Best Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe (with two secret ingredients!)
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This is the homemade strawberry ice cream recipe that dreams are made of. It’s super creamy and bursting with fresh strawberry flavor. This iconic summer treat is easy to make at home and only takes about 30 minutes of hands-on prep time. Plus, I use two unique ingredients to make this ice cream super creamy and never icy.
I’ve spent a long time dialing in this strawberry ice cream, and the secret is treating it like real ice cream. A proper homemade base starts with egg yolks—there’s no shortcut here. The yolks give the ice cream its rich flavor, silky body, and unmistakably creamy texture that sets great ice cream apart from the icy, bland versions so many homemade batches fall into. This custard-style base lets the fresh strawberry flavor shine while staying lush and smooth from the first scoop to the last.
I also add two small but mighty ingredients that make a big difference. A touch of refined coconut oil boosts the fat content just enough to make the ice cream extra creamy without adding any coconut flavor (refined is key here). And a splash of vodka—totally optional—helps keep the ice cream soft and scoopable by preventing ice crystals from forming. The result is intensely strawberry-forward, deeply creamy ice cream that tastes as if it came from a top-notch ice cream shop. You’ll need an ice cream maker for this method, but if you don’t have one, my no-churn ice cream version is a great backup.
Tips for making the best strawberry ice cream
Here are a few tricks I use to make strawberry ice cream that turns out creamy and delicious every time:
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Use very ripe strawberries. You should be able to smell them easily, they should taste extra sweet, and be pink all the way through when sliced. Farmers’ markets are ideal.
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Use frozen strawberries out of season. If it’s fall or winter, frozen strawberries picked at peak ripeness work beautifully.
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Boost the fat content. I add refined coconut oil to make the ice cream extra creamy. Be sure it’s refined so there’s no coconut flavor.
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Add a splash of vodka. It won’t affect the taste, but it helps prevent ice crystals and keeps the ice cream soft and scoopable.
Best Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe (with two special ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 4 cups chopped strawberries (see notes)
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar (divided)
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ cup refined coconut oil (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 cup whipping cream
- Optional but recommended: 2 tablespoons vodka
Instructions
- Place the strawberries and ¾ cup sugar in a medium-sized pot over high heat and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, give the pot a stir and reduce the heat to a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool slightly.4 cups chopped strawberries
- Pour about half the strawberries into a blender and blend on high until smooth. Add the pureed and chopped strawberries into a bowl together and place them in your fridge to cool.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining ½ cup sugar.4 egg yolks
- Heat the whole milk, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt in a small pot over medium-high heat until steam rises from the pot. Then whisk some of the hot milk into the egg yolks to temper them, then add the egg yolks to the pot of hot milk. Place the pot over medium heat and, whisking constantly but slowly, bring the milk almost to a boil. You want the custard to thicken to the point where it will coat the back of a spoon.1 cup whole milk, ¼ cup refined coconut oil, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla, 1 pinch sea salt
- Pour the custard into a large bowl through a fine-mesh sieve Make sure to use a sieve to filter out any little bits of cooked egg. Add the whipping cream, strawberries, and vodka to the bowl and whisk. Place the bowl into your fridge to let it cool completely, for at least 4 hours.1 cup whipping cream, Optional but recommended: 2 tablespoons vodka
- Once the strawberry ice cream custard is completely cold, process it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. When it's done, it'll have the consistency of soft serve ice cream. Transfer the strawberry ice cream to a freezer-proof dish and cover the top with parchment paper directly on the ice cream. Freeze until firm.
Video
Notes
- The strawberries. Don’t skimp on the boiling time. If they’re not boiled long enough, they will add water to the ice cream, which can cause it to be icy.
- The dairy. This recipe works with whole milk and whipping cream. If you substitute either with lower fat or plant-based options, it will turn icy.
- Use all 4 eggs. Egg yolks add fat, which makes ice cream creamy.
- Churn it well. Wait until you hear your ice cream maker slow down and struggle to churn the ice cream – that’s how you know it’s ready. If you don’t churn it long enough, it can become icy.
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Oh my gosh! It was definitely the best ice cream I’ve made at home! Please make more ice-cream recipes, will definitely be coming back to this website!
Oh yay! That’s wonderful to hear!
Great flavor! Can you tell me how long this will last in the freezer? Just made a batch as a gift but won’t be able to see the recipient for 2 weeks. I’ve had other homemade ice creams go funny (cheesy smell) after about 3 or 4 weeks.
