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Chunky Turtle Ice Cream

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This chunky turtle ice cream is made with salted caramel and loaded with toasted pecans, and plenty of chocolate. This delicious ice cream recipe will become your family favourite!

Chunky Turtle Ice Cream in a blue bowl on a red and white napkin with red spoons nearby.

If you are a regular reader you know how much I adore anything “turtle” related. I think I have at least a couple of dozen turtle recipes on the blog. It’s a serious addiction.

As a self-professed ice cream addict, with dozen of ice cream recipes on my site, I can tell you this ice cream will knock your socks off.

Ice cream is something I could make every day and never get tired of. It’s one of the few things I’m content to have a few bites of and not get tempted to eat the whole batch.

Not the case with this ice cream. It is so over the top good I could barely get photos fast enough because I kept gobbling it up while swapping out props.

I will tell you this is not a simple ice cream recipe. It has a complex flavour spectrum, and with that comes some step heavy instructions.

This girl tends to like simple recipes, and while this one is completely worth it in the end, I’ll be honest and say there were some serious curse words flying in my kitchen the day I made this.

The caramel process almost sent me over the edge, it’s a bit more complicated than your average caramel recipe. You will be glad you took the extra steps though. It takes the caramel flavour to a whole new level.

Just be sure to read through it a couple of times so you fully understand all the steps involved. I can assure you it’s worth taking the time to do it the way the author tells you to do it. The flavour will impress the most discerning ice cream aficionado.

Turtle Ice Cream Ingredients:

Be sure to scroll and read the entire recipe card for FULL ingredients and directions!

  • Milk- I used whole milk for this recipe. It’s best for ice cream recipes.
  • Cornstarch- This will help thicken your ice cream base.
  • Sugar- Granulated sugar is the type you should use for this recipe.
  • Heavy Cream- A must for ice cream recipes like this one. You need the higher fat content for recipes like this one.
  • Salt- If you didn’t already know, salt can enhance the sweetness of dessert recipes.
  • Pecans- For this recipes I used salted pecans in the base and unsalted in the toasted pecans. You are adding salt anyway so regular pecans are fine for both.
  • Chocolate- I used semi-sweet but you could use milk or dark chocolate. Personally, I’m a huge fan of milk chocolate.
  • Butter- This will help the roasting process for the pecans.

Turtle Ice Cream Directions:

Be sure to scroll and read the entire recipe card for FULL ingredients and directions!

  1. Fill a bowl with ice and set aside for the ice cream base cooling process.
  2. Make the caramel ice cream base. You are adding milk in stages so please go read the full recipe so you understand the process.
  3. Thicken caramel base. Place in ice bath. Allow to cool.
  4. Place in fridge for 4 hours, or overnight.
  5. Toast the salted pecans in the oven or on the stovetop. Cool.
  6. Remove ice cream base from fridge and transfer to frozen ice cream bowl, then pop that in your ice cream maker.
  7. Churn the ice cream till thick. Fold in pecans and chocolate. Remove ice cream bowl from ice cream maker and pop in the freezer for a minimum of 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
  8. Serve!

Important Notes:

  • The cook time does not reflect all the inactive time.
  • You need two days to make this ice cream.
  • My suggestion is to make the base and the pecans one evening.
  • Churn the ice cream the next morning, allowing it to freeze for the entire day.
  • I made my base one evening, churned it the next day, then froze it all day and overnight. We ate it on the third day.
  • Time this out so you have a minimum of 1 hour prep, 4 hours of chill time, and 4 hours of freezing time.
  • So, the absolute minimum time to make this is 9 hours, 8 of it being inactive.

Chunky Turtle Ice Cream scooped on a platter.

This ice cream is heavenly. The base is worth the effort. I tend to be an impatient cook so I get edgy if things take too long. I have zero patience, not even kidding.

It’s so worth riding the wave while you wonder if you’re messing up the steps. If you get it right it will pay off in spades. I mean look at this ice cream. It’s salty and sweet, with just the right amount of each.

Other Fabulous Turtle Recipes:

Chunky Turtle Ice Cream scooped onto a platter.

