Key Lime Pie Ice Cream (So Easy!)
This Key Lime Pie Ice Cream is loaded with all of the familiar flavors of your favorite pie, including the crunchy graham cracker crust! Both key lime juice and zest infuse the ice cream with tangy flavor, while sweetened condensed milk keeps it smooth and creamy.
★★★★★
Mary Beth says –
“Delicious! I will be making this one multiple times this summer.”
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Your Favorite Key Lime Pie, as Ice Cream!
This key lime pie ice cream is incredibly simple to make! There are no ice cream bases to heat and chill, you simply whisk the ingredients together and churn according to your machine’s directions.
After a short time, you’ll have a dreamy, velvety ice cream bursting with key lime flavor. Here’s why else I adore this recipe:
✔ Mindlessly Easy to Make: This ice cream recipe feels a little bit like cheating because it is SO easy to make.
✔ Your Favorite Pie, Minus the Baking: It has all of the flavors of traditional key lime pie (including the graham cracker crumbs!) but it doesn’t require turning the oven on. Desserts like this are a lifesaver in summer!
✔ Super Duper Creamy: Sometimes homemade ice cream can be a bit icy and firm. Not this recipe!
Grab These 6 Ingredients
All of the ingredients with their measurements can be found in the recipe card below, but here’s what you’ll need and why:
- Whole Milk: Makes for a creamier ice cream while also balancing out the richness of the heavy cream.
- Key Lime Juice: Has a more floral, tart flavor than regular lime juice that makes this ice cream stand out from the crowd.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: When churned in an ice cream maker, the heavy cream fluffs up and makes for a super creamy ice cream thanks to all of the air that’s beaten into it.
- Salt: Yep, you need a little salt to enhance the key lime flavor and balance out the sweetness from the condensed milk!
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: My secret weapon for making ice cream! It’s already thick and syrupy, which removes the need to cook down the ice cream base before churning. Plus, all the sugar in the sweetened condensed milks helps prevent our ice cream from developing an icy texture.
- Graham Crackers: I prefer crushing mine coarsely with my hands so I chomp down on some bigger pieces. That’s what takes them from standard key lime ice cream to key lime pie ice cream!
Katie’s Tip: I have a go-to method for squeezing limes so they produce the most possible juice. Key limes can be pricey, so you want to get every drop of juice possible out of them!
How to Make Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
This is a very easy recipe, but it does require an ice cream machine. Here’s how the ice cream comes together:
- Whisk together the ice cream base: All of the ingredients go into a big bowl and are stirred together.
- Chill for 4 hours: This step is optional, but I find it helps the ice cream churn up nice and creamy in less time.
- Churn according to manufacturer’s instructions: This is where your ice cream maker comes into play! I’ve linked the model we have and love.
- Add the graham cracker crumbs before freezing: The coarsely chopped graham crackers are folded in last, then the whole batch is popped into the freezer until firm enough to scoop.
The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
Tips for Making Homemade Ice Cream
- Stick to full-fat dairy products: This lime ice cream recipe uses heavy cream and whole milk to get that extra creamy texture. Don’t try to substitute either ingredient for something lower in fat.
- Chill the ice cream maker insert! Make sure you have put the insert for your ice cream maker in the freezer at least 12 hours prior to churning the ice cream, or longer if your manufacturer’s user manual instruct to do so. You need to make sure it is frozen solid so the ice cream base freezes as it churns.
- A pre-chilled ice cream base churns easier: You’ll achieve the smoothest, creamiest ice cream by churning an already chilled base, so I recommend that you chill the ice cream mixture for at least a few hours before you churn it.
No Ice Cream Maker? No Problem!
You can still whip up this delicious key lime pie ice cream recipe without any fancy tools. Here’s how:
- Freeze for 2 hours: If NOT using an ice cream maker, place the ice cream base (i.e. the key lime-milk mixture) in a freezer safe container with plenty of room for stirring. Then, transfer the container with the ice cream base in it to the freezer and freeze for about 2 hours.
- Stir: After 2 hours, remove the pan from the freezer and stir it to break up any frozen chunks. Make sure you scrape along the edges of the pan as well.
- Freeze again: Return to the freezer and freeze for 30-40 minutes. Repeat the stirring and freezing until the key lime ice cream mixture is thick and frozen.
More Easy Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
Ice cream is one of my family’s favorite frozen desserts, and I usually experiment with new flavor combos and mix-ins throughout the warmer months. Some of our all-time favorite ice cream recipes are:
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Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
This key lime pie ice cream is made with a super simple no-cook base that can go straight from mixing bowl to ice cream maker in no time!
