Mango pineapple ice cream is packed with refreshing, tropical flavor and beneficial ingredients. With no refined sugar or weird additives, you can have this healthy ice cream recipe ready to scoop in less than an hour!
The combination of mango and pineapple is so refreshing! Maybe it is because they are tropical fruits that they seem like a quick little bite of vacation? Whatever the reason, it is hard to go wrong with this (pretty) healthy ice cream!
While the fruits themselves provide nourishment along with the flavor, you can match the dairy portion to your needs. Cultured dairy pairs wonderfully with mango and pineapple, or you can stick with fresh dairy products. Need non-dairy ice cream? What could be better with mango and pineapple than coconut milk?!
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Reasons to Love Mango Pineapple Ice Cream
This ice cream is one I like to make now and then when I don’t have much inspiration or time. Frozen mango and pineapple are often stuck somewhere in a corner of my freezer. Both my sons like a mango pineapple smoothie now and then, so I grab frozen fruit on sale.
I have used coconut milk for this one. One can doesn’t exactly equal the same quantity as the dairy in the recipe, but it still works out. You could add more coconut milk or increase the quantity of fruit just a bit. Or not…
Sometimes I use raw milk and heavy cream for mango pineapple ice cream. That is just fine, and we like it!
It is even better with cultured dairy, in my opinion. Home cultured cream and kefir or yogurt lend a tang that works nicely with these very sweet fruits! Or, as in the photos, I might use raw milk with cultured cream. This is a flexible recipe!
Beginning with cold dairy and frozen fruit, the ice cream is ready very fast. Sometimes I let the fruit thaw partway before blending it, especially if it is looking a bit icy. You don’t really have to do that, though, if your blender is able to handle big chinks of frozen fruit. My elderly blender still gets them smooth, but I’m trying not to tax it too much.
How to Make Mango Pineapple Ice Cream
Take your fruit out of the freezer. You can thaw it partially or fully, or use frozen fruit. You could use fresh, too.
Zest an orange. I use the fine side of a box grater for this, but a knife or zesting tool will work also. Orange zest is optional, but I recommend it for the added flavor it imparts. Not everyone will even realize there is orange in the ice cream, as the flavor melds and the zest all but disappears if it is super-fine.
Add the fruit, zest, and one cup each fresh or cultured milk to a blender. Process just until the mixture is smooth.
Add the fresh or cultured cream, vanilla, honey, and a tiny dash of salt and pulse to mix. Don’t overdo it once the cream is in there; it can turn into bits of butter and ruin your ice cream.
Assemble and start ice cream maker and pour ice cream mixture into the bowl. My ice cream maker is also elderly, and I would buy the same one again. You can sometimes find practically-new machines in thrift stores for great prices, so check there if you need one!
When the ice cream is done, remove it to a storage container with a lid and put it in the freezer.
Easy and Healthy Mango Pineapple Ice Cream
Equipment
- 1 blender
- 1 ice cream machine
Ingredients
- 1 C frozen or fresh mango chunks
- 1 C frozen or fresh pineapple chunks
- 1 C milk OR milk kefir OR plain yogurt
- 1 C heavy cream OR cultured cream
- 1/4 C raw honey (can use more or less to taste)
- 1 orange, zested (about 1 T orange zest)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- dash salt
Instructions
- Add mango, pineapple, and milk (or kefir or yogurt) to blender. Blend until smooth.
- Add cream or cultured cream, honey, orange zest, vanilla, and salt. Blend just to mix. Do not allow the cream to turn to butter!
- Pour into ice cream machine and process until the ice cream is scoop-able.
- Remove ice cream to a container with a lid and store in freezer. Serve within 2-3 hours. If serving later, remove ice cream from freezer 15 minutes before serving and allow to soften a bit before scooping.
Questions and Answers
Can I use nondairy milk?
Coconut milk works well! I haven’t tried it with other types of milk, but any milk you like for other ice cream recipes should be fine.
Do I have to use honey?
No, you could use sugar or other sweetener you like in ice cream. You don’t need much, as the fruit is super sweet. Honey is sweeter than sugar, so you may want a bit more sugar than the amount of honey called for. Also, honey helps the ice cream not to freeze quite as hard and offers some health benefits.
Can I have this ice cream on the GAPS diet?
You can have this ice cream on full GAPS, provided that you stick with cultured cream and either milk kefir or GAPS yogurt that have been long-fermented. Also, use honey and a compliant vanilla or vanilla seeds. Or skip the vanilla.
Is the orange zest necessary?
You can leave out the orange zest, vanilla, or salt if you prefer. They each add a subtle layer of flavor, but the ice cream will be good without them.
Looking for more ice cream recipes? Here are a few fun flavors:
Awesome recipe! I love pineapple and mango and can totally imagine the great flavor of this ice cream. I’ll have to save this and hope to try it sometime this summer when I put ice cream on the menu quite often!
I hope you like it too!
Try with peach in place of pineapple for a totally different twist!