Mmmmm…cheesecake. This nifty strawberry cheesecake ice cream recipe has all the uber richness of strawberry cheesecake and all the luxe creaminess of ice cream, but with barely any effort. Seriously. The flip side of that nifty little trick is that the recipe requires a little more time in the freezer, making it a touch frustrating if you’re craving it at the last minute. But if that’s your worst problem in life, well, things are okay.–David Leite

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream FAQs

How long does strawberry cheesecake ice cream last in the freezer?

Your ice cream will stay fresh for about 2 weeks in a sealed container. However, we expect it will have been devoured long before then.

How can I make homemade ice cream less icy?

Adding a splash of a neutral-flavored spirit, like vodka, to your ice cream base in step 1 will help to keep the ice cream smooth.

Three glass bowls filled with scoops of strawberry cheesecake ice cream.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

5 / 8 votes
This strawberry cheesecake ice cream is easy as can be. All you do is mix together cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and cream until smooth and then freeze it. Later strawberry puree and crushed graham crackers are swirled through. No ice cream maker required.
David Leite
CourseDessert
CuisineAmerican
Servings8 servings
Calories327 kcal
Prep Time20 minutes
Chill12 hours
Total Time12 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients 

  • One (8-ounce) package Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, softened
  • One (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) fresh strawberries, from a 2-pint container
  • 3 graham crackers, preferably honey grahams, coarsely chopped or, if you prefer, bashed into crumbs

Instructions 

  • Beat the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, cream, and lemon zest with a mixer on medium speed until well blended. Scrape it into a resealable container and freeze until almost solid, about 4 hours.
  • Purée the berries in a blender until smooth. Beat the frozen cream cheese mixture with the mixer until creamy. Add the strawberries to the cream cheese mixture along with the graham crumbs and stir with a spoon to combine. If you want to evenly distribute the strawberries and grahams you can, or you can simply stir them in a little to create swirls. Return the ice cream to the resealable container and freeze until firm, about 8 hours or so.
  • Remove the ice cream from the freezer about 15 minutes before serving and let stand at room temperature to soften slightly. Scoop and…well, certainly you know what to do.
Spread a Little Joy

Adapted From

Spread a Little Joy

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 portionCalories: 327 kcalCarbohydrates: 36 gProtein: 6 gFat: 18 gSaturated Fat: 11 gCholesterol: 62 mgSodium: 193 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 31 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2010 KRAFT. Photo © 2010 mcgarrybowen. All rights reserved.


Recipe Testers’ Reviews

We all loved this strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Creamy, rich and so very easy to make. Healthy? Nah. But who cares? It’s a wonderful treat. Once our strawberries have grown in, I’ll try it again, as I want to see if there’s a difference in taste between my own strawberries and the organic ones I used. I’d also like to try this with raspberries.

I had to use out-of-season strawberries, and although they tend to be somewhat bland, there was still this fabulous strawberry cheesecake flavour to the ice cream. I can’t wait to try it when strawberries are in season! I used three 2 1/2-inch-by-5-inch graham crackers (about 1 1/2 ounces), and I thought it was a bit too much. Next time, I’ll just use two crackers. The crackers themselves can be broken into various sizes, so a measurement would be nice here. Coarsely chopped, I got about 1 cup. I feel 2/3 cup would be plenty.

I’m so impressed with the final results of this strawberry cheesecake ice cream recipe. Along the way, I really wasn’t sure I was going to like it—I wasn’t thrilled with the sweetened condensed milk, and the texture was really loose. But the ingredients worked their magic. It really tastes like creamy, smooth, strawberry ice cream. I’m giving this recipe a 10 based on technique alone.

Nothing better says “warm weather is here” than strawberry ice cream. I was excited to try an ice cream recipe that didn’t require an ice cream maker. The result was a smooth, creamy, frosty dessert that was hard to resist eating straight from the container. I loved the use of cream cheese as part of the ice cream base; it gave a nice balance to the sweetened condensed milk. I enjoyed the tang of the lemon zest, as well. The graham crackers added a very nice texture to the smoothness of the ice cream. Overall, it really did taste like a slice of strawberry cheesecake! The only suggestion I’d make to the recipe itself is that when you add the chopped graham crackers, I’d fold them in with a rubber spatula, so the chopped pieces don’t break down even more.

I can’t believe how delicious this strawberry cheesecake ice cream is. Everyone went wild over it, and it’s so easy. This is the perfect recipe for people who want to make delicious ice cream and don’t want to buy the equipment. It’s also wonderful to make with kids. A real winner.

I really liked this strawberry cheesecake ice cream recipe, but I might add more strawberries next time. The ice cream has a natural strawberry flavor, with the lemon and cream cheese offering a great cheesecake flavor. This recipe is very simple, so make sure you don’t overanalyze it. All you’ll need is a mixer (even a hand mixer will do the job), a blender, and a freezer. It’s so easy, there’s no need to ever buy ice cream at the grocery store.

I’ll admit I had my doubts about an ice cream recipe that didn’t require an ice cream maker—and about the flavor potential of my out-of-season berries. But this was a winner in my house. It comes together very quickly—the blender step even eliminates the need to slice the strawberries. In the first step, I let the cream cheese mixture sit in the freezer for 5 hours, and it seemed a bit too firm for the mixer. So, I put chunks of it in the blender with the puréed strawberries, poured the whole thing back into the container, and stirred in the graham cracker pieces. After standing for 10 to 15 minutes, the ice cream was of perfect scooping texture. It’s quite tasty (though I’d like to try it with in-season berries) and not at all too sweet.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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Recipe Rating




20 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Yum! The recipe was doubled so our guests had a small container to take home. Instead of the honey grahams, we used biscoff cookies since we had them in the pantry. The ice cream was served with lemon glitter cookies. Already talking about other variations of this cheesecake ice cream including pumpkin for the fall.

    1. That looks absolutely fantastic, Lily! If you try some variations, please let us know how they turn out.

  2. 5 stars
    Made this recipe for Victoria Day dinner here in lovely Richmond Hill, Ontario and my whole family loved it! Like Dan states, I think it would have benefitted from in-season strawberries but we still enjoyed it. I think the actual cheesecake base without the strawberries is wonderful and perfect to try all kinds of possibilities with. I’d like to try it with cherry preserves, amaretto liqueur and amaretti cookie crumbs. YUM!!

  3. Has anyone tried actually freezing this mixture in an ice cream maker and then swirling in the strawberries and graham crackers, for more immediate results?