Blueberry Kale Ice Cream

Kale?? In ice cream?? Yes. This Blueberry Kale Ice Cream will blow your mind and convince you that kale in ice cream is a very good idea.

You’re going to tell me I’ve gone too far. I know you are. And you’re partly right, I suppose. I did, after all, put kale in ice cream. Yup. But to be fair, I got the whole idea from a book. It’s not like I was hanging out bored one evening saying “gee, I think I’ll try putting kale in ice cream.” No. A cookbook told me to put kale in ice cream. But ugh, that’s totally something I would do anyway, isn’t it? What is my life?

When I received a copy of Scoop Adventures (affiliate link), I immediately bookmarked about 20 different ice cream recipes I wanted to make… But then I saw the recipe for Blueberry Kale Ice Cream. And that was that. It was decided. I seriously never make my mind up that easily. But how could I resist putting my favorite trendy vegetables into ice cream? Like I said, though, this book is packed with amazingly unique ice cream recipes. It actually contains the best ice cream of the 50 states:

And this includes flavors like Balsamic Fig, Mimosa, Thai Peanut Curry, Toasted Marshmallow, Avocado Lime… I could go on. Seriously.

But Blueberry Kale topped my list. The recipe comes from The Hop Ice Cream Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina, and I think I need to visit Asheville just so I can go to this place and give them a medal or something. Also, I’ve heard fabulous things about Asheville in general, so clearly I need to visit.

BLUEBERRY KALE ICE CREAM RECIPE

I tell people all the time… Do not be afraid of ice cream! If you have an ice cream maker (I highly recommend the KitchenAid ice cream attachment if you already have the stand mixer) and the right ingredients (plus a little patience), you can be making your own ice cream in no time. And I promise it will make you a happier person. Because you will have the power to stock your freezer with absolutely any flavor of ice cream you want, whenever you want. Like Blueberry Kale. Yum.

I love making ice cream so much. This is legit like therapy to me.

This is a custard-based ice cream, which means you pour some of the hot milk/cream over the egg yolks to temper them and then pour everything back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk/cream to cook it until it thickens.

It really is super easy and nothing to be afraid of!

I feel like I’m making a green smoothie here, right?? But then I remember this is so much better. It’s not a kale smoothie, it’s kale ice cream… And ice cream will win over smoothies every single time.

Once the kale is all blended up with lemon zest, sugar, and a cup of the ice cream mixture. And add the entire thing to the bowl with the rest of the ice cream base.

I’m not meaning to ignore the blueberry; really I’m not. It’s just that the kale truly makes this ice cream unique; blueberry is the added bonus. A really, really delicious added bonus and one that complements the kale quite nicely.

All you need to do is combine blueberries with some sugar and blend to combine.

Yes, this ice cream requires 8 hours in the freezer once it’s processed. But it’s so, so worth it.

See?

 

So, I know you’re dying to know what this Blueberry Kale Ice Cream like, right? Well, let’s just say I LOVED it. Of course, if you’re not a kale lover, you probably won’t really be feeling this. But the kale wasn’t actually overpowering as the sweetness from the blueberry swirl and sugar combined well.

It has an Earthy taste to it… In a good way!

This will probably go down as the prettiest ice cream I’ve ever made. When is bright green ever an OK color for ice cream? When it’s 100% completely natural.

Same with blue. Even though blueberries are totally purple.

Basically, you can eat this blueberry kale salad instead of a salad. Well, maybe don’t do that. But if you happened to, I promise I won’t tell a soul.

Because I may or may not have done the same.

Hey, if I’m going to eat ice cream for dinner, it may as well have kale in it, right?

So yes, Scoop Adventures is definitely my kind of book! Even if I wasn’t into cooking and making my own ice cream, I would totally want to read it if only because I want to see what the best ice cream is in each of the 50 states. But now I legit want to make a majority of them in my kitchen.

I actually almost kind of craved winter when I saw a recipe for Fennel Ice Cream with Blood Orange Sauce. But then I realized I’ve been missing the hot weather desperately and that I could hold off on that ice cream for just a little bit.

So, I put kale in my ice cream. And now I feel like a healthier person. Kind of. Or something like that. Fine, I’m just happy. Because of this kale ice cream. And there’s something to be said for that.

What’s the most interesting flavor ice cream you’ve tried?

If you love fun ice cream flavors, be sure to check out my Apple Pie Ice Cream and my Pumpkin Beer Ice Cream. I also really want to try this Sweet Corn Buttermilk Ice Cream from Floating Kitchen!

Full disclosure: The publisher sent me Scoop Adventures, but as you can see here, all opinions are 100% my own. I just want to eat ice cream. And write about it.