Easy Superman Ice Cream Recipe
Superman Ice Cream is super colorful, super fruity, and so super fun!
Kids love this brightly colored ice cream flavor, and we’re sharing a delicious homemade no-churn Superman ice cream that you and your kids can make together.
This easy no-churn ice cream recipe is gluten-free, egg-free, and nut-free. I added notes below explaining how you can make your homemade Superman Ice Cream artificial dye-free too.
This Superman ice cream recipe, along with Bubblegum Ice Cream and Cotton Candy Ice Cream is the type of ice cream that will make a child’s eyes light up and go wide.
If Superman Ice Cream is on the menu, kids will want it, because the colors are so bright and fun!
If you aren’t from the Midwest, you might not know about this super sweet, delicious ice cream flavor, but you are going to love it at first bite!
Why You’re Going to Love This Superman Ice Cream Recipe
- An Easy No-Churn Ice Cream Recipe – No-churn ice creams are the easiest to make, and you don’t even need a fancy machine.
- For something a bit less bright, try making no churn chocolate ice cream next!
- Fun to Make with Kids – If you have kids, let them help you make this fun recipe! They will especially enjoy adding the coloring to the mix to see how it changes.
- Delicious Fruity Flavor – The combination of vanilla extract and jello in this recipe gives Superman ice cream a very light fruity flavor. You’ll be able to tell the flavors apart, but they will blend together to create one overall fruit flavor that is delightful.
What is Superman Ice Cream?
If you’ve never heard of or seen this brightly colored treat, it may just be because of where you live. Superman Ice Cream is quite popular in the midwestern region of the united states, particularly in Michigan.
The blue part of Superman Ice Cream in Michigan is usually another Midwestern secret, Blue Moon ice cream. It’s a secret because nobody really knows what flavor it is, other than “blue”!
Our version of Superman ice cream tastes just like what you would order in a Michigan scoop shop and uses the fruity flavors of blue raspberry, lemon, and cherry to create a tie-dye effect.
Ingredients in Superman Ice Cream
- Heavy Whipping Cream – To add air to ice cream without using an ice cream maker we are whipping heavy cream and folding it in gently.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – You will need 14 ounces (by weight), which is one standard sized can of sweetened condensed milk.
- Using this thickened, sweetened milk is a shortcut that replaces the traditional custard used in churned ice cream recipes.
- Vanilla Extract – With the fruity flavors in superman ice cream, vanilla extract softens the overall flavor of the ice cream and makes it perfect.
- Food Coloring – To get bright, vivid Superman colors, blue, red, and yellow food coloring is needed.
- Jell-O Mix – This ice cream ingredient is a little bit different! Jello does a few things to this recipe. It adds more color, a light fruity flavor, and makes the ice cream softer and easier to scoop.
You’ll need a tablespoon of each of Berry Blue, cherry, and lemon Jell-O. Alternately, you can use blue raspberry, cherry, and lemon flavor extracts.
How to Make Superman Ice Cream From Scratch
- Add the heavy whipping cream to a large, chilled bowl.
- Use a hand mixer (or your stand mixer) to whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- In another large bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk and the vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.
- Carefully fold the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture. The goal is to try and keep the mixture light and fluffy.
- Divide the base evenly into three bowls. Add blue food coloring and berry blue Jell-O mix to one of them. Add red food coloring and cherry Jell-O mix to the second bowl. Add yellow food coloring and lemon Jell-O to the last bowl.
- Stir each bowl until combined. Add more food coloring if needed to reach your desired colors.
- Dollop the colors into a shallow freezer-safe dish, alternating colors. Avoid stirring the colors together for best results.
- Freeze for 5-6 hours, or until firm. Scoop and serve!
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients in Superman Ice Cream, please see the recipe below.
How to Store Superman Ice Cream
Store this fun superman ice cream in the freezer in an airtight container (we really like these reusable ice cream containers) with a piece of either parchment or waxed paper pressed on top for up to one month.
Tips for Making this No Churn Superman Ice Cream Recipe
- Use quality ingredients – When making homemade ice cream, you’ll want to make sure you are using high quality ingredients for the best outcome.
- Chill out – If possible, always start with chilled ingredients. This is important for homemade no-churn ice cream recipes and ice cream maker recipes.
- For this recipe, I suggest putting your mixing bowls and your can of sweetened condensed milk in the fridge at least an hour before you start.
- Don’t skimp on the fat – High fat milks and creams are essential when making homemade ice cream. Opting for a low-fat option often leads to icy ice creams and inconsistency in the texture.
- Don’t Overmix – If you whip the cream past the stiff peaks stage, it will curdle. Whip just until the whipped cream holds a peak that doesn’t bend when you lift the beater out of it.
- Don’t go crazy with the add-ins – If you’re adding in additional ingredients, pick one or two and make sure they are chopped into pieces no larger than a blueberry or pea.
- Don’t skimp on the sugar – Sugar not only adds sweetness to homemade ice creams, it also helps with the texture. Sugar is essential for the creamy texture in ice cream.
