33 Ice Cream Recipes to Chill With This Summer

From classic ice cream and gelato to vegan varieties and frozen custards, here's a big batch of our favorite scoopable delights.

A parfait glass holding three scoops of cajeta ice cream with a small jar of cajeta in the background.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Making ice cream might seem a little intimidating, but once you have the necessary equipment it's not only easy, but incredibly fun. Preparing ice cream from scratch is also a great way to exercise your creative muscles; once you've mastered the technique, your imagination is just about the only limit. Classics like vanilla, chocolate, and mint chip are awesome, but how about flavors made with smoked cream, rum and lime, or even cheddar cheese? To start your own ice cream adventure, first check out our ice cream page, then dive into our 33 favorite recipes for conventional (and not-so-conventional!) ice cream, gelatos, creamy coconut-based vegan varieties, and dense Midwestern frozen custard.

Traditional Ice Cream

Meyer Lemon Ice Cream

Two scoops of Meyer lemon ice cream next to two whole Meyer lemons.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This ice cream is essentially a lemon meringue pie in frozen form: rich, creamy, and tart, with the orange-like sweetness and mellow acidity of fresh Meyer lemons. The higher proportion of Meyer lemon zest and juice means that the cream won't weigh down that bright lemon flavor.

Get the recipe for Meyer Lemon Ice Cream »

Fresh Pineapple Ice Cream

A scoop of homemade pineapple ice cream decorated with a cocktail umbrella.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This ice cream, made from fresh pineapple purée, is as refreshing and bright as a sorbet but also happens to be super creamy. And while there's nothing wrong with enjoying it in all its pineapple-y complexity, if you use your pineapple trimmings to make pineapple syrup, you can combine the two in a glass and top with club soda for an ice cream float like no other.

Get the recipe for Fresh Pineapple Ice Cream »

Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream

Overhead of two scoops of homemade oatmeal cookie ice cream in a bowl next to a tea towel.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Everything you like about oatmeal cookies distilled, condensed, and made even better by being churned up into scoopable form. A brown sugar base gets infused with toasted oats, a fragrant cinnamon stick, and a vanilla bean, then swirled with toasted oat clusters, toasted pecans, and chewy and tart dried cherries.

Get the recipe for Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream »

Black Sesame Ice Cream

A small glass bowl holding two scoops of black sesame ice cream.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

As ice creams go, this is about as dark as you're going to get. Made with Japanese black sesame paste, it has a unique, rich, and super nutty flavor; if you like peanut butter ice cream, you'll love this one. You will have to seek out the Japanese stuff, like Kuki black sesame paste, which can be found online; American black sesame paste, which is made from raw, un-roasted black sesame seeds, is a little too astringent and doesn't have a robust enough flavor.

Get the recipe for Black Sesame Ice Cream »

Oreo Ice Cream

A small dish of Oreo ice cream with a homemade Oreo-style cookie on the side.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Cookies and cream? We can do better. And we did! This ice cream incorporates crushed Oreo cookies (either from the store or made from scratch) into the ice cream base, then crushed-up sandwich cookies get churned into the mix right at the end. The only thing that could top it? Stuffing it between two Oreo-stuffed cookies for the ultimate cookies 'n' cream ice cream sandwich.

Get the recipe for Oreo Ice Cream »

Homemade Speculoos Ice Cream

Scooping homemade speculoos ice cream out of a pint container.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

What's better than eating Biscoff and ice cream? Eating homemade Biscoff with homemade Biscoff ice cream! We crush up the spiced speculoos cookies and dissolve them in the ice cream base, ensuring a silky-smooth result. The intriguing caramel flavor makes it perfect for pairing with apple pie.

Get the recipe for Homemade Speculoos Ice Cream »

Smoked Muscovado Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream

A small orange bowl of smoked muscovado sugar ice cream.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

I've always been partial to vanilla ice cream, but I understand why people tend to think it's boring. This ice cream is anything but, thanks to dark, molasses-infused muscovado sugar and smoked cream. We smoke the cream almost like a piece of meat, but set it in an ice bath so it doesn't cook.

Get the recipe for Smoked Muscovado Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream »

Scotch Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

A bowl holding three scoops of Scotch vanilla bean ice cream.

