It all started when I bought a jar of pistachio pesto at a fancy Italian food store. I put it on pasta once or twice, which turned out fine, but I had about 1/4 of a jar left that was lingering way too long in the fridge. A similar thing had happened to a jar of lemon curd, that I forget why I bought… Then one day I was standing in front of the open fridge wanting a sweet snack, which is often yogurt mixed with something. I grabbed the lonely, ignored pistachio pesto and lemon curd, stirred it into some plain yogurt, and wow. Tasty. So here were are with a recipe for Pistachio-Lemon Frozen Yogurt.
If you like pistachio ice cream, but want to avoid dairy, check out Pistachio Ice Cream with White Chocolate (vegan). Add lemon if you want!
Method
You’ll need a food processor or high-powered blender to make this recipe, but the process is very simple. Grind the pistachios first, then when they become a smooth paste, start adding the rest of the ingredients. See details in the recipe below.
Ingredients for Pistachio-Lemon Frozen Yogurt
- Coconut milk: As always, this should be full-fat and unsweetened.
- Greek yogurt: Use anything from non-fat to full-fat, but it should be Greek and plain/unflavored/unsweetened.
- Roasted, salted pistachio nuts: These break down fairly quickly in a food processor or high-powered blender. Because they’re already salted, we don’t need to add salt to the recipe.
- Honey: Substitute with agave if you prefer. I like the honey taste with the nuts and yogurt.
- Whey protein: This increases the protein while improving the texture. You can use any protein powder you want, but there’s already whey in the yogurt, so might as well stick with that. (See notes at the bottom of the page for details on substitutions.) You can also omit this ingredient, but the ice cream will be a bit icier. (Still yummy though.)
- Lemon zest and juice: You should be able to get everything you need from 1 medium-to-large lemon.
- Cardamom variation: You can stick with pistachio and lemon, but cardamom is a wonderful addition here. I added it to the recipe below as an option.
Yogurt + Lactose
I repeat this every time I post a frozen yogurt recipe, because I think it’s confusing, or just unknown, to most people. If you’re lactose intolerant, like me, you can probably eat yogurt with no problem (as long as it has live cultures, which most yogurt does). The active cultures in the yogurt process the lactose, so you don’t get digestive problems. Yay! However, commercially produced frozen yogurt is a bad thing. Why? Well, most commercially made frozen yogurts don’t contain active cultures for a couple of possible reasons: 1) the base is cooked, killing the active cultures, or 2) the base is made mostly from milk with very little yogurt.
Although this recipe contains dairy, it’s designed to be friendly for lactose-intolerant folks like myself. In addition to the yogurt, we have dairy in the form of whey protein. However, whey protein already has the lactose removed (lactose is a form of sugar), so it should be safe.
Ingredients
Instructions
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GRIND THE PISTACHIOS
Use a food processor or high-powered blender to grind the pistachio nuts until they make a smooth paste.
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ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS AND BLEND
Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor or blender and blend thoroughly, scraping down the sides a few times as necessary.
I think it blends best when you blend all the ingredients with just a small amount of coconut milk first, then slowly add more coconut milk. Everything seems to smooth out better with less liquid at the start. If you're worried about too much liquid in your food processor (mine can't handle all of the coconut milk at once), just transfer the mixture to a bowl to whisk in the last part of the coconut milk.
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CHILL
Transfer to a container and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
For a quicker chilling time, place the bowl containing your mixture in an ice bath (a larger bowl containing ice water) for a few hours. Stir the mixture occasionally. As the water in the ice bath warms up, pour off some water and add ice to keep the mixture chilling as quickly as possible.
Ideally, the mixture will be about 40 degrees when you churn it.
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CHURN
Before you start churning, set up everything you'll need to quickly transfer the frozen yogurt from the machine into a container for freezing. I use a knife to scrape down the dasher (or paddle) and a wooden spoon to scoop out the frozen yogurt.
Set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Pour your mixture into the machine and churn. In my machine the perfect churning time is 12 minutes, but your experience may vary.
The frozen yogurt is finished churning when it looks like soft-serve and is pulling away from the sides of the canister.
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STORE
When the frozen yogurt has finished churning, scoop it as quickly as possible into your storage container. Cover it with plastic wrap or parchment paper, if using. (Placing a sheet of parchment paper between the container and lid will help prevent frost, or you can press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the frozen yogurt.) Put the container in the freezer. The frozen yogurt will be fully firm in a few hours.
Note
You can use any unflavored, unsweetened protein powder you want. Whey, collagen, and egg white work the best. Vegan protein powders can work too, but sometimes create a chalky texture. Because different protein powders have different textures, the same volume of different powders may weigh different amounts. Weighing is the best method for ensuring you get the 65 grams the recipe calls for, but here are some estimates for using a cup measurement:
- 65 g collagen powder = 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons
- 65 g whey protein = 1 cup
- 65 g egg white protein = 3/4 cup
- 65 g soy protein = 1 cup
Recommended equipment: (may include affiliate links)
- My ice cream maker (2 qt)
- Newer version of my ice cream maker (2 qt)
- Well-reviewed less expensive ice cream maker (1.5 qt)
- Insulated ice cream container
- Heat-proof spatula
- Immersion/hand blender
- Ice cream scoop
Recommended ingredients: (may include affiliate links)