My hometown favorite ice cream shop has a key lime pie ice cream that is absolutely to die for. It is the perfect blend of tangy, sweet, and creamy that reminds me of summers spent in Cleveland. Now that I live in Chicago and can’t visit all the time, I wanted to recreate his favorite at home and share the nostalgia with my friends.
Let’s just say, it was a hit.
This has been one of my most asked about treats ever. It is so summery – the tangy lime flavor blended against crunchy graham crackers reminds me of warm weather and childhood. But it hasn’t stopped my friends from asking me to make it in the middle of winter either. We’re ice cream year-round kind of folks.
This recipe is so easy to execute if you have the right tools. With an ice cream maker (I have a cuisinart) it comes together really quickly. If you don’t have an ice cream maker this would also be excellent poured into popsicle molds.
All you have to do to recreate this summer favorite is mix together condensed milk, salt, vanilla, and lime juice (key limes, when in season, but regular limes will do just fine). Then, add cold milk and heavy cream until totally combined. Churn this in your ice cream maker according to directions, and stir in crushed graham crackers at the last minute. We love some large and small pieces to give it some fun texture. Finally, freeze it in an airtight container the coldest part of your freezer for at least an hour, but as long as you’d like. When ready to serve, soften it on the counter and scoop.
If you’re in the mood for desserts, we think you’ll also love our Fudgy Tahini Brownies.
Let us know if you try out this recipe! You can keep the leftovers in the freezer for about a week… if it lasts that long.
Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
Ingredients
- ½ cup key lime juice
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup cream
- 1 and ½ cup whole milk
- 4 sheets graham crackers plus more for serving
Instructions
- Juice key limes (regular limes are fine too in a pinch!). Strain out any seeds that may have gotten into the juice.
- Combine condensed milk, lime juice, vanilla, and salt first and thoroughly combine (make sure you do this first before adding other ingredients so it prevents curdling).
- Stir in cream and whole milk.
- Churn according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. At the very end of churning, add in crumbled graham crackers.
- Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions (we froze ours for 1.5 hours).