Serious Eats / Max Falkowitz

We go with a different sort of smokiness for this grown-up vanilla ice cream variation: Scotch. Adding a shot of whisky (preferably a Highland Scotch like Glenlivet 12) to the base before churning gives the ice cream a subtle maltiness and brings out the vanilla's floral, almost honey-like flavors.

Get the recipe for Scotch Vanilla Bean Ice Cream »

The Darkest Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

A scoop of darkest dark chocolate ice cream with cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and chocolate disks in the background.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

For a chocolate ice cream to draw me away from vanilla, it needs to be seriously chocolatey. Forget about mild milk chocolate—I'm looking for something more intense. This recipe delivers with plenty of high-quality dark bar chocolate and cocoa powder. What really sets the ice cream apart is that we steep bitter cocoa nibs into the base to fortify the chocolate's edgier side.

Get the recipe for The Darkest Dark Chocolate Ice Cream »

Bold and Bracing Coffee Ice Cream

Overhead of a scoop of homemade coffee ice cream with a spoon below.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Keeping with the bold and bitter flavors, this ice cream is perfect for those of you who like your coffee black. We give the ice cream its intensity by steeping five tablespoons of medium-grind coffee into a base that has just enough butterfat to be creamy, but not so much as to dull the coffee's bite.

Get the recipe for Bold and Bracing Coffee Ice Cream »

Milky and Mild Coffee Ice Cream

A dish holding three scoop of milky and mild coffee ice cream.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

We're equal-opportunity coffee lovers here, and there's nothing wrong with wanting milk and sugar in your cup. This recipe plays to coffee's milder side by using just two tablespoons of ground beans and steeping them in a base that's higher in butterfat. This should still taste like coffee, though, so go (relatively) easy on the sugar.

Get the recipe for Milky and Mild Coffee Ice Cream »

The Best Mint Chip Ice Cream

A dish of homemade mint chip ice cream garnished with a mint leaf.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

I don't hate the mint extract that flavors classic mint chip ice cream—it certainly packs a ton of minty flavor. The problem is that the flavor you get from the extract is pretty one-note. Our updated recipe is flavored with fresh mint leaves, which give the ice cream a more subtly complex, grassy flavor.

Get the recipe for The Best Mint Chip Ice Cream »

Smoked Honey Mint Chip Ice Cream

A dish of smoked honey mint chip ice cream garnished with fresh mint leaves.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This mint chip variation also uses fresh mint leaves, which we steep into the same smoked cream from our smoked muscovado vanilla. We also mix in a quarter cup of honey, which has a deep sweetness that ties together the bright mint and rich smoked cream. For the chips, we go with dark chocolate, which is chopped fine and chilled before being added.

Get the recipe for Smoked Honey Mint Chip Ice Cream »

Rocky Road Ice Cream

A waffle cone holding a scoop of homemade rocky road ice cream.

Serious Eats / Robyn Lee

At Serious Eats, we like our chunky ice cream extra chunky, so the typical almonds and marshmallows in rocky road just aren't enough. To up the chunk factor, we supplement the traditional mix-ins with chopped white chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. The ice cream itself is just milk chocolate, which is mild enough to let the other flavors shine.

Get the recipe for Rocky Road Ice Cream »

The Best Strawberry Ice Cream

A small parfait glass holding a scoop of strawberry ice cream.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Have you ever taken a bite of strawberry ice cream and found it to be incredibly icy? The problem is that the berries are full of water, which is the enemy of good ice cream. We combat the iciness by adding corn syrup to the base. For the best flavor we use small, super ripe strawberries and leave them uncooked.

Get the recipe for The Best Strawberry Ice Cream »

Peanut Butter Honey Ice Cream

A tray of peanut butter honey ice cream with a scoop of ice cream being rolled out.

Serious Eats / Robyn Lee

The best ice cream bases are high in fat, protein, and sugar, so peanut butter delivers on all counts. We use it here to make an incredibly smooth and creamy ice cream flavored with floral wildflower honey. Be careful what honey you use—you want something assertive, but the darkest varieties will be overpowering.

