Homemade Pumpkin Ice Cream
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Smooth and creamy homemade ice cream made with real pumpkin, sweetened with brown sugar, and spiced with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Get your pumpkin ice cream fix any time of the year with this simple recipe!
YOU WILL LOVE THIS HOMEMADE PUMPKIN PIE ICE CREAM
While it can seem a bit silly to create a fall ice cream flavor since we’ve typically moved on to baking with warm spices and flavors by the time the fall season rolls around, I am totally an “ice cream all year” kind of person, and maybe you are, too.
If you’re not into ice cream all year like I am, perhaps you’re wondering who the heck might want a pumpkin ice cream recipe.
But I know there are some (or maybe many) of you nodding your head right now and are dying to get some homemade pumpkin ice cream into your ice cream maker ASAP. You folks… You are my people.
Not only that, but something I love about pumpkin is that it’s available all year long, which means if I’m feeling some pumpkin cravings in the dog days of summer, I can whip up this homemade pumpkin ice cream recipe, kick my heels up on a lawn chair, and enjoy the best of both seasons at one time.
It’s the perfect fall dessert and summer dessert all wrapped up into one gloriously orange treat.
INGREDIENTS FOR PUMPKIN ICE CREAM
Here are all of the ingredients you’ll need to make this ice cream. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card to find exact measurements.
HEAVY CREAM & WHOLE MILK: this egg-free, no cook homemade ice cream relies heavily on the perfect proportion of fat in order to bring creaminess without leaving a fatty mouthfeel behind. People often ask me if they can make substitutions or swaps with half-and-half, or lower fat milks, and the answer is, unfortunately, no.
PUMPKIN PUREE: we have to tread lightly with pumpkin purée, because as we know from creating with pumpkin in the past (like, a million times), adding fresh pumpkin to a recipe brings extra moisture which can lead to extra soggy/cakey baked goods. Since we’re not baking with it, we can be a little more liberal with the pumpkin, though I do add in the step of squeezing our any excess moisture to be sure we’re working with pure pumpkin and no extra moisture. Do not use pumpkin pie filling.
LIGHT BROWN SUGAR: I typically go for white sugar when I make my homemade ice creams, but since pumpkin calls for a deeper molasses pairing, we’re using brown sugar in its place for this pumpkin spice ice cream recipe.
GROUND CINNAMON + PUMPKIN PIE SPICE: these spices help round out the flavor of the pumpkin since it is completely unflavored in the can. Again, be sure you’re not using pumpkin pie filling, which will come already spiced and sweetened.
VANILLA EXTRACT: I typically omit vanilla in my pumpkin recipes, but with an ice cream base, we bring a little more sweetness and “ice cream” vibe with some vanilla notes.
SALT: this is an entirely optional ingredient, and I urge you to taste test before churning. Since this ice cream base is made without eggs, you can take a spoonful before you pour it into your ice cream maker and decide if you want to add it or not.
SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS
CAN I USE MAPLE SYRUP INSTEAD OF BROWN SUGAR? Unfortunately, maple syrup will add too much moisture to this homemade ice cream.
CAN I USE NON-DAIRY MILK? If you’re hoping to make vegan pumpkin ice cream, you may consider using coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk, or other milk alternative. I have not tested this recipe to accommodate these adjustments and am not at all familiar making or adjusting dairy-free ice cream recipes.
CAN I USE PUMPKIN PIE FILLING OR MIX? You’ll want to use real pumpkin puree for this pumpkin ice cream recipe as opposed to pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin pie mix. The latter are usually made with extra ingredients like spices, preservatives, and sweeteners, and you’ll want to make sure this pumpkin ice cream tastes exactly as intended.
HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN ICE CREAM
Since this pumpkin ice cream recipe has no eggs or egg yolks, there is no cooking involved. It’s as straight-forward as combining the ingredients into a large bowl or container with a spout and dumping it into your ice cream maker.
The ice cream maker takes care of the rest. All you have to do is stand there and watch it do its thing. Talk about a truly easy pumpkin ice cream recipe, am I right?
