Last updated on December 13, 2023
Italian yogurt ice cream is a fresh alternative to the «gelato» base recipe with whipping cream and milk. We are Italians and we share our recipe with the ice cream maker: easy, quick and just as tasty as the one from the ice cream parlour
Yogurt ice cream is a fresh alternative to the traditional Italian basic gelato flavor, which we call fiordilatte. The recipe contains sugar, milk and whipping cream (and no eggs).
Adding yogurt to the mix allows us to make a lighter ice cream, with a bit less whipping cream.
Yoghurt ice cream is also delicious combined with many other ingredients: honey, walnuts, fresh fruit or chocolate chips.
On this page we make our yogurt gelato with the ice cream maker, quick and easy.
The Italian words of this page:
| 🔊 Gelato Italiano | Italian ice cream |
| 🔊 Gelato allo yogurt | Yogurt ice cream |
| 🔊 Gelateria | Ice cream shop |
The yogurt ice cream recipe is very similar to the basic gelato recipe with milk; add whole yogurt and recalibrate the ingredients to obtain a creamy gelato.
👉 Eggs don't fit in all ice cream recipes. Egg yolks serve as a thickener, but they never fit into homemade fruit ice cream flavours or yogurt ice cream, for example.
Chocolate ice cream or pistachio ice cream, for example, are very tasty even without eggs.
To make yogurt ice cream you only need four ingredients: whole milk, whole yogurt, whipping cream and sugar.
| Ingredient image | Ingredient name | Cups | Grams | Ounces |
|
Whole milk | 1.2 cups | 300 g | 10.58 oz |
|
Whole Yogurt | 0.6 cups | 150 g | 5.29 oz |
|
Whipping cream | 0.5 cups | 100 g | 3.53 oz |
|
Sugar | 0.5 cups | 100 g | 3.53 oz |
The ingredients you pour into the ice cream maker should be cold from the refrigerator: this makes the work of the ice cream maker easier and the ice cream is ready faster.
The more fat the yogurt contains, the thicker the ice cream will be. We use whole yogurt 3% fat.
If you use low-fat yogurt, the ice cream will probably be less creamy and slightly more icy.
Use fresh, whole milk, about 3.5% fat;
The whipping cream does not need to be whipped: just add it to the mixture. For our recipe, use cream with about 35% fat;
White sugar is the most suitable sweetener to obtain a «firm» ice cream with a neutral taste.
For each ingredient we indicate both the volume in cups and the weight in ounces and grams.
In the US, most online ice cream recipes indicate the ingredients in cups: it's a very practical unit, in which each ingredient is already converted into volume, so you don't need a scale.
👉 To be more accurate, however, we prefer to weigh all the ingredients: both solids and liquids before pouring them into the ice cream mixture.
For this you need a kitchen scale, preferably a digital one, which usually expresses the weight in ounces (oz) and/or grams (g).
You can make our recipes with all types of ice cream makers: compressor, with freezer element, and with the Ninja Creami with the “gelato” program.
👉 Do you want to know more tips? We've written a detailed guide on using the ice cream maker.
If you're using a compressor ice maker, turn it on first.
Usually needs an ice cream maker about 10-15 minutes to cool down: just enough time to mix the ingredients!
If you have an ice cream maker with freezer bowl, it should be well frozen after a sufficient number of hours in the freezer.
Pour the yogurt, milk and whipped cream into a bowl. Add the sugar and mix everything with an immersion mixer until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
We use a large measuring cup with spout because it is practical to pour the mixture into the ice cream maker.
👉 Sugar dissolves in the cold mixture by itself: you just need to mix for a minute.
When the ice cream maker is very cold, it's time to pour the mixture.
We pour the mixture when the countdown, which started from 60 minutes, reads about 45 minutes.
Some ice cream machines also show the temperature: it should be around -7.6°F (-22°C) to form ice cream.
Use the opening on the lid of the ice cream maker to pour the ice cream: this way the cold does not escape and the ice cream maker maintains its low temperature.
👉 There will likely be a little foam on the mixture, which is created by mixing the ingredients. They're just air bubbles, like the ones that build up in the ice cream maker as it becomes gelato.
Through the lid of the ice cream maker you can see how the ice cream is formed. It will take about 15 minutes for the mixture to start accumulating air and become a soft gelato.
Wait 30-40 minutes until the yoghurt ice cream is ready to enjoy.
If it seems creamy, with the structure of gelato, leave it for another 5 minutes and then stop the ice cream maker.
Sometimes the mixing paddle stops automatically: however, it depends on how much ice you're making, relative to the ice maker's capacity.
Your Italian gelato allo yogurt ice cream is ready. Buon appetito! 🍨
As soon as it is ready, homemade italian ice cream is very soft: as you can see in the photo of our cone.
We recommend eating it right away, or (better) storing it in the freezer for at least an hour. So for example you can prepare it in the afternoon and serve it to the guests after dinner.
Italian ice cream is also delicious the next day; in the freezer it gets a bit hard, but not too hard.
To thaw it, we put it in the fridge for 30 minutes: that way it doesn't melt but retains the consistency of ice cream.
In the restaurant in Italy, when you finish eating, the waiter will ask: 🔊 andava tutto bene? (was everything fine?)
We make yogurt ice cream, the one you find in Italian ice cream parlors.
Some ice cream makers though can also make yogurt and frozen yogurt; such as the ice cream maker that we use in our recipes and that you see in the images.
To make Italian gelato, the ice machine runs at about -7.6°F (-22°C). To make frozen yogurt, the ice cream machine runs longer and at a higher temperature. And of course the ingredients are different, just like the creaminess of the result.
I am Italian from Trentino. I studied philosophy in Padua and worked for many years between Milan and Amsterdam in the field of media and culture.
Since 2021 I write on All Italian to practice foreign languages; meanwhile I share with you the customs and traditions of my country, and the recipes that I prepare at home.