This Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp is the perfect way to kick off warm weather season!…
Dairy-Free Rhubarb Gelato with Easy Strawberry Sauce
This Dairy-Free Rhubarb Gelato with Easy Strawberry Sauce is a creamy, dreamy delight!
The bright, bitter rhubarb is balanced by honey and dairy-free milk, then topped with a thick, chunky strawberry sauce.
You definitely won’t find this in the ice cream aisle of your grocery store!
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Dairy-Free Rhubarb Gelato
Rhubarb! It has a very short season. Blink and you’ll miss it.
So one of my favorite ways to savor it is with this Dairy-Free Rhubarb Gelato!
Made with just 6 ingredients, this dairy-free gelato recipe is a cool, creamy, fruity treat.
Rhubarb can be bitter so it almost always needs to be sweetened up.
In this recipe, it’s sweetened only with honey, making it a pretty healthy gelato recipe that’s refined sugar-free and paleo.
Plus I include instructions if you have an ice cream machine and a no-churn version if you don’t. So you’ll learn how to make gelato at home no matter what!
Plus, strawberry and rhubarb is a classic combo. So although rhubarb can shine on its own, I pair it with the easiest strawberry sauce possible. With just 2 ingredients and a few minutes of your time, you’ll have a thick, syrupy, chunky sauce to drape all over your gelato…and anything else you want to put it on.
Serve this at the end of your cookout and your summer plans are set.
What you need for this healthy dairy-free gelato
Ingredients:
- 3/4 pound (12 oz.) fresh rhubarb (if using frozen, see notes below recipe)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- 5 tablespoons + 1.5 tablespoons mild-flavored honey, divided
- 1 cup full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 cup unsweetened original almond milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pound strawberries
By using both kinds of milk, they cancel each other out and you don’t really taste either one. Not too almond-y, not too coconut-y.
Equipment:
- an ice cream maker
- a cutting board
- a chef’s knife
- a paring knife
- a blender
- a small saucepan
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- a spatula (the kind for stirring, not flipping)
- 2 medium mixing bowls
- a whisk
- a fine-mesh sieve
- airtight jars or containers
How to make this dairy-free gelato recipe
This Dairy-Free Rhubarb Gelato is the perfect way to stretch this vegetable (yes, it’s technically a veggie) well into the summer. So I blend the rhubarb so you get is flavor in every bite:
- Slice the rhubarb and add it to a saucepan with a little salt. It will release moisture and cook down until mushy. Add it to a blender.
- Heat the milks, honey and salt until the honey dissolves.
- Now you temper the eggs yolks to make sure you don’t scramble them. While whisking the yolks, slowly drizzle in the warm milk mixture. Once you’ve drizzled in about half the milk, add the yolk mixture to the remaining milk in the saucepan. Simmer until slightly reduced and thickened.
- Strain into the blender with the rhubarb and blend until smooth. Or, if you want a slightly chunky texture, blend quickly just until everything is barely combined.
- Let cool to room temperature and then chill until cold.
- Churn in your ice cream maker.
You can then immediately enjoy it while it has a soft-serve texture. Or you can freeze it until it’s harder. Just be sure to take it out of the freezer at least 10 minutes before serving so it’s not rock hard.
What’s the difference between gelato and ice cream?
Good question! In short, 3 things:
- Gelato contains less butterfat by using a different fat:cream ratio than ice cream. Fat coats the tongue, subtly inhibiting our ability to taste flavors. So, less fat = more flavor.
- Gelato has less air whipped into it. Ice cream can have different levels of air whipped in and will be labeled accordingly. With less air taking up valuable space, gelato is denser = more flavorful.
- Gelato is served at a slightly warmer temperature. It should still be cold, obviously, just not as cold as ice cream. It gets harder to taste flavors the colder something is, therefore less cold = more flavor.
Can you tell which one I prefer? I mean, I would never turn down rhubarb ice cream. But I aimed for more of a gelato texture here to make sure you’re getting as much flavor as possible from your ingredients.
Is this vegan?
Unfortunately, no. It is dairy-free (and therefore lactose-free) but I include egg yolks. I’m a big fan of custard-based gelatos and ice creams.
There are gelatos that don’t have eggs but that didn’t work for me here. Coconut milk ice cream without yolks will freeze into a really hard block, plus it can develop a lot of ice crystals and feel gritty.
The only way I think you can really avoid these problems is to add yolks for a softer, creamier texture.
What if I don’t have an ice cream maker?
That’s okay! I’m lucky enough to have the ice cream attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer and it works wonderfully. Or this stand-alone Cuisinart model works well, too. With either one you’ll have to freeze the bowl for at least 24 hours in advance. I’m not good at remembering things like that so I just leave my bowl in my freezer all year round. It’s ready to go when I am! Plus I can throw bags of frozen veggies or other things in it so I can still efficiently use the space.
But if you don’t have an ice cream maker, I include instructions for what to do. I have to be honest, the texture won’t be exactly the same, but it’ll be pretty close. And more importantly, it’ll still be delicious.
Other recipes you might like:
- Easy Rhubarb Sauce (Paleo, vegan)
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (Paleo, gluten-free)
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie (Paleo, dairy-free)
- Strawberry Shortcake (Paleo, gluten-free)
- Chocolate Ricotta Pudding
Dairy-Free Rhubarb Gelato with Easy Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
For the gelato:
- ¾ pound (12 oz.) fresh rhubarb (if using frozen, see notes)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- 5 tablespoons honey, divided
- 1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
- 1 cup full-fat unsweetened canned coconut milk
- 3 egg yolks (freeze the whites to use for something else)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the sauce:
- 1 lb. strawberries
- 1½ tablespoons honey
Instructions
For the gelato:
- Be sure to freeze your ice cream machine's bowl at least 24 hours in advance, if necessary.
