No Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

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Indulge in the refreshing flavors of summer with this no-churn Key Lime Pie ice cream recipe. With just a handful of ingredients and a few simple steps, you'll enjoy a creamy and tangy treat that perfectly captures the essence of a classic Key Lime Pie in frozen form.
Servings: 6 cups
Time: 4 hours 25 minutes
Easy no churn ice cream recipe that is packed full of key lime pie flavor. A perfect treat for those hot summer days.

Discover the perfect blend of creamy and tangy flavors with this easy no-churn Key Lime Pie ice cream recipe. No need to bust out the ice cream maker for this no-churn key lime pie ice cream, all you need is a few simple ingredients.

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overhead view of key lime pie ice cream sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs and topped with a key lime

I remember when I had my first taste of key lime pie. And it wasn’t even pie–it was ice cream!

Before my husband and I were married, and before we up and moved to Chattanooga, TN (and subsequently many other places), we were visiting Savannah, GA. We had just gotten done taking a trolley tour through the downtown area. We decided to grab some ice cream to cool down at a little local ice cream shop. I ordered something chocolate, of course, and my husband ordered key lime pie. 

overhead view of key lime pie ice cream sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs and topped with a key lime

I can’t really tell you why I never wanted to try key lime pie, except that maybe I had some weird picture in my mind of entire lime slices cooked up into pie form. Who knows. My early twenty-something brain I’m sure had a very good reason at the time.

My husband begged me to try his key lime pie ice cream and I finally gave in. Let me tell you, from that point forward I was hooked on key lime. Add it to my list of favorite flavors.

Close up of ice cream in a small bowl, with lime zest and graham cracker topping

Well, what’s summer without a little bit of key lime pie? I decided to try to recreate that recipe from Savannah, but there is just one problem–we don’t own an ice cream maker.  And let’s be honest–we don’t really need one either.

So I turned to a trusty ol’ no-churn ice cream recipe and doctored it up for a key lime pie ice cream recipe. It may not be the original, but it’s still pretty darn good if say so myself.

overhead view of key lime pie ice cream sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs and topped with a key lime

How to Make Key Lime Pie No Churn Ice Cream

Making a no churn ice cream recipe is really rather simple! There’s only a handful of ingredients needed and no extra fancy machines required.

Start with whipping 2 cups of heavy cream into stiff peaks. This is easily done with a stand mixture but can also be done with a hand mixer. Just make sure you do some arm stretches beforehand 😉

Mix together a can of sweetened condensed milk, 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 cup of key lime juice (lime juice works too). Then grate about 2 tsp of key lime zest into the mixture. Gently fold in the whipped cream and mix until everything is just combined. Don’t get too crazy here. You don’t want to over-mix.

Making the graham cracker pie crust is also simple. Start by grinding up 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs or you can buy premade crumbs. Mix with the graham cracker crumbs with 2 tbsp of melted butter and 1 tsp of sugar. Pour that crumbly mix onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

Spread 1/3 of the ice cream mixture in the bottom of a loaf pan, then layer 1/2 of the graham cracker crust on top. Repeat the steps and finish with the last 1/3 of the key lime pie ice cream. Place in the freezer for 4-6 hours until the no churn ice cream firms up.

Close up of ice cream in a small bowl, with lime zest and graham cracker topping

Tips for Great No Churn Ice Cream

  • When making ice cream with heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk, the trick is to make sure to whip the cream into stiff peaks. This will give the ice cream a stiffer texture closer to store-bought or machine-made ice cream. 
  • When it comes to folding the whipped cream into the rest of the mixture, do so gently and do not over mix. Overmixing will add extra air pockets to the no churn ice cream, while also deflating the stiff peaks of the whipping cream. This will give you a denser, less creamy version of ice cream.
  • If after freezing the ice cream gets too hard to scoop, run the ice cream scoop under hot water for about 30 seconds before scooping.
  • Adding a tbsp of vodka to the no churn ice cream before freezing can help with the ice cream forming extra ice crystals.

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Easy No Churn recipe for key lime pie ice cream

No Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

Indulge in the refreshing flavors of summer with this no-churn Key Lime Pie ice cream recipe. With just a handful of ingredients and a few simple steps, you'll enjoy a creamy and tangy treat that perfectly captures the essence of a classic Key Lime Pie in frozen form.
Print Recipe
Easy no churn ice cream recipe that is packed full of key lime pie flavor. A perfect treat for those hot summer days.
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:10 minutes
Inactive Time:4 hours
Total Time:4 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 14 oz sweetened condensed milk 1 can
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup Key Lime juice or lime juice
  • 2 tsp key lime zest or lime zest
  • 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
  • 2 tbsp butter melted
  • 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

For the Crust Portion

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a large bowl or food processor, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Mix until well combined.
  • Press graham cracker mixture into a small baking dish, and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to let cool.

For the Ice Cream

  • While graham cracker mixture is baking, prepare ice cream by whisking cream on high in the base of a stand mixer (or by hand) until stiff peaks form.
  • In a separate large bowl combine sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, lime juice and zest.
  • Fold whipped cream into the milk mixture until it's just combined. Be sure not to over mix.

Assembly

  • Spread 1/3 of the ice cream mixture into a freezer safe container.
  • Next, sprinkle 1/2 of the cooled graham cracker crumb mixture on top.
  • Repeat the previous two steps.
  • Spread remaining 1/3 of the no churn ice cream mixture on top, cover and freeze for 4-6 hours or until firm.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cups | Calories: 614kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 274mg | Potassium: 384mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 1470IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 261mg | Iron: 1mg
Servings: 6 cups
Calories: 614kcal
Author: Amanda

12 Comments

  1. Key lime is definitely a summer classic! I just had it in ice cream form for the first time this summer…and oh my, can we say heaven? I can’t wait to try this recipe out with my girls!

  2. Mmmm, key lime pie!!! This ice cream version sounds incredible – and even better that it can be made without an ice cream maker (especially since I don’t own one either!). Thanks for linking up with Creative Spark last week; I’m featuring your key lime pie ice cream this week. Our party starts at 6am EST on Weds; hope you’ll come link up again! 

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