Sweet Carrot Ice Cream

I love ice cream and so does my little love.  We’ve been making a lot of ice cream lately and playing around with different flavor combinations. 

My little love is not the typical child who loves carrots.  She just is not a fan of them.  I wanted to find a way to get some carrots into her diet.  So, I had the idea for carrot ice cream.  The inspiration came from a smoothie I used to make during my high school years.  That smoothie was just carrot juice and vanilla frozen yogurt and it was so delicious.

You might be thinking, carrot ice cream, really?  It may sound strange, but it’s really good.  If you enjoy carrots, and you like ice cream, give it a try.  It’s a nice change from your typical ice cream flavors.  It’s more of a light and refreshing ice cream rather then a sweet and rich one.

Sweet Carrot Ice Cream

Full of flavor, creamy and lip smacking good!

Equipment: Juicer, Blender, Ice Cream Maker

• ½ cup freshly juiced organic carrots (about 4 carrots), washed and scrubbed
• 2 teaspoons gluten free organic vanilla extract (I use Simply Organic)
• 1 ½ cups raw whole milk* (See Resources)
• ½ cup raw cream (optional, if you don’t have cream, just sub w/ raw milk)
• ¼ cup raw honey (I use local raw clover creamed honey)

1.     Wash and scrub carrots.  Juice them in a juicer.

2.    Add carrot juice, vanilla, milk, cream, and honey to blender.

3.    Blend on a lower setting just until smooth and combined, about 5 seconds.  Be careful not to blend too long, you don’t want a lot of air in the mixture.   If any foam forms on the top, remove this with a spoon.

4.    Pour mixture into ice cream maker.

5.     Turn machine on and mix according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

6.    Ice cream will start to have a “soft serve” texture when it is done.  This is my family’s favorite way to eat it.  If you prefer it to be a little firmer or need to serve it later, place in the freezer to harden. 

Yield: Makes about 2 ½ cups mixture, about 1 quart of ice cream. 

Dairy-Free Option: Substitute full-fat coconut milk for the dairy.

*For California residents, check out my favorite raw milk from Claravale Farm.  They sell to stores and co-ops all over CA.