Strawberry Citrus Granita (paleo, GF)

It’s October 1st and you know what that means…Halloween is coming! Which marks the start of some of the most festive and fun holiday months of the year. It’s my favorite time to bake and to decorate… and to decorate my baking. I couldn’t resist adding a ghost or two to these glasses of Strawberry Citrus Granita.

Now I know this tends to be the time of year for warm baked goods, but there is always a welcome place for cold desserts, especially in my house!

And especially when it’s a dessert that helps to keep those Fall colds away!

This Strawberry Citrus Granita is made out of oranges, strawberries, grapefruit, and lemon. Talk about a lot of Vitamin C.

I’m sure these ghosts, help scare away any oncoming colds too. 😉

Now I need to warn you, you’ll need a juicer AND you’ll need to be home for a few hours in order to make this. Using a juicer really is key.

Otherwise you’ll have to use a strainer and that’s just a pain.

The reason that you need to be home is that you have to mix the granita mixture every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours that it’s in the freezer.

Then you can leave it alone for 4+ hours and return to a glorious citrusy delight.

Once the Strawberry Citrus Granita is ready, you’ll need to use a fork to scrape the surface of the frozen mixture to create the desired shaved ice texture.

I added some coconut cream on top of mine, which was a wonderful decision. I really liked mixing it all together before eating it too, but that’s just me!

If you want to add some coconut whipped cream too, put a can of coconut cream in the fridge before you start making the granita.

Then, right before serving them, take the can out and make the whipped cream. Instructions are below.

This dessert by no means needs coconut whipped cream; it’s fantastic on it’s own. The syrup that results from boiling the juice with the honey adds a wonderful sweetness to the orange, grapefruit, strawberry flavor. I really could eat cups upon cups of this granita all day.

And at around 165 calories a glass (without coconut whipped cream), this Strawberry Citrus Granita is a great healthy dessert option during the holidays. Enjoy!

This recipe was shared on the AIP Recipe Roundtable.                                      

5 from 1 vote

Strawberry Citrus Granitas (paleo, GF)

By: Dominique

Servings: 4

Prep: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

A delicious granita with a festive twist.

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 oranges
• ▢ 1 grapefruit
• ▢ 3/4 of a 16 ounce crate/basket/container of strawberries
• ▢ 1/4 of a lemon
• ▢ 1/4 cup + 1 Tbs honey

Instructions 

• Peel the oranges and grapefruit. Cut the fruit into pieces that will fit into your juicer. Leave the lemon peel on the lemon. ( I really like the Waring Pro Juicer for quick juicing bc it’s so easy to throw into the dishwasher to clean)
• Put the oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, and lemon into a juicer. This should yield about 2 cups of juice. Mix the juice well with a fork.
• Take 1 1/2 cup of the juice and put it into a pot on the stove. Add 1/4 cup +1tbs of the honey to the pot and heat over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
• Then turn the heat off and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of juice. Set the whole thing aside to cool for about 30 minutes.
• Put the liquid into an 8x8x2 pan and put it in the freezer, uncovered for 2 hours. During this 2 hour period, stir the mixture every 30 minutes. Make sure to mix everything together and to scrape the ice from all of the corners.
• Then cover the pan with aluminum foil and let it freeze without stirring for 4 hours (you can leave it in for more than 4 hours, but don’t take it out before).
• Once the 4 hours are up, use a fork to scrape the granita until it flakes and begins to look like shaved ice. If this doesn’t occur, leave it in the freezer for a bit longer. Serve into bowls or parfait glasses and enjoy!

Note- if you want to add coconut whipped cream on top:

• Put a can of coconut cream in the fridge before you start making the granitas.
• Right before serving them, take the can out.
• Take the hardened cream out of the can, leaving the watery liquid behind.
• Put the cream into a bowl.
• Add 1 tbs honey, 1 tbs maple syrup, and 1 tbs of vanilla and mix well with a hand held mixer.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

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