Get the recipe for Peanut Butter Honey Ice Cream »

Browned Butter Pecan Ice Cream

A small parfait glass of browned butter pecan ice cream garnished with a single pecan.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Butter pecan ice cream should be more than just vanilla ice cream with nuts mixed in—we want the ice cream itself to taste like pecans. We accomplish that by steeping pecans directly into the base, and also by mixing in brown butter for even more nutty flavor. Make sure to use a fresh batch of nuts for mix-ins—the steeped ones lose most of their flavor to the base.

Get the recipe for Browned Butter Pecan Ice Cream »

Maple Walnut Ice Cream

A small blue dish of homemade maple walnut ice cream.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Our maple walnut ice cream uses the same technique as our butter pecan—we steep the nuts right into the base. Instead of sugar, we sweeten the ice cream with dark maple syrup, which gives the dessert a complex, bittersweet edge.

Get the recipe for Maple Walnut Ice Cream »

Dense, Chewy, and Rich New England-Style Ice Cream

A small dish of dense, chewy, and rich New England-style ice cream.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

If you've spent time in New England, you're likely familiar with a type of ice cream that is dense and rich, almost to the point of having a taffy-like texture. The pros make it by churning the ice cream slowly to get as little air as possible into it—if you're stuck with a single-speed home ice cream machine, you can replicate the texture by using a base fortified with corn syrup and tons of protein and churning it until just set.

Get the recipe for Dense, Chewy, and Rich New England-Style Ice Cream »

Cheddar Ice Cream for Apple Pie

A slice of apple pie with a scoop of cheddar ice cream on top.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Can't decide whether to eat your apple pie with a scoop of ice cream or a slice of cheese? Thanks to this recipe, which has an ice cream base with sharp cheddar melted into it, you don't have to decide. I'll warn you that while this works remarkably well on top of warm pie, it tastes pretty weird on its own—so keep the pie handy.

Get the recipe for Cheddar Ice Cream for Apple Pie »

Philadelphia-Style Ice Cream

30-Minute Philadelphia-Style Ice Cream

A cocktail glass holding two scoops of 30-minute Philadelphia-style ice cream.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

On the opposite end of the spectrum from New England-style ice cream is Philadelphia-style, which is made with no eggs at all and churns up wonderfully light and fluffy. Leaving out the eggs makes the ice cream quick (no need to cook the base) and gives the finished product a purer dairy flavor.

Get the recipe for 30-Minute Philadelphia-Style Ice Cream »

Creamy Cajeta Ice Cream

A parfait glass holding three scoops of creamy cajeta ice cream with a small jar of cajeta in the background.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Cajeta casera is a rich, caramelly sauce made with goat's milk—think of it as the most complex dulce de leche you've ever tasted. It's great spooned on top of ice cream, but here we make it into ice cream by mixing it with milk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract or rum. You might notice that there are no eggs in the recipe, which works because the cajeta has plenty of protein on its own.

Get the recipe for Creamy Cajeta Ice Cream »

Blackberry Ice Cream

Two scoops of homemade blackberry ice cream in a white dish garnished with two blackberries.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

When summer blackberries are in season, you don't really want to mess with their flavor, so an eggless ice cream is the best way to get them into a scoop. A pinch of cinnamon serves to accentuate their bright flavor and aroma, and a bit of lemon juice helps to cut through the cream.

Get the recipe for Blackberry Ice Cream »

Cherry Ice Cream

A small glass dish of homemade cherry ice cream.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Another example of letting the fruit's flavor shine by omitting eggs, this ice cream takes a bit of effort but is entirely worth it. Roasting the cherries with sugar intensifies their flavor (you can also roast them in a grill for a hint of smoke), and steeping the cream used in the base with the cherry pits doubles down on the cherry flavor. And while the ice cream is delicious, those cherry pits can be reused to make whipped cream, and the leftover strained cherry pulp makes a wonderful jam.

Get the recipe for Cherry Ice Cream »

Gelato

Fior di Latte Gelato

A small glass dish of homemade fior di latte ice cream.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Fior di latte means "flower of milk," which is another way of saying "the best thing you can make with the best milk," which is another way of saying "this gelato is amazing." Since the point of this frozen treat is to highlight the inherent qualities of the dairy you're using, it really does pay off to source the best dairy you can find—you want it as fresh as possible, and preferably from a grass-fed cow. Keep in mind that the attention to quality also goes for stracciatella gelato, which is, ideally, fior di latte gelato with the best chocolate you can find swirled in.

