Cantaloupe and ice cream isn’t a combination you usually think of. But it is delicious & refreshing! This Homemade Cantaloupe Ice Cream is so easy to make.
Homemade Cantaloupe Ice Cream
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This recipe was most definitely inspired by one of my wonderful readers, Karen, who left a comment on a previous post that cantaloupe ice cream was her favorite. It just so happened that I had some cantaloupe stashed in the freezer, so I had to give it a try!
Oh. My. Yum. Definitely a new summer favorite!
My cantaloupe was frozen, so I thawed it before I chopped it up in my food processor. Fresh cantaloupe would work just as well. Chop away to your heart’s content – if you want bigger chunks in your ice cream, don’t chop as much. If you want smaller chunks, chop a bit more. It’s your ice cream, so it’s your preference!
The first step is to mix the sugar with about half of the milk. Start in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until most of the sugar dissolved. You can use any kind of milk you want here. Heavy cream and whole milk will give you a creamier ice cream, and it will freeze faster. Using 2% milk will give you a little less creamy texture, and it will take a little longer to freeze (but you can call it “healthy” ice cream because it has less fat!) Using yogurt instead of milk makes it frozen yogurt. I haven’t tried yogurt with this recipe yet!
When you’re ready to go, get out your counter-top ice cream maker. I’ve got this beautiful Cuisinart 1.5 quart countertop model. For me, the hardest part is to make sure that I’ve got the freezer bowl into the freezer the day before. For a while, I was making ice cream about every other day. Getting the freezer bowl washed and back in the freezer was definitely the most important part of my day! This bowl needs to freeze for at least 12 hours before it’s ready to make ice cream.
Follow the directions on your ice cream maker. For this one, everything gets assembled and turned on before the ice cream base gets added.
Fill ‘er up, and stand back! This took less than 15 minutes to freeze. Seriously. It was finished before I finished putting clean sheets on our bed.
For some extra summery-goodness, top it off with fresh blueberries or sliced strawberries. See? More fruit – it really is healthy!
If you’re not going to eat all the ice cream right away (if you have that kind of self-control…) or if you want your ice cream to freeze a little harder than it will get in the ice cream maker, you need a freezer-safe container. I love these Glide-a-Scoop ice cream tubs from Tovolo. They keep my ice cream frozen to just the perfect consistency!
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? What flavors would you like to experiment with?
Enjoy!
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Printable Recipe Card for Homemade Cantaloupe Ice Cream
- 1-1/2 cups chopped cantaloupe
- 2-1/4 cups milk (any combination of heavy cream, whole milk, 2%, 1%, or skim milk)
- ½ cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Chop cantaloupe in a food processor to desired consistency.
- Mix 1 cup of milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla until all sugar is dissolved. Add chopped cantaloupe and rest of milk to the mixture.
- Pour the ice cream mixture into a 1.5-quart ice cream maker, according to manufacturer directions. Let mix until thickened (about 15-20 minutes).
- Serve immediately, or transfer to freezer-safe container and freeze until more solid.
Sarah Schwall says
07/17/2013 at 10:37 pmGosh that looks delish!! I would have never wanted cantaloupe ice cream but it looks so refreshing! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Marybeth @ Alarm Clock Wars says
07/17/2013 at 11:37 pmSarah, let me know if you try it how you like it! It’s very light and refreshing for summertime. It’s a new favorite for us around here!
carla says
07/18/2013 at 1:58 amI guess it’s one of those “don’t dis it til you try it” recipes. Doesn’t sound that great to me, but hey, I’m willing to try most anything once and you never know, I might just like it! …ok, now to type on our App. I’ve added a lot!!!
Wilma says
05/21/2017 at 4:02 pmI have problems using my hands, but this sounded so good I made a shortcut version. I processed the cantaloupe and mixed it with French vanilla ice cream and put back in the freezer for a bit until it was refrozen. YUMM!!
Marybeth Feutz says
05/26/2017 at 4:03 pmThat sounds delicious! I’m glad you were able to come up with a way to make this recipe your own!
Marie says
10/12/2018 at 1:56 pmI made this and love it! Do you have any more Cuisinart 1.5 qt machine recipes?
Marybeth Feutz says
10/22/2018 at 10:02 amWe sure do! Check out all our ice cream recipes here – https://www.myfearlesskitchen.com/?s=ice+cream