{balsamic roasted strawberry ice cream}

Have you checked out the weekend weather forecast? I see 80’s + sunshine!! You know what that means? It’s finally time to bust out the flip-flops and shorts. You know what else that means? I get to cross a few items off my {spring to-do’s}.

Dinner al fresco
Spruce up the backyard
Farmers Market

and last but certainly not least…..

Homemade strawberry ice cream

But not just any old strawberry ice cream recipe. I need guilt-free. One that I can eat all week and not feel bad about….Ha. Does that even exist?

It sure does!

This ice cream is not only FULL of strawberry chunks, but it’s also gluten-free + dairy-free + has ZERO refined sugars!! Can I get a hell yeah?!?!

I found this recipe on one of my go-to websites for skinny everything recipes, Eat Yourself Skinny. Only one little change. I couldn’t, for the life of me, find the Alessi white balsamic reduction at any local grocery stores.

Safeway – NO. Raley’s – Nope. Nugget – What’s that? Target – Not even close.

What I did find was golden balsamic vinegar. So, I made my own damn reduction! Voila, problem solved!

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Here’s what you’ll need:

2 cups strawberries, halved
2 tablespoons golden balsamic reduction (see below)
4 tablespoons honey, divided
1 1/2 cans full-fat coconut milk (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (any milk will work)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Golden Balsamic Reduction:

Pour 1/2 cup of golden balsamic vinegar into a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Bring the vinegar to a boil. Once vinegar comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally. Once the vinegar has reduced, it will have a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool.

Here’s what you do:

Place the ice cream maker bowl in the freezer 24 hours before. The most important step to ice cream making!!!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, toss strawberries with golden balsamic reduction + 1 tablespoon honey. Transfer to a lined baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.

Stir berries and roast for an additional 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Mash roasted berries with a potato masher, leaving large chunks.

Place coconut milk + almond milk + 3 tablespoons honey + vanilla extract + salt in a blender and blend till smooth. Add strawberries with their juices.

Pour mixture into your frozen ice cream maker bowl.

Churn for about 20 minutes. Or follow your ice cream maker instructions.

And now for the hardest part….patience 🙂

Place ice cream in an airtight container and freeze for 4 hours.

Set ice cream out 30 minutes to soften before you’re ready to serve.

The end result. Yummmm!!!

Best part is the taste. Second best part? The numbers below!!

Nutritional Info (1/2 cup serving):

Calories: 162

Fat: 12.3

Carbs: 14

Protein: 1.5

Sugar: 11

NOTE: make sure you buy the canned coconut milk. Not the kind in the drink section. The two are very different. Canned coconut milk is a rich and creamy substitute for the normal heavy cream ingredient that ice cream recipes typically call for.