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Chunky Turtle Ice Cream in a blue bowl on a red and white napkin with red spoons nearby.
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Chunky Turtle Ice Cream

This chunky turtle ice cream is made with salted caramel and loaded with toasted pecans, and plenty of chocolate. This delicious ice cream recipe will become your family favourite!
Course Dessert
Cuisine Ice Cream
Keyword chocolate ice cream, turtles ice cream
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 10
Calories 416kcal
Author Kim Beaulieu

Ingredients

For the Ice Cream Base:

  • 1.5 cups whole milk, divided
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup salted pecans
  • 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the Salted Pecans:

  • 1 cup unsalted pecan pieces
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Ice Cream Base:

  • Fill a large bowl with ice water. (you are going to use it to cool the cooked mixture so you have a medium sized bowl that fits inside it, test it out ahead of time)
  • In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the whole milk with the cornstarch, whisk it until smooth, and set aside.
  • Measure the sugar into a large, deep saucepan. Place it over medium heat and try not to freak out. Trust the process. Now let the edges start to melt, do not touch it until that starts to happen, no matter how tempting it is. Cook the sugar, stirring frequently and gently, until it starts to brown. You want it to turn a nice amber colour. Once it turns amber, quickly and carefully (caramel bubbles and acts a fool so don't freak out if it starts to bubble up and make some noise) add about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the heavy cream to the saucepan. Remember it's going to bubble and spit, so be careful when doing this step. Stir, the caramel will harden (and you're going to be thinking you ruined but again, trust the process), but it's okay. Add the remaining cream to the saucepan, stirring to combine it.
  • Now pop the saucepan back over medium heat and add the rest of the whole milk (remember you took 2 tablespoons out of it earlier and reserved the rest), stirring while it combines. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes, you want the caramelized sugar to dissolve completely.
  • Remove from the heat and add the cornstarch mixture you set aside earlier, whisking gradually till combined.
  • Return to a boil over moderately high heat until the mixture thickens slightly, this should take about a minute.
  • Pour the mixture into into a medium sized bowl, then whisk in the salt. Place that bowl inside the ice water bath and allow it to cool for about 20 or 25 minutes. Whisk it occasionally as it cools.
  • Now cover the bowl and pop it in your fridge for about 4 hours, or overnight.

For the Salted Pecans:

  • The author calls for roasting them in the oven. I actually did mine on the stove-top since I was cooking something else in my oven. I'll give you both options.
  • Option #1- Oven method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Combine ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Toss to coat the pecans. Spread on a rimmed cookie sheet evenly and pop in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir them once during the cook time. They are done when they are toasted and aromatic. Your house should smell like heaven at the moment they are done. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before adding to ice cream.
  • Option #2- Stove-top method: In a large pan, melt your butter, then toss in the pecans, and sprinkle the salt over top. Cook over medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring the pecans until they are toasted and aromatic. Your house should smell like heaven at the moment they are done. Remove from the stove-top, transfer to a plate and allow them to cool completely before adding them to the ice cream.

Putting it all together:

  • Remove the ice cream base from the fridge. Pour into your ice cream maker (Please ensure your ice cream bowl has been in the freezer and ready for this step! I have two bowls and leave them in my freezer all the time so they are ready for any ice cream emergency.)
  • Churn the ice cream for about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on your particular ice cream maker the time can vary. Most take from about 10 to 20 as a general rule.
  • Fold in the pecans and chocolate as the last step.
  • Cover your ice cream maker bowl, or attachment (whatever you are freezing the ice cream in) with plastic or tinfoil. My method of choice is tinfoil over top, then I wrap an elastic around it, makes it super easy to peek in to check on it, but also seals the top from any air getting in. Just a trick I learned from making way too much ice cream.
  • Allow your ice cream to set up in the freezer for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
  • Serve with a big old "turtle" loving smile.

Video

Notes

Please note the cook time does not reflect all the inactive time. You need two days to make this ice cream. My suggestion is to make the base and the pecans one evening. Then churn the ice cream the next morning, allowing it to freeze for the entire day. I made my base one evening, then churned the next day. Then froze it all day and overnight. Then we ate it on the third day. Just force of habit. I like my ice cream set up really well. So time this out so you have a minimum of 1 hour prep, 4 hours of chill time, and 4 hours of freezing time. So the absolute minimum time to make this is 9 hours, 8 of it being inactive.
Recipe credit to Scoop Adventures by Lindsay Clendaniel. Used with permission by author and editor. I received a copy of Lindsay's book for free before I made the recipe. 

Nutrition

Calories: 416kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 275mg | Potassium: 215mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 718IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1mg

Chunky Turtle Ice Cream scooped on a platter.

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Toodles! xx

Post originally published in 2014.

Updated July 23, 2018 to add video.

