Monday, September 25, 2006

Pudding Ice Cream

This is ice cream for only the very lazy. Like Juno:

I suppose it would also be fun for kids, since it's so easy to make. You only need two ingredients, there's no heating, and you can freeze it right away if your non-dairy milk is cold when you mix it. Instant gratification!

Ingredients:
2 boxes instant pudding (many flavors are vegan)
3 cups non-dairy milk or creamer

Add-ins (optional)
1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips, nuts, whatever

Whisk together pudding mix and milk/creamer. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to machine directions.

You're done!

My first experiment with this involved pistachio pudding. Why? Maybe I was nostalgic for those Southern potlucks where at least three different women would bring some variation of pistachio pudding "salad," with little marshmallows and pineapple chunks. Maybe I wanted green ice cream. Maybe my husband really wanted me to. In any case, it was fun and easy. Yup.

26 comments:

  1. Hello again, wonderful vegan ice cream goddess :)

    Is Jell-O pudding really vegan...? The pistachio flavor brings up nostalgia for me as well... of being -10 years old and taken for gelato in Palo Alto on Sundays. The gelato place is still there, across from the Aquarius theater, though it does me little good now other than to bring back memories. Which you did as well, so thanks for that :)

    ~GV

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  2. Yes! Many flavors of Jello Pudding are vegan, assuming you make them with non-dairy milk. Not all flavors are vegan, though (the butterscotch isn't, sadly), so read the label if you're uncertain about a particular type.

    The pistachio is all vegan. Yipee!

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  3. What box size of pudding do you use? 5 oz or the smaller size? Thanks!

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  4. I used the smaller size, which is around 3.4 ounces, I think.

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  5. Your blog is fabulous! I found you on the Vegan Cupcake blog! Can I add you to my bloglines and visit often? Please let me know! I'm located at:
    http://harmonia.bloggoing.com incase you're blog surfing!

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  6. I made this today and it is incredible! thank you for coming up with the best recipes!

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  7. Anonymous2:29 PM

    Pistachio ice cream! Oh, I will love you forever.

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  8. Anonymous12:21 PM

    We're a non-dairy family and I just purchased an ice cream maker with the intention of making non-dairy ice cream and was very excited to discover your blog! I made the pudding ice cream-- chocolate-- last night, figuring I'd start with the easiest reecipe first, and it came out great! The only thing I would caution people is it is very rich and dense, therefore serve yourself a portion smaller than you would normally eat because it fills you up fast!

    I have one question about the other recipes: I would rather not use refined sugar in my ice cream. Do you have a healthier sweetener alternative that works just as well? Thanks!

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  9. Kim--

    I'm glad you liked it! As for the refined sugar question, you can make any of my recipes with an unrefined sugar, such as Sucanat. You could also experiment with maple syrup or agave nectar, but I haven't tried that yet. If you do experiment, let me know how it goes!

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  10. Anonymous10:02 PM

    For a decent Butterscotch we had luck using the Vanilla Instant Pudding and adding approx .5 oz scotch whiskey (we used a 12 year old) and imitation butter flavor from adams extracts.

    Hayduke
    American Hunt Saboteurs Association
    www.huntsab.org

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  11. Anonymous7:31 PM

    Tonight we made this recipe with lemon jell-o pudding. After running it through the machine we put 1/2 cup of crushed Lemonheads in it. Yumm!!!

    P.S. We also added (before freezing) 2 tbsp. lemon juice and 1 tsp. vanilla to brighten the flavor of the pudding.

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  12. This recipe is so good and easy! I made the ice cream with 1 packet of chocolate fudge instant pudding, 1 cup soy creamer, 1/2 cup hemp milk, and 1/2 cup rich whip. Super rich & creamy.

    I'm also having success with your basic vanilla recipe using a teaspoon of vegan gelatin (Ko-Jel) in place of arrowroot. It thickens nicely and keeps the ice cream from getting too hard when stored in the freezer.

