You don’t need an ice cream maker for this delicious no-churn strawberry cheesecake ice cream! All the flavours of strawberry cheesecake, complete with a crunchy graham cracker crumble.
If you’d love a great frozen treat but don’t have an ice cream maker, this one’s for you! This no-churn ice cream is rich and creamy with all the flavours of strawberry cheesecake, topped with a crunchy graham cracker crumble.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Strawberries – Fresh strawberries are recommended for the best flavour. As the strawberries are cooked down frozen strawberries will probably work here. I would simmer frozen strawberries longer to cook off the extra moisture to prevent icy strawberries in the finished ice cream.
Graham crackers – I recommend starting with honey graham crackers that you crumble yourself, as it makes for a chunkier crumble. Graham cracker crumbs will work, though they will make a finer crumble.
Whipping cream – Heavy whipping cream which is typically 35% butterfat. A lighter cream is not an option here as they won’t whip.
Cream cheese – Full-fat cream cheese is recommended for the best texture in the finished ice cream. I haven’t tested lower-rate cream cheese. I suspect it will work but the resulting ice cream will be less rich and perhaps have a less smooth texture due to the reduced fat.
Egg yolks – As this ice cream contains uncooked egg yolks, it is very important to use only pasteurized eggs.
Step-by-step-photos
- Add the sugar to the strawberries in a saucepan and stir to combine. Allow to stand for at least 15 minutes or up to an hour.
- Turn the heat on under the saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the strawberries break down.
- Remove the strawberry mixture to a bowl and stir in the vanilla and vodka. Place into the refrigerator to cool completely before starting the ice cream.
- Crumble the graham crackers into a bowl. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine.
- Add the melted butter and stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened.
- Scatter the crumbs onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with some white sugar. Bake until golden. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet before starting the ice cream.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks with a stand mixer or in a bowl with an electric mixer.
- Remove the whipped cream to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cream cheese, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla to the stand mixer.
- Beat the cream cheese mixer until smooth.
- Remove the cream cheese mixture to the bowl with the whipped cream.
- Use a spatula to gently fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream.
- Layer half the whipped cream mixture into the prepared loaf pan and top with half of the cooled strawberry mixture.
- Add half of the graham cracker crumble on top of the strawberries.
- Repeat with another layer of whipped cream mixture, the remaining strawberries and the remaining graham cracker crumble. Wrap well and place into the freezer to freeze, about 10-12 hours.
Recipe tips!
- Be sure the strawberry mixture and graham cracker crumble are completely cool before assembling the ice cream.
- I like to layer the strawberries with the ice cream but if you’d like a swirl, simply swirl the mixture once or twice with a chopstick before adding the final topping of graham cracker crumbs.
- Allow the ice cream to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before scooping, to soften the strawberries a bit.
- This ice cream is a bit richer than most ice creams, so a smaller serving is a perfect finish to a Summer meal.
Making ahead, storing and serving
Making ahead is built into this no-churn ice cream! In my freezer (which is just my fridge freezer not set to maximum cold) it takes about 12 hours to freeze this ice cream to perfect scoopability. A deep freeze may freeze more quickly.
If you need to speed up the freezing, try making individual ramekins or several smaller containers. A more shallow pan such as an 8×8 metal baking pan may also freeze a bit more quickly.
Be sure to wrap the ice cream pan well when freezing. I like to wrap it in plastic wrap first, then with foil over the top.
To serve, remove from the freeze and uncover. Let the pan stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes or until the strawberry layer on top softens a bit before scooping.
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Get the Recipe: No Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Ingredients
Strawberry mixture:
- 1 lb fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped *see Note 1 below
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, or water
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons vodka, optional
Graham cracker crumble:
- 4 sheets honey graham crackers, crumbled *see Note 2 below
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon white granulated sugar
- Pinch salt
Ice cream mixture:
- 1 1/4 cups whipping cream, 35% b.f.
- 3/4 cup full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3 large pasteurized egg yolks, *see Note 4 below
- 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
Instructions
Make the strawberry mixture:
- Place chopped strawberries and sugar in a saucepan and stir to combine. Let stand in the saucepan with the sugar for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour. Once the strawberries have sat, add the vanilla and lemon juice to the saucepan. Stir then bring to simmer over medium heat. Allow the strawberries to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the strawberries break down. (Frozen strawberries may need a few extra minutes of simmering time to cook off the excess moisture.)
- Remove the strawberries to a bowl. Add the vodka, if using and stir in. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator to cool completely before proceeding (about 1 hour).
Make the graham cracker crumble:
- Preheat the oven to 350F (regular bake/not convection).
- In a small bowl, mix together crumbled graham crackers, brown sugar and cinnamon. Melt the butter and stir in the vanilla, then pour over the graham crackers. Stir thoroughly to moisten the crackers with butter. Spread the mixture evenly onto a baking pan. Sprinkle the white sugar and salt over the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, stirring once, until golden. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.
Make the ice cream mixture:
- Prepare a 9×5 or 8 1/2×4 1/2 inch loaf pan by lining the bottom and long sides with a sheet of parchment paper. Set aside.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a bowl with an electric mixer). Remove the whipped cream to a large mixing bowl. In the same stand mixer bowl, but fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Remove the cream cheese mixture to the mixing bowl with the whipped cream. Use a spatula to gently fold together the whipped cream and cream cheese mixture.
- Add half of the ice cream mixture to the prepared loaf pan. Top with half of the completely cooled strawberry mixture. Sprinkle about half of the graham cracker crumbs over the strawberries. Add the remaining ice cream mixture overtop, then top with the remaining strawberry mixture and the rest of the graham cracker crumbles. Cover with plastic wrap and then a layer of foil and freeze for at least 12 hours. *See Note 3 below.
Notes
More no-churn ice cream recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
This ice cream looks amazing! I think this is the first no churn ice cream recipe that I’ve come across that doesn’t have sweetened condensed milk in it. I’m very interested to try it. Question, is the vodka strictly for flavour or does it serve a purpose in the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Lola, the only purpose the vodka serves is to help prevent the strawberries from icing up a bit. It doesn’t impart any flavour. It’s totally optional.