Summer is here and strawberries are in season! I know you can get them year-round, but if you’ve ever had a real, locally grown strawberry, you know it’s a totally different experience. They’re small, deep red, wildly fragrant, and taste like actual strawberries. I picked up a pint of New Jersey strawberries the other day and immediately knew what I had to do: ice cream.
This is my favorite easy strawberry ice cream recipe—egg-free, Philadelphia-style, and just the thing for hot summer days when the only thing you want is something cold, creamy, and packed with berry flavor. This one’s made in the ice cream maker and comes together with just a few ingredients.
to celebrate those beautiful berries, I decided to bust out the ole’ ice cream maker and get down to business. And, in the process try not to eat all the berries before I could get the ice cream done. You’ll notice the quart of berries looks a little scant…
Why This Easy Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe is So Good
- No eggs, no custard fuss: This strawberry ice cream is made without eggs, Philadelphia-style, which skips the custard base and keeps things simple.
- Fresh fruit flavor: A combo of quick-cooked and raw strawberry puree give you big, bright strawberry flavor.
- Small batch friendly: Perfect for 1-2 pints, which is ideal for a few cones or scoops after dinner. And then you can dreaming a flavor for your next batch…
- Ice cream maker ready: Works great in a Cuisinart ice cream maker or similar at home ice cream machine.
How to get that fresh Strawberry Flavor and Perfect Texture
Fruit ice creams can tend to get a bit hard when frozen from all the water in the fruit freezing. I wanted fresh strawberry flavor, so I didn’t want to cook all of the berries, but I did want to reduce some of the water content being added to the cream and milk mixture. The result tastes strictly of strawberries and cream, and it can be made in about 30 mins. And while I know this isn’t really much of a recipe, you can definitely adapt it to use any other fruit you want.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 1 quart strawberries – I’m using fresh berries here, but if you wanted to use frozen berries go for it!
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Pinch of salt
How to Make Strawberry Ice Cream
- Prep Your Ice Cream Maker
First things first: make sure your freezer bowl is fully frozen (at least 24 hours ahead). Keep it stored in the freezer if you have space. Also chill a container for storing the finished ice cream. - Prep the Berries
Dice 1/3 of the berries to stir in at the end for texture. Puree the remaining 2/3. Set half of that puree aside, and cook the other half. - Cook the Strawberry Base
In a saucepan, combine half the strawberry puree with your brown sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes until slightly reduced and all the sugar has dissolved. - Chill the Cooked Mixture
Plunge the saucepan into an ice bath to chill the cooked berries quickly. Stir for 2-3 minutes until cool. (Or refrigerate if you’re planning ahead.) - Make the Ice Cream Base
In a mixing bowl or jar, stir together the chilled cooked strawberries, raw puree, milk, and cream until well combined. That’s your base—and yes, it basically tastes like the best strawberry milk you’ve ever had! - Churn It
Pour the base into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions, usually around 20 minutes. Just before it’s done, add the diced berries. - Freeze Until Scoopable
Transfer to your cold storage container and freeze for 4 hours or until firm. Let sit at room temp for 5 minutes before scooping.
FAQs
Can I use frozen strawberries?
Yes! Thaw them first and drain any excess liquid before pureeing.
Is this recipe good for a Cuisinart ice cream maker?
Absolutely. This recipe was tested with a Cuisinart and turns out great!
What is Philadelphia-style ice cream?
It’s a style of ice cream made without eggs, using only cream, milk, sugar, and flavorings. No custard, no cooking.
Can I double this recipe?
Yes, but make sure your ice cream maker can handle the volume.
More Delicious Desserts to Try:
Pavlova With Balsamic Strawberries – Light vanilla pavlova topped with whipped cream and balsamic macerated strawberries—this summer dessert is crisp, creamy, and full of flavor.
Glazed Strawberry Jam Donut Focaccia – A no-knead sweet focaccia with strawberry jam and a vanilla glaze. Everything you love about a jelly donut, but as focaccia.
