Real food watermelon ice cream is a refreshing summertime treat!
It’s that time of the year when summer produce is at its peak!! At least this is the case in California. When the sunshine and hot weather hits, it means there’s watermelons galore.
Hooray for watermelon season!!
Do you go through a watermelon every week? If you’re like my family, then you do. My kids can’t get enough watermelon and plow through it fast.
Watermelon is so perfect during the summer because of its high water content.
It helps keep you refreshed and hydrated to some extent.
Because it’s so darn hot out, why not combine summer’s finest watermelon WITH ice cream?
You can’t go wrong with naturally sweetened watermelon ice cream.
Head to your local farmers market, fruit stand, grocery store or maybe even your backyard garden and get yourself a watermelon so you can make this delicious real food watermelon ice cream.
Watermelons, jujubes and cucumbers growing in our yard.
DO YOU NEED AN ICE CREAM MAKER FOR THIS RECIPE?
Yes! You do need an ice cream maker for this watermelon ice cream recipe.
I highly recommend getting your own ice cream maker. It truly helps produce a quality ice cream texture. Plus, you’ll be able to make you own ice cream year-round!! I use mine during every season.
It is not a kitchen tool that gets shoved to the back of the cabinet. It is well used and loved.
I’ve linked to my favorite ice cream maker in the recipe. I’ve been using the same brand for over 20 years and love it!
Yes, you can make no-churn recipes, but I really prefer the texture of ice cream made in an ice cream maker.
If you truly need to make a no-churn recipe and do not have an ice cream maker, you do make some options. One is listed in the recipe or you can try this.
For no-churn, pour the liquid ice cream mixture into a freezer safe container and freeze it, stirring it every 30 minutes until it’s frozen (for about 2 hours). This *should* help achieve a softer ice cream texture, but it won’t be as perfect as an ice cream maker makes it.
Once the ice cream mixture becomes a softer ice cream texture, you’re good to go!! So enjoy a bowl!!
MORE ICE CREAM RECIPES, POPSICLE RECIPES AND FROZEN TREATS:
- Blackberry Honey Ice Cream
- Paleo Brownie Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Paleo Chocolate Banana Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Real Food Strawberry Ice Cream
- Real Food Horchata Ice Cream
- Real Food Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
- Homemade Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream
- Honey Vanilla Ice Cream
- Healthy Raspberry Swirl Frozen Yogurt
- Lemon Honey Frozen Yogurt
- Cherry Creamsicles
- Blackberry Cheesecake Popsicles
- Real Food Homemade Fudgesicles
- Real Food Watermelon Milkshake {Dairy Free Option}
- Healthy Frozen Hot Chocolate
THIS ICE CREAM IS:
- Gluten Free
- Grain Free
- Dairy Free
- Egg Free
- Nut Free
- Soy Free
- Cane Sugar Free
- Gum Free
- Paleo
- Naturally Sweetened
- Made with Real Food Ingredients
Creamy Real Food Watermelon Ice Cream
Creamy Real Food Watermelon Ice Cream
This luscious, 5-ingredient, naturally sweetened, Creamy Real Food Watermelon Ice Cream is the perfect summer treat!
Ingredients
- ½ cup freshly juiced organic watermelon
- 1 cup raw/organic/grass-fed whole milk or full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 1 cup raw or organic cream (optional, if you don’t have cream, substitute with half and half or whole milk)
- ¼ cup mild, light colored raw honey (<< I use this honey)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch quality sea salt - optional
Instructions
- Wash the watermelon. Cut it in half. With a spoon, scoop out chunks of watermelon and juice them in a juicer until you have ½ cup of juice. Alternatively, you can puree the chunks of watermelon in your blender until you have ½ cup of watermelon juice. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add the milk and arrowroot powder and whisk with a fork to remove any lumps. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, add the cream, vanilla, honey and salt and gently heat over low heat just until the honey has dissolved and the mixture is warm, but not hot - stir to fully combine, about 1-2 minutes. Then add the arrowroot-milk mixture, whisking to combine over low heat, never allowing to boil, for about 2-3 minutes - just until warmed through, but not steaming hot (arrowroot does not work well when heated for too long or too high of a temperature). Immediately remove from the heat.
- Add the watermelon juice to the warm ice cream base mixture, give it a quick stir with a whisk, then place the watermelon ice cream mixture in the refrigerator to chill until cold, about 2 hours.
- Assemble your ice cream maker. Turn the ice cream machine on, pour the cold watermelon ice cream mixture into your chilled/frozen ice cream maker and mix according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.
- The ice cream will start to have a “soft serve” texture when it is done - after about 20 minutes. This is my family’s favorite way to eat it. Serve immediately or freeze until desired consistency. If you prefer the ice cream to be a little firmer or need to serve it later, use a wooden spoon to transfer the watermelon ice cream to a large airtight freezer-safe container with a lid/cover. Make sure to lick the spoon when you’re done!
Notes
YOU WILL NEED: Juicer or Blender, Glass Measuring Cup or Medium Size Bowl, Small Bowl, Medium-size Saucepan, Whisk, Ice Cream Maker
STORAGE: Cover in an airtight freezer safe container and store in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
- Dairy-Free Option: Substitute full-fat coconut milk for the dairy. I use this brand - it's organic, non-GMO and it's BPA free.
- Make sure to use a lighter honey like clover, star thistle or orange blossom (wild flower varieties are too strong for this flavor combo). I use this (the original and orange blossom are my favorites) and this honey brand (I can usually find this brand at Sprouts Farmers Market).
