Strawberry and Ricotta Ice Cream without an Ice Cream Maker: the light “fridge-cleanout” recipe
The other day at my local market I couldn’t resist: I found beautiful strawberries, fragrant and firm, on sale. I bought plenty, but once I got home I wondered how to use them all before they went bad.
After thinking about the classic fruit salad, a tastier idea popped into my head: a homemade ice cream, but different from the usual recipes you find online. I wanted a recipe with lots of fruit, little sugar and without condensed milk or excessive amounts of cream.
Using what I had in the fridge — some ricotta and Greek yogurt (my favorite wildcard!) — this delicious strawberry ice cream was born. A healthy dessert, without an ice cream maker and without eggs, ready simply by mixing everything in a bowl!
Why try this homemade strawberry ice cream
Unlike industrial ice creams, this version is much closer to a fit-style ice cream, while still being indulgent. Strengths of the recipe:
Genuine ingredients: Only fresh fruit, ricotta and Greek yogurt.
Speed: Ready in a few minutes with no special equipment.
Versatility: A perfect “fridge-cleanout” recipe to avoid wasting ripe strawberries.
Tips for a gelato-like result
My husband was ecstatic! I chose to garnish it with small pieces of fresh strawberries and dark chocolate flakes: a winning combo that adds crunch and balances the fruit’s sweetness.
My extra trick: If you want to make it even lighter and easier to digest, next time you can omit the cream altogether. It will still be creamy thanks to the texture of the Greek yogurt.
Serve it to guests: they’ll be surprised by the creaminess and will hardly believe it’s not store-bought!
Looking for other fresh ideas with summer on the way? Here are some of my recipes you could try—easy and guilt-free:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 16 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6 Servings
- Cooking methods: No-cook
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same I use in my recipes; buying them through my blog helps support me and my work, at no extra cost to you!
- 3 1/3 cups (fresh strawberries, about 19 oz) strawberries
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (chilled)
- 1 cup Greek yogurt 2% fat
- 6.5 tbsp sheep ricotta (about 100 g)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- to taste dark chocolate
- A few strawberry
Tools
- 1 Brush
- Paper towels
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Immersion blender
- 1 Mixing bowl
- Electric beaters
- 1 Loaf pan
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Plastic wrap
- 1 Knife
- 1 Food processor
Steps
Start by washing the strawberries very well under running water, gently rubbing them with a food brush, then pat them dry with kitchen paper.
Cut half of the strawberries into small cubes, and blend the other half with an immersion blender until you obtain a smooth purée.
In a large bowl, preferably glass and well chilled from the fridge, pour the cold cream, then add the yogurt and the ricotta previously drained of its whey.
Finally add the sifted powdered sugar and start mixing with electric beaters at medium speed.
Beat for a few minutes until you get a thick, compact cream.
Also add the strawberry purée and fold it in gently with a spatula using slow upward movements to avoid deflating the mixture.
Finish by adding the strawberry cubes, still folding gently.
Transfer into an aluminum pan suitable for the freezer and level*. Place it in the freezer for about 1 hour. After one hour, remove the ice cream from the freezer and stir it to break up ice crystals. Repeat this operation every hour for 5 times.
Finally, cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer definitively for at least another 5–6 hours. When serving, remove the pan, take off the wrap, wait a few minutes and with a knife carefully cut out the amount of ice cream you want**. Put the rest back in the freezer immediately.
Place into a food processor first with the blade attachment and pulse for a few seconds.
Once you reach this consistency, replace the blade with the mixing attachment (spatula type) and give a couple of quick pulses without overdoing it; otherwise the ice cream will overheat and tend to become liquid.
Serve in bowls with a proper ice cream scoop, garnishing with what you like—in my case dark chocolate flakes and a few fresh strawberries to taste.
And voilà… the strawberry, ricotta and yogurt ice cream without an ice cream machine is ready to enjoy!
Enjoy from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉The strawberry, yogurt and ricotta ice cream must be stored strictly in the freezer, in the coldest part of your freezer, until consumption. It will keep very well for 3 months.
Tips, notes, variations and suggestions
🟣 If you don’t want to use fresh whipping cream, you can opt for pre-sweetened Whip (Holpà), adding at least 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar. I recommend tasting it to see if it needs any more sugar. Alternatively, you can use carton whipping cream available in supermarkets such as Cameo. In any case, whatever type of cream you use, the total amount to add to the ice cream must always be 250 g (about 1 cup).
🟣* If some mixture remains, portion the rest into ice pop molds or into an airtight container.
🟣** Thanks to the fat content, the ice cream will never freeze completely solid, but it may become firmer after a long time in the freezer. If you have guests and plan to finish it all, just take it out of the freezer 10–15 minutes before serving without having to process it in a food processor. A short manual stirring will be enough to get the right consistency back or you can microwave it for about 15 seconds. Otherwise, avoid letting the ice cream thaw completely if you plan to serve only a portion; in that case, the food processor or a powerful blender will solve the problem.
FAQ (Questions & Answers)
1. Can I replace the ricotta with another ingredient?
Certainly! If you don’t like ricotta or don’t have it in the fridge, you can replace it with mascarpone (for a richer and, be warned, fattier version) or with a cream cheese such as Philadelphia for a slightly tangier, cheesecake-like flavor.
2. Can I make this ice cream with other fruits?
Yes, this “fridge-cleanout” base is perfect for all spring and summer fruits! Try it with peaches, apricots or berries. The important thing is to blend the fruit well or cut it into very small pieces so it mixes well with the yogurt.
3. Can I use granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar?
Sure, although powdered sugar is more suitable because it dissolves more quickly into the ricotta and yogurt mixture, guaranteeing a less grainy texture.
