Luscious Pumpkin Ice Cream

Pumpkin Ice Cream screams Thanksgiving, doesn’t it?  I do not have a go-to dessert for Thanskgiving – I only started cooking for Thanksgiving in 2005, which was the first Thanksgiving I spent with my husband, so we are still figuring out our holiday favorites (and this will only be our second Thanksgiving since I started avoiding gluten, dairy and other foods).  Despite still finding our favorites, I always remember ice cream being involved in Thanksgiving dessert.  Our first Thanksgiving, I had just rediscovered cookie dough ice cream.   I now know that can be made gluten-free and vegan (and thus remove the associated exhaustion it seemed to cause me), but pumpkin ice cream just seems more seasonally appropriate.  I am sure it will become a favorite for many Thanksgivings to come – it is indulgent but not too sweet, seeing as 4 cups of ice cream contain a mere 2 tablespoons of agave.  I find that that small amount of agave combined with liquid vanilla stevia removes any stevia aftertaste or bitterness.  This ice cream was inspired by several bloggers, including Maggie’s Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (which I made recently), Ricki‘s use stevia and sweeteners to make wonderful desserts, and Elana’s Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream recipe.

I am submitting this recipe to A Gluten-Free Holiday, hosted by Amy of Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free.  Last week, the focus was Healthier Through The Holidays. This week, the focus is Thanksgiving Favorites and is hosted by Shirley of Gluten-Free Easily.  While new-to-us, I am sure this recipe will stick around as a favorite for my husband and I.  It is lovely on its own, but would go well with gingerbread or cinnamon-y cookies, or even as a side to something like pecan pie. In addition to A Gluten-Free Holiday, I am also submitting this to Amy‘s weekly Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.


Luscious Pumpkin Ice Cream (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Low-Glycemic)
Makes 4 cups

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in filtered or spring water for two hours (I like these or the ones from nutsonline)
• 1 14 fl oz can coconut milk, chilled for at least two hours (I used organic full-fat coconut milk from Thai Kitchen)
• 1 15 oz can organic canned pumpkin, chilled for at least two hours (or substitute 2 cups cooked mashed pumpkin)
• 2 tsps pumpkin pie spice (I used this one)
• 25 drops liquid vanilla stevia
• 2 Tbsps agave
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract 

Blend all ingredients until completely smooth.  If you are using a regular blender, you might want to blend the cashews and coconut milk first, until pureed, and then add the rest of the ingredients.  If you are using a high-speed blender, you can just blend all the ingredients together.  Pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to directions. I found this batch of ice cream only took 15 minutes in my ice cream maker.