It's still pretty warm here in New York City, but it's already pumpkin recipe season. So I made some Pumpkin Pie Protein Ice Cream! Complete with pieces of pie crust! :)
I like to use a cashew base for my protein ice creams. It gives a great thick, creamy texture. And the Vitamin Shoppe's True Athlete vanilla whey is the perfect protein to add here, as it such a creamy vanilla! With some pumpkin, spices, and stevia, so delicious!
The crust is a scaled down version of the same crust I used in my Pumpkin Protein Pie. It is made from almond butter and rice protein, although pea protein would be a fine substitute.
Enjoy the transition of seasons with this delicious Pumpkin Pie Protein Ice Cream!
Recipe
Healthy Pumpkin Ice Cream
This healthy pumpkin ice cream is like a slice of pumpkin pie in ice cream form, complete with gluten free protein pie crust pieces!
Equipment
Ingredients
Ice cream:
- 1 cup raw cashews 122g, soaked in filtered water for 4 hours or more
- ¼ cup filtered water 60ml
- 1 cup canned pumpkin 210g
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 5ml
- 4 stevia packets 4g
- ½ cup natural vanilla whey protein powder 48g
Crust pieces:
- 2 tablespoons almond butter 32g
- 2 tablespoons water 30ml
- 3 tablespoons vanilla rice protein powder 21g
- a dash of ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Drain and rinse cashews.
- In a blender or food processor, combine cashews, water, and pumpkin. Process until smooth.
- Add pumpkin pie spice, stevia, and whey protein. Process until smooth.
- Pour into a bowl, and cover.
- Freeze for about 4 hours. Every half hour or so, take the bowl from the freezer and mix the ice cream. (Other options are to use an ice cream maker or Ninja Creami.)
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325F (163C).
- Mix almond butter and water until combined.
- Add rice protein and cinnamon, and mix well.
- Form the mix into 8 balls, and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Flatten the crust cookies. Bake for about 8 minutes, until firm and cooked.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- Once the ice cream has firmed, break the crust cookies and fold into ice cream.
- Serve, and enjoy!
Notes
A note about substitutions: you can replace the whey protein with your favorite vanilla protein (including vegan proteins for a vegan recipe). The rice protein in the crust can be replaced by pea protein (or a pea blend), but I would not try other substitutions there. (See my Recipe Basics video for examples of what goes wrong when you bake with the wrong protein powder.)
Also note that the pumpkin pie spice will be more pronounced as the mixture gets colder, so be sure not to overdo it! Up to 1 ½ teaspoons would be plenty!
Also note that the pumpkin pie spice will be more pronounced as the mixture gets colder, so be sure not to overdo it! Up to 1 ½ teaspoons would be plenty!
Nutrition
Serving: 1/4 recipe | Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 17g | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g
Andréa says
Hi Cat,
As I wrote in the Notes, you can replace the whey with your favorite vanilla protein powder, including (dairy-free) vegan protein powders. I tag the recipes to include these substitutions so you will find the largest collection of recipes that will suit your needs here. Hope that helps to clear thing up! Thanks for writing in. :)
Andréa
cat says
I was excited to find your site, I'm always looking for new dairy free recipes. But technically this is not dairy free, it contains whey. Whey is still dairy send I'm highly allergic to it. :-(