A fresh watermelon ice cream that is creamy and made in a blender with 3 ingredients, no churn, using fresh watermelon and milk. Easy to customize, wonderfully sweet and refreshing.
This simple creamy watermelon ice cream is the perfect treat for a hot summer barbecue or even a palate cleanser between courses at your dinner party. Like my watermelon popsicles and watermelon slush, this ice cream is creamy but also hydrating. The addition of vanilla helps keep it creamy and not icy, and a bit of salt adds that last bit of savoriness. And I deepened the pink color by throwing in a few frozen red raspberries!
This watermelon ice cream is creamier than watermelon slush thanks to the addition of a creamy milk of your choice, and as sweet and summery as watermelon popsicles, watermelon juice, and even watermelon pizza.
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Why You'll Love It
- Super hydrating. Watermelon is 92% water, and adding a bit of salt boosts the electrolyte levels.
- Easy to make. No ice cream maker needed! Just blend and freeze. The vanilla alcohol stops it from icing.
- Super healthy. Watermelon is rich in antioxidants such as lycopane.
Ingredients
- Frozen Watermelon chunks. You will need a frozen watermelon for this recipe. Buy a fresh watermelon, slice and freeze chunks for at least 4 hours.
- Milk. Choose any dairy free milk or yogurt for a creamier texture ice cream.
- Raspberries. You don't need many, just a few red raspberries will bring out the gorgeous pink watermelon color.
- Vanilla. Use vanilla extract with alcohol and don't skip it. The alcoholic base prevents ice crystals in this ice cream.
- Salt. Boost watermelon's healthy and hydrating electrolytes by adding a pinch of salt.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Cut & Freeze Watermelon
Visit my How to Cut Watermelon tutorial with pictures or follow these basic steps:
- Wash the watermelon before cutting. Washing prevents contaminating the inside of the watermelon with field dirt.
- Cut the watermelon in half, and those halves into quarters.
- Cut slices and then cut chunks about 1-2 inches in size.
- Freeze the chunks on a baking sheet for 30 minutes. Use the chunks for this recipe, and save in the freezer any left overs for other recipes such as watermelon slushie.
Steps by Step Instructions
For more detail, visit the complete recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
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Step 1: Add watermelon chunks, milk or yogurt and vanilla extract to blender. Blend for 1 minute and add more milk to help blend
Step 2: Add the frozen raspberries.
Step 3: Blend again. Pour the mixture into a parchment-lined loaf pan and freeze for 2 hours to be ready for scooping and same-day eating.
Step 4: Cover the pan or transfer into a container with a sealed top. Freeze until ready to eat. If you freeze it overnight, allow it 20 minutes or more to thaw before attempting to scoop.
Storage
Watermelon ice cream stores easily frozen for up to a month. After that it becomes icy. You can rejuvenate it by allowing it to thaw 2o minutes, and re-blending with a few tablespoons of milk.
Recipe Tips
- When to eat. Eat this ice cream directly after blending for a soft serve texture. If you freeze it, give it time to thaw before eating.
- For clean scoops, run the ice cream scoop under hot tap water and dry quickly and scoop. Repeat between each scoop.
- Milk & yogurt Choices: Use canned coconut milk for a creamier texture, dairy free or dairy milk, and any yogurt, the higher the fat the creamier your ice cream.
Variations
- Watermelon Blueberry Ice Cream. Add ½ cup frozen blueberries.
- Watermelon Pineapple Ice Cream. Add ½ c up frozen pineapple.
- If you have a Ninja Creami, pour the mixture into Creami containers and freeze overnight. Process on the ice cream setting. If it comes out dry or crumbly, fold in more milk and re-spin one or two times.
Other Watermelon Recipes
FAQS
Blend up watermelon and milk to make watermelon ice cream. Freeze and scoop. Very customizable.
Yes, this recipe can be made dairy free, gluten free, nut free, egg free and vegan.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Watermelon Ice Cream
Equipment
- Measuring cups & spoons
- chopping knife, cutting board
- blender or food processor
- loaf pan, parchment paper
Ingredients
- 4 cups watermelon, frozen
- ½ cup dairy free milk or yogurt
- ¼ cup raspberries, frozen
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
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Instructions
Prep
- Buy a fresh watermelon, and slice the inside meat into roughly 2 inch chunks. They don't have to be uniform, just small enough to be blendable when frozen. You should probably remove seeds or use a seedless watermelon.
- Freeze the chunks for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper so it hangs over the long sides.
Make ice cream
- Blend or use a food processor to combine frozen chunks, chilled milk and vanilla for about 1 minute. You might have to blend in 15 second intervals and scrap down the blender between each rotation. Add a few tablespoons of milk if the blender won't blend without it.4 cups watermelon, frozen, ½ cup dairy free milk, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Once blended, add the frozen raspberries, and blend again just enough to bring out the pink color. You can add more raspberries to deepen the pink.¼ cup raspberries, frozen
- Pour the mixture into a parchment-lined loaf pan and freeze for 2 hours to be ready for scooping and same-day eating. If you freeze it overnight, allow it 20 minutes or more to thaw before attempting to scoop.
- Cover the pan or transfer into a container with a sealed top. Freeze until ready to eat.
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