Healthy Pumpkin Ice Cream

pumpkin ice cream with chunks of protein pie crust ina serving dish with mini pumpkins in the background

5 from 1 vote

This healthy pumpkin ice cream is like a slice of pumpkin pie in ice cream form, complete with gluten free protein pie crust pieces!

Prep Time20

Cook Time8

Total Time28

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 298kcal

Author: Andréa Marchese

Equipment

Ice cream maker

Ingredients

Ice cream:

1 cup raw cashews 122g, soaked in filtered water for 4 hours or more
¼ cup filtered water 60ml
1 cup cooked pumpkin 210g
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 5ml
4 packets stevia 4g
½ cup natural vanilla whey protein powder 48g

Crust pieces:

2 tablespoons almond butter 30g
2 tablespoons filtered 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 use the ice and salt method.)
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!

Nutrition