This homemade Strawberry Ice Cream is an easy no churn ice cream recipe. With great real strawberry flavor and a luscious, creamy texture, you won’t believe how simple this is to make!
Guys. Homemade ice cream is way easier to make than you think it is. No fancy tools needed. You don’t need tons of time to make this. You can have this ice cream literally any time you want! Which, once you try it, will be all the time.
Made with just a few ingredients, and no special equipment, this delicious homemade ice cream is going to quickly become a family favorite!
This is an eggless ice cream recipe, meaning we won’t be taking the time to make a custard base for the ice cream. Instead we will use sweetened condensed milk which will help to add the same creaminess, without all the work. We also use the same technique to make mango ice cream and pineapple ice cream and can be adapted to Raspberry Ice Cream.
How to make Strawberry Ice Cream
Putting it together is easy, but you still need time and to not skip steps. Getting the feel of ice cream maker ice cream with a no churn requires that you beat the whipped cream and fold it in, introducing air to the mixture. It will still take several hours to harden, which clearly can’t be rushed.
Recipe Tip: You can change the texture of your ice cream by varying how much your strawberries are blended. Perfectly pureed strawberries will result in a really smooth ice cream. Large chunks of strawberry tend to freeze really hard, and can lead to ice crystals. You can leave some chunks, but you want them to be smaller crushed pieces.
- Use your food processor or a blender to blitz the strawberries with a little bit of sugar into the desired texture. Some people prefer a smooth texture with all the flavor and others want some chunks, that is up to you.
- In a large bowl, beat together the pureed strawberries, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract with a hand mixer to get it light and fluffy.
- In a second large mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream until you get stiff peaks.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture, being careful not to over-work it and remove all the air you have put it already.
- Gently pour the strawberry ice cream mixture into a 9×5 loaf pan or other similarly sized freezer safe glass or metal container. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the ice cream, and then wrap the container in several layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. This protects your ice cream from developing ice crystals and freezer burn.
- Freeze for 8-12 hour. Allow the ice cream to sit on the counter for 10 minutes or so before serving to help it be nice and scoopable.
Serving Tip: Allow the container to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving. This will help you scoop the ice cream easier, and will help to thaw any ice crystals that might have formed.
Add-Ins & Toppings
You can use the same strawberry ice cream recipe but swap out the strawberry for blueberries or raspberries, too!
Try these mix-ins:
- Chocolate chips
- Chopped pecans or sliced almonds
- Rainbow sprinkles
- Unsweetened coconut flakes
- Swirl in some strawberry jam for even more strawberry flavor
- Optional: If you want your ice cream to have a more vibrant color, you can add in a few drops of red food coloring
Try topping this with fudge sauce!
How to Store Strawberry Ice Cream
Store any un-eaten ice cream in the container you froze it in. Place a piece of parchment paper directly on top of the ice cream, and then wrap the container tightly with plastic wrap, and then again in foil. All these layers will help prevent ice crystals from forming.
The ice cream will be good for about 2 weeks.
Fresh vs. Frozen strawberries
For the best tasting ice cream, you will want to use ripe strawberries. Strawberries are ripe when you can smell them, and they are pink (and not white) when you cut them in half.
You can still make this recipe even when strawberries aren’t in season, though! You can use frozen strawberries! Those are usually picked when they are perfectly in season, and so they will have great taste.
Just make sure you thaw them for about completely on the counter before pureeing. You don’t want to add any extra liquid to the ice cream – extra liquid means ice crystals!
Substitutions
Can I use evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk? No, it won’t be as sweet! Evaporated milk is regular milk that has had 60% of its liquid evaporated. Sweetened condensed milk has been sweetened and has a caramel like flavor to it. You need this to sweeten and flavor the ice cream.
Can I make this strawberry ice cream healthier? Not really. You need a high fat whipping cream and the condensed milk to help form the creamy texture without the ice crystals. Using lower fat products will result in ice crystals. Just enjoy the delicious dessert!
More strawberry recipes:
- Angel Food Strawberry Parfait
- Strawberry Topping
- Fresh Strawberry Cake
- Toasted Marshmallow Strawberries
No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream
Equipment
- Heat Resistant Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh or frozen strawberries*
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 13 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Wash the strawberries and remove the stems. Roughly chop the strawberries and place them into the jar of a food processor or blender.
- Add the granulated sugar to the strawberries and blitz until you have the desired consistency. You could take it totally smooth or leave some pieces of smaller sized strawberries.
- Pour the strawberries into a large bowl and add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Use a hand mixer to whip the ingredients together, about 1 minute and 30 seconds, until well combined and aerated.
- In a second large bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream into stiff peaks, about 3 minutes. Do not over beat the whipped cream or you will end up with butter.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture, one big spoonful at a time. Be gentle to not overmix or to deflate all the air you have added to both the cream and the strawberries.
- Pour the mixture into a freezer safe glass or metal container. A 9×5 loaf pan works perfectly here!
- Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the ice cream mixture and gently press it down to smooth and create contact with the mixture.
- Wrap the container completely in plastic wrap, and then again in aluminum foil.
- Place in the freezer and freeze for 8-12 hours.
- Allow to sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes before scooping.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings!
Notes
Nutrition
Strawberry ice cream is always a hit in my house and this sounds so creamy and delicious. I love that it is no churn too!
I adore the texture of this strawberry ice cream! Those little bites of strawberry tucked inside of the super creamy ice cream is such a wonderful surprise!
I can’t believe how easy was this ice cream to make at home! I don’t have an ice cream machine so I always just ended up buying a tub. Thanks so much for the recipe!
This No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream might just become my new best friend! It looks so creamy and delicious!