- If using fresh rhubarb, trim the ends and slice it crosswise into 1/2" pieces (see notes for frozen rhubarb).
- Add rhubarb to a dry, cold, small saucepan with 1/4 tsp. salt. Turn the heat to medium and stir occasionally. When the rhubarb is mushy, stir in 2 tablespoons honey and scrape it all into a blender.
- Wipe out the saucepan. Add the almond milk, coconut milk, 3 tablespoons honey and 1/4 tsp. salt to the saucepan and put it over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the honey melts evenly into the milk. Turn off the heat.
- Whisk the 3 eggs yolks in a heavy medium bowl. Very carefully, begin to drizzle the warm milk mixture into the bowl as you continue to whisk the yolks. (This will temper the yolks so they come up to the same temperature as the milk; if you combined everything at once the yolks would get scrambled.) Once you've drizzled in about half the milk mixture, pour it all back into the saucepan and whisk until it's all blended.
- Place the saucepan over medium/medium-low heat so it just barely simmers. Reduce the custard so it thickens, about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You might see bits of milk but that's okay.
- Place a fine-mesh sieve over the blender jar (do not skip this step!) and pour the custard into the blender with the rhubarb. Discard the bits in the sieve. Add the vanilla. Blend the milk and rhubarb until smooth and pour into airtight jars/containers.
- Let the rhubarb custard cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until totally cold, about 3 hours but overnight is fine.
- Add the chilled custard to your ice cream machine and process per the manufacturer's instructions. You can eat it right away when it's at more of a soft-serve texture. Or freeze until, you know, frozen, about 2-3 hours. (I like to add plastic wrap directly to the surface of the gelato to help keep out air before putting the lid on.) To serve, let sit on the counter for about 10 minutes to soften.
For the sauce:
- Hull the strawberries and chop into a medium dice. Add to a bowl and stir in the honey. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes so the strawberries release their juices. If you like, you can quickly blend them for a thicker, chunkier sauce (as seen in the photos). Stir again and pour over the gelato or anything your little heart desires. Makes approx. 2 cups.
Notes
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34 thoughts on “Dairy-Free Rhubarb Gelato with Easy Strawberry Sauce”
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Have you tried this recipe with unsweetened oatmilk instead of the almond?
I have not. I’ve never tried cooking/baking with oatmilk.
Hi there, would this recipe work if I subbed raw whole milk for both the nondairy milks? Will it still be creamy enough without additional cream or full fat coconut milk? Thanks!
Hi Katy,
Yes, I think that would work and be delicious. It would definitely still be very creamy. Let me know how it goes!
I got so excited the other day, because I found rhubarb at a local market (the season is just too short!) so I bought it without knowing how I was going to use it yet and I’m thinking I’ll definitely have to give this a try!! Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Oh, cool! Yeah, I’m still seeing rhubarb at my grocery store which is very unusual. Let me know what you think.
I won’t be blinking the whole season because rhubarbs are amazing. And I should better hurry to try this recipe because it feels like I won’t last long without blinking 🙂 Strawberry and rhubarb are the best!
Good luck not blinking – it might get uncomfortable but it’s worth it. 😉
Homemade ice cream is always much better than store bought! I love this version with rhubarb and of cause the strawberry sauce, yum!
It’s so true!
You had me at strawberry sauce. It is the best sauce for ice cream!
I agree!
Rhubarb & strawberry, I love this flavor combo! Such a genius idea for ice cream! OMG, a scoop of this on a strawberry rhubarb pie would be heaven!
You’re so right! Or even just strawberry pie. Ooh, the possibilities…
Would have never thought of using rhubarb for ice cream. What an idea
Thanks! It works out quite well.
Love language!! All strawberry rhubarb combos I just can’t get enough of, what a delicious way to enjoy it!!!
Yes! I love all the strawberry/rhubarb combos, too. 🙂
This gelato is exactly what I need to cool off during these hot days. I now have a store close to me that sells rhubarb and I am looking forward to trying this recipe.
Yep, perfect for summer! Glad you can get some rhubarb!
I can’t believe I still have never cooked with rhubarb before. This gelato looks so gorgeous and delicious! I think this may be my first rhubarb recipe.
It makes such a brief appearance every spring/summer that it’s hard to get sometimes! Hope you enjoy!
My parents have rhubarb growing wild in their back yard… I can’t wait to go pick some and make this delicious gelato. Thank you for a dairy-free recipe with minimal added sugar!
No way – they’re so lucky! That is so cool.
confession: I have never tried rhubarb. This yummy-sounding treat sounds like the perfect introduction!
No judgement here! I don’t think I had it growing up but I can’t remember when I first tried it as an adult.
I’m so excited to try this out, I just love rhubarb and have an absolute ton of it right now!
I’m so jealous! This is a great way to still have something rhubarb-y after its season is over.
Drooling over this gelato!! Using the egg yolks makes so much sense, never thought to add those!
Thanks! They’re not absolutely necessary but for me they make a big difference.
I’m all for gelato, too! Most definitely. And is it rhubarb season now?! I’m so out of touch. I posted a recipe using it last month and was freaking out because I thought I had missed the season. Whoops. 😀
Usually it’s May/early June but due to storms farmers had to push their planting schedule back a bit. I’m still seeing rhubarb at the farmers market which is VERY weird for the end of June.
Rhubarb in gelato is so underrated! Loved this recipe. Thank you!
It so is! Thanks!