff peaks form.
I like to pop my bowl into the freezer before making whipped cream. Doing this helps speed the process up all the while keeping the cream cold.
Transfer the whipped cream to the bowl with the pistachio mixture.
Using a large spatula, gently and carefully fold the two together using big sweeps until combined and no streaks remain.
That’s it! If you want more pistachio green color, add a moss green food coloring to the ice cream base.
I combined green, blue, yellow and a little red until I got the color you see here.
This is optional.
If you don’t like the idea of food coloring, simply omit this step. The color did deepen overnight fyi.
If you want pistachios throughout your ice cream, fold in about 1/2 cup roughly chopped pistachios now, before pouring the ice cream into the pan.
Otherwise, pour the pistachio ice cream base into a freezer safe container. I like using a metal loaf pan.
Sprinkle with pistachios.
Pop the whole thing into your freezer for 4 hours or overnight.
Before serving, allow the ice cream to sit out for 20 minutes or until an ice cream scoop glides through the ice cream easily.
So. Creamy. And I absolutely love the flavor and nuttiness of the pistachios in this ice cream and the added pieces are a crunchy bonus.
Enjoy! And if you give this No-Churn Pistachio Ice Cream recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
No-Churn Pistachio Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup pistachios, shelled and lightly salted, plus more for topping ice cream
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Add pistachios to your food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Processor until a smooth butter forms. This could take a little bit so have patience.
- In a large mxing bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, pistachio butter and vanilla. Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the heavy whipping cream into a separate mixing bowl (see notes). Using a hand held mixer, mix on high-speed until stiff peaks form.
- Add the the whipped cream to the bowl with the pistachio mixture. Using a large spatula, gently and carefully fold the two together using big sweeps until combined and no streaks remain. Don't rush this step.
- If using food coloring, add it now and fold it into the mixture.
- Pour the ice cream base into a freezer-safe dish and sprinkle 1/2 cup of chopped pistachios over top. Alternatively, fold the nuts into the mixture before pouring into the pan.
- Place the pan into your freezer for 4 hours or overnight.
- Before serving, place the ice cream on the counter for 20 mintues or until soft enough to scoop. I also like to dip my ice cream scoop in hot water (shake off excess water) before scooping.
Notes
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To prevent your ice cream from getting too hard add 3 tablespoons of liqueur (I use Disarono Amaretto) for my pistachio along with Almond extract.
What a great tip, Jeannine!
Hey just wanted to checked if I can use sweetened whipping cream. I don’t have unsweetened heavy cream at home so. Will it make the ice cream too sweet with the condensed milk as well as sweetened cream? Most of the grocery stores around have already sweetened creams here. If not will Amul fresh cream work?
Hi! There definitely is a chance. I’m unfamiliar with the sweetness level of sweetened whipping cream so I really can’t say for sure. Sorry!
so good
Great recipe! Perfect. Sweet with a touch of salt. I mixed in mini semi-sweet chocolate chips too. This was exactly what I hoped it would be. Be patient making the pistachio butter, it’ll get there. I have a Cuisinart Elemental 8 food processor and it’s amazing for making butters. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I just made this and for the most part I thought it was a terrific recipe. It’s very rich, more like gelato or Indian kulfi (also made with pistachios). The only thing I wish could change would be how sweet it is due to the sweetened condensed milk. For me it was a bit over the top cloying sweet. Could this be made with a combination of some sweetened condensed milk and some other dairy, like half and half or even cream, before folding in the whipping cream, to make it less sweet?
I am wondering what could be substituted for the condensed Milk as I am diabetic. Wondering if just adding zero cal sweetener instead of the condensed milk would work. Love to know
Tried making the pistachio ice cream for the first time. Bought some cones too. Yipee! The ice cream taste so delicious and it is easy to make too. Thank you so much for the recipie. Can’t wait to try other flavours too
I would love to make this using my ice cream maker. What would you change if using a machines or would you do it exactly the same and churn at the end?
I don’t have a good processor, would a blender work?
On the premise that I don’t usually leave comments, I must say that this recipe is the BEST you can find on the Internet. I’ve done it dozen of times (really!), always omitting the vanilla because I forget (damn!). It’s simple to make, and it’s got the WOW factor if you want to impress your guests.
Ps: I usually leave the pistachios a little crumbly and the result is equally luxurious.
u don’t taste the shell or the ones out of shell
OMG that’s the best ice cream I ever had. To begin with pistachio is my favorite kind of ice cream so you had me at pistachio. When I want to really treat myself I go to a special place around where I live to have Sicilian pistachio gelato and it’s really good quality and homemade that cost a fortune but now I will never do that again. I will always make my own. Thank you!!!
Looks amazing- can I make in an ice cream maker or is it better to make without? Thanks! Just got back from Italy and France and have been looking for a recipe
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. Not only is this recipe easy. It tastes awesome. The ice cream flavor (because of the pistachio butter) is absolutely wonderful. I did not find it to be too sweet. The consistency is super creamy and just as good as gelato I get in Sicily. This is going to be the dessert I bring to every party, book club and event I go to from now on. 🙂 Thank you so much!