Lemon ice cream with only five ingredients sounds too simple to be this good. No cooking, no custard base, no egg yolks to temper. Just fresh lemon juice, sugar, milk, cream, and a pinch of salt poured into an ice cream maker. The result is a bright, creamy, tangy lemon ice cream that tastes like summer.
This is my family's recipe, passed down from my mother's Aunt Grace Hocker of Baxter Springs, Kansas. It has to be close to 100 years old because she was born in 1889.
Back then, they cranked it by hand at barbecues while the kids took turns at the handle. Now, I make it for our 4th of July gatherings at the lake house, and I always double the batch because my husband goes back for thirds.
The most unpredictable part of this recipe is the lemons themselves. Some years, four lemons give you enough juice. Other years, you need thirteen. I always weigh individual lemons at the store and pick the heaviest ones since more weight usually means more juice. If you come up a little short, use what you have. It will still taste great.
If you love a bright, fruit-forward dessert, my peach crisp with pecans is worth making when stone fruit season hits. It has the same kind of fresh, summer energy as this lemon ice cream.
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Why This Recipe Is Worth Making
- This is not a trendy dessert. It is a classic and is still made after generations.
- Only five ingredients. Nothing processed or artificial.
- No custard base, no tempering eggs, no stovetop required.
- The churned texture is noticeably lighter than no-churn versions.
- Make it the morning of or the day before, and it is ready when you need it.
Ingredients
You only need a few ingredients to make this tangy lemon ice cream!
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Lemon is the star ingredient here, so use fresh lemons. Bottled lemon juice will not give you the same bright, fresh flavor. Plan on having more than you think you need. Lemons are wildly unpredictable in how much juice you can squeeze out of them. Weigh them individually at the store and choose the heaviest ones.
- Granulated Sugar: Sugar helps balance the sharp acidity of the lemon.
- Milk: Use 2% or whole milk. Milk balances the fat ratio of the recipe. If you swapped it out for more cream or substituted half and half, the ice cream would leave a heavy, fatty coating on the roof of your mouth.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: This is what gives the ice cream its richness and creamy body. Do not substitute.
- Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt: I added this ingredient because salt enhances the flavors of desserts. Use half of the measurement if you have Morton's.
- Vodka (optional): Add 1 ounce of vodka to the batch after churning and combine with a spatula. Alcohol lowers the freezing point of the mixture, which makes the ice cream a little easier to scoop straight from the freezer. You will not taste it. This is especially helpful if you are making it a day or two ahead.
See the recipe card below for ingredient measurements.
No-Churn vs. Ice Cream Maker
There are a lot of no-churn lemon ice cream recipes out there. Most use whipped whipping cream folded into condensed milk. They are easy, and they are good. But they are not this.
Churning incorporates air into the mixture in a controlled way, giving you a lighter texture, which is what makes it so refreshing.
If you already own an ice cream maker, this recipe is an easy reason to pull it out. For summer get-togethers, my pan-seared salmon topped with strawberry salsa is a great main dish to serve before this dessert, or browse more summer recipes for ideas.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Juice the lemons over a strainer resting on a quart-sized liquid measuring cup. This will strain out the seeds. Set aside.
Step 2: Add the sugar and salt to the lemon juice. Whisk until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Store it in the refrigerator while you set up the ice cream maker.
Step 3: Pour the lemon mixture into your ice cream maker, add the milk and heavy whipping cream.
Step 4: Churn according to the manufacturer's directions. My ice cream maker runs for about 30 minutes before it finishes churning. Transfer the churned ice cream to a freezer-safe container with a lid. Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.
Top Tips
Make it the morning before you need it. This ice cream firms up best with a full 4-6 hours in the freezer.
Do not skip straining the juice. Pulp and seeds in the mix will affect the texture of the final ice cream.
Make Ahead Instructions
This recipe is designed to be made ahead, which is part of what makes it so practical for summer entertaining.
For a crowd: Since I'm pulling out the ice cream maker, I always double the batch. Four quarts go fast.
Morning of: Churn in the morning, freeze for at least 4 hours, and it will be scoopable by dinner.
Day before: Overnight freezing gives you a firmer, cleaner scoop.
Storage Information
Freezer: Store in a covered, airtight freezer-safe container for up to 2 weeks.
Scooping from frozen: Ice cream made a day or more ahead can freeze very firm. Plan to set the container out at room temperature for about 30 minutes before you want to serve it. If your container is microwave-safe, you can speed that up by microwaving it for 30 seconds to soften it enough to scoop. You can also add 1 ounce of vodka to the batch before churning to make it easier to scoop.
FAQ
The mixture is thin enough that it needs churning to develop the right texture. Without it, it will freeze into a solid, icy block. You can use a fork to scratch and rake the mixture every thirty minutes, turning it into a crystal-like, refreshing granita.
Plan for 7-10 as a starting point, but have a few extras on hand. This year I used 13 lemons. Weigh them at the store and pick the heaviest ones.
Fresh is strongly recommended. Bottled lemon juice has additives, and in a recipe with only five ingredients, the quality of the lemon juice is everything.
More Summer Recipes You Will Love
Did you try any of these tips? Leave a comment below to let us know how it turned out! Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Lemon Ice Cream Recipe
Equipment
- lemon squeezer
- strainer
- whisk
- ice cream maker
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (7-10 lemons)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2½ cups milk, 2% or whole
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Instructions
- Juice the lemons over a strainer resting on a quart-sized liquid measuring cup. This will keep the seeds out of the ice cream base. Set aside.
- Add the sugar and salt to the lemon juice. Whisk until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Store it in the refrigerator while you set up the ice cream maker.
- Pour the lemon mixture into your ice cream maker, add the milk and heavy whipping cream. Churn according to the manufacturer's directions. My ice cream maker runs for about 30 minutes before it finishes churning.
- Transfer the churned ice cream to a freezer-safe container with a lid. Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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