Lemon ice cream is one of my favorite ice creams. I love the freshness and citrusy punch you get in every scoop. This recipe is easy to make and a perfect treat on a summer day. All you need are five ingredients!

Lemon ice cream in a bowl, with some lemon laying next to it

If you love the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, this homemade lemon ice cream is about to become your new favorite treat. With its smooth, creamy texture and a burst of citrusy freshness, it’s like sunshine in a scoop—cool, refreshing, and absolutely irresistible.

Unlike store-bought versions that can be overly sweet or artificial-tasting, this ice cream recipe uses real lemons to deliver an authentic zing. Fresh lemon juice and zest infuse every bite with flavor, while a rich, velvety base ensures it is refreshing. For me, it’s one of my ultimate summer desserts, but honestly, it’s so good you’ll want to make it year-round.

Best of all? It’s surprisingly easy to whip up. Just a handful of ingredients and a little patience, and you’ll have a homemade masterpiece that is leagues ahead of anything you’d find at the store. Serve it in a cone, in a bowl, or alongside a warm slice of pound cake for an elegant twist.
So, if you’re craving something light yet luscious, tart yet sweet, this lemon ice cream is calling your name. Grab some fresh lemons and get ready to create a frozen dessert that will have everyone coming back for more!

Ingredients You Need

Besides the usual suspects – whole milk, heavy cream, sugar and a pinch of salt…we need LEMONS! Find yourself some medium-sized lemons – preferably unsprayed.

Sprayed or not – give them a good wash before you use them. It’s always good practice with any fruit (or vegetable for that matter), but especially in this case because we will not only use the juice but also the zest of the lemons.

Lemon Ice Cream

The key ingredient in this lemon ice cream is of course lemons.

And to get that nice fresh lemony, tart flavor, we use both the zest and the juice from the lemons.

When you zest your lemons, make sure you don’t go too deep. We only want that outermost layer of the lemon peel, which is so full of flavor. The white layer under the zest is called the “pith”. It has a bitter taste compared to the flavorful zest, so you want to avoid getting that into our ice cream.
Squeeze all the nice tasty juice out of those lemons. And if some of the flesh falls through into the juice – just leave it. It will disappear when you blend everything. The seeds are another matter. Those you want to make sure you remove from the juice, should any fall in.

Prep:5

Cook:20

Freeze:8

Total:8 25

Yield:1 quart

Ingredients

20 g lemon zest
125 ml lemon juice, fresh
100 g white granulated sugar
375 ml heavy cream
125 ml whole milk
kosher salt, just a pinch

Instructions

Zest your lemons.
Cut your lemons in half and squeeze out the juice.
Add your lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar to your blender. Blend until the sugar has dissolved and the zest is cut into fine pieces. 2-3 minutes at medium speed.
In a separate bowl, add the milk, heavy cream and salt. Gently stir it together. Then add the lemon mix from the blender and stir everything together.
Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for a least 2 hours. Then pour it through a sieve to remove any solids.
Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
When finished, transfer your ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 8 hours or overnight.