Air Fryer Crispy Rice Ice Cream Sandwiches
This air fryer crispy rice ice cream sandwich recipe is a modern twist on a classic dessert, combining lightly sweet, crispy rice layers with rich, cold ice cream. Easy to make and customizable with toppings, it’s a crowd-pleasing dessert everyone will love.
Servings: 9 sandwiches
Ingredients
For the Crispy Rice Disks
- 1 cup Uncooked Calrose rice or short-grain white rice
- 1½ cups Water
- 2 tablespoons Granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- Cooking oil spray
For Assembling
- Ice cream of your choice
Optional Toppings and Finishes
- Sesame seeds
- Crushed nuts peanuts, almonds,or pistachios
- Mini chocolate chips
- Melted chocolate for drizzling
- Caramel sauce for drizzling
Instructions
- Add rice and 1½ cups of water to a small pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it steam, covered, for 10 minutes until soft and slightly sticky.
- While the rice is still warm, mix in 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Lightly mash with a spoon until the rice becomes slightly sticky but still textured.
- Lightly spray silicone cups or parchment squares with oil. Add 2–3 tablespoons rice and press firmly with the back of a spoon or oiled fingers to form thin disks.
- Place the disks in the air fryer and cook at 375°F for 10–12 minutes, until golden and crispy. Let cool for about 10 minutes so they firm up.
- Spread softened ice cream about ¾ inch thick in a parchment-lined container and freeze until firm, about 1–2 hours, then cut into pieces to match the rice disks. Another option is scooping about 2 tablespoons of ice cream per sandwich.
- Place ice cream between two crispy rice disks and press gently.
- Freeze the assembled sandwiches for 30–45 minutes until firm.
- Drizzle with chocolate or roll the edges in sesame seeds, crushed nuts, or mini chocolate chips if desired.
Notes
- The rice is everything. Do not try this recipe with long-grain rice. It must be short-grain, sticky rice like Calrose or sushi rice. That starch content is what holds the disks together and gives them their satisfying texture once air-fried.
- Do not over-crisp the rice disks. This is the most common mistake. If the disks cook too long and become rock hard, they will be impossible to bite through once frozen. You want golden and crispy, not dark and brittle. Start checking at the 10-minute mark.
- Chill the rice mixture before pressing if it becomes too sticky to handle. A few minutes in the fridge will make it easier to press into the molds cleanly.
- Soften the ice cream just enough, but not too much. You want it soft enough to spread or scoop easily, but not so melted that it runs out the sides. Five to ten minutes out of the freezer is usually perfect.
- Let them sit before you eat them. When you take the sandwiches out of the freezer, keep them on the counter for 5 minutes before biting in. The rice disks need just a little time to soften slightly so they are crispy but not hard. Going straight from frozen to bite is going to be tough on your teeth.
Nutrition
Serving: 9sandwiches | Calories: 14kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 0.002g | Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 0.1mg | Fiber: 0.01g | Sugar: 3g | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.01mg