Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream with Condensed Milk

With just 5 ingredients, this easy homemade Strawberry Ice Cream with condensed milk is a yummy frozen dessert that has all the creamy flavor of ice cream and can be made without an ice cream maker.

This post was originally published on March 3, 2021, and has now been updated for clarity.

Why this recipe works

First, I want to be clear. This homemade Strawberry Ice Cream with condensed milk is not your typical ice cream. It’s a cross between ice milk and ice cream. The texture is icier and melts faster than traditional ice cream.

But the flavor has all the same creamy goodness you want in ice cream. And that gorgeous strawberry taste is outstanding.

It takes 10 minutes of super simple prep time prior to setting up in the freezer making this a great frozen treat for warm weather. It’s a no-churn recipe that doesn’t need an ice cream maker. And great for a lazy dessert lover like me.

With just a spoon and a bowl, you can create a delicious strawberry ice cream to share with the kids. The pink color makes this a perfect recipe for Valentine’s Day while the tangy strawberry flavor is a great way to celebrate spring.

Frozen strawberries are a great ingredient for delicious desserts. Make sure you also check out my Strawberry Angel Food Cake Pink Dessert! And if you love strawberries be sure to check out my Strawberry Short Cake Dump Cake too.

Ingredient notes

Frozen strawberries mean you can make this tasty homemade Strawberry Ice Cream even when strawberries are not in season. The strawberries should be thawed which can be easily done in the fridge the night before.

Draining the watery liquid once the strawberries are thawed will make sure that you have a creamier consistency even though there will still be some ice crystals.

If you wanted to, you could use fresh strawberries instead of frozen.

The combination of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and whole milk gives this recipe its creamy flavor. I wouldn’t substitute anything for the whole milk as the fat helps with the texture.

Using red food coloring will give it that cute pink color, that makes it look like strawberry ice cream, but it is optional.

I like a little crunch in my ice cream so I added some M&Ms. Because I wanted them to be pink, red, and white, I used the Brownie flavor. They were larger than regular M&Ms so they weren’t ideal as they sank in the milk mixture.

You can skip these or use regular if you prefer as the chocolate flavor is tasty with the strawberries.

Step-by-step instructions

Combine sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk, and a pinch of salt in a bowl and mix. I used a spoon but in the past, I’ve used a hand mixer and whisk.

I don’t notice a difference in the end result so mix it, however, makes sense to you.

I placed a large bowl of ice on the counter and nestled the smaller bowl with the milks on top of it to keep it cold while periodically stirring.

The colder the ingredients are when you put them in the freezer to set up means that it might be less icy as it will freeze faster.

Make sure to drain the excess water before you start.

Mash the thawed strawberries with a fork to break them up. You can keep some larger pieces if you would like that in your Strawberry Ice Cream.

Add in the strawberries and mix by hand.

For extra pink color, add a few drops of red food coloring and gently stir.

Add in 1/4 cup of M&M’s® and mix again. (Optional but delicious).

Pour the ice cream into a freezer-safe container. (I used a 9×9 pan).

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in the freezer overnight. (Or at least 6 hours).

You will need to let this homemade Ice Cream sit out on the counter for about half an hour before serving. You can see in the image above, it has an icy texture and is too solid to scoop.

To serve, scoop out ice cream into a small dish and garnish with additional M&M’s® if you prefer. With the ice crystals melted, you’re left with a super creamy and flavorful frozen dessert.

Tips and tricks

• Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to thaw the frozen strawberries and drain them as well as you can. The easiest way is to leave them in the refrigerator over night.
• To make this recipe even quicker, you could add everything to a high-speed blender and mix it up. It would leave you with a smoother texture with no strawberry chunks and aerate the milk mixture a bit.
• Not a fan of M&Ms but want a chocolate touch? Use mini chocolate chips instead.
• This recipe for strawberry ice cream with condensed milk melts quicker than traditional store-bought ice cream. It’s still beyond delicious and can be compared to a milkshake once it begins to melt.

Frequently asked questions

This easy homemade Strawberry Ice Cream has such amazing flavor that I think it’s worth any icy texture that comes with it. Plus it’s SO easy!

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