Get the recipe for Fior di Latte Gelato »

Raspberry Ripple Goat's Milk Gelato

Homemade raspberry ripple goat's milk gelato being scooped out of a glass container.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This gelato is a riff on fior di latte, but instead of cow's milk, it uses goat's milk. Don't worry—goat's milk is fresh and sweet and has none of the musty funk that is so desirable in goat's cheese. It also has a slight nutty note, which complements the swirl of bright-tasting raspberry syrup quite nicely.

Get the recipe for Raspberry Ripple Goat's-Milk Gelato »

Honey Semifreddo (Frozen Italian Dessert)

A homemade honey semifreddo garnished with cherries and Marcona almonds.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Okay, so semifreddo is decidedly not gelato, but it is spiritually closer to gelato than any of the other frozen desserts on this list, so here it is. This recipe produces a classic semifreddo, but streamlines the process in that instead of whipping the yolks and whites separately before combining them, you just have to whip whole eggs. The simplicity of this treat means you'll want to seek out some nice local honey, preferably with floral undertones, as the flavor of the honey really makes the dish. Garnish with some in-season fruit and nuts and it's the perfect way to end a party or barbecue.

Get the recipe for Honey Semifreddo (Frozen Italian Dessert) »

Vegan Ice Cream

Vegan Mint Chip Ice Cream

Three scoops of vegan mint chip ice cream in a green parfait dish.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Just like dairy-based ice cream, vegan ice cream needs a lot of fat to churn up nice and creamy. One way to get that fat is from coconut—not just coconut milk, but coconut cream as well. Our basic coconut-based vegan ice cream can be flavored with chocolate or vanilla, but pairs especially well with mint.

Get the recipe for Vegan Mint Chip Ice Cream »

Vegan Salty Peanut Butter Ice Cream

A small dish of vegan salty peanut butter ice cream garnished with sea salt.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

I've already told you that peanut butter is a killer way to add body to dairy-based ice creams, and am happy to say it works just as well in vegan ones, too. Make sure to find a vegan "no-stir" variety, then mix in a good pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness.

Get the recipe for Vegan Salty Peanut Butter Ice Cream »

Vegan Coconut, Lime, and Rum Ice Cream

A martini glass filled with vegan coconut, lime, and rum ice cream.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

While our last two recipes cover up the coconut with other flavors, this one goes all in on the tropical theme by complementing it with bright, citrusy lime zest and deep, molasses-tinged dark rum. Alcohol can keep ice cream from freezing properly, so don't add too much rum (save the rest for a cocktail).

Get the recipe for Vegan Coconut, Lime, and Rum Ice Cream »

Frozen Custard

Soft and Rich Vanilla Frozen Custard

A dish of soft and rich vanilla frozen custard with multi-colored sprinkles on top.

Serious Eats / Robyn Lee

I'm a Wisconsin boy at heart, so my favorite frozen dairy treat is frozen custard, not ice cream. Like New England-style ice cream, dense and creamy frozen custard is made using machinery not available to home cooks. Fortunately, you can get pretty close with an ice cream base with lots of cream and eggs yolks.

Get the recipe for Soft and Rich Vanilla Frozen Custard »

Soft and Rich Chocolate Frozen Custard

A bowl of Soft and Rich Chocolate Frozen Custard.
Robyn Lee

This recipe takes our same frozen custard base and adds Dutch-process cocoa powder. Along with the cream and eggs, a few tablespoons of corn syrup help give the dessert its signature richness. Frozen custard doesn't keep well—invite some friends over and polish this off within two hours of churning.

Get the recipe for Soft and Rich Chocolate Frozen Custard »

No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

A dish of No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream with multi-colored sprinkles.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

With just five ingredients, this recipe produces an ice cream with a fresh dairy flavor and a classic supermarket-vanilla profile with no trace of that canned milk taste. One of the best parts about it is that it doesn't even require an ice cream machine.

Get the recipe for No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream »

July 2017

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