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    Home » Recipes » Sweets

    Best Ever Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

    June 6, 2016 • Updated: October 13, 2022 • by Renée B. • This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe   Print Recipe
    Small glass bowl filled with strawberry ice cream. Berry bowl filled with fresh strawberries in the background. Pin text overlay reads: Best Ever Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

    There are few things as refreshing as a scoop of Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream on a hot summer day, and this is the best fresh strawberry ice cream recipe you'll ever make!

    Small glass bowl filled with strawberry ice cream. Berry bowl filled with fresh strawberries in the background.
    Jump to:
    • Why this Recipe Works
    • What Goes into this Recipe
    • How to Make this Recipe
    • More Fresh Strawberry Recipes
    • Homemade Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

    Why this Recipe Works

    This fresh strawberry ice cream is - no exaggeration - the best strawberry ice cream I've ever had. I'll admit though, this recipe took Mr B and me some serious trial and error to put together. We wanted to get it just right, and so a lot of strawberry ice cream had to be made - and eaten - during the "research & development" phase. (Really - a LOT.)

    Why Strawberries are Tricky

    Making homemade strawberry ice cream is trickier than it looks. You'd think, just throw some strawberries, cream, and sugar together and you're golden, right? Wrong.

    The biggest problem with fresh strawberry ice cream is the strawberries themselves. Strawberries have a very high water content, and what does water do when it get very, very cold? That's right, class - it freezes! Into little ice crystals. Which are fine for winter windows and root beer mugs, but no so great for ice cream.

    To avoid having hard, crunchy strawberry ice cream, you have to do something to counteract water crystallization; hence the vodka and the corn syrup in this recipe. (Note: Any 70/80 proof liquor will work: we use whipped cream vodka.)

    With a higher freezing temp than water, the alcohol in the vodka keeps discourages water crystallization, which in turn keeps your little strawberry chunks from turning into little strawberry ice cubes, while the corn syrup adds body, and keeps the texture smooth and supple.

    What's So Different about this Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe?

    If you've made strawberry ice cream before, you may find a few other things are different about this recipe:

    ♦︎ No Eggs: While eggs usually make for a richer ice cream, in the case of strawberry ice cream, they do so at the expense of that amazing fresh strawberry flavor - the exact thing that you want to preserve.

    Another bonus for leaving the eggs out - no cooking necessary. (I'm not afraid of raw eggs, but you may be, and that's ok. Our eggs are produced in our backyard.) Anyway, that leads me to...

    ♦︎ No Cooking: Why? First off, you don't have eggs, so there's no reason to make a "custard base." Cooking also changes the flavor of the strawberries, and all I want to taste is sweet cream and fresh strawberries.

    ♦︎ Less Sweeteners: (i.e., sugar, etc.) - Almost all of the recipes I consulted as I was developing this recipe used a heavier hand with the sweeteners than my final recipe. I prefer to enhance the natural sweetness of the strawberries rather than overwhelm it. It's a delicate balance, based in part on how sweet your strawberries are.

    What Goes into this Recipe

    fresh strawberries in a colander

    Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

    ★ Fresh strawberries: Use fresh or fresh frozen strawberries for this recipe.

    ★ Sugar: Use plain, white granulated sugar.

    ★ Vodka: We use whipped cream vodka. Any 70/80 proof liquor will work.

    As previously mentioned, the alcohol in the vodka keeps discourages water crystallization, which in turn keeps your little strawberry chunks from turning into little strawberry ice cubes.

    If you prefer to avoid liquor completely, just leave it out. Your chopped strawberry chunks will be a bit crunchy, and the ice cream may get a little harder than optimal after a day or two in the freezer, but chances are it won't last that long anyway.

    ★ Half & Half: Yes, you can use heavy cream if you want. You can also use 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of heavy cream (but that's basically what half & half is, so why?).

    We've tested this recipe using each of these three options, all with fine results; however, I think the lighter, cleaner flavor of the half & half lets the fresh strawberry flavors shine through most brightly.

    ★ Corn syrup: While we try to avoid corn syrup in most cases, we do use it in a number of our ice cream recipes, particularly the ones that are heavy on fruit. It adds texture and body, while discouraging ice crystal formation.

    How to Make this Recipe

    Hull all the strawberries. Chop enough strawberries to make one cup of chopped berries. You want the chunks to be pretty small; ¼-inch cubes or smaller.

    Put the chopped strawberries in a small bowl with ¼ cup of sugar and the vodka. Refrigerate while you make the rest of the ice cream base.

    Put remaining strawberries in a blender and puree. Measure out about 1½ cups of puree. If you have extra, put it in the fridge - you can use it for ice cream topping later!

    Blend the 1½ cups of strawberry puree with the half and half, corn syrup, and salt. Taste the mixture and adjust the sweetness to your personal tastes by adding a little additional sugar if desired.

    Chill the ice cream base in the blender jar in refrigerator for at least one hour.

    Take the blender jar out of the fridge and add the chopped strawberry mixture. Pulse very briefly to combine. You want to keep those little chunks of strawberries, so don't get crazy here.

    Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer directions. For reference, it usually takes 25 -30 minutes to freeze in our ice cream maker.

    strawberry ice cream churned, still in ice cream maker.

    Serve immediately for soft serve ice cream. If you prefer your ice cream hard-set, put it in the freezer for 2-4 hours before serving.

    Small glass bowl filled with melting strawberry ice cream.
    The day I took these pictures, the PNW was experiencing a heat wave. Luckily, this stuff is amazing even when it's partially melted.

