Strawberry Ice Cream
This homemade strawberry ice cream is flavored with strawberries two ways! It’s a simple, no-churn recipe that calls for just six ingredients and is the perfect treat to cool off with this summer.
Strawberry seems like such a simple ice cream flavor, but when it’s made with fresh berries the store-bought stuff doesn’t compare with what you can make at home!
This easy homemade ice cream is infused with strawberry flavor two ways. First, you’ll puree one pound of fresh strawberries then reduce it down on the stove. To really drive home the fresh strawberry flavor, there’s also a little strawberry extract in the ice cream.
You can top this no-churn strawberry ice cream with chocolate magic shell to take this frozen treat into chocolate-covered strawberry territory, or drizzle over some strawberry sauce for even more fresh berry flavor.
Recipe Ingredients
- Strawberries: Strawberries don’t ripen after they’ve been picked, so make sure to pick some that are bright red in color.
- Strawberry Extract: This is optional, but it does help to really enhance the strawberry flavor in the ice cream.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Is thick and creamy in texture. Don’t confuse it with evaporated milk; they’re not the same!
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract will deliver the best flavor.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Should be at least 36% fat. It needs to be whipped to stiff peaks, so an alternative like half and half will not work in this recipe.
- Salt: Enhances the strawberry flavor.
- Red Food Coloring: Optional, but it makes the ice cream more vibrant in color.
How To Make Strawberry Ice Cream
- Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor until smooth.
- Transfer the strawberry puree to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it’s reduced by half. Pour the reduced strawberry puree into a heat-safe dish and let it cool completely.
- Whisk together the cooled strawberry puree, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, strawberry extract, salt, and optional food coloring in a large mixing bowl.
- In another bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture.
- Turn the ice cream into a loaf pan, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of it, then freeze for at least 8 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you may use frozen strawberries. Let them thaw completely and discard any excess liquid before pureeing, then proceed with the recipe as written.
If you like strawberry chunks in your ice cream, feel free to finely chop up a few fresh strawberries and fold them into the ice cream.
Yes, you may omit the strawberry extract. I like to add 1 teaspoon of strawberry extract to my ice cream for an even stronger strawberry flavor, but the recipe works well without it too.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t skip reducing the strawberry puree! This will remove a lot of moisture and prevent your ice cream from turning out icy.
- To speed up the cooling process, you may place the strawberry puree in the fridge. Do not add the puree to the ice cream while it’s still warm, otherwise the whipped cream will melt.
- If you like the flavor of chocolate and strawberries, feel free to fold in some mini chocolate chips before you pour it into the loaf pan!
Strawberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh strawberries washed & patted dry with stems removed
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ½ to 1 teaspoon pure strawberry extract optional (I prefer to add 1 teaspoon)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream (1 pint; 480 ml)
- Optional: Red food coloring
Instructions
- Add strawberries to a blender (or food processor) and blend until you have a smooth puree. You should end up with a little under 2 cups of puree.
- Pour the puree into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture has reduced by half or a little under one cup. This can take 20 to 30 minutes, so be patient!
- Transfer the reduced strawberry puree to a heat-safe dish and allow to cool completely. If needed, you may place it in the refrigerator (uncovered) to speed up the process.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk, cooled strawberry puree, vanilla extract, strawberry extract, salt, and food coloring (optional) to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, add the heavy whipping cream. Start mixing on low speed. Once the mixture starts to increase in volume, increase the speed to medium-high and continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold half of the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture, then fold in the remaining whipped cream until just combined.
- Scoop the ice cream into a 9×5 loaf pan and smooth it out into one even layer.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream and transfer it to the freezer to freeze overnight (or for at least 8 hours).
- Once the ice cream is completely frozen, scoop, and enjoy!
Can this be made in a old fashioned ice cream churn ?
I don’t recommend it for this recipe, it’s meant to be made without an ice cream machine.