Creamy Real Food Watermelon Ice Cream

Step 1

Wash the watermelon. Cut it in half. With a spoon, scoop out chunks of watermelon and juice them in a juicer until you have 1 cup of juice. Alternatively, you can puree the chunks of watermelon in your blender until you have 1 cup of watermelon juice. Set aside.

Step 2

In a small bowl, add the milk and arrowroot powder and whisk with a fork to remove any lumps. Set aside.

Step 3

In a medium saucepan, add the cream, vanilla, honey and salt and gently heat over low heat just until the honey has dissolved and the mixture is warm, but not hot - stir to fully combine, about 1-2 minutes. Then add the arrowroot-milk mixture, whisking to combine over low heat, never allowing to boil, for about 1-2 minutes - just until warmed through, but not steaming hot (arrowroot does not work well when heated for too long or too high of a temperature). Immediately remove from the heat.

Step 4

Add the watermelon juice to the warm ice cream base mixture, give it a quick stir with a whisk, then place the watermelon ice cream mixture in the refrigerator to chill until cold, about 2 hours. Alternatively, you can pour the mixture into a large mason jar and place it in the freezer to do a quick chill, for about 20-25 minutes until chilled through.

Step 5

Assemble your ice cream maker. Turn the ice cream machine on, pour the cold watermelon ice cream mixture into your chilled/frozen ice cream maker and mix according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

Step 6

The ice cream will start to have a “soft serve” texture when it is done - after about 20 minutes. This is my family’s favorite way to eat it. Serve immediately or freeze until desired consistency. If you prefer the ice cream to be a little firmer or need to serve it later, use a wooden spoon to transfer the watermelon ice cream to a large airtight freezer-safe container with a lid/cover. Make sure to lick the spoon when you’re done!