Avocado Ice Cream
Avocado Ice Cream made from scratch is extra creamy, decadent, and smooth. We’re making it using a French style custard base and churning it to perfection.
Our avocado ice cream recipe is sweet yet balanced with the smooth flavor of fresh avocados. This isn’t an ice cream that you can buy at the grocery store, and you’ll be delighted at how amazing the taste and texture of homemade avocado ice cream is.
This homemade avocado ice cream recipe is gluten free, and nut free.
You may have seen recipes for avocado ice cream that are vegan, only three ingredients, sugar-free, are no-churn, or have some other special claims. This recipe is not any of those things! In fact, our avocado ice cream recipe is packed full of rich dairy products, lots of sugar, and starts with an egg-based custard.
There’s certainly no harm in trying to make healthier ice cream recipes or ice cream recipes with certain ingredients, but today we are making a rich, decadent avocado and vanilla ice cream.
You will have to make this avocado ice cream recipe to understand how truly spectacular it is. Ripe avocados add fat, richness, and a silky smooth texture to ice cream that is like nothing else you’ve tasted.
If you like sophisticated frozen desserts you should try our Coconut Sorbet recipe. The Lime Sorbet is a sweet and sour favorite too.
For a creamy ice cream recipe with subtle, grown-up flavors, I think you’ll also want to try our Toasted Almond Ice Cream.
Why You’re Going to Love this Avocado Ice Cream Recipe
It’s Different: While we give you plenty of ice cream recipes here that are the same flavors as those you can find in stores, Avocado ice cream is an unusual and not readily available flavor.
A Traditional Recipe: We are making this ice cream using the traditional French method. It might seem complicated, but if you follow the recipe steps you will have no issues.
For another lovely ice cream, try Cantaloupe Ice Cream.
Ingredients in Homemade Avocado Ice Cream
Egg Yolks – These create the base for our ice cream custard. We’ll gently heat the egg yolks to pasteurize them, but you can also purchase pasteurized eggs if you prefer. Save the egg whites for an omelet or some other recipe.
Granulated Sugar – For sweetness and texture, plain, white, granulated sugar is the perfect choice.
Whole Milk – The first of our dairy products, whole milk is cooked with the egg yolks.
Kosher Salt – Just a pinch enhances the other flavors in this recipe.
Heavy Cream – A mix of both heavy cream and whole milk is what gives us the perfect creamy texture.
Vanilla Extract – The flavor of vanilla extract mixes with the earthy flavor of avocado and the sugar to create an entirely new flavor that is delicious.
Avocados – You need two avocados for this recipe. Together they should weigh about 400g/14oz before they are peeled. Your avocados should be perfectly ripe for this recipe, and cut into quarters.
How to Make Avocado Ice Cream from Scratch
- Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. You should not hear any water sloshing around when you shake the bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- Add the milk to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Be sure not to boil. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined.
- Then, add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk. Heat the saucepan on low. Stirring constantly, heat until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take a few minutes. Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any pieces of egg that may have cooked.
- In a food processor (or a high-powered blender), add the avocado and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Process until smooth. Run the puree through the strainer if you would like to remove any fibers or lumps.
- Add the avocado mixture, heavy cream, and vanilla extract to the bowl with the custard mixture, and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base. This will help keep it from forming a skin while chilling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 20 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid.
- Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving. Scoop and serve.
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please see the recipe below.
How to Store Avocado Ice Cream
Store this Avocado ice cream in the freezer in an airtight container (we really like these reusable ice cream containers) with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper pressed on top for up to one month.
Tips for making this Avocado Ice Cream Recipe
Use quality ingredients – When making homemade ice cream, you’ll want to make sure you are using high quality ingredients for the best outcome.
Ripe Avocados are a Must – If the avocados are unripe, you won’t be able to get them smooth enough. If they are overripe, they won’t taste good. Frozen avocados can be used in this recipe if you like.
Keep them Green: Work quickly after you’ve cut into your avocados so that they don’t have time to turn brown. I find it best to cut the avocadoes just before adding them to the blender.
Chill out – If possible, always start with chilled ingredients. This is important for homemade no-churn ice cream recipes and ice cream maker recipes. You want to be sure that your ice cream machine insert is completely frozen too. Let it sit in the freezer for at least 24 hours before you start.
