No Churn Churro Ice Cream

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This churro ice cream recipe is the perfect way to deal with the hot weather, without the use of an ice cream machine. Inspired by sopapillas it’s a no churn ice cream recipe full of cinnamon and crunchy cinnamon sugar pie crust, like a churro!

ice cream scooped into clear ice cream bowl and a churro piece mixed in.

Easy Churro Ice Cream

Sopapilla is traditionally a fried dough served with honey or sugar, and churros are a soft and chewy fried dough coated in cinnamon sugar. I decided to marry the two and turn them into ice cream – no machine needed!

Easy Ice Cream is my favorite to make – just 2 main ingredients. Then you add the cinnamon sugar crunchy pie crust pieces and it takes this recipe to the next level. If you’re looking for a cinnamon ice cream – this is it!

Why you’ll love this recipe

Easy ice cream, no machine needed!
Uses whipped cream but you can substitute Cool Whip for a lower-fat dessert.
Use refrigerated pie crust to keep with the easy theme!

Ingredients Needed

Pie crust: from a refrigerated pack of 2 or my pie crust recipe from scratch
Cinnamon Sugar: the star of the recipe, made with ground cinnamon and granulated sugar
Cold heavy whipping cream: Make whipped cream by whipping until stiff peaks form – this helps make the ice cream. See notes for using Cool Whip.
Sweetened condensed milk: You can use regular or fat-free
Cream cheese: you can also use reduced fat cream cheese but I’ve never subbed fat-free, so use caution. Make sure it’s room temperature to avoid lumps,

Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!

How to make churro ice cream

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Unroll pie crust and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Press lightly with your hands to seal it to the crust. Spray the crust lightly with cooking spray.
Bake crust for 8-12 minutes, until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool completely before making ice cream churro.
Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
Place cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in another large bowl and mix with a hand mixer until smooth. You can do this by hand, but I find that using a hand mixer makes it easier to get out the lumps. Mix in vanilla and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Fold in Cool Whip (see note).
Crumble cooled pie crust into small pieces and stir into ice cream mixture. I reserved about 1/4 of the crust for topping, but you can add it all if you wish.
Place ice cream in a large resealable container and freeze for at least 4 hours but overnight is better. Will keep in the freezer for up to one month.

ice cream in grey tin with an ice cream scooper in the tin.

Expert tips

You can use reduced fat cream cheese and/or sweetened condensed milk
You can substitute 2 containers (8-ounces each) of cool whip for the heavy cream. Use any kind of whipped topping (regular, low or fat-free or sugar free)
This ice cream works without cream cheese too, it just won’t have that tangy cheesecake flavor.

FAQs

What is churro flavor ice cream?

It’s a cinnamon sugar flavor with a vanilla ice cream base.

How long does homemade ice cream last?

Will keep in the freezer for up to one month.