Homemade strawberry ice cream using simple ingredients and sun-ripened strawberries for a fresh strawberry flavor. So delicious, so creamy, and so good!
Don’t have an ice cream maker? You might like our no-churn ice cream recipes: chocolate toasted coconut ice cream, no-churn bubble gum ice cream, or no-churn cake batter ice cream!
It’s strawberry season here in Virginia, and we’ve been busy making delicious recipes with our freshly picked berries! Fresh strawberry ice cream tastes like strawberries and cream---exactly what it's made from!
Why I Like This Recipe
- Simple ingredients. Just the good stuff, no artificial flavors. It tastes like fresh strawberries because that's exactly what it's made out of!
- Easy to make. This recipe is easy to prep with your ice cream maker. We received an older version of this ice cream maker as a wedding gift 19 years ago, and it still works like a charm. You can make so many different ice creams in it (no-churn, chilled custard, and sorbet varieties). Just process it in the ice cream maker according to the instruction manual.
- Soft serve or scoopable. You can eat it soft serve straight from the ice cream maker, or allow it to freeze for a few hours and scoop it into a cup or cone. To really take it up a notch, sprinkle homemade granola on top!
Jump to:
What Others Are Saying
I love how simple this ice cream is. I also love strawberry ice cream, so this is a win-win.---Amy
🍓 Strawberry Ice Cream Tips
- How to customize the texture: The amount of strawberries that you use and the texture that you achieve are completely up to you! I generally add 1 ½ cups - 2 cups of mashed or blended strawberries.
- How to get the most flavor: You'll get the most flavor by sprinkling the mashed berries with sugar and lemon juice and letting it sit at room temperature until nice and juicy (30-60 minutes).
- Avoid large chunks of fruit. Strawberries are delicious as slices or bite-sized pieces, but frozen strawberries are harder to bite and aren't as flavorful. Mashing or blending works best, and then toss in a handful of tiny bits of strawberries for a few bits throughout.
🥣 Recipe Ingredients
- Strawberries: To get the most out of the strawberries, you'll need to blend them. This brings out the juices and colors the ice cream without food coloring!
- Heavy cream: I've made this recipe with milk and skipped the cream, and it's delicious, but just doesn't set up the same. A combination of milk and cream works well.
- Sugar: Strawberries are already sweet, but not quite sweet enough to stand alone in this recipe.
- Milk: Whole milk works best, but 2% can be used as well.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
👩🍳 How To Make Strawberry Ice Cream
- Step 1: Mash strawberries with a potato masher in a large bowl (or pulse in a blender) and sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over them. Add lemon juice. Stir. Let stand for 30-60 minutes.
- Step 2: Mix whipping cream, remaining sugar, and milk together.
- Step 3: Add vanilla and strawberries.
- Step 4: Pour mixture into ice cream maker. Process the ice cream as directed in the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Step 5: When the ice cream is the consistency of frozen yogurt, remove it and spoon it into a loaf pan or glass dish. For my machine, this takes about 20 minutes.
Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream FAQs
You can also use frozen strawberries if you'd like. Let them thaw, then chop and blend as directed in the recipe.
Vodka/alcohol will aid in preventing ice cream from freezing HARD, keeping it more stoppable, but I'm not sure how much you'd need for it to make a difference. My homemade vanilla extract is made from vanilla beans and vodka so adding a splash certainly doesn't hurt.
If stored in an airtight container, to prevent freezer burn, strawberry ice cream will stay fresh for 2-3 weeks in the freezer.
More Ice Cream Recipes To Make
MADE THIS RECIPE AND LOVED IT? 💛 Please leave a STAR rating and COMMENT below! Post it to Facebook or Pinterest to easily share with friends!
Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups mashed/blended strawberries
- 1 cup sugar divided
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Blend strawberries and sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over them. Add lemon juice. Stir. Let stand for 30-60 minutes or until nice and juicy.
- Combine heavy whipping cream, milk, remaining sugar, vanilla, and blended strawberries. Pour the mixture into the freezer bowl of an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.
- Enjoy right away as soft serve ice cream or transfer mixture to a freezer dish and freeze for 3-4 hours for scoopable ice cream.
Notes
- Avoid large chunks of fruit. Strawberries are delicious as slices or bite-sized pieces, but frozen strawberries are harder to bite and aren't as flavorful. Mashing or blending works best, and then toss in a handful of tiny bits of strawberries for a few bits throughout.
- Store leftover ice cream in a freezer-safe container with a lid.
Brandy says
This ice cream tastes so fresh! I like that I don't need to heat up the mixture or make a custard base.
Miz Helen says
Your Homemade Strawberry ice Cream looks delicious! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
Dori says
So glad I found your blog on The Thrifty Home.
Brandy says
Thank you, Dori! Welcome! 🙂
Amy says
I love how simple this ice cream is. I also love strawberry ice cream, so this is a win-win.
Michele Morin says
I love all things ice cream! What a great collection of recipes!
Allison @ The Golden Sycamore says
Yummm!! My daughter would love this!
Stacy says
I should stop looking on your blog. My list of things I "need" keeps getting longer. Donut pan, ice cream maker, etc. Lol. It all looks so good. Especially ice cream for the summer- and I love that this kind doesn't need cream, just whole milk.
Shannah @ Just Us Four says
This looks so yummy! There is nothing better than ice cream during summer months.
Wendy says
Mmm... looks yummy! I totally need an ice cream machine (I know, I know, you can make it without one, but still.....) 🙂