This no-churn recipe for Quick & Easy Homemade Cherry Ice Cream uses frozen cherries instead of fresh so you can make it all year round! There’s no need for an ice cream maker! This cherry ice cream is something anyone can make!
The best part about making your own ice cream is that there are no preservatives or artificial ingredients. Once you try it, you’ll never want store-bought again!
Why this recipe works:
- Uses the juice from frozen cherries to make a simple syrup without adding extra sugar.
- No need for fancy appliances.
Ever since I made my Cherry Vanilla Shortbread Tart, I’ve had cherries on my mind and I’ve been trying to think of new things to do with them. I recently saw a recipe for homemade ice cream on a cooking show that required no churning and my interest was piqued.
I’ve never made homemade ice cream before. I always thought to make your own, you had to own an ice cream maker. In my research, I saw that some recipes called for eggs, but I have a paranoia about using raw eggs in a recipe. When I found other recipes that used condensed milk, I ran with it and started creating one of my own.
When it comes to cherry ice cream, many recipes said to cook the cherries with sugar and water or lemon juice to create cherry juice. I know from past experience that if you freeze fresh cherries and then leave them to thaw before using them, you end up with a lot of juice from the thawing process, so that’s what I did.
To add sweetness and some structure to the whipped cream, I used powdered sugar and left the cherries and juice natural, but if you think it’s needed you can add a tablespoon or two of sugar to the cherries once they are thawed (before draining the juice). With the sweetness from the sweetened condensed milk, I think it ended up with just enough sweetness so you get a really lovely, creamy flavor.
This recipe really did come out delicious. I never cared much for cherry ice cream before; it always had an artificial taste when I had it store-bought, but this is something completely different. This recipe tastes natural, light and creamy. Now that I’ve made homemade ice cream and know how easy it is, and how good it tastes, I can’t imagine buying it again.
Here’s how to make it:
Roughly purée the thawed cherries with a blender. Don’t make them too smooth – they should still have a little texture.
Next, mix it into the condensed milk, followed by folding in the whipped cream.
Add the mixture to a freezer-safe container and freeze until it’s your desired consistency.
Serve and enjoy!
Cook’s Tips:
- Freezing time can vary. The first time around, I like to freeze it until it’s a soft ice cream. (This is a real treat for my boy.)
- Not sweet enough? If you think it’s needed you can add a tablespoon or two of sugar to the cherries once they are thawed (before draining the juice).
Variations:
- Try adding chocolate chips for an extra treat and crunchy texture.
- Use frozen blueberries and lemon zest instead of vanilla to make a whole new flavor.
- Try using frozen peaches in place of the cherries for peaches and cream ice cream.
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Let's Make Quick and Easy Homemade Cherry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 12 oz frozen cherries stoned
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (1 can)
- 5 tablespoons cherry juice taken from the frozen cherries
- 1¼ cups whipping cream
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- Put the cherries in a medium-sized bowl and allow to thaw for about 2 hours. At the same time chill the condensed milk.
- Once thawed, drain the cherries and reserve the juice.
- Take a handful of cherries and set aside.
- Roughly purée the remaining cherries with a blender. Don’t make them too smooth – they should still have a little texture.
- Whip the cream until it holds its shape, then mix in the powdered sugar.
- Fold the whipped cream into the cherry purée, cherry juice and reserved cherries with the condensed milk.
- Pour the mixture into a plastic container and freeze for at least 5 hours.
- Remove from the freezer 15 -20 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This post was originally published in June of 2017, but was republished with step by step instructions and tips in June of 2018.
Linda says
Can I use preserved cherries?
Erren Hart says
Hi Linda, I’ve never tried it so it’s hard for me to say for sure how it would work. If you do try it, please let me know how it goes!
Jack Yan says
What’s the amount of condensed milk? It says 114 oz but that’s a lot though.
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Jack, this should be read as 1 x 14oz can of condensed milk, there is a space between the two ones, but I admit it does look like 114oz. Hope this helps.
Jon says
Hi Erren!
I want to make this and add rum. Can I do so and should I then reduce the cherry juice to maybe 3 tablespoons and then add 2 tablespoons of rum? I love rum cherry ice cream so I am hoping this will work.
Thanks so much!
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Jon, that sounds amazing. I can’t see why that won’t work. Let me know how it works out 🙂
Charlotte says
Love this way u made this ice cream the ideals of different flavors is endless
Erren's Kitchen says
It is a great one for using your imagination! Glad you like it 🙂
Zara says
Thanks for sharing this recipe Erren. I omitted the sugar as the condensed milk made up for the sugar. Since I didn’t have enough cherries I made up for the difference by adding dates to bring the total to 12oz.
The ice cream is simply divine…. 🙂 I’m wondering if i could replace cherries with seasonal fruit to make different versions of it. 🙂
Erren's Kitchen says
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Zara, oh yes, it is very adaptable. Seasonal fruit would definitely work!
Shawna says
Looks fantastic! What size is a serving? The 8 servings with 181 cals each seems surprisingly low to me? I am asking how many servings because I am eating low carb. I have cherries to use, but I am sure I would have to be careful with this recipe.
I do plan to make it. I can only imagine lowering carbs by swapping the sweetened condensed milk for something else…. Even IF I have to make my own keto sweetened condensed milk… Any other suggestions that would still taste good?
Erren Hart says
Hi Shawna, sorry for the late replay. I don’t have exact measurements. The nutritional values are automatically created by a software program (it’s a very complicated process I wouldn’t be able to do on my own). Also please note that swapping out the condensed milk may result in a hard, icy ice cream.
User says
Cool recipe
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you!
Bass says
I omitted the juice and the sugar, added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and lemon zest and it, and it turned out amazing! I’ve been making ice cream with whipped cream for a year mainly because I can create any flavor I want and it will so rarely change the creamy texture! Love it!
Erren's Kitchen says
Sounds good Bass!
Claire says
Hello!
I tried this recipe and it turned out more icicley than creamy. Less than satisfactory. Is there something I could have done wrong?
Thanks!
Erren says
Hi Claire. It could be there was too much juice in your cherries. If you try again, try draining well before using them. Hope this helps!
Lucille says
For some reason, I didn’t love this cherry ice cream. With the sweetened condensed milk, I found it too deeet and kind of gummy. I prefer other ice creams I’ve made with 35% cream.
Erren says
Sorry to hear it. You can always swap it with your preference.