Strawberry cheesecake ice cream is a silky blend of homemade strawberry ice cream studded with chunks of cream cheese, strawberries and graham crackers. Perfect for a hot summer day!
I honestly don’t think I’ve loved a recipe so much as I have this strawberry cheesecake ice cream! It deserves that exclamation point at the end because it is seriously that good.
I’ve wanted an ice cream maker/machine for a very long time. I’m talking two years of dreaming about making my own homemade ice cream. No, I’m serious. I saved this exact ice cream machine to my Amazon Wish List on April 22, 2018.
It wasn’t until this past Mother’s Day {my first 🥰} that Burken and Kennedy gifted me with this ice cream maker. I seriously couldn’t believe it! I asked if he knew that I had been chatting with some friends about getting one, and he said he literally had no idea. Best gift giver ever!!
So naturally, I had to dive right in to using this long overdue present.
I first tried my hand at a peanut butter ice cream recipe from the recipe book. I modified it a bit by taking down the sugar and adding in cookie pieces, M&M’s and chopped peanuts. This was my version of Monster Cookie ice cream.
While it was incredible straight out of the ice cream machine, after being frozen for a day or so, the peanut butter flavor was a bit too intense.
My next dream was to test the homemade strawberry ice cream. I, again, took some liberties with the recipe that was provided in the instruction manual.
That recipe was for a basic strawberry ice cream. But I had some left over cinnamon graham crackers and cream cheese and thought to myself, strawberry cheesecake ice cream!
So let’s dive spoon first into the most incredible ice cream you will experience!
How to make homemade strawberry cheesecake ice cream
Ice Cream Machine
Okay, so here’s the thing ice cream loving friends. This recipe requires an ice cream maker. I do not have a version of this recipe for no-churn ice cream.
My ice cream maker is the Cuisinart ICE-30 Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Sorbet maker. It makes 2 quarts of ice cream using a frozen bowl {provided}. And all you have to do is pour in the ingredients and turn the machine on.
This is what I had wanted so much in an ice cream maker. The fact that you didn’t have to load ice around the bowl. Or churn it yourself.
The Cuisinart has a paddle that stays in place and the bowl spins. This helps churn the ice cream.
Prior to placing in the freezer, you’ll have a soft-serve consistency with this machine. Also, watching it go from a liquid to soft-serve ice cream might be the most satisfying thing in the world.
Simple ingredients for strawberry cheesecake ice cream
I love ice cream. But I don’t always love the amount of sugar, or sometimes crazy ingredients you see on the ingredients label.
That’s why I really wanted an ice cream maker. So that I could know exactly what was going into my ice cream.
And guess what? Homemade ice cream {with a machine} is so incredibly simple to put together. It also doesn’t require many ingredients.
I love the simplicity of homemade ice cream. This strawberry cheesecake ice cream requires just a few simple ingredients.
They include milk. I used 2%. Heavy whipping cream. Fresh strawberries and lemon juice, which helps brighten up the flavor. Cream cheese and graham crackers. Then raw cane sugar and pure maple syrup.
I loved using the more natural sugars, and cut them back from what the recipe called for. The instruction manual was using over a cup of refined sugar. But I of course wanted to switch things up.
Natural sugar and pure maple syrup added such a depth of flavor to the ice cream. I felt like I could have eaten the whole container in one sitting.
Churn baby churn
Again, this may be one of the most satisfying things to watch, ever. As the liquid starts to freeze in the bowl, it begins to turn over on itself.
The best part is that with this machine, 2 quarts of ice cream can be made in just 30 minutes.
I’ll be honest, the first test of this recipe had too much liquid. It would have been perfect if I was only adding some diced strawberries. But we’re making strawberry cheesecake ice cream here! That meant I had to take some of the ice cream out of the bowl. Then add in all the crunchy graham crackers, smooth cream cheese chunks and sweet diced strawberries.
But by cutting everything in half, the recipe turned out perfectly the second time around.
Grab a big spoon…you’re going to need it
After 30 minutes of churning, the ice cream, with all its add-ins, is very similar to a blizzard consistency.
Once you transfer it all to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least a day, it’s quite hard. Harder than traditional store-bought ice cream.
I usually have to put the whole container in the microwave for a couple seconds to get it to a scoopable consistency. Or, you can also leave it out on the counter for about 45 minutes to do the same.
Either way, I promise you’re going to want to have the biggest spoon and bowl on hand for this strawberry cheesecake ice cream!
Looking for more summer-fun recipes? Check these out:
- 1 ½ cups fresh diced strawberries divided
- 1 ½ Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup raw cane sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup 2% milk
- 1 ⅓ cups heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla
- 4 oz cream cheese cubed
- 3 cinnamon graham crackers broken into small pieces
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In a small blender, add ¾ cup of fresh diced strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Blend until smooth.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the pure maple syrup, milk, heavy cream and vanilla until combined. Stir in the blended strawberries.
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Place the frozen ice cream bowl in the machine and fit with the mixing paddle.* Place the lid on top and turn the machine on.
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Pour the strawberry milk mixture into the machine and let mix for 25 minutes.
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After 25 minutes, add the cubed cream cheese, graham cracker pieces and remaining ¾ cup of diced strawberries. Let mix for 5 more minutes.
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Ice cream will be of a Blizzard-like consistency. Place in an airtight container and in the freezer for two hours for a harder consistency.
*Note: this recipe is made using the Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt-Sorbet and Ice Cream Maker (ICE-30 Series)
