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This creamy and refreshing homemade lemon ice cream is made without an ice cream machine and will have you dreaming of summer days. Just mix, stir, and freeze 5 simple ingredients together – it’s a creamy no churn ice cream recipe!
Easy Lemon Ice Cream – No churn!
Lemon lovers, rejoice! This easy no-churn lemon ice cream recipe is full of sweet and tangy lemon flavor that’s sure to be a hit. I love easy ice cream recipes, especially when they don’t require an ice cream machine.
I made this lemon ice cream the “easy” way without the use of an ice cream maker, AKA No Churn Ice Cream.
This recipe is heaven: It has an easy ice cream base that has the perfect lemon and sweet creamy balance. Toss your fresh ingredients together and freeze overnight to get the best no-churn lemon ice cream ever!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- You do not need an ice cream maker
- It’s full of fresh lemon flavor
- It tastes sweet and tangy
- Only 15 minutes of prep time
Ingredients needed
- Lemon: one tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Heavy whipping cream: You make fresh whipped cream which becomes the base of the ice cream.
- Sweetened condensed milk: no need to add any sugar to this recipe since the sweetness comes from here
- Lemon Zest: adding lemon zest makes any dessert more aromatic and flavorful
- Lemon extract: this is the secret ingredient to getting the perfect lemon flavor
How to make lemon ice cream
- Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form then set aside.
- Stir together sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and zest, and lemon extract.
- Fold in whipped cream to the wet mixture.
- Freeze in an airtight container and freeze until hardened, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Expert Tips
- Leave your ice cream in the freezer overnight for a harder ice cream texture.
- Want a fat-free ice cream? Use a fat-free Cool Whip in place of the heavy cream and swap fat-free sweetened condensed milk.
- If you prefer soft serve ice cream, then freeze this recipe for about 3 hours instead of overnight.
FAQs
It’s a Summer favorite frozen dessert recipe since it’s no-bake, so easy, and incredibly refreshing.
If left frozen in an airtight container, your ice cream should remain fresh for up to 1 month.
Yes, you can. I do prefer fresh lemon juice over the store bought and i recommend fresh lemon zest.
Easy Lemon Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Zest of one lemon
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
Instructions
- Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Stir together sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and zest, and lemon extract. Fold in whipped cream.
- Place in an airtight container and freeze until hardened, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Feel free to use fat free sweetened condensed milk
- Want a fat free ice cream? Use fat free Cool Whip (2 8-ounce containers) in place of the heavy cream.
This sounds really easy and looks delicious!
Thank you for sharing this at Wednesday Extravaganza – Hope to see you there again next week with more deliciousness 🙂
4 ingredients???? I’m pinning this one for sure! I love lemon in the winter! We all need a little taste of summer in the middle of January! I can’t stand any temperature below 75! And my husband calls me his “furnace”. Thats probably why my dog sleeps snuggled up against me, so I can keep her warm! Thanks for sharing at Once Creative Weekend!
My cat does that for the same reason I bet! Thanks Tanya!
Ohhh my this looks DELISH!! I’ll be making this for my b-day Sunday. It’ll be my own special no-fat treat. 😉
While living in Chicago I took the kids out for ice cream. We were the only ones in the place. Maybe because it was in the dead of winter and we had to eat our hot fudge brownie sundaes with our gloves on. lol Of course, now I blame gaining some weight on being able to eat ice cream year round – we relocated to Orlando Florida. LOL
How yummy looking! I love lemons & that lemon cream pie sounds amazing.
WOW, this looks so refreshing! {middle of winter or not}. Know what I like about this? NO ice cream maker! I have never had any luck with those things. And who wants to have THAT much salt around, anyway? And hey, it’s ‘skinny’, so who cares if you eat it in the middle of the night? I won’t tell.
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