What happens when you mix cheesecake-flavored ice cream, fresh strawberry swirl, and tons of graham cracker crumbs? No-Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream that is sure to blow your tastebuds! The best part? No ice cream machine required!
This latest creation has really been a hit in my household!
Imagine homemade strawberry compote swirled around a creamy, perfectly sweet cheesecake ice cream base. Plus, tons of graham cracker crumbles and just a hint of lemon zest. It seriously tastes like frozen cheesecake. You have to try this recipe!
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.70
- Total Cost (about 12 servings): $8.45
- Those Other Guys: $4.49 per serving
Ingredients
- Heavy Whipping Cream - Sometimes it's just called heavy cream. We're going to whip this up to give our ice cream a nice, fluffy texture.
- Cream Cheese - We're also going to whip the cream cheese until it's super smooth and creamy. The finished texture is going to be divine!
- Sweetened Condensed Milk - A can of this will provide the perfect amount of sweetness and help the ice cream freeze correctly.
- Strawberries - It sounds fancy, but strawberry compote is super easy to make. You can even use fresh OR frozen berries! The perfectly-sweet compote is pretty similar to my recipe for strawberry jam, so you can also use that.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs - It's not cheesecake without that signature graham cracker crust! When these combine with the ice cream mixture, it makes a super great finished texture.
- Salt - A pinch of salt will balance out the sweetness of the other ingredients.
- Vanilla Extract - The vanilla extract gives our vanilla ice cream base a pop of flavor.
Variations and Substitutions
Cookies and Cream Ice Cream: A classic flavor and one of my personal favorites! Simply stir in chopped chocolate sandwich cookies into the vanilla base.
Birthday Cake Ice Cream: Stir in a little bit of yellow cake mix into the ice cream base, and fold in multi-colored sprinkles. You can also add in chopped pieces of funfetti cupcakes for even more fun!
Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream: What a fun twist on a classic dessert pairing! Using blueberry compote and a homemade brown sugar crumble topping, this one never lasts long at home.
No-Churn Chocolate Ice Cream: This recipe is even simpler! Just stir a quality brand of cocoa powder into the sweetened condensed milk, and fold that into the whipped cream.
How to Make No-Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
With a hand mixer or stand mixer and a little time, you can make strawberry cheesecake ice cream without an ice cream maker! It's really easy.
Step 1: First, the strawberry compote.
All you do is cook down sliced strawberries, lemon juice, and a bit of sweetener.
After about 15 minutes, the mixture will thicken up to the texture we need. Cool completely before stirring it into the ice cream base.
Step 2: Whip a combination of heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt until medium peaks form. Set that aside.
You can use either a hand mixer, stand mixer, or a whisk and some arm strength.
Step 3: In the same bowl, whisk some softened cream cheese until smooth.
Pour in a can of sweetened condensed milk.
Step 4: After mixing those together, the texture will be thick but fluid, like this.
Step 5: Add back in the whipped cream from earlier, and stir well.
Drop spoonfuls of strawberry compote into the vanilla base, and swirl everything around to get that flavor in every bite.
Step 6: Finally, add about half of the base to your loaf pan. Sprinkle a layer of graham cracker crumbs on top, then repeat until your pan is full.
Cover with a layer of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil.
Freeze for at least 6 hours, but overnight is best.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Chill your tools. Add your whisk attachment and mixing bowl to the freezer for about 5 minutes before whipping the heavy cream. This keeps everything nice and cold!
- Don't overmix the cream. If you use too high of a speed to mix the cream, your whipped cream can curdle. To stabilize the whipped cream and get it nice and smooth again, simply fold in a little more cold heavy cream by hand using a spatula until it evens out. Be gentle!
- Speaking of overmixing... Make sure that you remove the whipped cream from the bowl before whipping the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. We do this because those ingredients can take a lot more manipulation. The whipped cream needs to be silky smooth for a light, airy ice cream.
- Cover twice. Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap, then wrap with aluminum foil. We don't want the ice cream to taste like freezer.
- Be patient. Be sure to let the ice cream set fully. Four hours in the freezer is the absolute minimum, but I always recommend overnight for best results.
Recipe FAQs
This usually happens due to overmixing. You can pour in just a little bit of cold heavy cream into the bowl, and gently hand-fold it into the curdled whipped cream using a spatula until it smooths out. I also recommend placing your mixing bowl and tools into the freezer before whipping cream to keep everything as cold as possible.
Yes! You can use agave or sugar as the compote sweetener.
In addition, you can find non-dairy heavy cream and vegan sweetened condensed coconut milk in the grocery store, or make your own using oat or almond milk.
You definitely can. It'll take a bit of arm strength, but you can hand whisk the ingredients for the ice cream base. I would recommend making sure your cream cheese is extra softened.
Not at all! While many recipes (especially those that require an ice cream maker) call for milk or eggs, my no-churn ice cream recipe doesn't need either of those.
I like to store in deli containers if the ice cream will be eaten within a week, or add it to an airtight container and it will keep for up to 3 weeks.
Other Frozen Desserts You'll Crave!
If you tried this No-Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
No-Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Equipment
- Saucepot
- Chef's Knife
- Microplane
- Citrus Squeezer
- Food Processor or plastic storage bag
- Stand Mixer or hand mixer
- Whisk Attachment
- Loaf Pan
- Wooden Spoon
- Plastic Wrap
- Aluminum Foil
Ingredients
Strawberry Compote
- 1 pound strawberries washed and sliced, or frozen
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ count lemon plus the zest
Ice Cream Base
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- ⅓ cup crushed graham crackers about ⅓ of a large sleeve of cookies
Instructions
Strawberry Compote
- Add the sliced berries, honey, and the juice of half a lemon to a large pot.
- Heat on medium heat for 5 minutes until it comes to a boil. Then, mash some of the berries and turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Cook for about 15 more minutes until the mixture reduces. Zest the half lemon into the mixture, then turn off the heat and let it cool completely.
Cheesecake Ice Cream Base
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt to a large mixing bowl.
- Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the cream mixture with a whisk attachment until medium peaks form, about 3-4 minutes on low speed. Remove the whipped cream and set it aside.
- In the same mixing bowl (no need to clean it out), add in the softened cream cheese and whisk until silky smooth.
- Slowly pour in the sweetened condensed milk and mix on low until everything is is combined.
- Using a spoon, fold in the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture.
- Take the cooled strawberry compote and swirl it around the ice cream mix.
- In a 9x5 loaf pan, alternate layers of strawberry cheesecake ice cream mix with layers of crushed graham crackers until you use all of the ingredients.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Freeze for 6 hours, or up to overnight. Enjoy!
Colby C. says
I made this version and love it; but wonder if perhaps I can use raspberries instead?
Shani W. says
Yes, raspberries will work just the same! Sounds delicious 🙂
Marie F says
I’ve made this so many times over the past few summers! It’s my favorite flavor and so cost effective to buy ingredients and make it myself at home. We have a waffle cone maker too!
Shani W. says
Waffle cones are my favorite! Thank you for commenting Marie 🙂