HOW TO TELL HOMEMADE ICE CREAM IS DONE
The churning process for homemade ice cream is pretty much the same across the board of ice cream maker brands, however, the time it takes to be called “done” can change drastically based on the brand, the weather, the ingredients you use, the moon, the number of times your kids ask if it’s done or not…
No but really, the best way to tell when homemade ice cream made in an ice cream maker is finished is to look for the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
I often see soft serve consistency show up when my ice cream maker starts spilling out of the top, since there’s so much air incorporated into the mixture and it’s much larger than it was when it was just liquid.
The rest of the magic happens in the freezer, and you’ll want to freeze your homemade pumpkin ice cream for at least 4 hours, but I encourage you do leave it for more like 8 hours or overnight.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH PUMPKIN ICE CREAM
While it is absolutely, totally, 100% ok to eat this ice cream straight up, I have some suggestions for what to put on it and for what to put it on.
Toppings for pumpkin ice cream:
• bourbon salted caramel sauce
• salted caramel sauce
• homemade whipped cream
• chopped nuts
• crushed graham crackers
• crushed gingersnaps
• pumpkin pie granola
• chai spiced granola
• pie crust cookies
What to top with pumpkin ice cream:
• brown butter pumpkin layer cake
• pumpkin pie
• chocolate chip pecan pie
• no bake pumpkin ice box cake
• chai cake
• pumpkin bundt cake
• pumpkin cheesecake brownies
• pumpkin cookie cake
• pear cobbler
• gluten-free apple crisp
However you choose to eat your pumpkin ice cream, I think you’re going to love how pure and simple the pumpkin flavor is. You can really taste the true pumpkin complemented only by cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, and it is perfectly sweetened by the brown sugar with a hint of that deep molasses flavor profile you can only find in brown sugar.
And I am telling you, once you start rolling with the toppings that go with fall, you’re going to want to keep making batches and batches of this stuff. And when you do… Invite me over for a bowl, would ya?
Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe (For Ice Cream Machine)
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin purée1
- 2 cups (480mL) heavy cream
- 1 cup (240mL) whole milk
- ¾ cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 and ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt optional
Instructions
- Before beginning anything, make sure your ice cream maker is frozen and prepped!
- Place prepared ice cream maker attachment onto stand mixer fitted with the dasher.
- Use a lint-free kitchen towel to squeeze the moisture out of the pumpkin puree. It doesn't have to be bone dry, but give it a good solid squeeze. Place the pumpkin into a large bowl (or, my preference, a large measuring cup with a spout) and discard the liquid.1 cup pumpkin purée1
- To the pumpkin, add the heavy cream, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, and salt (if using2) and whisk until everything is combined and the sugar starts to dissolve.2 cups (480mL) heavy cream, 1 cup (240mL) whole milk, ¾ cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 and ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Turn on the mixer so the dasher is rotating and slowly pour the ice cream mixture into the canister. Process3 according to manufacturer’s directions (it should take about 20-30 minutes).
- When the ice cream is finished churning, remove the ice cream maker from the mixer, and transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for at least 4 hours before enjoying.
Video
Notes
- Pumpkin: I always measure pumpkin purée with measuring cups as the moisture content can wildly change the weight measurements, depending on the brand.
- Salt: you can wait to add the salt once the mixture is made up and decide if you want to add it then. I typically leave it out, but I know some people prefer this slight offset of the sweetness.
- Processing: if your ice cream isn’t setting up, it’s likely just not cold enough. Pour off the mixture into a container and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 additional minutes before trying again. Don’t forget to clean and put your ice cream maker back into the freezer.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
LOVE this recipe! I subbed almond milk and dairy-free heavy cream and the texture was still great! Next time I might add a little extra pumpkin pie spice, but other than that I really love this recipe and it got rave reviews from my friends! Topped with bourbon infused caramel from Williams-Sonoma and it was incredible!
Oh, WOW! That sounds incredible! Thanks so much for sharing, Sydney!