Torta Caprese (Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake) – A flourless Italian chocolate torte made with almond flour, whipped eggs, dark chocolate, and a hint of espresso. It’s rich, very chocolaty, and oh-so delicious.
Panna Cotta – A recipe for a raspberry topped panna cotta with blood orange and pistachios.
Blueberry Pie – A classic easy blueberry pie recipe. It’s simple, perfect and the peak of summer, and can even be made with frozen blueberries.
Strawberry Scones – An easy to follow recipe for strawberry scones topped with a quick strawberry cream cheese frosting.
Canary Melon Sherbet – A creamy frozen sherbet recipe using refreshing canary melon topped with a vanilla bean whipped cream.
Dragonfruit Sorbet – A recipe for simple dragonfruit (pitaya) sorbet. So refreshing!
Did you make this recipe?
Did you try this Strawberry Ice Cream recipe? Leave a comment and start rating below with your thoughts or share your version on Instagram by tagging @TheMostHungry. I’d love to see how you made it your own!
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Strawberry Ice Cream (Philadelphia Style)
Equipment
- Ice Cream Maker Pre-freeze insert if necessary
Ingredients
- 1 quart strawberries
- 1/2 C dark brown sugar packed
- 1/2 vanilla bean 1/2 tsp extract
- 1 C whole milk
- 1 C heavy cream
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- First things first, make sure your ice cream liner in cold, and by cold I mean frozen for at last 24 hours. If you like ice cream, just leave it in your freezer if you have the room for it. That’s what I do. I like to be ice cream ready at all times. You really want to make sure that all your ingredients are as cold as possible. I just pull everything, including the berries, out of the fridge as I’m making this. And, along with your ice cream liner, make sure to have a freezer ready container ready to add the finished ice cream to. I use a glass container that I leave in the freezer so it’s ice cold. Just make sure to keep everything cold, you don’t want to spend the time making this just to have it melt, you get the idea.
- Now, down to the the other bits. Roughly divide your quart of berries in three. I diced one third to add into the ice cream just before it’s finished so I had some chunks in there and it wasn’t just a homogenous smooth mixture. Totally a personal preference, and if you happen to not want them, then just divide your berries in two.
- For the remaining berries. Remove the greens and puree. Set one half of the uncooked puree aside and add the other half to a sauce pan, along with the brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Bring this mixture to a boil and cook for about 3-5 mins. You’re just aiming to slightly reduce the mixture by boiling off some of the water, and it also helps to dissolve the sugar.
- Once you’re finished boiling the berries, turn off the heat, and get a large bowl filled with a ton of ice and some water. You want to then plunge that saucepan into the bowl of ice water and stir the cooked strawberry mixture for about 3 mins or so. You want to take this mixture from boiling hot to well chilled so you can combine it with the milk and cream then promptly make the ice cream. If you have time you can do this in advance and chill it in the fridge. I don’t have the patience for that, so ice bath it is.
- Now you’re ready to assemble your ice cream base. In a jar, or bowl, combine the cooked berry mixture, the uncooked puree, heavy cream and milk. Stir till everything is combined. You now have you base, or the best strawberry milk ever. All depends how you look at it.
- You’re ready to freeze. Add your base to the ice cream machine and let it run for about 20mins, or however long you machine specifies. Just before it’s done drop in the chopped berries, if you have them, so they are mixed throughout. Then add your ice cream to a freezer ready container, stash it in the freezer and you should be ready to eat in about 4 hours!
- I like to take my ice cream out of the freezer and let it get slightly soft for about 5 mins, scoop it onto a sugar cone and then eat up!
Did You Make This Recipe?
Leave a comment with your thoughts or share your version on Instagram by tagging @TheMostHungry. I’d love to see how you made it your own!
3 thoughts on Strawberry Ice Cream (Philadelphia Style)
I totally LOVE ice cream – especially strawberry. It looks absolutely perfect in that sugar cone. Don’t think I’ll actually make this…… but I’ll come to your house whenever you decide to make another batch.
I’ll bring some with me next week! Got some sorbet in the works right now ????