Pumpkin ice cream
An orange-tan ice cream made with pumpkin puree and warm spices, tasting much like a scoop of pumpkin pie.
Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers. What the badge means
Pumpkin ice cream is a spiced ice cream made with pumpkin puree, and it tastes a lot like pumpkin pie. You will find it in some shops and some grocery freezers, but not everywhere.
This page covers how it tastes, how to make pumpkin ice cream at home from a base formula, what to serve with it, how common it is and what the nutrition figures show.
What pumpkin tastes like
Pumpkin ice cream is orange-tan and spiced like pumpkin pie. The flavor comes from pumpkin puree with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove, the familiar mix sold as pumpkin pie spice.
The pumpkin gives an earthy, gently sweet base. The spices add warmth, with cinnamon up front, ginger for a little bite, and nutmeg and clove underneath. When it is made on a French custard base, the egg yolks give it a rich, smooth body that suits the pie flavors.
The two main flavorings are pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Some people add crushed gingersnaps or bits of pie crust for crunch.
Where pumpkin comes from
The sources we use do not record who first made pumpkin ice cream or when.
What we can say is how it comes together. Pumpkin puree and pie spices are whisked into the base before chilling, so the flavor runs all through the ice cream. Crunchy extras work differently. In factories, pieces such as cookies go in as the ice cream leaves the freezer, when about half of its water is frozen and it is about as soft as soft serve, according to H. Douglas Goff’s Ice Cream Technology e-Book from the University of Guelph. That is why home cooks fold in crushed gingersnaps or pie crust pieces at the end of churning.
How to make pumpkin at home
If you are wondering how to make pumpkin ice cream, start with a French custard base, made with egg yolks. A Philadelphia base, with no eggs, works too. The Base Builder sets up the French custard style for you and sizes it to your machine. It gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.
Whisk the pumpkin puree and the spices into the custard base before you chill it. Then chill and churn as usual. If you want crushed gingersnaps or pie crust pieces, add them at the end of churning. Factories add pieces like cookies when the ice cream is about as soft as soft serve, with about half its water frozen, so they mix in evenly without breaking down.
Already have a pumpkin recipe you like? The Recipe Scaler resizes it to your machine and converts cups to grams.
Base formula
Open the Base Builder: French custard (egg yolks)
Other styles that suit it: Philadelphia (no eggs)
The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.
What to serve with pumpkin
Pumpkin ice cream goes well with crisp, spiced and buttery things. Serve it with gingersnaps on the side, or crumble a few over the top for crunch and extra ginger.
Caramel sauce is a natural topping. Its toasty sweetness sits well with the pumpkin and spice. Candied pecans add crunch and a nutty note, much like a pecan topping on pumpkin pie. Try all three together for a sundae that tastes like a slice of pie.
- gingersnaps
- caramel sauce
- candied pecans
How common pumpkin is
Our badge puts pumpkin at 3 of 5, a first quarter moon labeled "Sometimes found." That means you can find it in some shops and some grocery freezers, but it is not a standard flavor everywhere. The badge shows how easy the flavor is to find, not how much people like it.
No survey we use lists pumpkin by name. So for this flavor, the badge is our own judgement of how easy it is to find, not a reading of survey numbers. If you want a sure supply, making it at home is the easiest route.
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 pumpkin ice cream, so the figures shown are for a plain vanilla base, not this flavor. Regular vanilla has 207 kcal, 11 g fat and 21.2 g sugars per 100 grams, or about 137 kcal in a 1/2 cup (66 g) portion. Rich vanilla has 249 kcal and 16.2 g fat per 100 grams. Pumpkin puree, spices, mix-ins and sweeteners change these 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 pumpkin itself: these are the figures for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich. Mix-ins and sweeteners change them.
Questions people ask
What does pumpkin ice cream taste like?
It tastes like pumpkin pie. Pumpkin puree gives an earthy, gently sweet base, and cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove add warm spice. On a French custard base, it is rich and smooth.
What base should I use for pumpkin ice cream?
A French custard base, made with egg yolks, suits it well. A Philadelphia base with no eggs also works. The Base Builder sets up the custard style and gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges.
When do I add the pumpkin and gingersnaps?
Whisk the pumpkin puree and spices into the custard base before chilling. Add crushed gingersnaps or pie crust pieces at the end of churning, when the ice cream is about as soft as soft serve.
Is pumpkin ice cream easy to find in stores?
It is sometimes found. You will see it in some shops and some grocery freezers, but not all. No survey we use lists it by name, so our badge is our own judgement.
More flavors to try
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Spice and floral
Cinnamon ice cream
Warm, sweet-spicy and light tan, with cinnamon all through
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Spice and floral
Peppermint ice cream
Cool, sweet mint ice cream with crushed peppermint candy
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Spice and floral
Honey lavender ice cream
Pale, floral and gently sweet, with lavender steeped in cream
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 Technology e-Book: Freezing/Whipping of Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
- 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.