    More Fresh Strawberry Recipes

    • Fresh Strawberry Cream Pie
    • Creamy Fresh Strawberry Crêpes
    • Strawberry Thin Mint Cookie Delight
    • Triple-layer Strawberry Cake (from Scratch)

    For more recipes and cozy living tips, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for all of the latest updates.

    Small glass bowl filled with strawberry ice cream. Berry bowl filled with fresh strawberries in the background.
    5 from 4 votes

    Homemade Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

    An easy-to-make strawberry ice cream that preserves the fresh taste of summer strawberries with a smooth, creamy texture.
    Print Pin Add to Shopping List Go to Shopping List
    Course: Dessert, Sweets
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian
    Prep Time:20 minutes
    Chilling + Churning:1 hour 30 minutes
    Total Time:1 hour 50 minutes
    Servings: 12 servings
    Calories: 175kcal
    Author: Renee
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • 1 Ice Cream Maker
    • 1 Blender or Food Processor

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Metric
    • 1 quart fresh strawberries divided
    • 1 cup sugar divided (or more, to taste)
    • 2 tablespoons vodka
    • 2 cups half & half
    • ⅓ cup corn syrup
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt to taste

    Instructions

    • Hull all the strawberries. Chop enough strawberries to make one cup of chopped berries.
      Put chopped strawberries in a small bowl with ¼ cup sugar and the vodka. Refrigerate while you make the rest of the ice cream base.
    • Put remaining strawberries in a blender and puree. Measure out about 1½ cups of puree.
    • Blend the 1½ cups of strawberry puree with the half and half, corn syrup, and salt.
      Taste the mixture and adjust the sweetness to your personal tastes by adding a little additional sugar if desired.
    • Chill the ice cream base in the blender jar in refrigerator for at least one hour.
    • Take the blender jar out of the fridge and add the chopped strawberry mixture. Mix or pulse very briefly to combine.
    • Add the strawberry mixture to the ice cream freezer.
      Churn according to manufacturer directions.
    • For soft serve ice cream, serve immediately. If you prefer your ice cream hard-set, put it in the freezer for 2-4 hours before serving.

    Notes

    Vodka: We use whipped cream vodka. Any 70/80 proof liquor will work.
    The alcohol in the vodka keeps discourages water crystallization, which in turn keeps the strawberry chunks from turning into strawberry ice cubes.
    If you prefer to avoid liquor completely, just leave out the vodka. Your chopped strawberry chunks will be a bit crunchy, and the ice cream may get a little harder than optimal after a day or two in the freezer, but chances are it won't last that long anyway.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 120mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 152IU | Vitamin C: 47mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg
    This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
    Have you tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details.

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    About Renée B.

    Renée is writer, music maker, artist, and storyteller. In her spare time, you can find her writing love songs about cowboys, exploring the moss-covered nooks and crannies of the Pacific Northwest, and making music with her talented singer-husband.

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    1. Roxana says

      June 18, 2019 at 11:55 am

      5 stars
      Those pics are SO good. Just want to get some ice cream now. I would have to skip the vodka cream but all other things are already so flavorful. The recipe has a ton of strawberries unlike some that I have seen.

      Reply
    2. Anita says

      June 18, 2019 at 11:22 am

      5 stars
      Can't wait to give this strawberry ice cream recipe a try. I'm so stoked to try the whipped cream vodka. 🙂

      Reply
    3. Stephanie says

      June 18, 2019 at 9:58 am

      I love strawberry ice cream. It's the perfect summer treat. And I'm sure I'll be eating plenty of it this summer.

      Reply
    4. Sara Welch says

      June 18, 2019 at 9:04 am

      5 stars
      What a cool and refreshing treat! Looking forward to enjoying this all season long!

      Reply
    5. Beth Neels says

      June 18, 2019 at 9:00 am

      5 stars
      I just adore the addition of vodka in this lovely ice cream! Inspired! Can't wait to try it!

      Reply
    6. Christine - Jar Of Lemons says

      June 07, 2016 at 6:32 pm

      Yum! I'm craving Strawberry Ice Cream right now, so this sounds perfect!

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        June 07, 2016 at 8:17 pm

        Thanks for stopping by, Christine!

        Reply
    7. Sophia says

      June 07, 2016 at 5:38 pm

      Looks pretty easy and simple. Looks like a great summer treat.

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        June 07, 2016 at 8:17 pm

        Thanks, Sophia.

        Reply
    8. Glenda Kruse says

      June 07, 2016 at 9:08 am

      Mmmm, I love strawberries. This ice cream looks amazing! 🙂

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        June 07, 2016 at 9:29 am

        Thank you for stopping by, Glenda!

        Reply
    9. Marlynn @ UrbanBlissLife says

      June 07, 2016 at 8:53 am

      This looks perfect for summer! We just picked a ton of berries last weekend and strawberry ice cream was on the list of things my kids wanted to make with them 🙂

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        June 07, 2016 at 9:30 am

        Our strawberry season is so fleeting that we are practically living on them - breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert - so that we can get the most out of them while they last.

        Reply
    10. Christine @ The (mostly) Simple Life says

      June 07, 2016 at 6:16 am

      Yum! We've been cheating and blending strawberries and vanilla ice cream together. Delish!

      Reply
    11. Ashley @ The Wandering Weekenders says

      June 07, 2016 at 5:54 am

      Yum! We got an ice cream maker a few years ago, and I've been dying to use it more! I definitely need to make this strawberry ice cream this summer!

      Reply
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