Don’t skimp on the fat – High-fat milk and cream are essential when making homemade ice cream. Opting for a low-fat option often leads to icy ice creams and inconsistency in the texture.
Don’t go crazy with the add-ins – If you’re adding in additional ingredients, pick one or two and make sure they are chopped into pieces no larger than a blueberry or pea.
Don’t skimp on the sugar – Sugar not only adds sweetness to homemade ice creams, it also helps with the texture. Sugar is essential for the creamy texture in ice cream.
No Churn Avocado Ice Cream Directions
Chill a shallow container or a loaf pan in the freezer while you mix the ice cream ingredients.
Pour the ice cream mixture into the prepared pan and freeze for 3-4 hours. Stir the ice cream every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours to help add air. This will help create a creamy, smooth texture.
Avocado Ice Cream Add-Ins
I think that this ice cream recipe can be a blank canvas for all types of additions, both sweet and savory and maybe even spicy!
Add a pinch of cayenne pepper and a teaspoon of lime zest to create a Mexican style avocado ice cream.
Go for more sweetness by including shaved white or dark chocolate.
A vanilla mousse swirl like we made to go in our French Silk Ice Cream recipe would also be a nice addition to this ice cream.
Turn your homemade Avocado Ice Cream into a milkshake recipe by blending it with milk and a bit more vanilla extract or chocolate syrup.
Can I make Avocado Ice Cream with Vegan Milk?
While I am fairly certain that you can, I have not tested any recipes using avocados and vegan milk products, so I can’t suggest it. This recipe is a traditional milk and cream-based one.
What if my Avocados aren’t Ripe Yet?
I don’t suggest making this ice cream recipe with unripe avocados. The thing about avocados is that it’s pretty difficult to force them to be ripe. You just have to wait until they are ready. If you are patient and use perfectly ripe avocados in this recipe, you will be rewarded with the most amazing ice cream.
Where can I get Avocado Ice Cream?
You won’t find an avocado ice cream like this one at your local grocery store. There is a frozen dessert brand, Cado, who makes an avocado based dairy-free ice cream that you can find in pints. You may be able to find avocado ice cream or avocado gelato at a local creamery too, but your best bet is to make your own!
More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes to Try
We have so many homemade ice cream recipes that you can make:
Here are some of our favorite tools for making ice cream from scratch!
- Cuisinart 2QT Ice Cream Maker – Works with ice cream, sorbets, and frozen yogurt.
- Ice Cream Scoop – Make sure you have a good ice cream scoop. This is one of our favorites.
- Ice Cream Containers – We love keeping a couple of ice cream containers on hand for when we make homemade ice cream.
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Did you make this Avocado Ice Cream recipe? Leave a comment below letting us know what you thought and if you added any additional add-ins.
Avocado Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 avocados 400g/14oz, peeled, pitted and quartered
Instructions
- Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. You should not hear any water sloshing around when you shake the bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- Add the milk to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Be sure not to boil. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined.
- Then, add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk. Heat the saucepan on low. Stirring constantly, heat until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take a few minutes. Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any pieces of egg that may have cooked.
- In a food processor, add the avocado and ½ cup of heavy cream. Process until smooth. Run through the strainer if desired.
- Add the avocado mixture, heavy cream and vanilla extract to the bowl with the custard mixture, and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base. This will help keep it from forming a skin while chilling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 20 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid.
- Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving. Scoop and serve.
Notes
- This is a traditional, or french-style, ice cream which is made with a custard base that contains eggs.
- Once you cut into the avocado, it’s important to move quickly to get the ice cream base into the refrigerator. As avocado sits out, it begins to brown, so you want to cut it right before you’re ready to puree it and get it mixed into the ice cream base for best results.
- You can puree the avocado using a food processor, a high-powered blender, or an immersion blender. To get super smooth ice cream, strain the puree to remove any chunks.
Is there a step missing? You went from making the custard in step 4, then preparing the avocado and heavy cream in step 5, but you don’t mention mixing in the custard in step 6. I went ahead and added the custard to the avocado mixture, remaining heavy cream, and vanilla in a bowl to chill before churning.
Hi Othello,
At the end of step 4 the custard mixture is in a bowl. In step 6 we are adding the avocado, heavy cream, and vanilla to the bowl with the custard mixture. I can see how it might get mixed so I’ve updated step 6 to include “the bowl with the custard mixture”. I hope that helps.
The Ice Cream From Scratch Team