Basil ice cream
A pale green, eggless ice cream made by steeping fresh basil in cream, with a sweet, peppery herbal scent.
Rare Rare enough that you would most likely make it at home. What the badge means
Basil ice cream is a pale green scoop flavored with fresh basil steeped in cream. It tastes fresh and herbal, with a sweet, peppery scent.
You will rarely find it in a freezer case, so most people make it at home. This page covers how it tastes, how to make basil ice cream, what to serve with it, how common it is and what the nutrition figures show.
What basil tastes like
Basil ice cream is fresh and herbal. The leaves bring basil's sweet, peppery scent, the same one you notice when you tear a leaf over a tomato salad. The color is pale green, and it gets greener if you blend the leaves into the base instead of steeping them.
It is made from a plain cream base with fresh basil steeped in the cream. There are no eggs in the style we suggest, so the texture stays clean and light rather than rich and custardy. The herb is the only flavoring. There are no chunks, swirls or mix-ins, just a smooth scoop that tastes like the garden.
Where basil comes from
The sources we use do not record who first made basil ice cream or when.
What they do show is that herbal flavors like this one stand out to people who make ice cream for a living. In IDFA’s 2022 trends report, which drew on 132 makers and scoop shops and 1,002 consumers, member makers were asked for their most daring or creative flavor. Pineapple and basil was among the answers they gave.
That fits how basil behaves in a scoop. Its sweet, peppery scent sits well beside fruit, and it needs nothing more than fresh leaves and a plain, eggless cream base. Because it is still rare in stores, a home kitchen is where most people will meet it. Steep the leaves in warm dairy and strain, or blend them into the cold base for a greener batch.
How to make basil at home
Basil ice cream works well as a Philadelphia-style base, which uses no eggs. The Base Builder sets up that style for you and sizes it to your machine in grams and cups. It gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.
The flavor goes in one of two ways. You can steep fresh basil leaves in the warm dairy for a short time, then strain them out. Or you can blend fresh leaves into the cold base, which gives a greener color. Either way, chill the base well before you churn it. No mix-ins are needed, so there is nothing to add at the end of churning.
If you already have a basil ice cream recipe you like, the Recipe Scaler can resize it to fit your machine and convert cups to grams. Then use the scoop size chart to plan how many servings a batch will give you.
Base formula
Open the Base Builder: Philadelphia (no eggs)
The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.
What to serve with basil
Basil pairs naturally with fruit. Serve a scoop beside sliced strawberries or ripe peaches, or spoon fresh fruit over the top as a topping. Pineapple is a strong match too, since its sweet tang plays well against the peppery herb. Lemon also suits it, whether as a squeeze of juice over fruit, a lemon cookie on the side or a scoop of lemon sorbet in the same bowl.
- strawberries
- peaches
- pineapple
- lemon
How common basil is
On our moon scale, basil gets a new moon badge, 1 of 5, labeled "Rare." That means it is rare enough that you would most likely make it at home. The badge shows how easy the flavor is to find, not how much people like it.
No survey we use lists basil ice cream by name, so this badge is our own judgement of how easy it is to find. Basil does show up among daring flavors, though: in IDFA's 2022 report, pineapple and basil was among the answers member makers gave when asked for their most daring or creative flavor.
No survey we use lists this flavor by name, so its badge is our own judgement of how easy it is to find.
- Rare Rare enough that you would most likely make it at home.
- Hard to find Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs.
- Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers.
- Easy to find Common in most grocery freezers.
- Classic A classic you can buy almost anywhere.
Nutrition, roughly
FoodData Central has no record for basil ice cream, so these figures are for a plain vanilla base, not this flavor. Per 100 grams, regular vanilla has 207 kcal, 11 g fat (6.79 g saturated), 21.2 g sugars and 3.5 g protein. FDC's 1/2 cup portion (66 g) has about 137 kcal. Rich vanilla has 249 kcal and 16.2 g fat per 100 grams. Your own sweeteners and add-ins change the numbers.
Nutrition per 100 grams
| FoodData Central record | Calories | Fat | Saturated fat | Sugars | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice creams, vanilla FDC 167575 1/2 cup (66 g): about 137 kcal, 7.3 g fat | 207 kcal | 11 g | 6.79 g | 21.2 g | 3.5 g |
| Ice creams, vanilla, rich FDC 167573 | 249 kcal | 16.2 g | 10.30 g | 20.6 g | 3.5 g |
FoodData Central has no record for basil itself: these are the figures for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich. Mix-ins and sweeteners change them.
Questions people ask
What does basil ice cream taste like?
It tastes fresh and herbal, with basil's sweet, peppery scent. The base is a plain cream base with no eggs, so the herb is the main flavor, and the scoop is pale green.
How do you make basil ice cream at home?
Start with a Philadelphia-style base, which has no eggs. Steep fresh basil leaves in the warm dairy briefly and strain, or blend fresh leaves into the cold base. The Base Builder sets up the base formula.
Why is my basil ice cream not very green?
Steeping and straining gives a paler green. For a greener color, blend fresh basil leaves into the cold base instead of steeping them in warm dairy. Both methods carry the same fresh, herbal flavor.
What fruit goes well with basil ice cream?
Strawberries, peaches, pineapple and lemon all suit it. Serve the fruit fresh on the side or as a topping. Pineapple and basil was even named as a daring flavor by makers in IDFA's 2022 report.
More flavors to try
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Black sesame ice cream
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Olive oil ice cream
Rich, fruity, peppery ice cream made with extra virgin olive oil
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Modern and unusual
Goat cheese and honey ice cream
Tangy fresh goat cheese and honey in a smooth cream base
Plan and make it with these
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Recipe Scaler and Converter
Ice cream recipe converter: cups to grams
Scale an ice cream recipe by a factor, a batch volume or your machine, and see every line in grams and cups.
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Scoop size chart
Ice cream scoop sizes and the disher number chart
The number stamped on an ice cream scoop tells you how many level scoopfuls fill one quart, so a #8 holds 4 fluid ounces (1/2 cup) and a #16 holds 2.
Sources
- Ice Cream and Frozen Novelty Trends 2022 report (132 makers and scoop shops, 1,002 consumers) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
- Ice creams, vanilla (FDC 167575) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
- Ice creams, vanilla, rich (FDC 167573) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
Every data source the site uses is on the Sources page.