Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream (No Churn)

What if I told you that you can enjoy homemade ice cream with no fancy equipment required? Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream was inspired by the flavors of decadent cheesecake and juicy strawberries to make the quintessential spring/summertime treat.

It’s velvety smooth and bursts with sweet berry flavor. The trademark cream tang balances out the sweetness in many of my dessert recipes such as Cheesecake Brownies, Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread, and the absolute Best Cream Cheese Frosting.

5 Reasons You’ll Love this Recipe

• Sweet, creamery-style taste.
• Only six simple ingredients.
• No cooking or churning necessary.
• Use fresh or frozen strawberries.
• Recipe is built for ease with pantry ingredients.

Ingredients and Notes

What I love most about this homemade cheesecake ice cream recipe is its shockingly easy list of ingredients!

Strawberries – Fresh, ripe strawberries or frozen strawberries are both good for juicy flavor and texture. Frozen does help it set up a little more and will leave you with bigger bits after mixing. Thaw berries enough to chop into pieces.

Graham Crackers – Stick to the original or honey graham flavors unless you want a cinnamon after taste.

Vanilla Extract – For no-cook recipes, I always recommend real vanilla extract for best taste.

Cream Cheese – I only recommend using regular (full-fat) in the bricks (not whipped or spreadable). It needs to be room temperature before using. I set it out on the counter for about an hour to soften. Other types of cream cheese may result in softer, runnier ice cream.

Condensed Milk – Sweetened condensed milk is the go-to for taste and creamy sweetness.

Visual Step by Step

The full recipe card is below but I provide helpful tips and suggestions about process here.

Prepare the Ingredients. Use a metal mixing bowl and put it in the freezer at least 1 hour before making. Crush the graham crackers. Use a food processor or crush them in a Ziplock freezer bag with a meat mallet or the back of a large spoon. (photo 1)

Cream the Ingredients: Whip the cream cheese at high speed in a stand mixer or hand mixer with a large mixing bowl. Add about ¼ cup of the sweetened condensed milk and whip until smooth. Once smooth, add the rest of the sweetened condensed milk and mix at medium to medium-high speed. Add the heavy whipping cream and vanilla and mix at medium speed for at least 2 minutes until completely smooth and slightly airy.

Add-ins: Gently fold in the strawberries and graham crackers. A spatula is best for this.

Freeze: Pour into the appropriate freezer-safe container or freeze in the mixing bowl. Cover airtight.

Serve: Serve in a bowl with whipped cream or in a waffle cone with sprinkles!

Tips for the Best No Churn Ice Cream

• Freeze the bowl prior to mixing ingredients. One hour should be enough for a metal mixing bowl, but I usually put it in the night before.
• The cream cheese needs to be softened evenly. Cold cream cheese doesn’t mix well and results in lumps. First mix ¼ cup of condensed milk in to check for smoothness. If it mixes smoothly, add the rest. If not, wait a few minutes for the cream cheese to soften more. Mix to remove the lumps.
• To soften the cream cheese a bit faster, remove from the packaging and cut into cubes with air in between them.
• For more strawberry flavor, swirl in approximately ¼ cup of strawberry syrup after pouring into its final freezer dish.
• For an EXTRA special treat, throw a graham cracker crust in the oven for 10 minutes. Crumble it or you can also crumble a store-bought crust. OMG, it takes it to the moon.
• For best texture try to whip as much air as possible into the mixture. I whip it at least 2 minutes.
• Optional Add-ins – Other berries, Chocolate chips, Crumbled Oreos, Brownie Chunks, Strawberry Sauce, Lemon Zest or Juice

Electric Ice Cream Machine Instructions

This recipe was adapted from one I used years ago for our electric maker. The ice cream maker is long gone from when I purged our kitchen gadgets, but the recipe lives on.

The ingredients and instructions are largely the same. The exception is to fold the strawberries and graham crackers in after electric mixing, or to finely chop both of those ingredients so that they don’t clog the churning paddle.

1. Whisk together cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth.
2. Add in the heavy cream and vanilla; whisk until mostly combined.
3. Pour mixture into your prepared mixer. Allow to churn according to manufacturer instructions.
4. After the ice cream maker is finished, gently fold in the chopped-up strawberries and crushed graham crackers.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and place in your freezer to harden for 6 hours or more.