As you probably know by our Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes, Summertime Strawberry Shortcake, or these Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars, we are obsessed with fresh strawberries when strawberry season hits. There are so many easy recipes we can use our strawberries for when we’re not just grazing on them all day long! I’m already crazy about my Classic Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream, but this Homemade Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream takes the strawberry ice cream concept to a new level. This amazing Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream is basically a strawberry cheesecake in ice cream form and you get more concentrated strawberry flavor in the form of swirls of strawberry ripple! What I love most about homemade ice cream is probably the natural flavor you get from using whole, fresh ingredients. Homemade ice cream is easier to make than you’d think, requiring very little effort as your ice cream maker will work its churning magic all by itself. This cheesecake base doesn’t even need to be cooked first like a lot of custard ice cream base flavors! Plus, knowing your ice cream is free from artificial flavor, a ton of preservatives, and colors is great too.
Why We Love This Recipe
Make your favorite flavors with different berries and toppings! Using the freshest ingredients will give you a truly fresh strawberry flavor here. Only 15 minutes of prep time is needed here!
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Strawberries – Fresh strawberries are best for the base of the sweet strawberry swirl although frozen strawberries can also be used. Cream Cheese – Cream cheese adds a classic cheesecake flavor to this ice cream. Granulated Sugar – You’ll need white sugar for the ice cream base, the strawberry sauce, and also the graham cracker crust! Heavy Cream – Heavy whipping cream is what makes it a really creamy ice cream with a smooth mouthfeel. Milk – Whole milk is best for a creamy consistency and rich flavor, but any kind of milk will work here. Vanilla Extract – Adds a warm depth of flavor. Use my homemade vanilla extract for a great flavor. Lemon Juice – Fresh lemon juice will work best here, so find some decent, ripe lemons for the best flavor. Cornstarch – To help thicken the strawberry swirl sauce. Graham Cracker Crumbs – The base of the Graham Cracker crust crumbles, which act like the cheesecake base part of this ice cream. Some cheesecake ice cream recipes just use graham crackers without actually turning them into a crunchy buttery crust, but I prefer this approach with the crumbs better after our recipe testing. Butter – Salted butter will enhance the flavor of the crust but also bind it together.
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Make Graham Cracker Crust Crumbles
Make Strawberry Sauce
Make Cheesecake Ice Cream Base
Tips for Success
Use a freezer-safe, airtight container to make your ice cream to prevent freezer burn. If you only have unsalted butter on hand, add a pinch of salt to the crust mix. Leave the cream cheese at room temperature to allow it to soften before mixing it. Make sure the remaining refrigerated ingredients are chilled when you use them. You can buy pre-packaged Graham Cracker crumbs to save a bit of time if you prefer or buy a whole pre-made Graham Cracker crust. Be sure to freeze your ice cream maker canister for at least 24 hours before making this recipe to ensure it’s completely frozen.
Substitutions and Variations
To save a bit of time, you can buy a pre-made crust and break it up or buy packaged Graham Cracker crumble pieces. Use a different type of cookie for the crust crumble mixture, like vanilla sandwich cookies, Biscoff cookies, shortbread cookies, or gingersnaps. Try the recipe with any kind of berry to make different fruit cheesecake ice cream flavors! Raspberries, cherries, or blueberries would work well for this recipe. You could try it with my Raspberry Coulis for a sweet and tart raspberry cheesecake flavor! Add some white chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips to the ice cream mix for extra sweetness and texture. Top your ice cream with candy, sprinkles, or crumbled cookies. Use gluten-free Graham crackers to make this ice cream gluten-free.
More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
Fresh Lemon Ice Cream Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream Pumpkin Ice Cream White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Ice Cream Cherry Pistachio Ice Cream Huckleberry Ice Cream
We get quite excited about ice cream, so we host Ice Cream Sundae Bars from time to time with our favorite ice creams, toppings, and sauces! Toppings that would go particularly well with this choice of ice cream are chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans, fresh berries, white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, or sprinkles! Try it with Homemade Marshmallow Sauce, Homemade Hot Fudge, Salted Caramel Sauce, or even a Peanut Butter Topping for a PB&J effect!
Best Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe
Southern Blackberry Cobbler Ice Cream
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