Vegan Pistachio Ice Cream

Are you melting this summer? ☀️ It’s time to beat the heat with this cool 3-ingredient vegan pistachio ice cream!

It’s thick, creamy, and loaded with chunks of pistachios. Oh yeah, it’s also SO EASY to make. If you get lazy in the kitchen (like we do!), then this recipe is a must-make for summer.

No ice cream maker needed and just five minutes of active time (plus a night in the freezer)… that sounds pretty good to us!

Is Pistachio Ice Cream Vegan?

No – the vast majority of pistachio ice creams you find in grocery stores or ice cream parlors will not be vegan. Instead, they will be made with dairy cream. Boooo!

Luckily, our pistachio ice cream recipe is 100% vegan, and incredibly creamy, so there’s no need to miss out!

What Does Pistachio Ice Cream Taste Like?

This vegan pistachio ice cream tastes like… well, creamed pistachios! Duh. It’s nutty and delicious, like a block of pistachio nougat, except cold, soft, and creamy.

Many pistachio ice creams actually taste a bit like marzipan, because it’s quite popular to add almond extract to the recipe. You can most definitely add some to this recipe if you like that flavor!

But, if you’d rather taste the unique flavor of pistachio itself, skip the almond.

What is Vegan Pistachio Ice Cream Made Of?

Three ingredients. Yep, you read that right! You need just 3 easy ingredients to make this ice cream, including the following:

• Full-fat coconut milk
• Shelled pistachios
• Liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave, date syrup, etc.)

Keep a few extra pistachios back for folding in at the end!

How to Make Vegan Pistachio Ice Cream

As mentioned in our article on How to Make Vegan Ice Cream, the three things you have to consider when making any kind of ice cream are fat, sugar, and air.

So let’s break this down in the land of the dairy-free:

The #1 secret when learning how to make vegan ice cream is simple: use full-fat, creamy coconut milk. Other vegan milk substitutes (like almond milk) just don’t cut it. You need the fattiness that can only be found in a can of full-fat coconut milk.

The #2 secret to making vegan ice cream is sugar. We personally love using liquid sweeteners, like agave, maple syrup, or date syrup. We have tried using a sugar-free sweetener (monk fruit), but the texture wasn’t the same. If you’d like to use granulated sugar, it would probably work just as well, although we haven’t tried it ourselves!

The #3 secret to making vegan ice cream is to incorporate air. This helps the ice cream become creamy. But, not all of us have a fancy ice cream maker at home, so what’s the alternative?

All you need is a high-speed blender. We use a Vitamix, and we couldn’t be happier!

Back to the recipe and, to make vegan pistachio ice cream, all you have to do is blend the three ingredients (full-fat coconut milk, liquid sweetener, and pistachios), then transfer that liquid to an ice cube tray, and freeze it overnight.

The following day, blend the ice cubes, and voila! Vegan Pistachio Ice Cream. It really is that easy.

FAQ

How to Store Vegan Pistachio Ice Cream

In the freezer! When you have made it, keep it in a freezer-proof tub and enjoy it within a week for the best flavors.

What Makes Pistachio Ice Cream Green?

While pistachios themselves are green, initially we weren’t sure whether or not the color would hold once they were mixed in with all the other ingredients.

We had also seen that many other pistachio ice cream recipes online called for something green to be added, like spirulina or matcha.

Luckily, no extra coloring was needed for this recipe. The beautiful, soft green of this vegan ice cream comes entirely from the pistachios!

What Are Some Good Vegan Pistachio Ice Cream Brands?

In the past, you would have been lucky to find just one flavor of vegan ice cream on the freezer shelves of your local grocery store. These days we are spoiled for choice!

While pistachio is not as widely seen as chocolate and vanilla, we recommend checking out NadaMoo!’s Pistachio Nut Dairy-Free Ice Cream and Van Leeuwen’s Vegan Sicilian Pistachio. Check our our guide to The Best Vegan Ice Cream Brands for more inspiration!

Want to try some more plant-based ice cream recipes? Check out these:

Neapolitan Ice Cream Popsicles

Vegan Snickers Ice Cream

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

Ice Cream Sandwiches

If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag your photos with @healthiir on Instagram! I’d love to see your creation. Now, let’s eat!