An easy no churn recipe for homemade key lime pie ice cream, flavored with fresh lime zest and tart lime juice, and flecked with crumbled graham crackers.
You might also love these no churn ice cream recipes for strawberry orange sherbet, black cherry vanilla chocolate chunk ice cream, and chocolate almond amaretto ice cream.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy No Churn Recipe. You won’t even need an ice cream maker for this key lime pie ice cream, just an electric mixer for whipping up the cream until fluffy.
Fresh Ingredients. With both fresh lime zest, lime juice and no artificial flavors or colors, this lime ice cream tastes like summer.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Sweetened Condensed Milk. You won’t need to add additional sugar to the ice cream, since the sweetened condensed milk sweetens the ice cream and gives it a smooth, creamy texture.
- Limes. You’ll need at least one fresh lime for zesting, but quite a few more if you want to squeeze them for the juice. I used bottled key lime juice, though.
- Vodka. The addition of a small amount of alcohol lowers the freezing point of the ice cream and helps keep the texture smooth, rather than icy.
- Cream. Use “heavy whipping cream” which has a high fat content that’s necessary when making ice cream.
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, lime zest, vanilla, salt, vodka and lime juice.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the cream until soft fluffy peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the ice cream mixture.
- Spread half the ice cream into a lidded, freezer-safe container with at least a 2 quart capacity. Sprinkle with half the crumbled graham crackers. Repeat with another layer of ice cream and graham crackers, and gently swirl the crackers into the ice cream.
- Freeze until firm, at least 8 hours, or overnight.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Either fresh or bottled, regular lime juice and key lime juice can be used for this recipe.
Due to the water content in the lime juice, this ice cream can tend to be a bit icy, without the addition of the vodka. The alcohol lowers the freezing point of the mixture to help it freeze with a smoother texture. If you don’t want to add the vodka, and you own an ice cream maker, I recommend churning the ice cream base in your ice cream maker before freezing it, which will also help smooth out the texture.
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No Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
Ingredients
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tbsp fresh lime zest
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tbsp vodka
- ⅔ cup key lime juice, fresh or bottled
- 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
- 6 graham crackers, crumbled
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, lime zest, vanilla, salt, vodka and lime juice.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the cream until soft fluffy peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the ice cream mixture.
- Spread half the ice cream into a lidded, freezer-safe container with at least a 2 quart capacity. Sprinkle with half the crumbled graham crackers. Repeat with another layer of ice cream and graham crackers, and gently swirl the crackers into the ice cream.
- Freeze until firm, at least 8 hours, or overnight.
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