Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream – words can’t even begin to describe how luscious this homemade ice cream is. It’s a must try recipe!
Nothing’s better on a hot summer afternoon than a bowl of homemade ice cream. Rocky Road and Reese’s Ice Cream are two of my favorites!
Summer is winding down, but it’s not too late to enjoy a bowl of homemade ice cream, especially one as tasty as this recipe! Although to be perfectly honest, I can enjoy a bowl of ice cream in the dead of winter. Any other ice cream die hards out there?
I usually prefer some type of chocolate in my ice cream, but my husband prefers fruit flavors. He thought that this ice cream was spectacular, and I have to agree with him.
Even without a hint of chocolate, this ice cream is on my top five list of all ice cream flavors I’ve ever tried! It is unbelievably yummy!
I have always been a fan of blueberries and lemon together, but I’ve never had them in ice cream. It is a match made in heaven. And of course the cream cheese makes the ice cream so rich and creamy. Oh my word. I’m drooling just thinking about it.
This is the kind of ice cream that you want to hide in the freezer and eat after the kids are in bed. Because trust me, you won’t want to share it! But just for the record, I did let my kids have some. I’m not a totally horrible person. 😉
How to make Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream:
(To skip my tips and just see the full recipe card, scroll to the bottom of the post.)
Ingredients:
- blueberries (fresh or frozen berries will both work)
- cream cheese – You can use full fat or light cream cheese.
- sugar
- cream -Heavy cream makes for the most rich, creamy ice cream, but whipping cream will also work.
- milk – I use 2% milk.
- vanilla extract
- lemon juice -Use fresh lemon juice!
- lemon zest
- graham crackers
First up you make a blueberry sauce by cooking blueberries and sugar in a saucepan till thickened. Let cool and chill till cold.
Beat cream cheese till smooth, then beat in cream, milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Chill till cold, then freeze in an ice cream maker.
Set aside about a half cup of the blueberry sauce. Layer the ice cream base, the remaining blueberry sauce, and the graham cracker pieces in a freezer container. Cover and freeze for 2-3 hours or till hardened. Serve with reserved blueberry sauce.
Here are a few more mouthwatering ice cream recipes:
- Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
- White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream
- Strawberry Ice Cream
- Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Raspberry Ice Cream
- Butterfinger Ice Cream
- Milky Way Ice Cream
- Almost Homemade Ice Cream (fruit ice cream)
- Cinnamon Ice Cream
- Blueberry Ice Cream
Recipe for Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
Berry Mixture
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
- ¼ cup sugar
Ice Cream Base
- 8 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 whole graham crackers broken into pieces
Instructions
Blueberry Sauce
- Boil blueberries and sugar in a small saucepan till berries burst and the mixture has thickened. (7-8 minutes) Cool completely and chill.
Cheesecake Ice Cream Base
- Beat cream cheese and sugar till smooth. Beat in the cream, milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and zest. Chill for several hours or till cold. Churn ice cream in an ice cream maker.
To freeze:
- Set aside 1/2 cup of the blueberry sauce.
- In a freezer safe container, add spoonfuls of the ice cream base, sauce, and graham cracker pieces in multiple layers. Swirl gently if desired.
- Cover and freeze for 2-3 hours or till hardened. Serve with reserved blueberry sauce if desired.
Notes
- Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.
Nutrition
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How many quarts does this recipe make? My ice cream maker is 4 quarts and I would like to make the full 4 quarts.
I usually get between 1 1/2 – 2 quarts.
Can i add xanthan gum to stabilize it?
I haven’t tried that, but as long as you dissolve it well, it would probably be fine.
The pictures show a marbling that would suggest everything churned together, yet the instructions are to layer the ice cream base, blueberry sauce, and graham crackers in a container. That evokes an image of layer cake ice cream, not what’s so perfectly photographed here. Is it all stirred up upon serving? Can I churn it all together?
Sorry, it was a bit confusing, so I clarified the instructions on the recipe card. You layer the ingredients in multiple layers in a freezer container, then you can gently swirl them together. I don’t recommend churning everything together because the grackers fall apart, and the berries can get smashed. It will still taste good, but the texture isn’t as good, and it definitely won’t be very pretty. Hope that helps!
Can you use blueberry jam instead of making the berry mixture?
I don’t recommend using blueberry jam. Not only is it thicker, but the ratio of sugar to berries is much higher. The berry flavor wouldn’t shine through, it would be overly sweet. A low sugar jam might work, but you would need to thin it with some water.
I made this today and it is fabulous. Such good flavor, creamy and rich. I think next time I would make a couple of different fruit sauces so people have a choice of flavors to add to the plain cream cheese ice cream. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for the great recipe.
Great idea to let people choose their own fruit flavor!
Looks really good .can’t wait to try it.
This look so yummy. Thank you so much for the recipe.
You’re welcome! I hope you like it, it’s one of our favorites!
Kara
The Blueberry Ice-cream looks wonderful!
Does this or any of your recipes make an ice-cream that will last in the freezer without turning into a brick that needs a chainsaw to serve?