Content updated on June 17, 2020.

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Comments

  4. Linda K. says

    Um… any ice cream is my favorite ice cream? Chocolate with cherries. Peach. Vanilla. Anything really. I’m not kidding.

    Reply

  5. Kate | Food Babbles says

    My favorite flavor ice cream is Haagen Dazs White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle! So good. But I gotta tell ya, this ice cream is sure to become a new favorite. Love everything going on here!! I have a major salted caramel addiction so this needs to happen in my kitchen.

    Reply

    • Kim Beaulieu says

      It really is. It’s really a lot of steps but so worth it. I was so impressed, and I’m not easy to impress.

      Reply

  11. Vickie B says

    I love dark chocolate raspberry truffle. Pretty much any kind of ice cream…..vanilla is my least favorite! This chunky turtle looks awesome!

    Reply

  18. Chris says

    This Ice Cream looks fantastic … I love any kind of ice cream actually … one of my favorites is Strawberry because every year my grandmother and I would go pick strawberries and she always made strawberry ice cream for me so it is kind of a “comfort food”. I love cookie dough ice cream … well I love anything with cookie dough.

    Reply

  20. MaryAnn says

    My new fav flavor is one I pinned and made recently called Salted & Buttered Walnut Maple Ice cream. It was so amazingly good, I ate the whole thing by myself. Don’t judge. At least I spread it out over 2 days Haha! Would love to win this ice cream book!

    Reply

    • Kim Beaulieu says

      Ha, I cracked up. I would never judge. I just inhaled a party pack of reeses peanut butter cups. It’s all good.

      Reply

    • Kim Beaulieu says

      Vanilla is good infused with a bit of saffron. I just love it like that. Almond Fudge sounds lovely.

      Reply

  29. Verna Buchanan says

    Although mint chocolate chip is my hands-down fave, there’s no such thing as bad ice cream!! I especially love it when it has gotten melty, then refrozen. I love how those ice cream crystals melt in my mouth! Yum!!!

    Reply

    • Kim Beaulieu says

      Mint chocolate chip is my sis-in-law’s fave. There’s something so comforting about a bowl of ice cream.

      Reply

  33. Jodee Weiland says

    This is one of my favorite flavors and also, Mocha Almond Fudge. I love all the flavors included in each of these…add coffee flavor, I love it even more. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  39. Carol at Wild Goose Tea says

    You made me laugh when you said that you were experienced about evaluating turtle recipes. Wow I am going to have to add you to my reference list for that skill. Laughing here. I gasped when I scroll down on your post and the picture of that ice cream came into view. I am not a turtle recipe expert, but I would say I have evaluating a lot of ice cream—laughing again—-and this is definitely a winner.

    Reply

  40. Simone says

    I’m a lazy ice cream maker… Which is why I usually go for yoghurt ice ream as it is so easy and quick to make compaired to proper ice cream. However… This looks sooooo good that I’m gonna have to get making this really really soon!

    Reply

  42. Nikki says

    schwans used to have a flavor called sweet and salty, it was butter pecan flavored ice cream with caramel and chocolate covered pretzel pieces…nothing compares lol

    Reply

  51. Meri says

    Oh my goodness, thins looks amaze!!! This might be my new favorite… I love traditional Vanilla Bean (homemade) ice cream, but a runner up is homemade cherry chocolate chip…

    Reply

  53. Heidi says

    Hi. I can’t wait to make this tomorrow! One question: when you say you cover your ice cream maker with foil, is that to keep it from melting as it churns? or what?

    Reply

    • Kim Beaulieu says

      I cover it when it sets up in the fridge and the freezer. Usually you mix the ice cream base then pop it in the fridge for an hour, then you churn it, then pop it in the freezer. I find covering it with foil then wrapping an elastic around it the perfect way to keep any ice crystals from forming, or allowing any smells into the ice cream from the fridge. Hope you love it. It’s one of my favourite ice cream recipes.

      Reply

      • Anonymous says

        New to the site. Love it already. There’s a bar to change the servings in the recipe! Have never seen that before. Beings as I live alone, cook just for me usually, that’s most helpful.

        Reply

        • Kim Beaulieu says

          I’m so glad you like the blog. I always love hearing that.

          I’m working on converting all the recipes on the site so they have that bar. It makes it so easy for readers to adjust things. It will probably take me 3 to 6 months to convert over 1000 recipes but I’m determined to rip through them all.

          Reply

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