- I haven’t made this ice cream without an ice cream maker. If you freeze the liquid ice cream mixture in a container, it won’t set exactly the same or produce the same soft consistency, but you can try and freeze it in a loaf pan and the put it into a food processor to soften it up a bit. You’ll probably need to set it out at room temperature first for about 15 minutes to let it soften a bit.
OTHER TIPS:
- I have not tried using vodka, but I have heard that 1 tbsp of vodka/alcohol does help keep homemade ice cream texture softer when frozen.
- I’ve had success using grass-fed gelatin (<< this is the only brand I use and love - use my link and code NOURISH10 for 10% off!), whisked into 1/4 cup boiling water until it's dissolved, then add it to the ice cream mixture. Like alcohol, it helps keep ice cream from getting rock hard and creates a softer texture.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 433Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 227mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 1gSugar: 40gProtein: 9g
This nutritional information was auto-generated based on serving size, number of servings, and typical information for the ingredients listed. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, please calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients and amounts used, using your preferred nutrition calculator. Under no circumstances shall the this website and the author be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the given nutritional information. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
Are you on Pinterest? I pin lots of yummy real food recipes + more there. I have a board just for Gluten Free Treats + Frozen Treats too. Come follow along.
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Yummy and unique ice cream! Thanks for sharing!
@ Our Italian Kitchen, thanks 🙂
This is beautiful! I’d love to try this.
@ Abby, thanks! I hope you enjoy it 🙂 We just made some more today and it’s SO good!
Seriously, that looks MEGA yum. I am so jealous of your family that they got to eat it!!! Thanks for stopping by and linking up.
My girls would love this! I’ve got to get an ice cream machine. Bookmarking this recipe, thanks!
Rebekah
@ Stay at Home Babe, thanks, it was MEGA yum 😉 Thanks for hosting, I love reading your blog.
@ Rebekahdawn, I hope your girls will love it. I’ve found that I get a lot of use out of the ice cream machine, it’s certainly paid for itself with the amount I’ve used it. I’ve also had it for 10 years and it’s still working great. I hope you find a great one 🙂
We’ve made strawberry with the coconut milkfat and loved it. Question: can you get a nice thick ice cream when you substitute raw milk for the cream? It seems it would be thinner somehow! Thanks! I’m over at deeprootsathome.com
@ Jacqueline, the strawberry coconut sounds great. Yes, it won’t be as thick as “conventional” ice cream. It also depends on the milk you use. The raw milk I get is pure Jersey milk, so it has a higher fat content. It also has cream on the top, so when you shake it, cream is mixed into the milk. I usually make my ice cream with just the raw whole milk and the consistency is still great, it’s more like soft serve. The cream will just make it more like a “conventional” ice cream consistency.
Just happened upon your blog – I love it – great recipes, keep ’em coming!
Caitlyn
@ Kicka, thank you! Glad you found it, hope you enjoy 🙂
Your little one is just precious with that melon. The color of the ice cream is beautiful, and we love watermelon, so we would love this ice cream.Hope you have a great week end and thanks for sharing with Full Plate Thursday!
Come back soon,
Miz Helen
@ Miz Helen, thank you so much, she was so excited about her watermelon, it’s the only thing she requested to grow this year, so it was a proud moment for her (her first harvest). I hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to make it. Thanks again for hosting Full Plate Thursday!
Yum! A friend brought some watermelon ice cream to a baby shower a few weeks ago and I loved it! It was so fresh tasting!!
Thank you so much for sharing this at Recipe Sharing Monday. The new party is now up and I’d love for you to link up again 🙂
@ Kirstin, I bet it was so good 🙂
@ Ali, thanks so much for hosting! I’ll head over right now, thanks 🙂
yum!!! Thank you for linking up to Tasty Tuesday at Nap-Time Creations. I really hope you can come back and link up again this week!
@ Emily, thanks! I look forward to it 🙂 Thanks again for hosting.
THANK YOU for posting this and linking to the Barn Hop! I love watermelon and have my own milk…but I wasn’t sure if the combo would work. Now I’m going to have to give it a go…it’s beautiful!
Oh, does that look delicious. And my girlies would LOVE the color.
Hi Jenny, thanks for visiting! The combo is SO yummy, you’re going to love it. That’s so wonderful that you have your own milk too!
@ pathsofwrighteousness, thanks! I bet your girls will love it 🙂 Thanks for visiting.
Yum! I love watermelon!Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasure’s Whole Health Weekend Link-Up. Check back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
@ NaturalFamLea, thanks 🙂
just happened across your blog needing recipes for watermelon. I made it and my daughter and husband loved it. this is the first homemade icecream my husband has ever had. I added chocolate chips to it. So good!!!! thank you so much for the recipe
I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much for sharing! The chocolate chips sound so yummy too, I bet it was delicious. 🙂
Can this be made without an ice cream machine?
I’ve never made it without one. I am guessing that you need an ice cream maker of some sort in order to make it. I’m sure you could make it into popsicles, but it won’t have the same “ice cream” texture.
This is delicious! Usually when I make ice-cream there’s a cup of sugar, and 4 or more egg yolks. So it’s healthier and simpler to make as well! It has opened up so many possibilities… Next time I might change the juice/milk/cream/honey ratios slightly to make it more watermelony. All in all, a fantastic recipe! Thank you!
Thanks Sandy, it’s a favorite in my home. 🙂
This looks absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you, hope you get to try it! 😊