Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream

This is THE Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream recipe you'll want to make during the summer. You won't need an ice cream maker, it's made with fresh seasonal strawberries and it's incredibly creamy and delicious.

The essence of summer, this Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream uses fresh strawberries two ways.

One batch of whole berries are blended into the other ingredients, and another batch are briefly warmed to make strawberry preserves that are swirled into the ice cream.

This recipe will guide you through making ice cream without a machine (no-churn), and how to maximize the unbelievably delicious flavor of fresh summer strawberries.

Jump to:

• The Fresh Ingredients
• How to Make it
• Ultra Quick Variation
• Recipe Tips
• More Summer Strawberry Recipes
• Churn vs. No-Churn Ice Cream
• Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream Recipe

The Fresh Ingredients

• fresh strawberries - Look for strawberries that are bright red and have a natural shine, with bright green stems. You can substitute with frozen strawberries if you're making this off season. If you do, be sure to let them thaw before you begin the recipe.
• sweetened condensed milk - This both sweetens and adds a creamy texture to the strawberry swirl ice cream. Sweetened condensed milk is regular milk with about 60% of the water content removed.
• pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• heavy cream
• sugar

(See recipe card below for quantities.)

Pro Tip: During the summer, try to buy your strawberries at your local Farmers' Market. Walk up and down the market and sample at each strawberry booth before deciding where to buy. Find your local Farmers' Market.

How to Make it

- Wash, dry and remove the stems from the strawberries. Add 1pound of them to a food processor and set aside. Finely chop the remaining ½ pound of strawberries and add them to a small sauce pan.

- Add the sugar and vanilla to the sauce pan and place it over medium heat. Once the strawberries are hot, turn the heat to a low simmer. Let them cook until they turn into a strawberry sauce. Set aside to cool.

- Add the sweetened condensed milk to the food processor with the other strawberries and blend until smooth. Set aside.

- Whip the cream until stiff peaks from.

- Then add the mixture from the food processor to the bowl and use a large rubber spatula to fold everything together until it’s evenly blended.

- Pour the mixture into a ice cream storage container (or large loaf pan) that will hold at least 1½ quarts, and cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 hour.

- Then drizzle it with the strawberry mixture from the sauce pan and use a knife to swirl it in, being sure it reaches deep into the mix. Cover with the plastic wrap again, and freeze for at least another 4 hours and ideally overnight.

Ultra Quick Variation

For super quick vanilla strawberry swirl ice cream, you can use your favorite vanilla ice cream (preferably vanilla bean), let it thaw so it's soft but not melted, swirl in the cooked strawberry mixture and refreeze.

Part of the fun of this recipe is that it's homemade ice cream, but the above method is halfway homemade and it'll be delicious, too.

Recipe Tips

• To ensure you achieve the perfect strawberry ice cream texture, it's important to whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Check out the image above so you know what you're looking for.
• When you're swirling in the cooked strawberry mixture, be sure it reaches deep into the pan.

More Summer Strawberry Recipes

• Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad
• Minty Lime Strawberry Cups
• Strawberry Rosemary Cake
• Strawberry Frangipane Toast
• Strawberry Avocado Salsa

Churn vs. No-Churn Ice Cream

• Churning means to move around vigorously. And in the case of making ice cream, it means to turn milk or cream in a machine to make butter.
• No-churn ice cream is exactly that — ice cream that has not been churned. No ice cream machine is needed to make it.
• No-churn ice cream is the probably the fastest way to make ice cream.
• Both no-churn and churned ice creams can be delicious. In my experience churned ice creams can have a smoother, creamier texture. Does that make them better? No, just different.

I hope you love every last scoop of this Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream!

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