14 Irresistible Homemade Gelato Recipes (2024)

Don’t let summer pass you by without enjoying your very own homemade gelato. My step-by-step guides and tempting flavor combinations—which include vegan and dairy-free options—are just what you need to get started!

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Gelato is a true summer indulgence! It’s impossible to resist this cool, creamy frozen treat and it’s one of my absolute favorite things to make every year.

I have everything you need to get started churning out your very own homemade gelato flavors. You’ll definitely want to check out my step-by-step homemade gelato tutorial (listed below!). It will walk you through the entire process from start to finish with lots of helpful tips and tricks. In the end, you’ll be rewarded with a delectable Vanilla Bean Gelato!

I also have recipes that will help you create a beautiful Sicilian-style gelato base and a vegan gelato base. You’ll have all your bases covered!

Once you’ve got the basics mastered, the fun really starts. One of my favorite parts of making homemade gelato every year is coming up with irresistible flavor combinations.

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In this homemade gelato recipe collection, you’ll find just a few of the different flavors I’ve created—everything from classics like Dark Chocolate or Pistachio to more unusual flavors like Raspberry Rose and Sweet Corn.

If you want to make the most of fresh summer fruit right off the tree, you must try my Fresh Peach Gelato, Cherry Ripple Gelato, and Blueberry Gelato. Once you get comfortable with the basics of making gelato at home, you’ll be ready to start experimenting with your own flavors.

Need a little extra help? If you need a little extra help or you’re somebody who learns better through video, try my Homemade Gelato Skillshare class. You can watch me go through the whole process and replay it as many times as you need!

Homemade Gelato Recipes

1. Classic Gelato: A Detailed, Step-by-Step Recipe

If you’ve never made gelato, start here. This article details what classic gelato is, how it’s made, and the variety of flavors you can make with it. The recipe includes detailed, step-by-step instructions and tips to make the creamiest homemade gelato you’ve ever churned!

2. Sicilian-Style Gelato

Learn how to make Sicilian-style gelato, an incredibly creamy Italian iced treat that uses cornstarch as a thickening agent. Learn how to turn this versatile homemade gelato base into a myriad of flavors!

3. How to Make Vegan Gelato

Get helpful tips and an easy recipe for making a silky smooth, rich-tasting vegan gelato base you can turn into a variety of delicious fruity treats, including a zesty, refreshing Mango and Passion Fruit Gelato.

4. Dark Chocolate Gelato

This indulgent dark chocolate gelato is for true chocoholics: a spoonful provides a rich, strong hit of cocoa, reminiscent of biting into a square of 70% chocolate.

5. Pistachio Gelato

The secret to outstanding pistachio gelato is homemade pistachio paste. Learn how to make it and churn an amazing Italian frozen treat!

6. White Chocolate, Basil, and Strawberry Gelato

This White Chocolate, Basil, and Strawberry Gelato combines two quintessential summer ingredients–strawberries and basil–in a silky smooth treat with a delicate, sweet flavor.

7. Rhubarb Gelato

In this blush pink Rhubarb Gelato, the bright flavor of rhubarb is balanced by the silky-rich homemade gelato base. It’s a memorably refreshing summer treat!

WATCH MY GELATO MASTERCLASS

Never made gelato before? Curious about what makes gelato different from ice cream? Check out my colorful masterclass! In it, you’ll find out what makes gelato different from ice cream, how to make a versatile gelato base you can turn into various flavors, and all my secrets and tips to churn and serve outstanding gelato. I even share how to make dairy-free, vegan gelato! In short, it’s a very thorough, colorful class that will quickly turn you into a gelato master.

This masterclass was previously hosted behind a paywall on an educational site where thousands of students rated it 5 STARS! It’s now available to all gelato lovers worldwide, absolutely free. Watch Now!

8. Raspberry Rose Gelato

This Raspberry Rose Gelato sports the breathtaking fuchsia color of fresh raspberries and carries the flowery flavor of rose in an elegant, understated way.

9. Fresh Peach Gelato

This rich and creamy peach gelato highlights one of summer’s quintessential fruits to perfection: fresh peach puree is both mixed into the homemade gelato as well as rippled through it for a double dose of stone fruit sweetness.

10. Blueberry Gelato

This breathtakingly beautiful blueberry gelato is a silky-smooth treat that highlights the intense taste of the bright blue late-summer berry!

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11. Cherry Ripple Gelato

Bursting with fresh fruit and juicy fruit puree, this cherry ripple gelato is the best treat to enjoy on a hot summer day.

12. Sweet Corn Gelato

This sweet corn gelato is a silky treat with an intriguing savory edge that gives you a delightful new reason to welcome corn season every summer!

13. Almond and Orange Gelato

This Almond and Orange Gelato combines zesty and juicy with toasty and nutty to create a surprisingly comforting, yet remarkable frozen treat. It will charm your taste buds at the first spoonful.

14. Gianduja Gelato (Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut Gelato)

This classic gianduja gelato made with real roasted hazelnuts and milk chocolate has a nutty sweetness that is reminiscent of childhood treats. An unforgettable dessert!

