Italian Gelato Recipe (Vanilla, Chocolate and Pistachio)

This Italian Gelato recipe is made from scratch using all-natural ingredients, whole milk, heavy cream, egg yolk, vanilla and sugar. You can make vanilla as a base and add ingredients to make different gelato flavors. I make pistachio and chocolate here, but I also include the instructions to make coffee, tea, almond, hazelnut, walnut, or chestnut gelato. Create the flavors you like, keep them in the home freezer, and serve them with a biscuit during the hot summer days.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Step by step Instructions with images
• How to serve it
• Variations
• Storage
• Equipment
• Top tips
• Difference between Gelato and American Ice cream
• Related
• Pairing
• 📋 Italian Gelato Recipe Vanilla Chocolate and Pistachio

Gelato is the Italian word for frozen, which currently refers to ice cream.

If you think gelato in Rome is great, you probably never tried the Sicilian one, where artisanal gelato has a long-standing tradition.

The first sorbets were introduced in Sicily in the 10th century by the Arabs.

Over the centuries, the recipe for gelato has evolved into its present form through the influence of French and the refinement of aristocratic cuisine.

For more information, read the article: traditional Italian food by region.

The recipe I am sharing today is a smooth, creamy gelato you can mix with different flavors.

The base is a vanilla gelato recipe, and you can add chocolate, coffee, or nuts locally produced in Sicily.

You can serve this gelato with a flat cookie like Lingua di Gatto or with a tart or cake like: chocolate Caprese cake, peach tarte tatin, Italian apple cake or a pear crumble.

You may also be interested in this dairy and egg-free lime sorbet, or stracciatella gelato.

Ingredients

This gelato recipe is made from scratch with fresh ingredients:

The base of each flavor is a creamy custard:

• Whole milk: you must use fresh whole milk to have the right proportions of milk vs. heavy cream. Do not use long-life or UHT milk.
• Heavy cream: Heavy or full-fat cream. It should have more than 35% of fat
• Egg yolks and one white
• Sugar
• Vanilla pod: you could use vanilla extract, but a proper vanilla bean is much better. The little black seeds from the vanilla pod are the poof of an artisanal gelato made with fresh ingredients.

From this basic gelato recipe, you can make other flavors.

For the pistachio gelato:

• All the ingredients for the vanilla gelato
• Sicilian pistachios from Bronte: of course, they are the best. Otherwise, find a good quality locally
• Orange blossom water: if you cannot find it in your local shop, it is available on amazon

For the chocolate gelato:

• All the ingredients for the vanilla gelato
• Dark chocolate cocoa powder
• Sugar

Find the quantities on the recipe card.

Hint: for a lighter ice cream, you can use fewer egg yolks

Step by step Instructions with images

You need to make the custard and let it rest for a few hours or overnight, so it is best to make it the day before.

Making the vanilla custard

7. Let it cool down to room temperature or rest overnight in the fridge in an airtight container

Making the Pistachio gelato

5. Let it cool down to room temperature and rest overnight in the fridge in an airtight container

Making the Chocolate gelato

5. Let it cool down to room temperature and rest overnight in the fridge

Making the gelato in the ice cream machine

1. Pass the pistachio and the chocolate custards through a fine mesh sieve

3. It took my machine 45 minutes to 1 hour to make the ice cream, depending on the room temperature

Hint: never fill the ice cream maker bowl more than ⅔rd

How to serve it

You can serve gelato with a thin crunchy cookie or fresh fruits.

Especially during summer, strawberries, peaches, and apricots go well with either vanilla, chocolate, or nuts ice cream.

I like it plain, but you can top it with chocolate chips, whipped cream, or colorful sprinklers.

This classic gelato is excellent served with your fruit or chocolate cake, like chocolate Caprese cake, peach Tarte Tatin or pear Crumble.

Remove from the freezer a few minutes ahead, so it is not too hard to spoon it and serve it.

You can also put it in the microwave for 10 seconds on the "Defrosting" setting.

To bring it to the table, I recommend placing the gelato into a Nambe bowl to keep it from melting too fast.

Variations

Once you have made the custard base, you can create additional gelato's flavors following these instructions:

• Coffee Gelato: Add the cold expresso to the vanilla gelato recipe just before putting it into the ice cream machine
• Tea gelato: add the cold tea to the vanilla gelato recipe just before putting it into the ice cream machine
• Almonds gelato: finely grind the sweet and bitter almonds with milk to make a smooth paste. Proceed as for the pistachio custard
• Toasted hazelnuts: finely grind the toasted hazelnuts and add them to the vanilla custard. Proceed as for the pistachio custard
• Chestnut gelato: you can buy the chestnut spread or make it as in the Mont Blanc recipe. Add to the vanilla custard and proceed as for the pistachio custard

Find the quantities in the recipe card below.

This recipe is not the gelato base traditionally used for fruit gelato.

A homemade gelato with fruits is made with a slightly different recipe and depends on the fruit varieties.

Don't worry, it is on my list of recipes to make.

Storage

Store your gelato in an airtight, freezer-safe container.

They should be stored at a temperature not below 0 F / -18 C, home freezers should be fine.

Consuming them within a week or two is best for optimum texture and flavor, although they can be kept in the freezer for a few months.

Equipment

For best results, use an ice cream machine.

It turns the ice cream while freezing it, with a slow churning process that prevents the formation of ice crystals.

I have an Italian brand Gaggia, but it is unavailable in the USA.

I wouldn't recommend buying a cheap ice cream machine as it can build up the ice around the sides, and you must scrape it off every 5 minutes.

If you do not have an ice cream machine, you will have to place your gelato mixture into an airtight freezer-safe container and stir the mixture every 10 minutes.

Once you make your first own gelato, you will realize that the investment in a good ice cream maker is really worth your while.

You will also need a food processor or a whisk to whip the eggs and a fine sieve

I recommend a Nambe bowl (or tray) to serve the ice cream on a hot summer day.

Nambe is a metal that keeps heat or cold for a long time. Place them in the freezer, pour the gelato, and bring it to the table.

You can leave the ice cream on the table as the Nambe will keep it from melting.

Your guests will have the option to repeat their serving without running in and out of your freezer.

Difference between Gelato and American Ice cream

This authentic gelato recipe is very different from American ice cream.

American ice cream uses only milk and whipped cream; it is called Fior di Latte in Italian.

The authentic Italian gelato is specifically called "gelato alla crema" and uses less cream and more milk but maintains a creamy texture and a more intense flavor as it whips fresh egg yolks with sugar.

The gelato custard is brought to a boil to avoid any risk of Salmonella.

Related

Here are some cakes to serve with this gelato:

Pairing

These are my favorite homemade liqueurs I serve with my gelato:

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