An easy, eggless recipe for the creamiest and most delicious sweet and tart raspberry ice cream, full of chopped bittersweet chocolate. This ice cream is a simple mixture of raspberry puree (strained to remove the seeds) and cream, churned until thick and creamy. The dark chocolate chunks perfectly complement the flavor of the raspberries, and the vivid pink color is just so pretty. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, and you’re looking for a no churn raspberry ice cream recipe, be sure to see the FAQs section above the recipe card for a no churn alternative.
You might also love these recipes for strawberry vanilla bean ice cream, blueberry ice cream, and pistachio ice cream.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Pretty in Pink. This raspberry ice cream is naturally pink, and I just love the vivid color. I created this ice cream recipe with Valentine’s Day in mind, but it’s wonderful for any season.
Simple Ingredients. You only need a few simple ingredients to make a delicious batch of homemade ice cream that’s so much tastier than store bought ice cream.
Tart and Sweet. While there’s plenty of sugar to sweeten the raspberries, their tartness really comes through. The flavor is just so good, and I especially love it with the chunks of dark chocolate flecked throughout.
Versatile Recipe. You can churn this in your ice cream maker, or use the no churn recipe variation in the FAQs. And instead of raspberries, you could even try blackberries! I’ve also made this ice cream with blueberries (using just a touch less sugar), and it’s fantastic.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Raspberries. You can use either fresh or frozen berries, although I used a bag of frozen raspberries for my ice cream.
- Granulated Sugar. Sweetens the ice cream, but also keeps it smooth as it churns and freezes.
- Lemon Juice. Enhances the flavor of the raspberries.
- Heavy Whipping Cream. The high fat content of heavy whipping cream is needed for a rich mouth feel and smooth, creamy texture.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Vodka. A tablespoon of vodka helps to lower the freezing point of the ice cream and eliminate ice crystals, for a smooth, creamy texture.
- Chocolate. Rather than using chocolate chips, you’ll want to chop up a bar of chocolate. This will give you a mixture of fine shards and chunks of chocolate throughout your ice cream. I used Chocolove 55% Dark Chocolate.
Instructions
Make the raspberry puree.
- In a saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice. Over medium heat, bring the raspberries to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for several minutes until the berries are soft and juicy and the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat.
- Pour the hot raspberries into a blender and blend for about 30 seconds, until liquefied.
- Press the fruit puree through a fine mesh strainer to remove and discard the seeds, so you have a seedless raspberry puree. You should get about 2 cups of puree.
- Cover and chill the puree for several hours, or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.
Make the ice cream.
- In a bowl, whisk together the chilled raspberry puree with the cream, vanilla and salt.
- Pour the ice cream mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions, until the ice cream is thick and creamy with the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
- During the last minute of churning, add the vodka and the chopped chocolate (chop the chocolate so that you have a mixture of both fine shards and larger chunks that are no bigger than 1/4 inch).
- Spread the ice cream into a freezer-safe container with a lid, and freeze until firm enough to scoop, at least 8-10 hours, or overnight. You should get about 1 1/2 – 2 quarts of ice cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the vodka do in ice cream?
A tablespoon of vodka in homemade ice cream helps to lower the freezing point of the ice cream and eliminate ice crystals, for a smooth, creamy texture.
Do you have a no churn raspberry ice cream recipe?
- For a no churn raspberry ice cream, you should simmer the raspberries and lemon juice with just 1/4 cup of sugar. This will be easiest to do with frozen raspberries instead of fresh. Puree, strain and chill the raspberry puree as instructed.
- Whisk the chilled raspberry puree together with the vanilla and salt + 1 can of sweetened condensed milk. (The sweetened condensed milk contains sugar, which is why you will use less added sugar.)
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cold heavy whipping cream until soft, billowy peaks form.
- Whisk the raspberry mixture into the whipped cream until well combined, and fold in the chopped chocolate.
- Spread the ice cream into a freezer safe container, and freeze until firm enough to scoop, at least 10-12 hours, or overnight.