Bonus Frozen Treat: How to Make an Affogato

Affogato is the easiest Italian dessert you can make with your very own homemade gelato. Affogato is a delightful and refreshing coffee-based treat that is guaranteed to impress your guests. Find out how to make it!

14 Irresistible Homemade Gelato Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to gelato? ›

Unlike ice cream, gelato is churned at a slower speed. This slow churning incorporates less air into the mixture, resulting in a denser, creamier product. This is also why gelato seems to pack more flavor than traditional ice cream.

What makes gelato so thick? ›

Gelato: Dense and Intense

It starts out with a similar custard base as ice cream, but has a higher proportion of milk and a lower proportion of cream and eggs (or no eggs at all). It is churned at a much slower rate, incorporating less air and leaving the gelato denser than ice cream.

What makes Italian gelato so good? ›

Unlike industrial ice creams, which often have high levels of incorporated air to increase volume, gelato is churned at a slower speed, preventing the formation of ice crystals and resulting in a creamier and denser treat.

What's the difference between ice cream and gelato? ›

Gelato translates to "ice cream" in Italian, but this dessert's texture is denser, smoother, and richer than American ice cream. Like ice cream, gelato uses milk, cream, and sugar, but it differs in proportions. Gelato uses less cream and more milk than ice cream and typically contains no egg yolks or eggs at all.

What makes a great gelato? ›

High quality gelato is made with all-natural, seasonal ingredients and little to no artificial coloring. Because of this the colors will not be vibrant, but rather dull. For example, pistacchio should never be bright green like you might imagine, but brownish.

What makes gelato creamy? ›

Gelato also contains less air than American ice cream — that helps keep it dense, fluid and creamy.

What is authentic Italian gelato made of? ›

The ingredients for gelato

To make a good craft gelato, you can choose from a wide range of ingredients, depending on your needs and on the tastes of your customers. Very common ingredients such as milk, sugar, fruit, water, cream, eggs, powdered milk and fructose are used.

Why do you put cornstarch in gelato? ›

Egg Yolks: The most traditional thickening agent, egg yolks contain natural proteins and fats that contribute to a rich and luxurious texture in custard-based ice creams. Cornstarch: Often used in non-custard ice creams, cornstarch mixed with milk helps thicken the base and create a smooth mouthfeel.

Why is my gelato so icy? ›

The problem we have when trying re-create gelato at home is that our freezers are usually set to around 0 ° F (-18 ° C). And this is far too cold for gelato. Left in a freezer at this temperature it will become hard and icy after just three to four hours. Sure, you can leave it out of the freezer for a while to soften.

What is the most popular Flavour of gelato? ›

What Are the Most Popular Gelato Flavors?
  • Lemon. The sweet, citrusy flavor of lemon gelato makes it the perfect refreshing treat for any occasion. ...
  • Dark Chocolate. ...
  • Strawberry. ...
  • Pistachio. ...
  • Tiramisu. ...
  • Raspberry. ...
  • Hazelnut. ...
  • Pineapple-Coconut.

Which country has the best gelato? ›

Sicilians, who can lay claim to Italy's oldest tradition, prefer their gelato sweet and loaded with fresh and dried fruits, while Emilia-Romagna in the north is famous for incorporating egg yolks into gelato recipes.

What is the difference between Sicilian gelato and Italian gelato? ›

In Sicily, gelato is made from milk thickened with corn or rice starch. Elsewhere in Italy, it's enriched with egg or cream.

Is Talenti real gelato? ›

Talenti gelato is particularly special because we make it from scratch with the finest ingredients from around the world, and use an old world process that involves slow cooking our ingredients and making our gelato in smaller batches than most other ice cream in the US is made.

Why is gelato so expensive? ›

The slower, more manual and labour-intensive process of making gelato increases production costs, affecting its price. Denser with less air, offering more product by weight in each serving. Lighter and fluffier due to higher air content, resulting in less actual product by weight.

Can diabetics eat gelato? ›

Yes, at the end of a meal, instead of fruit

Being a food which leads the body to produce glucose, first of all, gelato should replace and not be eaten in addition to other foods containing carbohydrates such as fruit, bread, pasta, rice, and the quantities should take into account the recommended daily calorie intake.

What makes gelato smoother than ice cream? ›

Gelato has a lower milk fat content than ice cream, usually 4 to 9%, yielding a softer, denser texture and smaller ice crystals. That's a result of the base, which typically includes less cream and more milk, as well as a slower churning process that introduces less air into the final product.

What makes gelato gooey? ›

It's churned at a slower rate than ice cream, which gives it that dense, almost sticky mouthfeel. It's chilled and served a few degrees warmer than hard ice cream.

What gives gelato its texture? ›

The milk helps the gelato obtain a creamy and smooth texture, but it also increases its resistance to melting so you can take your time to enjoy it on a hot day. Milk used in gelato is a great way to not only add protein to your diet, but to get an extra serving of calcium.

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