I have had this problem with most of the recipes have tried. (I have not tried yours yet).
Many years ago I had an ice-cream maker that used ice and salt for cooling. It was very effective and the results were very popular with kids and adults alike. It was never necessary to use it all on the day it was made. Now I find that all the recipes state that they are intended to be used within a few hours of being made and will go too hard if left. You will understand that my wife and I can not eat a litre of ice-cream in a day! With summer coming I want to have some successful ice-cream on the menu.
Put your container of ice cream in a Walmart or grocery store plastic bag and tightly twist closed. It keeps the ice cream soft.
Great tip! A large ziplock bag works well too.
I made this last year (a double batch) and it was such a hit that I just made it again. I give it to relatives and friends and take some to work and save the rest in the freezer for me for later…it is SO GOOD!
Do you think I could substitute yogurt for the milk? Looks amazing
I think yogurt should work just fine and add a nice tartness. Let me know how it turns out if you try it. 🙂
I’m going to make this tomorrow…when you say freeze in the ice cream maker do you mean actually have it churn in the ice cream maker? Thank you!
I asked my dad if he wanted ice cream or a cheesecake for his birthday. He said “How about an ice cream cheesecake!” Challenge accepted! I found this recipe and instead of adding graham crackers in the end, I just put it inside a springform pan with a graham cracker crust. It was a huge hit at his party. Several commented that it was their new favorite dessert. I will for sure make this again.
I love that idea! So glad it was such a hit at your party, and happy birthday to your dad! 🙂
How much does this recipe make?
It makes about 6 servings.
Great recipe, my family loved it and it was so easy to follow. I ended up improvising, I was out of frozen blueberries so I substituted raspberries. I used a strainer to capture the sauce without the pulp and berries. Also, I mixed the graham crackers with 1/4 cup of melted butter and 1 tsp of sugar and baked on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes. After I baked the graham cracker mixture I let it cool before crushing it up to add the last 5 minutes in the ice cream maker. I put the ice cream batter in the freezer for 3 hours before pouring into my kitchen aid ice cream maker and it took 15 minutes to thicken, then I added the raspberry sauce and the graham cracker mixture. Delish. My family loved it, it’s everyone’s favorite. I will be buying blueberries next week to make the original recipe.
Just want to make sure – you mention freezing it in an ice cream maker but you don’t mention using the ice cream maker. Is this a no-churn recipe? Can I make it if I don’t have an ice cream maker? Looks delicious!
This was the best homemade ice cream I’ve ever made! My husband and I loved it, but my kids (3 and 6 years old) didn’t like the little bits of lemon zest. This is my favorite ice cream right now, and I can’t wait to experiment with other kinds of fruit in it. Thanks so much!
I am so happy to hear that you loved it! And maybe it’s a bonus that the kids don’t like it, then you don’t have to share. 😉
I made this for a family bbq to go alongside a summer pudding. Nicest ice cream I’ve had in ages! I mixed it all in the icecream maker though so didn’t get the ripple.
Claire, did you like having it all mixed together? Could you still taste the lemon? Did you freeze it after having it in the ice cream maker? I’m trying to decide if I can add more milk in the ice cream maker and eat it directly after. Thanks in advance!
Can I use an artificial sweetner in place of the sugar?
I have never used artificial sweetener, so I’m not sure. If you have had good results using it in other ice cream recipes, I bet it would work for this one. Good luck!
What type of consistency will it be after it’s been in the ice cream maker? Could it be served after that or, is an additional 2-3 hours of freezing necessary?
When it comes out of the ice cream freezer it will be like a soft serve ice cream. You can serve it like that, but the blueberry sauce won’t be frozen, so it will make the ice cream even softer.
Do you think frozen blueberries would work?
Yes, I think frozen blueberries would work just fine!
Thanks, this looks good and delicious. I love to make different kinds of ice cream. The marble effect looks lovely. How many cups or quarts will this recipe make?
Connie
I didn’t measure it, but it should make about 1 1/2 quarts.
Do you add milk to it after you put it in the ice cream mixer
No, you add it with the cream as instructed in the recipe, then chill it.
Do I just boil the sugar and blueberries alone? Or Do I add some water to it?
Just boil the sugar and berries alone. You can mash the berries if as they are cooking it seems too dry. Of course if for some reason your mixture is really dry, you could add a little water, but I have never had to.
Could I substitute Stevia for the Sugar? I am a Diabetic. It works well in Baked dessert.
How many does this serve?
Do you actually churn it in the ice cream churn?
Yes, just follow the instructions on your ice cream maker.
Can I just set it i the freezer and mix it, say 45 in 45 minutes? I don’t have an ice cream machine
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, I recommend whipping the cream first. It will definitely turn out better. If you just freeze it without beating the cream, you will end up with a hard brick. Whipping should help it have a better texture.
What kind of cream?? Heavy cream or whipping cream?
Either kind will work.
I want a bowl of this so bad! Looks so good and that marbled look is gorgeous! YUM!
Sounds and looks so awesome! I definitely have to try this ice cream!
Kali
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