Easy Homemade Pumpkin Ice Cream

Pumpkin ice cream, an ideal fall dessert, it combines the rich and earthy taste of pumpkin with the creamy indulgence and texture of ice cream. It’s a harmony of autumn flavors in every spoonful. Perfect as a snack but even better as a dessert!

 

If you are a squash/pumpkin lover than you are definitely going to have to try this! Made in an ice cream machine it is creamy and delicious and the best way to bring in a summer treat into Autumn.

I have to thank the Italian for giving me the idea of making Pumpkin Ice cream, he has been bugging me to make this since I started making my own puree. I have come to love making recipes with pumpkin puree from cakes to sweet breads to even one of our favorite pasta dishes.

Recipe Ingredients

• Pumpkin puree – either homemade or store bought (not pumpkin pie filling)
• Milk – whole milk
• Cream – whole, heavy cream or whipping cream with at least 30% fat content
• Vanilla – vanilla extract
• Cinnamon – ground cinnamon or if you like it spicer you could substitute with pumpkin pie spice
• Brown sugar – light brown sugar

How to make a Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe

In a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand up mixer beat together the pumpkin puree, milk, cream, vanilla, cinnamon and brown sugar. Then pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and start to churn, follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Mine took about 25-30 minutes to make.

I like to put the homemade ice cream in the freezer for a few hours to help firm it up. When ready, scoop into bowls and drizzle with caramel sauce if desired.

Variations for the ice cream

If you wish you could add in some pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon, you could also add a pinch or two of nutmeg or even ginger. Why not add in some chocolate chips or even broken ginger snap cookies? Drizzle a delicious caramel sauce, maple sauce or even chocolate sauce before serving.

Can you make this ice cream without a machine?

If you don’t have a machine, you could follow this recipe and use the following ingredients, 1 cup pumpkin puree, 2 cups of whole cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

What is the difference between Gelato and Ice cream?

This recipe could also be considered more of a Pumpkin gelato then ice cream. Gelato has little more milk than cream, and it can have eggs or no eggs at all. And it is churned at a slower rate, which incorporates less air leaving Gelato denser than ice cream.

How to store it

Homemade ice cream / gelato should be kept in the freezer, in an airtight freezer-safe container. Apparently glass or stainless steel are the best containers to use. It will keep for at least a week or two in the freezer. 

So this Thanksgiving why not give Pumpkin Gelato a try, I hope you enjoy it as much as the Italian did. Enjoy!