Nutella Peanut Butter Ice Cream

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I had originally planned on making a peanut butter ice cream using almond milk but realized I didn’t have enough peanut butter in the house so I substituted Nutella for half the peanut butter. The result is Nutella peanut butter ice cream – the best decision I’ve every made!

I wound up with this chocolate nutty flavored ice cream that was a huge hit with my family. I love texture in my ice cream and added some roasted peanuts but chocolate chunks or chips would also have been great. I sprinkled a few nuts on top for more crunch and loved every mouthful. I had wanted to try almond milk in an ice cream recipe for awhile. I recently started using nut milks in my coffee and on my cereal so thought, ice cream would taste great. I also have a couple of friends who are off dairy so I wanted to try it. I was right, it is delicious.

A couple of notes on using the almond milk. There isn’t a lot of fat so when frozen this gets more icy rather than creamy. The texture is similar to a sorbet. The addition of the peanut butter and nutella did add a little creaminess to this. It is best eaten as soon as it is made, rather than freezing it hard. The texture is perfect at that point.

If you do freeze it, give it a good 10-15 minutes to thaw. It freezes rock solid due to the lack of fat so it will take longer to thaw. It was just as delicious, but the texture is definitely different.

My Ingredient choices:

Almond Milk: I went with a non-dairy option that is packed with flavor. Almond milk is fabulous in this recipe since it amplifies the nutty flavors. You could use any nut milk, soy milk or regular milk in this recipe. I wanted a sugar free almond milk ice cream so choose unsweetened almond milk. It is readily available in most grocery stores so this was an easy decision for me. You have a lot of flexibility so use the milk that works for you.

Peanut Butter: Again, I went with what I had on hand. I used smooth peanut butter, but chunky would work just fine if you like texture. Obviously, almond butter would work great with the almond milk or hazelnut butter would emphasize the Nutella. Feel free to use any stabilized butter that you have. I don’t recommend using a nut butter you have to stir since it can separate but if you do, be sure you mix it very well before using.

Sugar subtitute: I wanted this to be free of any excess sugar so I used Swerve sugar substitute in this recipe. You could also use Lakanto Monk fruit or your favorite sugar substitute. Yes, regular sugar works just fine. Again, you have choices. You could also use honey, agave or maple syrup. Your choice.

Nutella: As noted before, using Nutella was not my original plan. I already knew that Nutella peanut butter was a partnership made in heaven. I love Nutella and peanut butter sandwiches so it wasn’t a stretch to imagine it working in ice cream. It worked because it adds a delicious chocolate flavor that doesn’t overpower the nut flavor and it added more nut flavor to the mix. It wound up being the perfect combination. If you wanted a chocolate almond milk ice cream with the emphasis on chocolate, you can add some cacao powder to the mix. If you use Nutella as I wrote the recipe, add a tablespoon of cacao powder to the mix. You don’t have to use Nutella so if you choose to omit it, just use 1/2 cup of peanut butter or nut butter of your choice, and if you want that chocolate flavor, use 2-3 tablespoons of the cacao powder. Tah Dah, homemade chocolate peanut butter ice cream. There is lots of flexibility here.

How to make the ice cream

This is an easy recipe. You are simply mixing all the ingredients in a bowl until smooth. (except the peanuts which you’ll add at the end) You can also mix this in a blender to make it extra smooth.

Once your ingredients are mixed, simply add to your ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Right before the ice cream has finished churning, add the peanuts if using.

You can eat this right away if you like a soft serve consistency or freeze it in a freezer container until firm. About an hour.

How to make ice cream without an ice cream maker

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can pour the blended ingredients into ice cube trays (I know, genius!) Once frozen, you can just blend them up in a blender. You can also store the frozen ice cubes in baggies and whip up when you want the ice cream. You don’t want to store these for more than a month since there aren’t any preservatives in this mix. Fresh is best, so use right away. Honesty, I don’t think this is going to be an issue…lol. It is so good, it will go fast.

How to serve

I scoop the ice cream into ice cream bowls and top with the peanuts. You could also top with chocolate chips, sprinkles, whipped cream or fruit. Any of the normal ice cream toppings work, so you decide.