This 5-ingredient No Churn Lemon Ice Cream is dreamy and creamy with a gorgeous swirl of tangy lemon curd.
If you're a fan of lemon and ice cream, then this No Churn Lemon Ice Cream is for you. It's the perfect balance of sweetness and tanginess from the lemon curd. Did I mention, how creamy it is too!? It's delightfully refreshing and so easy to make with just 5 ingredients.
If you're the type of person that when life gives you lemons and you make dessert, you have to check out my No Bake Lemon Cheesecake, Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet and Lemon Lavender Cookie Bars.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Only 5 ingredients
- Incredibly creamy and delicious
- Well balanced with sweetness and tanginess from the lemon curd
- Prepped in about 15 minutes
Ingredient Notes
Heavy Whipping Cream - make sure your heavy whipping cream is COLD! This is an important ingredient for the texture of this recipe. We whip it to stiff peaks so it gives the ice cream a nice fluffy texture.
Condensed Milk - provides sweetness and fat to make our no-churn ice cram creamy and delicious.
Lemon Curd - use store bought or homemade. It adds a gorgeous yellow swirl to the ice cream and adds so much tanginess. My favorite lemon curd is Bonne Maman!
Lemons - I used fresh lemons for this recipe. I decided to not include the zest because I didn't want to have the texture of the lemon zest in the ice cream.
Lemon Extract - Gives the ice cream extra lemon flavor! Alternatively, you could use vanilla extract for a more balanced flavor or half vanilla and half lemon extract.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip heavy whipping cream until you reach stiff peaks. Do NOT over beat! Stiff peaks are achieved when you pull the whisk from the bowl and the cream has stiff peaks that are unmoving in form.
- With the stand mixer, whisking on high, add in sweetened condensed milk, lemon extract and lemon juice until well combined. Remove from the stand mixer. Give the ice cream base a good mix by hand using a silicone spatula to ensure everything is well mixed, especially focusing on the bottom of the bowl.
- Add ½ of the ice cream to your freezer-safe container and smooth out using the back of a spoon or offset spatula.
- Dollop ½ of your lemon curd and swirl using a spoon or offset spatula.
- Add the rest of the ice cream on top, then add the rest of the lemon curd on top and swirl again. Wrap in plastic wrap, place on a lid OR press a sheet of parchment paper on top of the ice cream. Freeze for about 6-8 hours. Before serving, let it sit out for a few minutes at room temperature before scooping.
Expert Tips
Wait for stiff peaks. Don’t stop whipping the cream until you have stiff peaks. This means that when you lift the beaters, the peaks stand up straight. If they fold over at the tips, you need to keep whipping! BUT, don't over whip the heavy whipping cream because it will turn into butter.
Use a cold mixing bowl. Set a large mixing mixing in the freezer for about 10-30 minutes. It will help with getting stiff peaks faster when its cold
Recipe FAQ
I FREAKING love ice cream. It's creamy and delicious. I always seem to find room in my stomach to enjoy a good scoop or two (or a pint) of ice cream. I personally think churned ice cream is better than no-churn in terms of flavor and texture. No-churned ice cream is very sweet with the addition of sweetened condensed milk compared to churned ice cream that has a traditional base that uses egg yolks. However, I think the addition of the lemon curd, while sweet, adds a tanginess that balances out this no-churn compared to other ones I've made.
However, I think No-Churn Ice Creams are great if you have very limited space, limited time, and only require a handful of ingredients. But, if you are interested in an ice cream maker I love my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker ICE-21. It's pretty small so it doesn't take up too much space and makes delicious ice cream churned out in about 20 minutes.
No! While they both in similar looking cans evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk are not the same thing. Do not get those mixed up because evaporated milk will not provide the texture or flavor you need for the ice cream.
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No Churn Lemon Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups Heavy whipping cream cold
- 14 ounces Sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup Lemon curd
- 1 tablespoon Lemon extract
- ½ cup Lemon Juice (roughly 2 large lemons OR 3 medium lemons)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip heavy whipping cream until you reach stiff peaks. Do NOT over beat! Stiff peaks are achieved when you pull the whisk from the bowl and the cream has stiff peaks that are unmoving in form.
- With the stand mixer, whisking on high, add in sweetened condensed milk, lemon extract and lemon juice until well combined. Remove from the stand mixer. Give the ice cream base a good mix by hand using a silicone spatula to ensure everything is well mixed, especially focusing on the bottom of the bowl.
- Add ½ of the ice cream to your freezer-safe container and smooth out using the back of a spoon or offset spatula.
- Dollop ½ of your lemon curd and swirl using a spoon or offset spatula.
- Add the rest of the ice cream on top, then add the rest of the lemon curd on top and swirl again. Wrap in plastic wrap, place on a lid OR press a sheet of parchment paper on top of the ice cream. Freeze for about 6-8 hours. Before serving, let it sit out for a few minutes at room temperature before scooping.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!