Grapefruit Basil Sorbet
Celebrating the new year with a treat you can feel good about eating, Grapefruit Basil Sorbet.
Happy 2016! I hope I find you fully recovered from your New Year’s Eve party, and another year healthier, wealthier, and wiser.
I’m refreshed and ready to dive into a new year of fabulous dishes, accompanied by butt-busting workouts!
For me, comforting holiday dishes generally equal extra curves. So I’ve vowed to clean up my act, with health conscious meals over the next fews weeks… And pick up my workouts where I left off in early December.
The only problem is, I need dessert. Like air.
I’m not going to tell you that I will completely eliminate sweets. It’s just not possible.
Solution? Lighter, leaner treats. I’ll just think of it as a personal challenge this month.
My sweet hubby got me a new ice cream machine for Christmas. Our old machine bit the dust last spring and I managed to make it through the summer and fall without one.
We decided to give it a spin, starting with a light lemon sorbet. Only, there were just 2 lemons in the fridge. Not nearly enough for sorbet.
Instead we used freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, and HOLY HEAVEN, was it good! Dare I say better than plain lemon sorbet?
This delightfully addictive grapefruit basil sorbet offers a slightly bitter and tart bite, balanced by fresh sweet basil leaves.
It makes your tongue dance a little jig! In fact, Grapefruit Basil Sorbet is so lovely, I would consider giving up chocolate for it. (Please don’t hold me to that.)
Did you know grapefruit helps shrink your stomach, so you feel full?!
Grapefruit Basil Sorbet is fat free, dairy free, gluten free, vegan, utterly delicious, and tricks you into feeling full. You can even make a paleo version by using coconut palm sugar.
You can enjoy it all month when you need a little sweet bite to get you through your day of salads. I’d say that’s a win on all levels.
Take that, January diet.
Grapefruit Basil Sorbet
Ingredients
- 4 large ruby red grapefruits, juiced
- 2 cups water
- 1 3/4 cups organic cane sugar or palm sugar
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 1 cup basil leaves, packed
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Once boiling, add the lemon zest, basil leaves and salt. Stir, remove from heat, and cover. Steep the basil leaves in the simple syrup for at least 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the lemon juice to a 4-cup measuring pitcher. Juice the grapefruits into the pitcher until you’ve measured 3 cups of combined juices.
- Strain the simple syrup and discard the basil leaves. Then mix the syrup with the juice. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours (or to speed up, put in the freezer for 1 hour.)
- Pour the sorbet mixture into an electric ice cream maker. Turn on and mix for 20+ minutes, until the mixture reaches a “soft serve” consistency.
- Eat the sorbet immediately, or put in an airtight container and freeze. After frozen, allow the sorbet to sit out for 10-15 minutes to soften before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Looking for more healthy treats? Try these!
Paleo Nut Bars with Chocolate Drizzle
Dessert is like air for me too!;) What a wonderful gift. I got a machine this fall for my bday and have loved experimenting with new flavors. I love this combo!
Ooh, healthy, refreshing yumminess! Your sorbet sounds so good and seasonally appropriate too:) Grapefruits are so nice here in Florida right now…
Yum! I don't typically like plain grapefruits because they're too tart for me, but I bet this has just the right amount of sweetness to be fantastic.
I'm intrigued! The idea of grapefruit anything after weeks of holiday cocktails and sugar sounds like it could strip my palate back to some semblance of normalcy (and so refreshingly so). I've seen recipes for more exotic frozen recipes like this but have not dipped my toe in that water yet. You've given me motivation!
This will be the palate cleanser at our next dinnner party. Beautiful sorbet!
You're going to love that ice cream maker. I use mine quite a bit and it's so much better than bought. Happy New Year.
If this is any indication, I cannot wait to see what else you make with your new ice cream maker. This sounds fantabulous!!
Ooh, I like this lighter dessert…what a marvelous flavor combination!
A great gift!!!
This sorbet looks wonderful, it's what i need right now!!!
I bet this tastes INCREDIBLE! Extra points for hubby since he got you a new ice cream maker for Christmas, well done. :) I think I can use this recipe to get my new years resolutions started too!
Um….I need to make this. Basil is like most people's ranch. I put it in, and on, just about everything. This is the perfect lite treat to start out the New Year. Thanks!!
I also need to reduce desserts but could not completely give up on them…also because otherwise I should stop blogging. I like the idea of sorbets. I'll have to put the ice cream maker in my wish list. Happy new year!
Oh that looks wonderful. Such a great combination of zest and zing. Perfect healthier dessert to get the new year off right. Yay for hubs buying the ice cream maker!
oh la la love this love grapefruit fab recipe could I add it to a FL citrus blog and link to you?
rebecca
rebeccasubbiah at yahoo dot com
This sounds divine Sommer! I am big time craving citrus, grapefruit sorbet is right up my alley!
ok – this sounds SOOOOO good to me RIGHT NOW! i love sorbet and i love you! :)
I'm so with you – I need need dessert like air too! I don't know about giving up chocolate for sorbet however :-) I am a little overloaded on rich desserts at the moment, so something light and refreshing like this sounds really appealing right about now.
What a fantastic gift!!! Great delicate flavors…I need dessert, too!