Lemon Ice Cream – Barefoot in the kitchen

This is lemon ice cream like you’ve never tasted before! Sweet cream and tart lemon juice come together in this easy homemade ice cream recipe.

Lemon. ice cream. I’ve been scribbling the idea for this sweet and tart ice cream in my recipe notebook for over a year now and can’t believe it took me so long to finally try it. I’ve made this a few times now and each time I’ve loved it more.

ice in winter? You bet. When citrus season is in full swing, I can’t resist mixing up a batch of this creamy ice cream.

The tart lemon with the sweet cream is a combination that is refreshing and rich at the same time. Nothing beats a box of homemade ice cream in the freezer.

Served over a slice of this lightly glazed lemon cake, this is a dessert worthy of a fancy dinner or a casual weeknight.

Homemade Lemon Ice Cream

When you think of frozen lemon desserts, the first thing that might come to mind is icy lemon sorbet. I love a refreshing fruit sorbet, especially on a hot summer day. But this homemade lemon ice cream is nothing like sherbet or sorbet.

This is creamy, rich ice cream with an unexpected and totally fresh lemon shine.

If you’re still not convinced you need to try this, my eldest son chose this ice cream over chocolate ice cream two nights in a row, proclaiming it one of the best ice creams we’ve ever made.

Lemon ice cream

For this lemon ice cream, I used sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, regular whole milk, and sugar as a creamy base.

Lots of freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon peel and a pinch of vanilla give this ice cream its irresistible taste.

I love how easy ice cream is to make. Just mix, pop in the machine and serve! no machine? No problem.

The most popular question I get is if it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is yes. You can make ice cream without a machine. Full directions can be found here!

Lemon ice cream recipe

Wondering exactly how to make lemon ice cream? First, in a bowl, whisk together the condensed milk and lemon juice until smooth. Add the cream, milk, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla and a pinch of salt and mix.

Pour the lemon ice cream mixture into your ice cream maker, freeze and stir according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

This ice cream tastes fantastic both as a soft ice cream and as a hard ice cream.

For soft ice cream: Serve the ice cream immediately after removing it from the ice cream machine.

For hard ice: Place the ice cream in an airtight container and store in the freezer until ready to serve. It takes about 2 hours in the freezer to achieve the fully “set” texture you find in the ice creams you buy at the store.

Get ready to enjoy the creamiest lemon ice cream you’ve ever tasted!

How to make lemon ice cream

There are a few things that are critical to making this homemade lemon ice cream. Use fresh lemon juice! Sure you could use the bottled stuff, but fresher tastes so much better.

It doesn’t take long to squeeze a few lemons, and the bright citrus notes of freshly squeezed juice make a world of difference. Since you’re peeling lemons anyway, you might as well use the whole fruit.

Get the lemon zest chopped as finely as possible. The zest adds a deep lemon flavor that we need in this ice cream, but you don’t want to be biting into big chunks of lemon zest! A microplane zester or similar works beautifully.

Be sure to use sweetened condensed milk in this recipe. Condensed milk does not contain sugar, so the sweetness of the ice cream will not be the same. You need that sweetness to balance out the tart lemon juice.

Lemon Desserts

There’s nothing quite like the balance of sweet and tart that a lemon dessert offers. When citrus fruits are in abundance, I start craving sunburst lemon bars. And now that I’ve discovered the joys of lemon ice cream, I’m going to add it to my list of must-have lemon desserts.

When I think of lemon desserts, I often think of bright sunshine and warm weather, but I love lemon desserts all year round. These Lemon Ginger Cheesecake Mousse Cups were a hit over the holidays.

If you’re craving more lemon dessert, you’ll also love this divine Lemon Angel Pie and Lemon Coffee Cake. And don’t forget to try this Lemon Poppy Seed Bread!

Once you have your own ice cream maker, you’re ready to make all kinds of delicious ice cream that the family will love. If you love this citrus ice cream, mark my grandmother’s six three and pina colada ice cream to try next!

Get ready for homemade ice cream like you’ve never tasted before. Sweet cream and tart lemon juice come together in this unforgettable ice cream for lemon lovers.

With over 70 ice cream recipes to choose from, there’s sure to be something for everyone! If you’re new to ice cream making, the best and easiest vanilla ice cream is a great place to start.

These are my favorite inexpensive ice cream storage containers. They’re perfect for gifting (who doesn’t love homemade ice cream?), storing, reusing, etc. I write the flavors on the lids with a marker and it washes off with dish soap.

I have more scoops of ice cream than I can keep track of at this point and I’m definitely playing favorites. This ice cream scoop does the best job ever of cutting through solid ice and still delivers a nice scoop. It gets bonus points for being one of the cheapest shovels I own.

Don’t miss our Ice Cream Maker Review for all the information you need to find the BEST Ice Cream Maker for your needs! Spoiler alert—our top-of-the-line sub-$50 machine might surprise you. It really surprised me!

{originally posted 3/25/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 4/14/23}