Give Your Boring Ice Cream A Kick With One Spicy Snack

To fans of the flavor, vanilla ice cream is anything but plain, but eating it the same way over and over can get boring. If you're looking to kick things up a notch, there's one spicy snack that stands out as a topping: wasabi peas.

Much like the trend of spicing up vanilla ice cream with Tajín, crunchy wasabi peas add a touch of salty heat to your cool, creamy dessert, creating a marvelously unique flavor profile that is both sharp and sweet. Simply put a handful of wasabi peas in a plastic bag, pound them into a fine powder, and sprinkle it over your treat for a combination that is as invigorating as it is delicious. If you prefer a bit of crunch to complement the creaminess of your ice cream, feel free to pound or grind the peas to a coarser texture.

Powdered wasabi peas are also an excellent way to add flavor to three-ingredient, no-churn ice cream. Astound the taste buds of your dinner guests by mixing some of the powdered peas into the cream before whipping it — just be careful not to add too much! You want just a touch of savory sharpness to enliven the palate. And if you fall in love with this combo, don't stop the party at just peas. Transform your wasabi-vanilla ice cream with some unconventional sundae toppings that pair well with the nose-clearing spice.

When pairing additional toppings with wasabi peas, consider two key factors: the heat of your peas, and how finely they've been ground. If you drop the peas in whole, you might want to skip firmer ingredients like nuts, as the chunkiness of both ingredients can ruin the ice cream's creaminess. If you've ground them into powder, adding more dried seasonings could overpower your ice cream with too many different flavors and leave you coughing up aromatic clouds, reminiscent of the infamous cinnamon challenge.

For small bowls of powerful, unforgettable flavor, try topping your ice cream with chili crisp. The savory blend of wasabi peas and hot sauce makes for a surprisingly hearty dessert that's a perfect follow-up to a light dinner. It may seem like the cold of the ice cream and the heat of the toppings would clash, but it actually creates a bold dichotomy of flavors and temperatures that work strangely well together.

If you want something a bit subtler, try adding a drizzle of honey and just a smidge of minced basil to add some bright sweetness and soft herbal notes. Combined with the heat of wasabi peas, this creates a diverse range of flavors that uses vanilla ice cream like a blank canvas! Honey and spice are no strangers to each other, and the headiness of basil complements the rich undertones of vanilla perfectly.