It's pecan season y'all! What is better than warm weather and luscious, nutty pecans? Butter pecan ice cream is the creamy, sweet treat of spring and summer of this typically fall flavor. Lucky for us, there are several store-bought butter pecan ice cream flavors to satisfy any craving.
All butter pecan ice cream begins with a rich custard base or ice cream base. Brown sugar, toasted pecans, and butter are all added to give the ice cream its sweet, buttery flavor. Store-bought ice cream will vary slightly in taste and texture due to the ingredients used.
Ice cream is certainly not diet food and the nutritional information for butter pecan ice cream is no exception. One serving size averages 10% of your daily value of carbohydrates. On the plus side, there is a substantial amount of vitamin A, calcium, and potassium. There's minimal vitamin C and dietary fiber, but some is better than none.
We're ranking the best butter pecan ice creams so you know what to purchase for your freezer stash. If you want to make ice cream at home, we're also including a recipe for a delicious DIY butter pecan ice cream.
4. Turkey Hill Butter Pecan
Turkey Hill
This ice cream is made with salted pecan pralines. It has hints of butterscotch and vanilla. The reason is ranked last is the pecans have a slightly bitter texture and the ice cream was also a bit icy, even after sitting out to thaw.
3. Blue Bunny Butter Pecan
Blue Bunny
Blue Bunny is famous for its large selection of ice creams. They make a regular butter pecan and caramel butter pecan praline. Both ice creams have a rich vanilla ice cream base but lacked in the amount of pecans.
2. Great Value Butter Pecan
Great Value
Walmart's brand of ice cream is rich and creamy, and also the most budget-friendly. It has less than half the fat of our number one winner, without sacrificing much on flavor.
1. Haagen-Dazs Butter Pecan
Haagen-Dazs
This was our winner and the most expensive of the bunch. It is creamy, rich, and chocked full of pecans.
It's no surprise it tastes the best because it has some of the highest sugar and fat content. The nutritional facts list over 300 calories for only 2/3 cup. You can feel slightly better knowing it only has 0.5 g of trans fat.
Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe
This homemade ice cream is not only delicious but very simple to make. You'll need an ice cream maker to get a silky creamy textured ice cream.
What makes this recipe unique is the use of browned butter and toasted nuts. The brown butter adds a rich and nutty flavor. Toasting the pecans helps bring out their natural sweetness. The total time to make the ice cream is over 24 hours, but it is worth it. The prep time is about 4 hours, so we suggest making this a few days before you want to eat it.
If you want to make the ice cream more decadent, add in some chocolate chips. This ice cream is great on its own, but is even better served atop a warm brownie with fresh whipped cream.
Get the full recipe here.
