This Cheesecake Ice Cream is one of my favorite ice cream recipes. Smooth, creamy cream cheese ice cream is combined with homemade graham cracker crust crumbles, creating a perfect blank canvas for pretty much any cheesecake flavor combos you can dream up. It’s delicious with caramel, hot fudge, or berry sauce. Or, for an easy version, you can layer in some premade cheesecake and fruit jam swirls before serving. However you choose to finish it off, this one is a real winner!
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Ice Cream
- Cream cheese – Full fat or low fat will work. Avoid fat-free.
- Whole milk
- Cream
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
Add-In Options
- Graham cracker crust – I’ve included a recipe for graham cracker crust on the recipe card. You can add just the crust if you’d like.
- Cheesecake toppings – Top your ice cream with berry sauce, caramel, chocolate, fresh fruit, etc.
- Cheesecake and jam – A fun alternative option is to skip the homemade crust and toppings and just grab a little cheesecake sampler from your grocery store, cut into pieces, and gently layer into the ice cream before freezing, along with some ribbons of fruit jam.
Equipment
- Ice cream maker – Any ice cream maker will do! My old ice cream maker bit the dust half way through the summer, so I did a major upgrade and got this Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker and WOW. It’s amazing. The cool thing about this machine is that it’s actually a compressor, so there’s no freezer container to worry about. It goes from nothing to -25 degrees in about 10 minutes and can do multiple batches in a row. Plus it plays a jig when it’s all done , so ya know, that’s also a major selling point. If you’re serious about making ice cream, I highly recommend it. But a traditional freeze and churn machine will work just as well!
How to Make Cheesecake Ice Cream
- First you’ll prep your batter by blending milk and cream cheese, then whisking in cream, sugar, and vanilla. That will chill in the fridge for several hours until well chilled.
- Once chilled, you’ll churn in an ice cream maker. You can either make a graham cracker crust to add in, and topping sauces as desired, or you can buy a couple of cheesecake slices from the bakery and layer those in, along with some fruit jam, after churning.
- That all gets transferred to the freezer to firm up before serving!
Storing and Other Tips
- Enjoy your ice cream within a week or two for best results!
- You can add any flavors to this cheesecake base that you’d like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure. The Oreo crust from this White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake would be a great option! Pair it with a fresh raspberry sauce, and you’ll definitely have a winning combo.
I have not tried making this without an ice cream maker. There is an ice cream method out there that involves whipping the ice cream with a hand mixer at certain intervals during the freezing process to incorporate air like churning would, so you could look into that if you really want to give it a go. For best results, I say stick with an ice cream maker!
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, I’d suggest trying this Two Ingredient Ice Cream that does not require one.
Cheesecake Ice Cream
Ingredients
Ice Cream
- 6 ounces cream cheese low fat is fine, avoid non-fat
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 cups cream
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Graham Cracker Crust
- 9 full sheets graham crackers about 1 1/2 cups crumbs
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼-½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 7 tablespoons melted butter
Optional Add-Ins and Toppers
- premade cheesecake layer in before freezing, omit homemade crust
- fruit jam
- chocolate sauce
- caramel sauce
Instructions
- Place cream cheese and whole milk in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into a mixing bowl and whisk in cream, sugar, and vanilla. Refrigerate until well chilled, several hours.
- To prepare graham cracker crust, place crackers in a food processor and process until crumbs form. Add brown sugar and cinnamon and pulse to combine. With processor running, drizzle in melted butter. Spread crust onto a foil lined baking sheet, pressing down with hands into a free form rectangle (it doesn’t need to cover the whole sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until it golden and set. Cool completely.
- Pour ice cream batter into an ice cream machine and process according to manufacturers instructions. Transfer to a freezer safe container, working in layers of a little bit of ice cream, and then chunks of the cooled crust, repeating until all ice cream is used. If you have extra crust, save for sprinkling on top. Serve with favorite cheesecake toppings like berry sauce, caramel, chocolate, fresh fruit, etc.
- Alternate method: Make plain cheesecake ice cream and omit crust. When layering into freezer safe container, layer in chopped cheesecake slices and fruit jam in swirls.
Notes
- Makes 1 1/2 quarts
- Nutritional info was calculated for 1/2 cup ice cream using the homemade graham cracker crust, with no additional toppings.
Questions & Reviews
This was so delicious, a light, creamy cheesecake flavor. I added cut up pieces of cheesecake. I layered ice cream, cheesecake and raspberry jam, then stirred it–sooo good!
Holy moly, awesome! I went the “cheesecake chunk mandatory” route, and that was a very good decision. I layered ice cream, cheesecake, and home made strawberry sauce in the container, divine.
We made this yesterday and it is sooo good. Perfect balance, and we were pleasantly surprised it didn’t have an aftertaste that non-egg-based ice cream sometimes has. YUM
This looks delicious!! I’d love to know where you got the 2 cup measuring pitcher? I’ve got to have one!
That little darling is from World Market. So cute 🙂
This may be a silly question, but what container do you use to keep the finished ice cream in the freezer? Is there a particular one you’ve found works the best? thanks! This recipe looks amazing, can’t wait to try! I refuse to believe summer is over 🙂
I have Snapware plastic containers (from Costco) and they have a round shape in there that holds a batch of ice cream perfectly. They were made for each other
🙂
Curse you lactose intolerance! This looks so amazing, you ladies seriously come up with the most delicious recipes.
Wow, ice cream and cheesecake together. Dreamy!! Plus, that ice cream maker is serious business!! Thanks for the recipe and the link Sara!
Can you please tell us the amounts of graham crackers, etc, for the crust?