Sweet, salty, and nutty, this pistachio ice cream is everything you want in a dessert—it’s made from just 8 ingredients and is the perfect treat for the summertime!

For about a year now, I’ve worked part-time at Big Spoon Creamery—but this isn’t any old ice cream shop. Every ice cream base is meticulously made with high-quality ingredients and hand-made mix-ins, and the menu ranges from familiar classics (chocolate chip cookie dough) to unique and delicious innovations (almond peach cardamom). Working behind-the-scenes in the pastry department has opened my eyes to new flavors and techniques, but most of all, it has allowed me to understand and appreciate just how complicated ice cream is.

There are so many factors you have to take into account: how fast the base freezes, the ratio of water content, the fat content (I could go on). In developing this pistachio ice cream, I combined a lot of what I learned into an approachable recipe.

Anyone can make ice cream and have it taste okay, but a really good ice cream is life-changing. The first time I had a really good pistachio ice cream was in Italy—my mind was blown (truly, gelato is unmatched). Since then, it’s become one of my all-time favorite flavors, and while it’s difficult to mimic gelato or even store-bought ice cream at home, I think this recipe does a good job.

What’s the Difference Between Ice Cream and Gelato?

Turns out, there’s a lot. Gelato is made with less butterfat and eggs than ice cream, and it’s kept at a higher temperature. Overall, this gives it a smooth, dense, and soft consistency, especially since there’s less air churned into it. As a result, the flavors taste stronger, since your tongue isn’t numbed by the cold or covered in butterfat.

Since there’s a higher ratio of cream in this recipe, it’s not categorized as gelato. In all my attempts and tests, I’ve found that making gelato at home is much harder than you’d think—the typical freezer keeps a temperature much too cold, and as a result, your gelato would be rock hard without a higher ratio of cream.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Raw pistachios. In this recipe, you’ll use the pistachios to make your own nut butter. If you don’t have access to a high-powered blender, you can easily substitute this with store-bought pistachio butter.
Whole milk.
Heavy cream.
Granulated sugar.
Light corn syrup. The addition of corn syrup allows us to add more sugar (therefore more stability) with less sweetness. I know a lot of people dislike using corn syrup, though—if that’s you, you could try substituting it for honey, though I’ve never personally tried this myself.
Kosher salt.
Egg yolks. Most ice cream shops use a stabilizer of some kind to keep the ice cream soft and scoopable. While it’s pretty impossible to replicate this at home, egg yolks are a great option for the home cook and will do the trick.
Nonfat dry milk powder. This isn’t an ingredient you often find in recipes across the internet, but it does a whole lot for homemade ice cream. Not only does it add a stronger dairy flavor, it absorbs excess water and stabilizes the end result.

How to Make Pistachio Ice Cream

Make a pistachio butter. It sounds hard, but honestly, your food processor does the work for you. All you have to do is toast the pistachios and blend them until they reach nut-butter consistency. If you don’t have the time for this, you can easily skip this step by using pre-made pistachio butter (only make sure it’s not pistachio cream; the only ingredients should be pistachios and salt).
Make the ice cream base. Essentially, you’re making a custard. Heat the cream, milk, and sugar, then add the egg yolks and milk powder. Once it’s cooked, blend in the pistachio paste until smooth.
Chill overnight and churn. Make sure your pistachio base is cold, otherwise your ice cream will have a grainy, icy consistency. Once it’s done churning, either enjoy immediately or portion it into a tin, layer with any additional pistachios, and freeze!

How to Serve and Store Pistachio Ice Cream

In my opinion, this ice cream is best served straight from the machine, but you can always store it for later. Once the ice cream is done churning, I like to portion it into a *cold* loaf tin that’s been in the freezer, then I cover it with plastic wrap and freeze until ready to serve. Since its homemade, keep in mind that the ice cream will harden the longer it sits in the freezer and may lose its scoopability after a few days.

Tips and Tricks for the Best Homemade Ice Cream

Use a cooking thermometer. This will allow you to make the ice cream base with as much accuracy and ease as possible, so there’s no risk of overcooking the base or curdling the egg yolks.
Use an immersion blender. Especially with the addition of pistachio butter, you’ll need a good blender to combine everything together. While an immersion blender is easiest, you could also use a high-powered Ninja blender or something similar.
Refrigerate the ice cream base overnight. Not necessary, but letting the base chill overnight lets the flavors marry and intensify so much more.

If you have any questions at all, leave them in the comments—I’d love to see any of your recreations, so be sure to tag me on Instagram @gourmae.cafe!