Strawberry Ice Cream

There’s no better way to celebrate summer than with ice cream. This strawberry ice cream recipe does not disappoint. Using ripe strawberries and a few other simple ingredients, you can have a fresh strawberry ice cream for dessert worth of an ice cream parlor.

This Philadelphia-style ice cream skips the custard base entirely, which means no tempering eggs on the stovetop. Just macerate the strawberries, blend everything together, chill, and churn.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Macerating intensifies the flavor. Letting the strawberries sit with sugar draws out their juices and makes the strawberry taste even stronger.
• No eggs, no custard. This Philadelphia-style ice cream skips the stovetop entirely. Just blend everything, chill, and churn. The natural pectin in strawberries thickens the base, so you get a smooth, creamy texture.
• Naturally gluten-free. Made with 7 simple ingredients.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Strawberries – For best results, use in-season fresh strawberries. If it’s out of season, use frozen strawberries instead as they’re picked at the height of their ripeness. To use frozen strawberries, let them thaw completely and drain them before proceeding with the recipe.
• Lemon Juice – Use fresh lemon juice from a lemon. You can also add some lemon zest if you’d like. One lemon typically yields 2-3 tablespoons of juice.
• Whole Milk – Use whole milk to make a super creamy ice cream. If you use skim milk, 1% milk, or lower fat milks it will throw off the fat ratio and result in a thinner, icier ice cream
• Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract for best results, not imitation vanilla extract. You can also add vanilla bean for flecks in the finished ice cream.
• Granulated Sugar: The recipe divides the sugar between macerating the strawberries and sweetening the base.

Strawberry Season Matters

If strawberries are in season, use fresh strawberries for this recipe. If it is not strawberry season, use frozen strawberries instead for best flavor.

Zimeb is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Equipment

For this recipe, the only special equipment you’ll need is an ice cream machine. I have two ice cream makers in my kitchen that I use regularly for making ice cream. I use both my Cuisinart ice cream maker and my Breville compressor ice cream maker.

The Cuisinart ICE30BC is a 2 quart ice cream maker that churns ice cream using a cold ice cream bowl. You will need to freeze the bowl for at least 24 hours before churning, otherwise the ice cream will not solidify. I typically will churn the ice cream for about 25 minutes in this ice cream maker.

The Breville Smart Scoop BCI600XL Ice Cream Maker is a compression ice cream maker that has a built-in compressor to constantly cool the ice cream as it churns. You do not need to pre-chill the ice cream bowl for this machine, or any compression ice cream maker.

I’ve had my Cuisinart ice cream maker for over 12 years and it’s still working great, so that’s the one I will typically recommend you use and start with. The Breville compression ice cream maker is great if you are short on freezer space or are making multiple batches of ice cream in a day and can’t wait between churns for the bowl to freeze. However, since it is a compressor ice cream maker, it is much more of an investment.

Step-by-Step instructions

This strawberry ice cream recipe is very easy to make at home!

Follow the step-by-step instructions below with matching pictures to help you make this ice cream recipe perfectly every time.

For the ingredient list with measurements, full instructions, printable recipe, and additional notes, please scroll down to the recipe card.

Add strawberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice to a bowl. Stir together. Let the strawberry mixture sit at room temperature for an hour to let the strawberry juices release. Add the macerated strawberries to a food processor. Process until smooth. Add the strawberry puree to a bowl with the remaining sugar, whole milk, heavy cream, salt and vanilla. Stir until combined. Refrigerate for 2 hours to let the mixture chill and thicken. Churn strawberry ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the machine’s instructions. Spoon the churned ice cream into a loaf pan or shallow container. Let freeze for 3 hours. Let sit at room temperature for a few minutes before scooping and serving.

Recipe FAQs

Can you use frozen strawberries instead of fresh?

Yes, you can use frozen strawberries instead of fresh strawberries. In fact, if strawberries are not in season, I’d suggest using frozen strawberries as they’ll have more flavor. To use frozen strawberries, let them thaw and then strain them before proceeding with the recipe as frozen strawberries will have more moisture than fresh strawberries.

Can I use any milk?

This recipe uses heavy whipping cream and whole milk which helps it get the proper fat content ratio. I do not recommend substituting either as it will change the fat content.

Is strawberry ice cream gluten-free?

This recipe is naturally gluten-free as written. You can serve it with store-bought gluten-free ice cream cones. As always, check all ingredients to be sure that they are in fact gluten-free. Sometimes products are made on the same manufacturing lines as gluten which is something to watch for if you have celiac disease or a gluten allergy.

Expert Tips

• Chill the base. Even though this is a Philadelphia-style ice cream (no custard), you still need to chill the base for 2 hours before churning since the macerated strawberries are at room temperature.
• Use ripe strawberries. The riper the strawberries, the more flavor they’ll have. Look for deep red berries with no white or green spots.
• Freeze the ice cream bowl. If using a Cuisinart-style ice cream maker, freeze the bowl for at least 24 hours before churning.
• Let it soften before scooping. Homemade ice cream freezes harder than store-bought. Let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before scooping.
• Prevent ice crystals. Press a piece of parchment paper directly on top of the ice cream before sealing the container to prevent ice crystals from forming.

Storage Instructions

Freezer: Store in an airtight container with parchment paper pressed directly on the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for up to 3 weeks. For best texture, store in pint-sized containers.

Serving: Let ice cream sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before scooping for easier serving.

Serving Suggestions

Strawberry ice cream is great served in a bowl or in a gluten-free ice cream cone. However, you can take this ice cream to the next level, too!

Make an ice cream sundae with a few scoops of this strawberry ice cream and a drizzle of my homemade strawberry coulis . Make a peanut butter and jelly ice cream sandwich by sandwiching a scoop of ice cream between two of my flourless peanut butter cookies .

Make a brownie sundae using my almond flour brownies recipe and drizzle with some chocolate sauce and top with macerated strawberries . Serve a scoop over my gluten-free strawberry shortcake recipe for a frozen take on the summer classic.