Ingredients
For the Key Lime Ice Cream
- 1 1/2 cups Whole Milk
- 1/2 cup Key Lime Juice
- Zest of 1 Lime
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- Dash of Salt
- 1 (14-ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 6 Graham Crackers (1 1/2 cookie sheets), coarsely crushed, divided
Ice Cream Garnishes
- Graham Cracker Pieces
- Key Lime Wedges or Lime Zest
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine milk, lime juice, heavy cream, salt, and sweetened condensed milk; whisk to combine.
- Cover the bowl with the ice cream base with a lid or plastic wrap. Then, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for 4 hours, or up to overnight. Not required, but recommended.
- After chilling, pour the key lime ice cream mixture into your ice cream maker, and churn the ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions.
- After churning, stir 1/3 cup graham crackers into ice cream. Then, spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container, and cover and freeze for 1 hour or until firm.
- Sprinkle each serving with 1 teaspoon graham crackers.
- Garnish with lime wedges.
Notes
Key limes: Freshly squeezed key lime juice is best, but you can use a quality bottled key lime juice if needed. Or, use regular lime juice!
Storage: If stored in an airtight container, it will last about 1 to 2 months. (Here are the ice cream containers we always use.) Because this recipe is preservative-free, the homemade ice cream is more prone to developing freezer burn if stored long term. Pressing a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the ice cream before putting the lid on the container will help preserve freshness and prevent ice crystal formation on the surface of the ice cream.
adapted from Cooking Light
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 210Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 143mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 4g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
Try Making This Ice Cream!
The next time a key lime pie craving hits, try making this simple homemade ice cream instead.
Did You Try This Recipe? I’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment and a review below—your feedback helps others and makes my day.
Share Your Creations!
If you took a photo, tag me on Instagram @goodlifeeats and use #goodlifeeatsrecipes—I’d love to see your sundaes and frozen treats!
This was originally a guest post written by Jamie of My Baking Addiction.
Urban Wife says
ohemgee. Key lime has got to be one of my all time favorites! This reminds me (although I will have to make it to have a true comparison later) of the Key Lime Pie Ice Cream found at our local grocery store. It is AMAZING! Thanks for sharing and you better believe, this is on my summer-recipes-to-make list. 🙂
John Valenty says
Wow… that looks amazing. And the presentation is exquisite. Key Lime anything is good in my book.
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
These ice cream photos are amazing! How did you do that without it melting all over the place?
Jamie | My Baking Addiction says
Thanks so much, Lauren! I think it was pure luck!
Phyllis says
I do not have an ice cream maker, but love the lime. Any way to make this into a refrigerator dessert?
Thanks.
Phyllis
Jamie | My Baking Addiction says
Phyllis–
There is a link in the post above to great article from David Lebovitz on making ice cream without an ice cream maker. Thanks for checking out the recipe!
–Jamie
mominrome says
this must be spectacular!!!
I love key lime pie and, being Italian, I am crazy about ice cream!!!
Here I have the two together!!
!
my mouth is watering….
Hannah at FleurDeLicious says
Key Lime Pie ice cream sounds SO refreshing right now. Thinking about topping this with some raspberries or blackberries…YUM. I don’t have an ice cream maker, but I think I’ll have to try out David Lebovitz’s instructions for this recipe! Thanks!
Jan says
I love anything Key Lime! I am out of Key Lime juice at the moment, but I have some Key Lime Mango juice that I think will suffice. 🙂
SnoWhite @ Finding Joy in My Kitchen says
I love lime flavors over the summer too! We recently made key lime bars and they were a huge hit! I’m looking forward to trying this ice cream soon.
TidyMom says
I was just telling my girls the other day we need to make some ice cream! we didn’t make any last year.
LOVE the shot of the cups lined up!!
Amber | Bluebonnets & Brownies says
I am so excited for this ice cream. I love *anything* key lime. Ever.
Erin says
Wow I have never had Key Lime Pie ice cream but I cannot wait to try it!
Lyndsey says
I love key lime anything – I keep some key lime juice in the freezer. I get a whole bunch in season and squeeze the juice and package it in half cup portions. This ice cream is the top of my must bake list!! Great!
Janel says
I always get Key Lime Pie ice cream from the shop near our cabin. It’s my favorite – and now I can make it myself. Thank you! 🙂
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
Great shots! I love that second one with the little cups lined up. I want some little stripped cups like that too. 🙂
Jamie | My Baking Addiction says
Thanks, Sylvie!
Kristen says
This looks so refreshing! I just started using those cups for ice cream to serve my kids… they are the perfect size!
Blog is the New Black says
Wow, this looks amazing! I love any type of ice cream, but this, in particular, looks wonderful!