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Raspberry Chocolate Chunk 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
- Ice Cream Maker
Ingredients
- 12 oz frozen raspberries
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tbsp vodka (optional)
- 3 oz semi sweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped
Instructions
Make the raspberry puree.
- In a saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice. Over medium heat, bring the raspberries to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for several minutes until the berries are soft and juicy and the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat.
- Pour the hot raspberries into a blender and blend for about 30 seconds, until liquefied.
- Press the fruit puree through a fine mesh strainer to remove and discard the seeds, so you have a seedless raspberry puree. You should get about 2 cups of puree.
- Cover and chill the puree for several hours, or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.
Make the ice cream.
- In a bowl, whisk together the chilled raspberry puree with the cream, vanilla and salt.
- Pour the ice cream mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions, until the ice cream is thick and creamy with the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
- During the last minute of churning, add the vodka and the chopped chocolate (chop the chocolate so that you have a mixture of both fine shards and larger chunks that are no bigger than 1/4 inch).
- Spread the ice cream into a freezer-safe container with a lid, and freeze until firm enough to scoop, at least 8-10 hours, or overnight. You should get about 1 1/2 – 2 quarts of ice cream.
Excellent ice cream! I made with wild black raspberries from our woods, and left out the vodka since my 3 year old granddaughter was eating it. Easily scoopable even after several days in the freezer. Will definitely make again!
Hi – I made this a few weeks ago and we loved it. Do you think I could use strawberries instead of raspberries? I don’t know if they would boil down to the same type of consistency. Thanks
I think it would work, but strawberries have a higher water content, so I’d probably reduce them more until syrupy, and not so watery.
Just wanted to say that I recently bought an ice cream maker and have experimented so far with a couple of different recipes, but BY A LONG SHOT this produces the most flavorful, best-textured ice cream that I’ve found. It’s a new favorite.
We recently found a great used ice cream maker and the kids chose this recipe for our first test batch. It was a huge hit with the entire family! The store was out of frozen raspberries so we swapped for 12oz of fresh while keeping everything else the same. The flavor was amazing and the texture was creamy even without the egg yolks most other recipes call for. We will definitely be making this again!
WOW! I wanted raspberry choc chip ice cream, but I now live in Arkansas and it was impossible to find. But it led me to you and the fabulous recipe. I have always started with a custard ice cream base which more often than not turned out icy. This is better and easier. Kudos!
I’m so happy you loved it! It’s amazing that it can be even creamier than a custard based recipe.
Love Raspberry and chocolate combination. Measured 12 ounces of frozen berries and after the cooking and sugar only came out with 1 1/2 cups puree so I will add more berries next time and can’t wait to make again . No more trying to find in the stores . Better homemade anyway. Thanks for the recipe.
This recipe came amazing! Thank you so much! I don’t know, maybe the raspberries were sweeter than normal, but to my liking the finished product was a little sweeter than expected. Regardless, it was wonderful. Everyone enjoyed it, without a doubt.
The flavor and sweetness of the raspberries will definitely make a difference in the overall sweetness of the ice cream. That said, though, the added sugar in the recipe also helps to keep the ice cream smooth, and without enough sugar, the texture can end up icy. So glad you enjoyed it, though!
Thanks Heather, I didn’t KNOW that the sugar had everything to do with the creaminess. As a matter of fact, I had made a cherry ice cream (or should I say attempted) and reduced the sugar quite a bit. Ergo the overall “icyness” of it. It was pretty horrific. Eventually, I combined it with a very creamy “vanilla” and it was much much better.
Question, what if I substituted a “fake sugar” like Whole Earth’s plant based sugar? I guess I could experiment, just thought you would know the answer though. Thanks and continued success with your website!
I’m so glad you loved the ice cream! Yes, sugar plays such a crucial role in so many things. I’ve never used sugar replacements for ice cream or baking, so I couldn’t say how they would work out.
Oh, your welcome. I’ll eventually figure it out. As long as it doesnt take away from your delicious recipe. My sister is diabetic, and I am pre-diabetic. Oh well, them’s the breaks!