pumpkin ice cream

This pumpkin ice cream is the best way to celebrate your love of pumpkin spice! 

We make an ultra-creamy pumpkin custard, infuse it with whole spices, and churn it all up in an ice cream maker (with a splash of bourbon if you’re feeling bold). The ice cream basically tastes like frozen pumpkin pie.

Silken texture, bold pumpkin flavor, creamy plush mouthfeel. It’s pumpkin pie ice cream: what’s not to love? This is the most indulgent of all pumpkin desserts, and it's one your family will expect eagerly request year after year!

The big challenge with pumpkin ice cream, though, is its tendency to get hard and icy. It’s partly due to the high water content of pumpkin puree, and it’s also partly the nature of the beast. 

In this pumpkin ice cream recipe, we use a combination of strategies to minimize iciness and encourage a soft, smooth, scoopable frozen treat. 

Read on to learn how we’ve turned this recipe into the very best pumpkin ice cream out there, how to serve it, and fun ways to make it your own.

what you need for pumpkin ice cream:

• whole milk
• heavy cream
• eggs
• pumpkin puree
• granulated sugar
• maple syrup
• cinnamon stick
• cloves
• fresh ginger
• vanilla extract
• bourbon
• salt

how to make pumpkin ice cream:

1. Cook off excess water in pumpkin puree
2. Add milk, cream, ginger and spices and gently heat to infuse flavors 
3. Whisk egg yolks and maple syrup in a separate bowl
4. Temper yolks, return everything to the pot 
5. Cook custard until thickened; don't let it boil
6. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and stir in vanilla and bourbon
7. Chill completely, preferably overnight
8. Churn in an ice cream maker
9. Transfer soft serve to a loaf pan or airtight container; freeze until firm
10. Enjoy!

why this is the best pumpkin ice cream:

Smooth and creamy: We use extra egg yolks and full-fat dairy to give this ice cream a rich consistency. That, combined with cooking down the pumpkin puree and adding a splash of alcohol, gives the winning combination of silky smooth homemade pumpkin spice ice cream.

Concentrated pumpkin: We spend 20 full minutes cooking water out of the pumpkin puree. Getting rid of the water helps cut down on iciness later on. This has the added benefit of eliminating the metallic taste that can come from canned pumpkin, and it concentrates the pumpkin so the flavor is unmistakable!

Infused spices: Most pumpkin ice cream recipes dump in a few teaspoons of ground spices and call it good. For me, though, the added grit from all of those spices detracts from the plush texture we’ve worked so hard to build. I prefer the more subtle approach of infusing the base with whole spices, then straining them out at the end. You get a satiny texture and a wonderful depth of flavor.

Two sweeteners: I use a combination of granulated sugar and maple syrup to sweeten this ice cream. The maple syrup adds roasted, caramelized flavors to the backdrop of the ice cream. Too much would overpower the pumpkin, so we stop at just ½ cup and fill in the rest with granulated.

Strained: While it’s tempting to skip the straining step through a fine mesh sieve, don’t do it. Yes we’re removing the big chunks of ginger and spices, but we’re also removing some of the finer particles in the pumpkin puree and bits of egg white (like the chalazae) that will always show up in a cooked custard. Take your time and be patient with the fine sieve-- the silken, pumpkin-pie like texture is worth it!

what to serve with pumpkin ice cream:

While I personally love to enjoy this ice cream as is (or with a handful of crunchy candied nuts on top), sometimes we all just need a little more decadence. Here’s a fun list of what goes well with pumpkin ice cream!

• apple fritters
• pecan pie, chocolate silk pie, or dare I say-- pumpkin pie?
• apple crisp
• toasted pound cake
• gingerbread cookies
• cinnamon sugar donuts
• brioche french toast
• ginger scones
• pumpkin ice cream sandwiches (use a chewy cookie for best results, like an oatmeal cookie or these fantastic dark chocolate cookies)
• chocolate cobbler
• bread pudding

make this ice cream recipe your own!

This pumpkin ice cream recipe is the perfect base to play with. Make it your own with the fun mix-ins and flavor variations-- and be sure to share your changes in the comments below. I love hearing about it!

• chopped toasted pecans or walnuts
• minced candied ginger
• white or dark chocolate chunks
• salted caramel swirl
• crumbled pecan shortbread cookies
• crushed gingersnap cookies
• toffee bits
• marshmallow cream swirl
• candied pepitas
• fudge swirl
• splash of rum or other flavored liqueur (like nocino), instead of bourbon
• cinnamon sugar pie crust crumbles

tips for the best pumpkin ice cream:

• Pumpkin can be grainy, make sure to strain it through a fine mesh sieve.
• Use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling! 
• Use the splash of bourbon. This will keep the ice cream soft and scoopable. Pumpkin can make ice cream extra hard. If you don’t use the bourbon, just let the ice cream sit out a little bit longer than you think necessary!
• If cooking the pumpkin puree as described in the recipe, watch it closely towards the end of the cooking. The thicker it gets as the water cooks off, the more likely the pumpkin is to scorch. Stir it diligently towards the end to get it dry, thick, and not burnt.
• If you have cheesecloth, you could also try straining the pumpkin puree overnight. This is similar to how you would strain yogurt to thicken it like a greek-style yogurt. You won’t need to cook it for 20 minutes and can start by just infusing the cream with spices, then mixing in the strained pumpkin along with the granulated sugar.
• Use full-fat dairy! If you’re spending the time to make homemade ice cream, this is super important. We aren’t using the various stabilizers and emulsifiers that commercial ice cream producers use; full-fat dairy and egg yolks are critical to the plush mouthfeel and smooth texture we’ve come to expect in good ice cream.

more ice cream recipes to try:

black walnut ice cream

buttermilk ice cream

coconut mango semifreddo

cookie butter ice cream

coffee ice cream

lavender ice cream

oatmeal no-churn ice cream

rum raisin ice cream

stracciatella ice cream

toasted coconut ice cream

looking for more indulgent pumpkin recipes?

Try our pumpkin creme brulee!

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