Made this for a scary movie night with friends. Added 1TBSP of brandy because I was out of vanilla and it turned out fantastic. Will be making this again.
Thanks so much, Tyler! 🙂
I just got done making this ice cream, and oh, my GOODNESS! It’s DELICIOUS! This is the best pumpkin ice cream I’ve ever had! Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you so much, Leticia! 🙂
So easy! Thanks for that! I didn’t have pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice so I used your 2 teaspoons cinnamon then 1 teaspoon of ginger and .5 (half) a teaspoon of ground cloves. I cut the sugar exactly in half, using evaporated cane juice granules as the sweetener because it has a nice flavor and has the original minerals of the sugar cane. It was plenty sweet. I can’t help wondering if it would be more like pumpkin pie without the vanilla…
So glad you liked it, Jo!
This recipe looks perfect. I don’t have heavy cream and want to make it now. Would the recipe still work well if I used all whole milk and no cream?
Hi, Katie– no, you’ll need the balance of different fats in order for it to set up correctly.
So easy and so delicious! My only comment would be to edit the published recipe to be 473 ml. (or 16 oz) of heavy cream, since that’s the carton unit often sold. And then increase (or not) the whole milk by 7 ml. I just added a small splash more of whole milk. LOVED THIS and I’ll definitely make again! The suggestion to serve with crumbled graham cracker is genius too!
Thanks so much, Kathryn! 🙂
LOVED this recipe! The taste is incredible. Although I think I messed up. My ice cream texture was a little off. I don’t know how to describe it. Dry? Is it something to do with the moisture content of the canned pumpkin puree I got? That’s my best guess. Any guidance how to offset this? Thanks!
Hi, Jack– not sure what to tell you! Did you blot your pumpkin? Was the ice cream crumbly?
Thank you for responding! It’s not quite crumbly but it’s not exactly smooth. I did not blot the pumpkin puree. I think that extra moisture caused too many ice crystals to form and it gave it a less smooth texture. I’ll try that next time.
I don’t direct you to blot the pumpkin, BUT some brands seem to have more moisture than others and it sounds like maybe there was some extra moisture in your batch.
I used your pumpkin recipe. My ice cream churn makes up to 20 quarts at a time so I proportionately increased the ingredients. I mixed a batch that made 12 quarts. I gave it away to all our neighbors and always tell them to give me feedback on a new flavor. Pretty much 10 stars out of 5! They loved it. I’m actually going to make a second batch as everyone wants more.
This recipe hit it out of the ball park. Going forward, Pumpkin Spice will be my November flavor of the month!
Thank you so much, Larry! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it 🙂
This was absolutely delicious! My whole family and a few friends that tried it loved it. It will be saved with our favorite ice cream recipes!!! Thank you for sharing this!
Love this! Thanks, Judy!
Can you sub the spices and canned pumpkin purée for pumpkin pie filling? I don’t have plain pumpkin.
Hi, Finn– theoretically yes, you can, but I’ve not tried it. Let me know if you do!
Easy recipe with a delicious result. I used this ice cream to make an autumnal chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. So so good!
Thanks so much, Mike!
I made the pumpkin ice cream and it is spot on. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Lora!
This is an outstanding pumpkin ice cream recipe. It gets thick and creamy and sets up wonderfully. Has just enough spice, too. It’s soooo good with a butterscotch or salted caramel topping.
Thank you so much, Shawn! Those toppings sound perfect 🙂
This ice cream is DELICIOUS! It tastes like a creamy pumpkin pie. I only added 1 tsp cinnamon and 105g sugar and it was still really good. We will definitely be making this again, especially near the holidays!
Thanks so much, Emily!
I made this recipe and the first time around the mixture never solidified in the ice cream machine. I had to make a second batch, waiting to add the pumpkin until the end like a mix in, and then it worked. Bummer that I had to throw away a whole batch of mixture but I ended up figuring it out.
Hi, Kristin– if your ice cream isn’t setting up, it’s almost always just a temperature problem. I added a note about that in the recipe card for others who may struggle.