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  13. Anonymous9:41 AM

    oh man, this recipe is awesome. we made the pistachio a few days ago, with a few modifications:

    for 2 cups milk.of.your.choice:
    1 can coconut milk (full fat)
    plus plain rice milk to make up the rest of the volume

    plus about 1/3 chopped ginger candy
    and 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

    i was really impressed with the creamy, gelato-like texture the pudding gives the ice cream. also, it keeps really well compared to other homemade ice cream i've made.

    i think it would be rad for ice cream sandwiches. maybe with rosewater tea cookies ? or gingersnaps ?

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  14. Anonymous10:01 PM

    Wow! I tried this ice cream and loved it. Here's a video of me and my friend Rick making it.

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  15. I've been Rickrolled!

    Awesome. I love teh intarweb.

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  16. I made this today and it was great! One package chocolate and one package banana. However, the chocolate did not come in the 3.4 oz, but rather 3.9 oz (banana was 3.4).

    I was wondering how much of your ice cream freezes and sticks to the freezer bowl? Seems like it was about 1/4 thick the last couple times for me. Maybe I am just letting it go too long.

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  17. Habanero--

    I think you might be freezing a bit too long if your ice cream is sticking to the bowl. Or you're taking too long to get the ice cream out of the bowl (this happens to me because I'm busy sampling the newly frozen ice cream). What I do in this case is get a really firm rubber spatula and scrape down the sides as hard/fast as I can. Hope this helps!

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  18. Yes Agnes,

    i've been using the spatula right away. I think that freezing faster on my maker because of greater capacity?
    I just have to watch it more carefully on non-official cuisinart recipes.

    Hey, I suppose this doesn't go here, but have you ever considered a blueberry-maple ice cream? I LOVE blueberry and maple and the only recipe i have found is not veganizable. I may try it myself soon.

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  19. I wanted to make some heath bar crunch ice cream for my non vegan fiance and though the pudding ice cream would be a great base. For you food snobs like me who cringe at the thought of Jell-o, Dr. Oetker makes organic, all natural puddings in great flavors like, banana, butterscotch, coconut, etc. The ingredients list looks vegan, ( i.e. nothing non vegan listed) but if you want to be 100%, you can email them to verify just how vegan they are. The website is www.oetker.us/en/home. Happy ice creaming!

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  20. First of all I want to say thank you for your blog!!! I just got an ice cream maker as a wedding gift and I didnt know how to make my ice cream. So far it has been good, but it doesnt quite freeze so well. I think I have been putting too much in because I made a small batch of this pudding ice cream and it froze great!

    Overall this was not my favorite. I think I prefer the tast of fresh ice cream ingredients. but if you want ice cream super fast it is great!

    Also I found that these were the only vegan favors of pudding.

    Jell-O Instant Pudding (Pistachio)
    Jello-O Instant Pudding (Banana Creme)
    Jello-O Instant Pudding (Chocolate)
    Jello-O Instant Pudding (Lemon)
    Jello-O Instant Pudding (Vanilla)

    I used cheese cake just cause i had a craving today. I didnt check before I made it but oh well I just won't buy it again.

    Also this is the website I got the info on the pudding from http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/default.asp

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  21. Nancy1:08 PM

    this looks liek a quick recipe to make!! we just tried it using popsicle molds i bought at target and the rest of the base is in the ice cream machine. it's an easy thing to do with the kids too!!

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  22. Anonymous2:01 PM

    If you wisk too fast before getting it into the ice cream maker you will have pudding! instant really means that lol. oh well I finally got it and it is really easy and really really good!

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  23. Anonymous10:00 AM

    Hi
    When should I add Pistachio? In the last 5 minutes of freezing?

    I do not have Ice cream maker but will be making it for Christmas in regular freezer and using cornstartch. Will let you know about the results.
    Thanks

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  24. If you're adding nuts, add them in the last five mintues of freezing.

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  25. Anonymous11:30 AM

    Hi
    I made this ice cream though I do not have an Ice Cream Maker.
    Me and my friends loved it and I will be trying lots of other recipes from your blog.

    Thank you and Wish you a Very Happy New Year.

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  26. Anonymous8:31 PM

    How do you know the source of the mono- and diglycerides in the pistachio pudding mix is vegan?

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