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.
Please advise me how to get rid of strong coconut taste from the icecream
If you’re not a fan of coconut flavor you’ll need to use refined coconut oil which has little to no coconut taste. 🙂
Thank a lot, really delicious, has become our favourite.
This was the first ice cream recipe we made and now my standards are really high! Loved it and will make it again.
This ice cream was extremely delicious. I was thrilled with the results. It was terrific. I will definitely make it again. Thanks for providing this recipe to us. I followed the directions to a Tee, including the vodka.
You’re so welcome!
Thank you for The amazing strawberry icecream recipe! I made this today and it turned out great! I love softer icecream and it scoops easily & is so creamy! I used the coconut oil refined & the texture isn’t grainy at all. I added 1/2 T balsamic try it! Do you have a peach icecream recipe?
I don’t have a peach recipe yet, but that’s a great idea! If you’re up for experimenting, my guess is that substituting peaches for the strawberries in this recipe is all you would need to do. 🙂
This was my first ever try making ice cream! I just bought an ice cream maker from the 70s at Goodwill for a few dollars and had a lot of strawberries about to go bad, so I crossed my fingers and got down to it. It turned out great! After reading the other reviews, I decided to sub butter for coconut oil just in case the texture came out a little odd, and my final product is very creamy! I kept in the 2 tablespoons of vodka and did everything else to the letter, except that I only chilled the custard about 2-3 hours and made up for it by sticking the ice cream bucket and the churning tool in the freezer for a few hours before churning. I think it took my machine about 10-15 minutes to process this amount. It’s in the freezer going through the final freeze overnight because I got started late, but I had three of the people I live with taste test the “soft serve” stage when it came out of the maker and they all agreed it was wonderful. Thanks for helping to make my first ice cream adventure such a painless experience! 🙂
That’s so awesome, Emma!
This recipe worked out wonderfully! I was hesitant to put the coconut oil in to avoid the threat of a grainy consistency but it turned out perfect!
The alcohol was a great idea as it stays nice and creamy, which has been a real problem in the past.
I replaced all but 1/4 cup of the sugar with a combo of erythritol/monk fruit and it tasted just like the real thing!
Love it!
So happy to hear that you love the recipe, Deborah!
The way I read this recipe is to measure the strawberries after they are chopped, NOT to have 4 cups of strawberries then chop them, is this correct?
That’s right!
This was awesome! It did taste a little coconutty to me, I’m wondering if it is the type of coconut oil I used. Virgin unrefined
I use refined coconut oil which has very little flavor. 🙂
Don’t make this for a party 3 days ahead of time. it is so good that it will get eaten.
hahaha love it!
How many pints of strawberries would equal 4 cups finely chopped? And if they start out frozen, do you cook longer to reduce the water content?
You’ll need about 3 pints. If they are frozen when they go into the pot then they’ll need some extra time. Otherwise the same time works. 🙂
This is a great Recipe. Love the ice cream
Thanks, Hudspeth!
I am often disappointed in randomly searched for online recipes. However, this is seriously the best strawberry ice cream I have tried. Thanks for publishing it!
That’s wonderful, Jenny! Thank you for the comment!
Love the chunks of strawberries in this ice cream. I used lactose-free milk. I wish I could find a lactose-free heavy cream. I will definitely make it again and again. Easy and delicious!
So happy that you love the recipe, Sandy!
I have my own tried and true recipe for an ice cream base, but I hadn’t mastered strawberry yet. Your tips helped me finally get it right! I used 1T vodka and 1T strawberry extract instead of 2T vodka. And I used butter instead of coconut oil. But the strawberry puree made all the difference! It came out perfectly. I know I’ll use your recipe as a reference from now on and I’ll be using it often, because strawberry ice cream is my mother’s favorite!
That’s so awesome to hear! yay!!
I made this ice cream over the weekend with my kids to share the experience I had as a kid cranking the wooden bucket ice cream maker. It was a great family project but to my surprise, we made some amazing ice cream too. I got a text from my father in law today that stated “ that was the best ice cream I’ve ever had”.
Thank you for posting this recipe! I will definitely be trying more.
Oh I remember those wooden crank buckets! Fun!!