It should last for 2 weeks. As with other homemade ice creams, the fresher the better. 🙂
Hello Kristen..this recipe looks cool..cant wait to try. What brand of ice cream maker do you have pictured in your blog? Thanks
I have a Cuisinart. It works great!
Can I use avocado oil or grape seed oil instead of the coconut oil because these are tasteless oils?
I haven’t tried it but they should both work fine. 🙂
Excellent!
Happy that you loved it!
Made this yesterday, added chopped up 70% dark chocolate, was AMAZING. thank you!
Chocolate makes everything better!!
We made this yesterday for Mother’s Day. It was a massive hit with everyone. We didn’t have enough ripe strawberries, so we used 1 cup strawberries and 3 cups of frozen blueberries. It was really delicious, super creamy and so flavorful . Thanks for a great recipe.
You are very welcome!!
Hi, can the mixture be left overnight or do I need to stay close to the 4 hrs chill time? Thanks!
Overnight is just fine!
Love this recipe. The vodka trick is genius. My question is about the coconut oil. I think it’s causing a grainy texture. When the mix was warm, the texture was great, but as soon as it was as chilled it seemed grainy. I thought maybe some egg didn’t get strained out. The flavor of the recipe was awesome, so that overshadowed any texture issues. The next week I made a dulce de leche ice cream. Used your coconut trick again and again had the texture issue. The next time, I made a banana pudding ice cream and I left out the coconut oil. This time, no graininess. The comment below about the freezing temperature of coconut oil being higher than milk fat made me think the texture issue could be related to that. Have you ever run into this issue before?
I’ve never had that happen to me before. That’s not to say that it isn’t the reason, but it just hasn’t happened to me.
I made it today and found it also to be grainy and it had too strong of a coconut taste. The vodka really helped the lack of a frozen consistency. I wish I hadn’t used the coconut oil.
I’m sorry to hear it wasn’t a success for you.
based on the comment above, I’m guessing you are using unrefined coconut oil. Kristen said she uses refined coconut oil. Perhaps that’s the reason you get that texture.
It looks delicious and can’t wait to make it. I have one question. We don’t drink alcohol, so can’t use the vodka. Is there another ingredient I can use so my ice cream doesn’t come icy?
I really would appreciate your wise input:)
I would simply suggest not letting it sit in your freezer for too long. Which isn’t difficult as this ice cream is delicious. 🙂
I don’t have any vodka, would rum work the same?
The rum would add a different flavor so do keep that in mind. 🙂
The recipe says that the reason that the alcohol (vodka) is being added is to prevent the ice cream fro m becoming icy. Not sure why but my ice cream did come out icy. As far as I can tell, the vodka is not needed. I have made many ice creams and sometimes alcohol is added for flavor but it has never made the ice cream icy.
I would suggest leaving it out.
The strawberry taste was good and it was creamy.
I’m sorry to hear that the recipe wasn’t a hit for you.
My son’s fourth birthday is next week and he LOVES strawberry ice cream. Unfortunately strawberries aren’t in season yet and I don’t have any frozen (I will be more prepared next year!). I did, however, make the best low sugar strawberry jam with super ripe, amazingly flavorful Hood strawberries. Would it be possible to substitute jam..?
I’ve never tried it with jam but it just might work!
Great recipe ?. You might want to add that if you cook the custard for too long it will separate. So it needs to be cooked only until it starts to thicken. This recipe is a keeper.
Happy that you enjoyed the recipe!
I think I did cook it too long. It went from velvety smooth to kind of grainy. Is it ruined or can I still safe it. Thanks.
It sounds like the eggs scrambled. It has happened to me before, too. The best thing to do is strain it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the grainy bits. Then you can move ahead with making the ice cream. 🙂
I loved it thank you
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!
11/07/2019
I found a recipe for strawberry ice cream years ago, and have been using it ever since. However, always on the lookout to update, I went looking for the “best strawberry ice cream”. I happened to click on yours, but with a few variations in measurements, and the fact that I don’t cook my strawberries, it was pretty much like mine.
However, I was intrigued by your “notes” for the coconut oil and vodka. I researched the coconut oil and noted that it had a saturated fat content of 90 percent. I decided to substitute olive oil. The note about vodka made absolute sense. Since I had already made my base, I added 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 tbsps of vodka. It may be my imagination, but the ice cream froze quicker in the ice cream maker. Of course, taste is the ultimate benchmark; and it was delicious!!!
Thanks again for the oil and vodka suggestion. Note: I also add 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to my base. It’s not hot, but in the finished product it makes you wonder, “what is that?”. I buy as many strawberries as I can in the summer, macerate, then freeze.
Great idea to add a little spice!!