Peach & Vanilla Frozen Greek Yogurt

What's the best way to enjoy the season's warm weather and juicy, fresh peaches? With peach frozen greek yogurt! And this particular frozen yogurt recipe is made with vanilla greek yogurt, which is extra creamy and tangy. As we hit the peak of the stone fruit season, fresh peaches are everywhere right now and I am finding new ways to indulge. This peach frozen greek yogurt recipe uses fresh peaches, perfect for celebrating the season. Just throw the ingredients into a blender then churn in an ice cream maker for easy, creamy, and refreshing peach frozen greek yogurt!

While creating this peach frozen greek yogurt recipe, I had to carefully balance my role as a Chef and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Culinary school taught me the secret of crafting velvety scoopable ice cream - spoiler alert, it's a lot of heavy cream! And the Dietitian in me knows that too much of a good creamy, delicious, and rich thing is not exactly a healthy choice. But the ingredients you choose greatly affect the consistency of the ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Cutting the calories and fat in a frozen greek yogurt recipe makes the consistency icy and slushy. On the other hand, the perfect frozen greek yogurt recipe requires heavy cream, which is also really high in calories and fat. It's a double edge sword! Frozen dairy based desserts also have a delicate balance of fat and sugar, both of which work together to lower the amount of grainy ice crystals that can form. Heavy cream and whole fat milk have less water than skim or 2% fat milk, which is why using such high fat ingredients is best - they form less ice crystal.

So that's the 'healthy' frozen greek yogurt conundrum! In the end, I came up with the perfect peach frozen greek yogurt recipe that is both healthy and indulgent. One part health conscious and one part guilty pleasure - because hey, it's dessert!

Using an ice cream maker greatly increases the texture of your frozen greek yogurt. I tested this recipe with and without the ice cream maker and using the machine made a more superior product. Although, you technically can go without and freeze the peach greek yogurt without the machine, I just don't recommend it - the consistency is much more dense and icy. If you don't already have one, I would highly recommend you invest in an ice cream maker. It's a frozen dessert game changer!

Peach & Vanilla Frozen Greek Yogurt with Lemon Zest

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

This peach frozen greek yogurt has been lightened up while still maintaining that creamy, scoopable consistency we know and love. The flavors from the peaches and dusting of lemon zest are refreshing and tangy. Just throw your ingredients into the blender, then using an ice cream machine, churn some frozen greek yogurt goodness!

• Author: Michele Sidorenkov, RDN
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 cups ice cream 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Freezing
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

½ cup sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 - 5.3 oz container of 0% fat vanilla greek yogurt

2 medium whole peaches, pitted and roughly chopped

zest from one medium lemon (about 2 loosely packed teaspoons)

Optional toppings: Fresh peach slices and lemon zest

Instructions

1. Prepare your ice cream machine the night before by freezing your bowl according to the instructions.
2. Place sugar, whole milk, heavy cream, vanilla greek yogurt, roughly chopped peaches, and lemon zest into a blender and blend for 30-45 seconds. Ensure that the sugar has completely dissolved. Place blended peach and yogurt mixture in a covered bowl and chill overnight.
3. Prepare your ice cream according to the machine instructions. After running the peach greek yogurt mixture through the ice cream machine, transfer your frozen dessert to a freezer safe bowl and let sit in the freezer for 2-3 hours to harden. Enjoy this recipe within 7 days - it is not like store bought ice cream and gets harder and more icy overtime. Thaw out on the counter to soften before serving if needed.
4. Optional toppings: Peach slices and lemon zest

Notes

• It is recommended you do steps 1 and 2 at the same time the night before.
• I used Siggi's 0% vanilla greek yogurt for this recipe. If using another type of greek yogurt, note there could be a change in the frozen greek yogurt consistency or texture.
• If the fresh peaches are really juicy while chopping, pat them dry to eliminate excess juice. The extra juice could increase the ice crystals and slushy texture when freezing.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: ½ cup
• Calories: 172
• Sodium: 32.5mg
• Fat: 12g
• Saturated Fat: 7.5g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 13g
• Protein: 4g
• Cholesterol: 46mg

Keywords: Peach frozen yogurt, healthy peach ice cream, greek yogurt ice cream

Get your scoop on this peach season! Let the refreshing peach and lemon zest flavors cool off your pallet with this (semi) indulgent frozen dessert. This recipe was created keeping both texture and calories in mind, so you can enjoy your creamy dessert without sacrificing the consistency.

How are you enjoying peaches this season?