Giada De Laurentiis Makes Ice Cream Sandwiches on the Grill for the Ultimate Summer Barbecue Treat

TL; DR: 

• Giada De Laurentiis has a twist on ice cream sandwiches. 
• The Food Network puts gelato between slices of grilled bread. 
• Giada De Laurentiis has other ice cream sandwich recipes.

Food Network stars have all sorts of variations of ice cream sandwiches. Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond has a recipe for an ice cream sandwich cake. Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten uses a store-bought shortcut to make her own version. As for Giada De Laurentiis, the cookbook author puts an Italian spin on the classic summer treat. De Laurentiis’ ice cream sandwiches not only call for gelato but also a grill.

Giada De Laurentiis makes an Italian version of ice cream sandwiches

It wouldn’t be a De Laurentiis recipe without an Italian element. The Food Network star is known for infusing her food with Italian flair, typically ingredients or dishes she grew up eating and loving. And her version of ice cream sandwiches is no different. 

Featured on her Giadzy website, De Laurentiis’ ice cream sandwiches are made with Italian ingredients. The Eat Good, Feel Good author uses vanilla gelato, also known as Italian ice cream. 

But De Laurentiis doesn’t stop there. She spruces it up with chocolate hazelnut candies, suggesting Baci. This is perhaps unsurprising to her longtime fans because De Laurentiis loves chocolate. So much so that she celebrates her birthday with the same Barefoot Contessa chocolate cake.

De Laurentiis’ ice cream sandwiches feature another Italian element in the form of chocolate hazelnut spread. She recommends using Pariana, which, according to the product description, contains nuts from the Piemonte region of northern Italy. A seven-ounce jar costs $16.65 on De Laurentiis’ website. 

While it’s certainly not a must-have to make De Luarentiis’ ice cream sandwiches, Pariana is, however, her pick. So for those who want to make a near-identical version at home, this is the way to do it. 

Finally, dried fruit and nut bread (De Laurentiis uses raisin walnut as an example) rounds out the ingredient list. 

How to make Giada De Laurentiis’ grilled ice cream sandwiches

“We are going to make the best gelato sandwiches ever,” De Laurentiis said on Giada in Italy Season 3. In a bowl, she mixed together softened gelato and chocolate hazelnut candies. The Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef transferred it to the freezer before going to the grill. 

De Laurentiis heated up a grill and put slices of bread on it until they turned golden brown. With the bread slightly charred, she coated each slice with hazelnut spread.

Now for the gelato. De Laurentiis pulled it out of the freezer, putting a scoop on half of the bread slices. Finally, she put the remaining slices on top to create ice cream sandwiches. 

“If I could live on this, I would,” De Laurentiis said as she took a bite. 

Giada De Laurentiis has other versions of the summer treat

Already made De Laurentiis’ grilled ice cream sandwiches or simply don’t want to fire up the barbecue? The Food Network star has other ice cream sandwich recipes that don’t require grilling. 

De Laurentiis has a chocolate peanut butter version made with homemade cookies. Then there is her Frozen S’mores recipe. Finally, there’s De Laurentiis’ spin on her lemon ricotta cookies which get sandwiched between gelato and sorbet.