Even though summer isn't quite here yet, I'm totally more that ready for it. This vegan pistachio coconut ice cream is my way of channeling the warm and sunny weather in.
These pops, which by the way can also be made as scoopable ice cream instead, are incredibly dreamy and flavorful, and are so easy to throw together, making these a perfect warm weather treat.
I initially started out making these as a type of kulfi (a traditional creamy pistachio ice cream) and played around with other spices, like saffron and cardamom. However after making several batches, this simpler recipe below was by far my favorite.
The coconut milk gives these bars a wonderfully creamy dairy-free ice cream base. The pistachios add flavor and a beautiful natural color that never fails to catch my attention. The dark maple syrup gives these a richness and depth. And the wee bit of almond extract imparts lots of added dimension (many pistachio ice creams actually use almond extract as a prominent flavor for this reason).
Basically with this lineup of ingredients and a good blender you'll have yourself delicious, restaurant style ice cream in no-time. And of course the chocolate drizzle and sprinkle of rose petals make this ice cream even more special.
Speaking of blenders, you'll definitely need a good power blender (like a Vitamix) to get the mixture super smooth here, as otherwise you'll end up with chunks. If you don't have a power blender, you can try grinding down the pistachios into a nut butter (or close to it) first in a good food processor, which should help them blend better afterwards.
To make these as pops, you'll need a silocone mold, like this one (which is what I used here), because the ice cream base is very creamy and will simply get stuck in a regular plastic popsicle mold.
I love the shape of the little magnum-like pops that I get out of this mold, but of course it's not essential. You can just pour the entire ice cream mixture into a glass container, chill it as per the recipe, and then treat it like scoopable ice cream instead. Works a treat either way.
Last but not least, if you're into pistachio goodies, here are a few of my favorite oldie recipes from the blog:
Pistachio Coconut Ice Cream
A quick blender vegan pistachio coconut ice cream recipe (make it as pops or as scoopable ice cream), made without churning. Gluten-free, refined sugar-free, oil-free.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 pops
- Category: ice cream
- Method: no-bake
- Cuisine: dessert
Ingredients
Ice Cream:
- ½ cup raw pistachios, shelled*
- ½ cup full fat coconut milk, room temp**
- 7 tbsp dark maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp almond extract
Optional Toppings:
- a few tablespoon of melted dark chocolate to drizzle
- edible dried rose petals, crushed
Instructions
1. Blend all ice cream ingredients together in a power blender until completely smooth.
2. Transfer into a silicone*** pops mold (or a glass container if not making pops) that's set on a flat metal tray. If you have a bit of mixture left over that doesn't fit into your molds, pour it into a small glass container. Freeze overnight, or for at least 6 hours to set. Then carefully pop the ice cream out of the molds. If consuming these like ice cream instead, then once the mixture chills and sets simply scoop and enjoy.
3. Optional: drizzle the pops with melted chocolate and sprinkle with rose petals if desired. For this step, I recommend keeping a flat chilled metal tray lined with parchment paper handy and keep the unmolded pops on it. Return back to the freezer. Once your chocolate mixture is melted and you're ready to drizzle, remove the tray from the freezer, drizzle the chocolate and sprinkle on the roses. Then briefly return back to the freezer for the chocolate to set.
4. Enjoy! Keep the pops frozen until ready to consume. I stored mine in a glass container, separated with a small piece of parchment paper lining in between each pop.
Notes
*Shelled = peeled. I know sometimes people confuse the term to mean in a shell :) you definitely don't want shells in your ice cream!
**The kind that comes in a can (I used Thai Kitchen -- see link in ingredients list). Shake it up/stir it well first. It's important that it's at room temperature so that it can be stirred together, as otherwise if it's too chilled the cream will firm up and separate from the water and the mixture will be hard to mix.
***Note that for this recipe to work as pops only silicone popsicle molds can be used. If you use plastic ones, etc., the mixture will most likely just get stuck in the mold and will not pull out. This is because the consistency of the pops is like creamy ice cream. These are the molds I used here. If you don't have a silicone mold, you can just put the entire mixture into a glass jar and once it chills you can treat it like scoopable ice cream.
Blog Confeitaria Em Casa Lucrativa says
The recipe is so delicous. Thank you so much!
Audrey says
You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it! :)
Chris says
Audrey, my partner and I can't eat coconut. I'm thinking of modifying your wonderful chocolate hazelnut pops to include pistachio. Appreciate any suggestions you can offer!
Audrey says
Hey Chris, I think you can definitely work some pistachios into those other pops. You can just blend them into the mixture.
Sheila says
Has anyone made these in stainless steel molds?
Audrey says
Just chiming in to say I haven't tried myself, but I suspect it'll be similar to plastic (i.e. not a good idea). Alternatives to silicone mold I can think of here: you could though just freeze this mixture in some silicone muffin liners or molds, or just in a shallow parchment-lined freezer safe container and then just cut it into squares and enjoy that way. Another idea is to use paper cups, like I've done in this recipe for example: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/coconut-cardamom-pops-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/
Jo-Anna says
These are currently trending in our house. We've made several batches and counting. Was a bit hesitant about the sweetness levels because of the previous comments, so I started out with less and added in more, but actually found 7 tablespoons (as per recipe) to be just right in the end :)
Audrey says
Ha, I was beginning to wonder if I'm the only one who likes her sweets *sweet* :) So glad you enjoyed this, Jo-Anna.
I think it's always good to start with a bit less sweetener and add more to taste anyways, especially for something simple like pops, where you can just adjust things to your own taste.
Jeanna says
Excellent texture, super yum and so easy!! Hardest part was shelling the pistachios. Perfect amount of pistachio flavor and I didn’t catch hints of coconut coming through. My boyfriend said it tastes like pistachio cake batter. I have to agree with Tiff on the amount of sweetener, I’d recommend starting with half and add in more gradually to taste.
Audrey says
Aw, yeah that's a lot of shelling. I usually try to buy them shelled already for baking for that reason. However, on this particular occasion (as you can see in the photos) I had to shell them manually too, so I totally hear ya! So happy you enjoyed it, Jeanna. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Tiff says
Super yummy, I just made it in my ice cream maker instead of making the popsicles (those will be ready tomorrow) and it’s awesome! I did do 1/2 the amount of maple syrup sweetener and it was plenty sweet for me and my family!
Audrey says
Awesome -- thanks for the feedback, Tiff. So happy you're enjoying it the recipe.
Alena says
Wow, this looks absolutely fantastic! Have been craving homemade vegan ice cream for a while, thanks so much for the inspiration :)
Audrey says
You're welcome, Alena. Enjoy! :)
Cassie Thuvan Tran says
Pistachio is actually one of my favorite flavors of ice cream! It's honestly super underrated. Chocolate, coconut, and rose petals are amazing ingredients to integrate with pistachios! These ice cream sticks were probably stunningly divine. I am also totally ready for summer, but I wouldn't wait for its arrival to try these because I totally would do so ASAP!
Audrey says
Thanks Cassie! Ice cream all year round is definitely my kind of thing ;)