Easy Watermelon Ice Cream Recipe
Watermelon Ice Cream is a fun and refreshing flavor to make at home! This recipe is simple to make, uses minimal ingredients, perfectly creamy, a pretty pink color without any food dyes, and the perfect summertime treat.
It might be your new favorite, along with Strawberry Ice Cream and Orange Ice Cream.
Why You’re Going to Love This Watermelon Ice Cream Recipe
- Watermelon Ice Cream is a delicious and unique flavor made from fresh, juicy, watermelon, and just 4 other simple ingredients.
- It’s is an unusual ice cream flavor, but it’s totally delicious! This is one of the fun things about making ice cream from scratch – you can make so many flavors that aren’t available at the store.
- It’s a French-style ice cream, which means that we’ll make a cooked base from egg yolks. This might sound complicated, but don’t worry, this post includes full instructions, step-by-step photos, and all the tips and tricks you’ll need.
If you want to try more ice cream flavors that are out of the norm, check out how we make Pineapple Ice Cream, Ginger Ice Cream, and Cantaloupe Ice Cream!
Ingredients in Homemade Watermelon Ice Cream
- Watermelon – Choose a fresh, ripe watermelon that tastes amazing. If you try to use less-than-tasty watermelon, you’ll have less-than-tasty watermelon ice cream! Cut the melon into small pieces, we’ll be blending it up to make juice
- Sugar – Granulated sugar sweetens the ice cream even further, and helps to create the perfect creamy texture.
- Egg Yolks – Egg yolks add richness and thicken the ice cream.
- Heavy Cream and Whole Milk – The combination of milk and cream results in an ice cream that is rich and creamy and freezes and scoops well. I highly recommend using both!
For the complete list of ingredients and instructions on how to make homemade watermelon ice cream, please see the recipe below.
How to Store Watermelon Ice Cream
Store this homemade Watermelon Ice Cream in the freezer in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper pressed on top for up to one month. The paper covering will prevent your homemade ice cream from freezer burn.
Tips for Making
- Use quality ingredients – When making homemade ice cream, you’ll want to make sure you are using high-quality ingredients for the best outcome. In this recipe, it’s all about the watermelon. Use sweet, juicy, ripe melon for best results.
- Chill out – If possible, always start with chilled ingredients. This is important for homemade no-churn ice cream recipes and ice cream maker recipes.
- Don’t skimp on the fat – High-fat milk and cream 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 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, but it also helps with the texture. Sugar is an essential ingredient for the creamy texture of ice cream.
How to Make Watermelon Ice Cream Slices
Watermelon Ice Cream in a Whole Watermelon: Hollow out a whole small watermelon. You can cut it in half and scoop out the insides, or slice off one end and use an immersion blender to “juice” the inside of the melon and then carefully remove all of the flesh.
Use that watermelon juice to make your ice cream following this recipe, then instead of freezing it in a loaf pan, pour the soft ice cream into the hollowed-out watermelon!
Freeze the whole thing overnight, then allow it to thaw for about an hour before cutting into wedges to serve!
Watermelon Ice Cream Slices
This method is a bit simpler and smaller but still very fun. Slice a whole watermelon into round slices, and remove the flesh. Place the rings on a parchment-lined tray, and fill it with the soft churned watermelon ice cream. Smooth, decorate with chocolate chip “seeds” and chill for 3-4 hours or until solid. Slice your watermelon ice cream cake into wedges and enjoy!
No Churn Watermelon Ice Cream Directions
You can make watermelon ice cream without an ice cream maker too!
Chill a shallow container or a loaf pan in the freezer while you cook and mix the ingredients for the watermelon ice cream base.
Pour the ice cream mixture into the prepared pan and freeze for 3-4 hours. Stir the ice cream every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours to help add air. This will help create a creamy, smooth texture since you won’t be churning it!
Add-Ins
Try adding small pieces of fresh berries, or miniature chocolate chips to your watermelon ice cream! I like to add chocolate chips when serving scoops of watermelon ice cream in cones or in a dish. They do such a good job of looking like black watermelon seeds.
More Fruity Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
- Tutti Frutti Ice Cream
- Mango Gelato
- Cantaloupe Ice Cream
- Huckleberry Ice Cream
- Lemon Custard Ice Cream
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Watermelon Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 cups diced watermelon seeds removed
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Chill your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Place the watermelon in a blender (or food processor) and blend until smooth– about 1 minute.
- Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl and set aside. You should have about 1 ½ cups of fresh watermelon juice.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth.
- Add the heavy cream and whole milk to a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Heat the mixture just until it begins to steam and bubble around the edges.
- Very slowly (and carefully) pour the milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and place it back over medium-low heat.
- Cook the ice cream base, stirring constantly, until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon– about 5 minutes.
- Immediately remove the custard from the heat and pour it through a fine mesh sieve into the bowl with the watermelon juice. Whisk to combine.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap over the ice cream so that it is touching the surface of the custard (you don’t want the ice cream to form a skin).
- Chill the ice cream base in the fridge until very cold– at least 2 hours, but up to overnight.
- Churn the ice cream to a soft-serve consistency according to the manufacturer’s instructions– in my Kitchenaid Ice Cream Attachment, this took about 15 minutes.
- Transfer the ice cream to a loaf pan and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze until completely set– about 4 hours.
Notes
- Use fresh, ripe, sweet watermelon for this recipe. The better your watermelon tastes, the better your watermelon ice cream will be!
- Pour the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture very slowly so that you don't scramble the eggs. This is called "tempering" the egg yolks. Straining the ice cream base through a fine mesh sieve will remove any small bits of egg that might have cooked during the process.
- Homemade ice cream will be hard when it's first removed from the freezer. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before attempting to scoop it.
