Homemade Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe
This homemade strawberry ice cream recipe is sweet, creamy, and fruity! Fresh strawberries give a wonderful pink color to this pretty spring or summer dessert.
Strawberries. Perfect. Fresh. Fruity. If they are in season they amazing for snacking and when turned into a refreshing dessert. If it isn’t strawberry season, never fear you can still this recipe using frozen berries.
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This fresh strawberry ice cream is truly the best. It has a pretty pink color and chunks of sweet and slightly tangy berries mixed in. Using an ice cream maker, this recipe is really easy and turns out amazing.
Ice cream is one of those desserts that my family and I just can’t get enough of! It’s just so good. We bought this ice cream maker last year and have used it countless of times since, and pro tip- grab an extra ice cream bowl so you can make two batches at once! I make at least 1 batch of ice cream a week, and many times 2 or 3!
If you love ice cream too – check out some of the other ice cream recipes I have already posted like Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (my sister and nephew’s favorite), Butter Pecan Ice Cream (my personal favorite), and Black Walnut Ice Cream (my dad’s favorite).
Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream Key Ingredients
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Organic strawberries – While this recipe uses fresh strawberries but you could also use frozen berries as well. Just allow the frozen berries to completely thaw before using.
Lemon Juice – A squeeze of fresh lemon juice pairs well with the strawberries helping to bring out their flavor more.
Cane sugar – Organic cane sugar for sweetness.
Egg yolks – The base of this custard ice cream. Don’t worry about eggs in your ice cream because it will be cooked before it is churned.
Milk and cream – A combination of milk and cream give the perfect richness and creaminess to the ice cream base. I use the perfect ratio of heavy cream and milk to create a creamy flavor.
Vanilla extract – A hint of vanilla flavor works well in ice cream.
Salt – A hint of salt to balance out the sweetness of the sugar and strawberries.
How To Temper Eggs for ice cream
This ice cream has an egg custard base so we need to temper the eggs or whisk a hot liquid into the eggs slowly so they don’t scramble. This process brings the cold eggs up to the same temperature as the milk mixture without producing scrambled eggs, because that’s not what we want.
Step one: Start by separating the yolks from the whites. This works best when the eggs are cold.
I like to crack the whole egg into one bowl, then scoop out the yolk with my hands allowing the whites to fall away back into the bowl, then transfer the yolk into the second bowl.
It’s ok if some of the whites end up in the bowl with the yolks, just not too much.
Step two: After you have whisked the yolks with the sugar. Gently add 2 tablespoons of the hot milk and cream mixture to the eggs while whisking. Mix until combined, then slowly add a bit more of the milk/ cream mixture, while whisking until you’ve poured most of the milk into the eggs. By this point, they should be well incorporated enough so you don’t have to worry about scrambled eggs.
Step three: Now pour the egg mixture back into the pot then finish cooking the ice cream base until it has reached a temperature of between 170F – 175F degrees.
Strawberry Sauce
The strawberry sauce is the best part about this recipe and it’s what gives the plain vanilla ice cream base that lovely pink color and fruity flavor!
Start with 2 cups of fresh strawberries and divide it to make two different sauces. The first sauce we will blend until smooth, this one will be combined with the ice cream base once it has finished cooking. The second sauce be will chunky and will be added to the ice cream in the final stages of the churning process.
I find that by adding the strawberries in two different stages it helps the ice cream to not only have a stronger strawberry flavor but to naturally have a nice color without having to add any food coloring or dye.
Churning the Ice Cream
Step one. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Churn the ice cream until it looks soft and creamy like soft-serve ice cream, about 20 minutes, or whatever your ice cream machine booklet says.
Step two. In the last 1 – 2 minutes of the churning process add in the chunky strawberry sauce. Then grab your spoons because multiple taste tests are welcome!
Recommended Tools
Paper Ice cream containers or Reusable ice cream containers
Ice cream scoop for serving (similar)
Homemade Recipe Notes
Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale yellow – This will ensure that the ice cream mixture thickens as it cooks.
Cook the ice cream base until it reaches the right temperature – You are looking at a temperature of at least 170F – 175F, if not your ice cream won’t churn properly.
Freeze the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours for the best results.
Straining is optional – but sometimes there are small egg chunks and it’s nice to strain them out.