- When adding food coloring – Start with a small amount and add more if needed. The amount you’ll need will depend on if you’re using gel, liquid, or powdered colors. If you’re using gel colors, keep in mind that the colors will darken with time.
- Don’t add extra Jell-O – Six total tablespoons of Jell-O powder is the most I would recommend that you add to this recipe. Any more than that will change the texture of the ice cream too much.
Can I make Superman Ice Cream without Red Dye #40?
If you are looking to make your own fun ice cream because you’re avoiding Red 40 dye, or food dyes in general, this recipe is perfect for you, with a few simple changes.
Instead of adding Jell-O powders to the ice cream, use flavor extracts. An all natural cherry extract should be food dye-free. Choose lemon extract and raspberry extract (or blue raspberry flavoring) without dyes as well.
The amount of this you add will vary depending on the type of flavoring you use, so check with the manufacturer, or just add a few drops to start.
For adding color to Superman Ice cream without adding artificial dyes, choose natural, dye free food colorings. You may not give the same vivid colors that you see here, but you will still get color!
How to Make Superman Ice Cream in an Ice Cream Maker
To make this superman ice cream recipe in an ice cream maker, follow the manufacturer’s directions to make the base. Once it’s finished, separate the ice cream into three bowls and continue following the recipe from there.
This Superman ice cream works well in most ice cream makers. Hand crank, electric crank, freezer bowl, and ice cream compressor.
Superman Ice Cream Toppings
Because this ice cream flavor already has a lot of different flavors in it, I am not going to recommend adding much else to it.
Any simple add-ins are best left until serving time, added as toppings instead. Colorful and crunchy toppings like rainbow sprinkles, Fruity pebbles, and Nerds Candy will all be delicious.
A dollop of whipped cream and a cherry on top is always welcome on ice cream too!
What Flavor is Superman Ice Cream?
The actual flavors used in Superman Ice Cream will vary based on the brand. This colorful ice cream is always red, yellow, and blue as well as extra sweet. The red is generally cherry-flavored, like “red pop” soda.
Yellow can be lemon, vanilla, or even banana. The Blue is usually Bluemoon flavored. This means that it’s a super sweet marshmallow treat that just tastes, well, “blue”.
Our version of Superman Ice Cream uses vanilla plus blue raspberry, lemon, and cherry flavors.
Are There Other Names for Superman Ice Cream?
Because DC Comics hasn’t officially licensed the Superman name to any ice cream companies, you’ll sometimes hear this flavor referred to as “Scooperman”, “SuperScoop”, “Super Kid” or “Superhero” ice cream.
What should I do with the leftover Jell-O Powder?
You will end up with three partial boxes of Jell-O powder after making this recipe. A 3-ounce box of Jell-O is about 6 tablespoons, so you can make Superman Ice Cream 3 times with a small box of each flavor.
Save the powder in an airtight container until the next time you make superman ice cream, or make a partial box of Jell-O using this ratio:
2 Tablespoons of Jello Powder to 1/3 cup boiling water. Stir to dissolve then add 2/3 cup cold water. Chill until firm.
or 4 Tablespoons of Jell-o to 2/3 cup of boiling water. Stir to dissolve then add 1 1/3 cups of cold water. Chill until firm.
More Sweet Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
Can’t get enough homemade ice cream recipes? Try making these next:
- No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
- Banoffee Pie Ice Cream (also no-churn)
- Black Raspberry Ice Cream
- Birthday Cake Ice Cream
- Mango Ice Cream
Cookie Monster Ice Cream is also another colorful and fun flavor.
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Easy Superman Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- blue food coloring
- red food coloring
- yellow food coloring
- 1 tbsp berry blue Jell-O mix
- 1 tbsp cherry Jell-O mix
- 1 tbsp lemon Jell-O mix
Instructions
- Add the heavy whipping cream to a large bowl.
- Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer to whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. This should only take a few minutes.
- In another large bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk and the vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.
- Carefully fold the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture. Try to keep the mixture light and fluffy.
- Divide into three medium bowls. Add blue food coloring and berry blue Jell-O mix to one bowl. Add red food coloring and cherry Jell-O mix to the second bowl. Add yellow food coloring and lemon Jell-O mix to the last bowl.
- Stir until combined. Add more food coloring if necessary to reach your desired colors.
- Dollop the colors into a shallow freezer-safe dish, alternating colors. Be sure not to stir them together for the best results.
- Freeze for 5-6 hours, until firm. Scoop and serve.
Notes
- Instead of Jell-O powder, you can use flavor extracts. Try blue raspberry, cherry, and lemon flavors
- To make this recipe dye-free, use natural flavor extracts instead of Jell-O powder, and natural food coloring.
- The amount of food coloring and flavor extracts needed will vary based on the type and brand that you choose.
- Homemade ice cream can be stored in the freezer for up to one month. Keep it in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper pressed to the surface of the ice cream to keep ice crystals from developing.
- Homemade ice cream should be easy to scoop if you let it soften at room temperature for 5 minutes after removing it from the freezer.
