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The only thing better than local strawberry season is making Creamy Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream! Fresh, bright, and full of flavor, this is the best strawberry ice cream you’ll ever make at home. No ice cream maker? No problem!

two bowls of homemade strawberry ice cream with mint and whole strawberries
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What does one do when you have eaten as many fresh strawberries as you can handle? When your hands are so pink that it is liking a walking badge of berry gluttony? Why you make strawberry ice cream of course.

And you look at yourself in the mirror and say “sack up. Strawberry season is short. There is no such thing as too many fresh berries”!

Strawberries are like nature’s candy and we love homemade goodies that include these summertime jewels. Making strawberry freezer jam is a yearly tradition, and Strawberry Fudge Energy Date Balls are a monthly treat. And I drool just thinking about the luscious and creamy Strawberry Truffles.

What Ingredients are in Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream?

cream, milk, sugar, strawberries, eggs, and almond extract
  • Strawberries (doy)
  • Heavy cream
  • Milk
  • Egg yolks <—-this is happening. Deal with it
  • Vanilla Extract (related: try homemade!)
  • Almond extract
  • Kosher salt
  • Sugar (just a wee little bit. Seriously, not a lot considering this is dessert)

The kind of strawberries you use in this ice cream matters. Storebought strawberries with their sad white cores and “bred for shipment and not taste” flavor does nothing for this recipe. Farmers market or backyard strawberries that are so ripe they may burst – that is what you want to use for homemade ice cream.

You can even use frozen strawberries if you have some in the freezer. Check out this post on how to freeze strawberries to learn how to save any extra fresh berries.

And if you are looking for a dairy-free/vegan ice cream option, check out this Chocolate Vegan Ice Cream Recipe.

Here’s How to Make It:

Combine cream, milk, salt, 2 tbsp sugar, and the extracts in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar has dissolved.

Blend or mash some of your strawbs and chop up about 1/3 cup. Set aside.

Strawberry puree and chopped strawberries in bowls

Whisk your eggs, and pour a bit of the hot milk mixture slowly into the eggs, whisking the whole time.

Return the egg/milk mixture to the pan and cook on low for another 5 minutes.

Pour it through a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Refrigerate for 4-12 hours. Ugh, I know, waiting is hard!

Process shots for making homemade strawberry ice cream

Take the base out of the fridge and add the puree and chopped berries to the milk mixture and stir to combine.

Process shots for making strawberry ice cream

With your ice cream maker running, add the ice cream base to the machine, churn until it looks like, well, ice cream. This can take 20-30 minutes depending on your ice cream machine.

Strawberry ice cream in an ice cream maker

Transfer to a freezer-proof bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper pressing down on top of the ice cream until it makes contact. Cover and freeze until solid.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes:

  • It’s super important in step 3 to slowly add the hot cream mixture in a little at a time. This is called tempering which is a fancy term for warming up the eggs slowly so they don’t scramble. Cause nobody wants scrambled egg ice cream.
  • Want to use frozen strawberries? Defrost fully and set aside the liquid that is produced. Add sparkling water to it and have a refreshing summer spritzer. 
  • You could also prep the strawberries (How to Make Sugared Strawberries) the day before you plan to make the ice cream or use Frozen Strawberries in Syrup or fresh Strawberry Syrup
  • Using strawberries that may not be as juicy as you’d like? Add 1/3 cup of strawberry jam or homemade strawberry puree or Strawberry Simple Syrup to punch up the flavor (related: Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam).
  • The ice cream will be a soft-serve texture when you’re initially done churning it. Eat it right then if you can’t wait (who can?), or freeze for a few hours until solid.
  • No ice cream machine? Freeze and stir the base every hour until frozen and creamy. For more details, check out this post from David Lebovitz on how to make ice cream without a machine.
A bowl of homemade strawberry ice cream with a whole strawberry on the side
5 from 4 ratings

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Chill time: 12 hours
Total: 30 minutes
two bowls of homemade strawberry ice cream with mint and whole strawberries
Fresh, bright, and full of flavor, this is the best strawberry ice cream you’ll ever make at home.

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • In a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream, milk, kosher salt, almond, vanilla extracts, and 2 tbsp of sugar over medium heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat.
  • Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl, and whisk well with a fork.
  • Chop 1/3 cup of the strawberries into bite-sized pieces. Blend the rest of the strawberries, and 1/4 cup of sugar, and puree until smooth..
  • Add the diced strawberries into the pureed mixture. Transfer to the fridge.
  • Using a 1/3 measuring cup, add some of the hot milk/cream mixture to the egg yolks, and whisk while you combine. Add another 1/3 cup – mix. Then a final 1/3 cup – mix.  Whisk the egg mixture into the rest of the milk, and return the pan to the stove.
  • Cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, and pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl fitted with a sieve/fine mesh strainer.
  • Transfer to the fridge for 4-12 hours (preferably) or until completely cooled.
  • Just prior to adding to your ice cream maker, add the strawberries to the chilled ice cream base and stir to combine. 
  • Add the ice cream base to your ice cream maker of choice, churning until it has reached your preferred level of "doneness".
  • Transfer to an air-tighter container, pressing a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the ice cream, ensuring it makes contact with the ice cream. Freeze.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 223kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 58mgPotassium: 100mgFiber: 0gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 745IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 62mgIron: 0.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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About Sarah

Helping you serve up budget-friendly sustainable recipes with a side of balanced living.
Come for the food. Stay for the snark.

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7 Comments

  1. I made this today and it was amazing! I’m generally pretty skeptical about low sugar desserts, because I’m like c’mon, can’t we just let desserts be desserts? But this did not disappoint, nor did my sugar-addicted husband notice that it was lower in sugar than our usual ice cream. I did try and cheat the cooling time with an ice bath, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great!5 stars

    1. So glad you and the hubs liked it Katie! I agree with you on low-sugar desserts in general, but this one just works.

  2. My wife also picks berries during this time. We use them in salads, shakes and icecream.5 stars

  3. We berry pick in the summer. I don’t make ice cream, but we will use the berries in various things (breakfasts to salads, savory and sweet to desserts). When we’ve eaten just about all we can, I then make a syrup and add the berries. It’s yummy over ice cream, or in shakes. It’s a nice day out with the kids and they get to “make stuff” when we get home. It’s an all around win.

  4. YUM!
    I really hope to get a chance to go berry picking this summer. We do, after all, have a deep freezer specifically so we can store food for later.

    I may be weird, but I love that both of your moms were berry pickers. I love even more that the local pool let these kids swim for free!