Make sure to smash the strawberries into small chunks, because large chunks of strawberries can be hard to eat once frozen.
Frequently Asked Questions —
Your homemade ice cream could be icy for a number of reasons. You could have too much milk and not enough cream, the extra fat in the heavy whipping cream produces a creamy texture.
The ice cream base or the ice cream bowl wasn’t cold enough before churning, therefore large ice crystals formed as the mixture froze.
Or there’s too much strawberry puree inside the ice cream. Fresh fruit puree doesn’t have any fat in it and a lot of water which can easily turn the ice cream icy if there’s too much.
We want to bring out the natural juices of the strawberries before adding them to the ice cream because the water in the strawberries will freeze then causing the strawberries to be really hard icy fruit pieces inside the ice cream. Combine the strawberries with sugar to draw out those juices.
Also, make sure to cut or mash the strawberries into small pieces– which will also help them to be soft in the ice cream.
Yes, because after the ice cream mixture has mixed until it reaches the soft serve stage the mixture will just slowly start to melt the longer you churn it giving the ice cream an icy texture which isn’t ideal. Only churn until it has reached a soft serve texture which takes about 20 minutes, then pop the mixture into the freezer for a firmer texture.
The ice cream base should be in the refrigerator for 2 – 4 hours before churning, ideally overnight for best results. The mixture should be as cold as possible to ensure a creamy ice cream.
I’ve had this problem many times and it’s usually because I didn’t cook the ice cream custard base until it thickened and had reached the right temperature. Cook the mixture until it has reached a temperature of at least 170F – 175F and the mixture has thickened slightly, this takes about 20 minutes, for the best results.
Another cause can be that the ice cream base or ice cream bowl wasn’t cold enough. Make sure everything is as cold as possible so it can start to freeze and churn as soon as you put the mixture into the machine.
Looking For More Recipes?
Homemade vanilla ice cream recipe
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Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe
Equipment
- Ice cream machine
- Ice cream freezer bowl
- Ice cream storage bowl
Ingredients
Making The Ice Cream Base
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- 5 egg yolks
Fresh Strawberry Sauce
- 2 cups fresh strawberries*
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice fresh
- 3 tablespoon cane sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Make sure your ice cream bowl has been frozen for at least 24 hours before starting.
Make Custard Ice Cream Base:
- In a medium sauce pot, combine whole milk, heaving whipping cream, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Heat on medium heat until the milk mixture starts to steam. Then remove from heat.
- While the milk is heating, combine egg yolks and cane sugar in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until the egg yolks look pale yellow. About 3 – 5 minutes.
- Once the milk is hot, pour two cups of it into a measuring cup, then slowly pour a couple of tablespoons of the milk into the egg/sugar mixture. Whisk until combined. Then slowly add a bit more, while whisking. Continue adding the milk to the egg mixture a little at a time, until you have poured it all in. Pour the mixture back into the sauce pot.
- Reduce the heat to low, Cook the custard ice cream base for 20 minutes, whisking every few minutes. You are looking for the temperature to be between 170 – 175 degrees Fahrenheit and the mixture to have thickened slightly.
Make Strawberry sauces:
- While you are cooking the custard base, make the smooth and chunky strawberry sauces.
- For the smooth sauce: add 1 cup of strawberries, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and 1 ½ tablespoons of cane sugar to a blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
- For the chunky sauce: In a small mixing bowl add, 1 cup of strawberries, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and 1 ½ tablespoons of cane sugar. Mash until there aren’t too many large chunks. We want little chunks. Set aside.
- Once the ice cream is finished cooking, strain it using a fine mesh strainer into a large mixing bowl to remove any egg chunks. Then whisk in the smooth strawberry sauce until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to sit for 2 hours on the counter to cool. Then refrigerate for another 2 hours or until completely cold.
- Pour your strawberry ice cream into the ice cream machine and churn according to your machine’s settings, usually for 20 minutes. In the last 1- 2 minutes of churning, pour in the chunky strawberry sauce. Allow it to mix for 1 – 2 minutes, then turn off the machine.
- Transfer ice cream to freezer-safe storage containers. Freeze for at least 4 hours. Then serve and enjoy in an ice cream cone or with fresh chopped strawberries. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.
