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
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help.made ice cream do i use the juice from the strawberries as well or just strawberries.thank you
I’m assuming you’re using frozen thawed strawberries? The juice will be icy when frozen so I would discard it.
Hi! Your recipe looks amazing, going to try it with the kids tomorrow. Quick question, can we scale the recipe up and double the amounts of everything?
Thanks!
Just make sure you have an ice cream maker large enough to handle the double batch! If not, you can double the recipe but only churn half of it. The other half can stay in your fridge for a day until you can churn it. 🙂
Do you think I could make the base ahead and chill in the fridge overnight to make the next day? Thank you!
Absolutely you can!
fantastic!!
I followed this recipe exactly and my ice cream came out very icy. Also, it’s not sweet enough! In my opinion this recipe requires a lot more sugar. Just came out icy and bland.
Hi! I’m currently chilling the strawberry ice cream base I made with your recipe and I’m excited to try it! I have a silly question. I was just wondering, by adding vodka to this ice cream to prevent it from becoming icy, is it okay to give children this one or any ice cream with added vodka?
Thank you!
Because it is such a minuscule amount per serving, it’s not something that I worry about when sharing this with my daughter. But ultimately that’s something you’ll have to decide if it is ok for you and your family. 🙂
Best strawberry ice cream! My whole family loves it. I was wondering if I could substitute raspberries for the strawberries and make raspberry ice cream.
I think you could totally use raspberries! Yum!
I’m trying this recipe as the first ice cream I make with my new ice cream maker! Just wondering if you need to thaw the frozen strawberries first?
No need to thaw them first. 🙂
I love this recipe. It’s become my go-to food gift this year. I was thinking of adapting it for cranberries, adding orange liqueur instead of vodka. Since cranberries are more tart than strawberries, how much sugar do you think I should add?
I think cranberry ice cream is a great idea! Since you’ll sweeten the cranberries in step 1, I would simply taste test until they are sweet enough. Maybe try adding 1 cup of sugar and then add more until it is nice and sweet. 🙂
This is by far my favorite ice cream recipe. It turns out perfect every time and is far better than any store bought strawberry ice cream. My question is, can I skip the strawberry part and just make it vanilla?
You could definitely use the base of this recipe and add any flavors you like. Vanilla would be dreamy!
Just added a hint of lemon juice before putting the mixture in the machine. Perfect! Thank you
This REALLY is the best strawberry ice cream ever!! Thank-you so much for sharing this with us. I gave this to a real strawberry ice cream connoisseur and he said it’s the best he’s ever tasted!!
Awww that is so great to hear! Hooray!
I have just given this amazing recipe a good try with refined coconut oil and vodka. I have no ice cream maker so I am just going to put it in the freezer and give it a stir every 30 mins for 1st 4 hours and maybe a stir every hour after that. Do you think that will suffice? Any tips for those without an ice cream maker please? My mum made ice cream when I was younger and she said she just gave it a stir half way through the freezing process and it was always creamy. That being said, her recipe was very different and involved egg whites beaten to soft peaks.
Just wondering, when you mentioned adding the cup of whipping cream, is that a cup of regular full milk cream that I whip to soft peaks, or a cup of dollop cream or something else? I’m in Australia so we don’t have ‘whipping cream’ here. Thanks in advance for your advice.
I think it should work well to freeze it as you’ve written. While I haven’t tried it with this recipe, I’ve done it with others in the past with success.
Whipping cream (sometimes called heavy cream) is 30-36% fat content and is what you use to whip into soft peaks. But instead of whipping it, just use the thick cream as is.
This is the best ice cream I have ever made!!! It is so creamy, my ice cream churn just kept going. I thought something was wrong. It came out ready to eat!!! I am going to try the same recipe with peaches next weekend!! The two secret ingredients really do make a difference! Thank you
The very best Strawberry Ice Cream. Wonderful with strawberry on top. Would tell everyone to make it.
I’ve been using this recipe for strawberries, blackberries, peaches and am thinking about trying figs! This is the best ice cream I’ve ever made so thank you! I would suggest one could dial back the sugar and it’s still amazing.