No-Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
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This no-churn key lime pie ice cream has all the bright lime flavor of the pie — even the crunchy, buttery graham cracker crust — and is a cinch to make.
Delighted with the success of an ultra-creamy no-churn cheesecake ice cream I developed for my cookbook, I’ve been playing around with other no-churn ice cream flavors. This key lime pie ice cream is my favorite thus far: it has all the bright lime flavor of key lime pie—even the crunchy, buttery graham cracker crust—and it’s a cinch to make.
There’s no temperamental custard base to make and chill, no ice cream machine to fiddle with, and no pulling the ice cream out of the freezer every 30 minutes to beat out the crystals. You start by making the 3-ingredient crust (easy!), then you beat the ice cream ingredients together, layer the mixture with the crust in a loaf pan, and pop it in the freezer. The next day you have a creamy, dreamy key lime treat that tastes far better than anything you could buy at the store.
“My family begs me to make this! So delicious and easy to make!”
What You’ll Need To Make Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
- Graham Cracker Crumbs: Provide classic key lime pie crust flavor and a satisfying crunchy texture.
- Butter: Binds the crumbs together, adds a rich buttery flavor, and helps achieve a golden crust when baked.
- Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and a hint of molasses flavor. When measuring brown sugar, always pack it tightly to eliminate air pockets.
- Cream Cheese: Creates a rich, creamy base with a slight tang emulating the taste of key lime pie.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Adds sweetness and a velvety mouthfeel.
- Heavy Cream: Contributes to the creamy texture and richness, making the ice cream smooth and indulgent.
- Lime Zest: Provides a bright, citrusy flavor and aroma.
- Fresh Lime Juice: Adds tanginess and enhances the key lime pie flavor. I use regular limes instead of key limes. (Key limes are challenging to find, and regular limes work just as well.)
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by making the crust. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, brown sugar, and salt. Using a spoon first and then your fingers, mix until evenly combined, making sure to break up any lumps of brown sugar.
Press the crust into an even 1/4-inch layer on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake until golden around the edges, 7 to 8 minutes.
Let cool, then use a spoon to break into chunks.
Set the crust aside while you make the filling. To start, zest and juice the limes. (Be sure to zest them first as it’s near impossible to do once they are juiced.)
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and creamy, about 1 minute.
Add the sweetened condensed milk and beat until completely smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the heavy cream, lime zest, lime juice and salt.
And beat until evenly combined, about 30 seconds.
Arrange half of the crust evenly over the bottom of an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan.
Pour the ice cream mixture over top.
Then cover with the remaining crust crumbles. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until completely firm, at least 8 hours or overnight.
Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
I don’t recommend it. Bottled key lime juice can be bracingly tart and artificial-tasting. You’ll get a much better result with fresh lime juice.
Sure! Store-bought crumbs work just as well.
Yep, the ice cream will keep, tightly covered, for up to 2 weeks. Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to soften to a scoopable texture before serving.
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No-Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
This no-churn key lime pie ice cream has all the bright lime flavor of the pie — even the crunchy, buttery graham cracker crust — and is a cinch to make.
Ingredients
For the "Crust"
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs, from 8 whole crackers
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
- Pinch salt
For the Ice Cream
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 packed tablespoon finely grated lime zest, from about 3 limes
- 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from about 3 limes
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Make the Crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, brown sugar, and salt. Using a spoon first and then your fingers, mix until evenly combined, making sure to break up any lumps of brown sugar. Press the crust into an even ¼-inch layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden around the edges, 7 to 8 minutes. Let cool, then use a spoon to break into chunks.
- Make the Ice Cream: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sweetened condensed milk and beat until completely smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream, lime zest, lime juice and salt, and beat until evenly combined, about 30 seconds.
- Assemble: Arrange half of the crust crumbles evenly over the bottom of an ungreased 8-by-4-inch loaf pan. Pour the ice cream mixture over top, then cover with the remaining crust crumbles. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until completely firm, at least 8 hours or overnight.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Serving size: About 1 cup
- Calories: 542
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated fat: 18 g
- Carbohydrates: 59 g
- Sugar: 50 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Sodium: 342 mg
- Cholesterol: 98 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this and it was great. I will make it often. thanks for the recipe,
Made this as a trial run for dinner with friends next week. First time I’ve ever tried a “no churn” ice cream because I am not a fan of sweetened condensed milk. Used regular lime for zest and Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Juice. This was so fantastic, I’ll definitely be making it often (with fresh juice), and will try other “no churn” recipes. Thanks for all your “never fail” recipes!
Thanks for another awesome looking recipe! I’m trying to find a substitute for the cream cheese though. Do you think I could double up on condensed milk or try something else? Love this blog and can’t wait for your cook book!
Carrie
Hi Carrie, unfortunately, doubling the sweetened condensed milk wouldn’t work here. I don’t think there’s really a comparable substitute for the cream cheese– sorry!
Made the ice cream for dinner guests last night. In fact, the whole menu was from your website and everything was a hit! Thank you for a great website. I am going to make the ice cream again next week. Will this recipe work if I want to make 12 individual servings? Or, would I need to double recipe? Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed the meal, Shelly! If you want to make 12 individual servings of this, I would suggest doubling the recipe.
What an amazing recipe. I could not believe how easy this recipe was and to be honest the use of brown sugar in the graham crackers was beyond delicious. I could snack on just that. As for the ice cream I was impatient and didn’t let it warm up enough to scoop so I did what another review said and just sliced it from the loaf to make a dessert very much like Frozen Key Lime pie from the Barefoot Contessa but much simpler. Will definitely will make this again and again and again…………
Made this for Father’s Day and it did not disappoint! My husband loves key lime pie and I thought this would be a good substitute. He loved every bite. I used key limes (juice them with a garlic press) and since they are sold in 1#bags here, had leftover limes to make a another batch today. I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese and was delicious with great texture.
hi all – tried this for father’s day with meyer lemon juice instead of lime… was still yummy!!! i did add a bit more lemon juice (approx 1 TBL) because after tasting the mixture before freezing, it didn’t seem quite “tart” enough but pretty sure that’s just my personal taste 🙂 love love LOVE the idea of making them little personal pies… on my list for next time!
This recipe is perfect as is. I used key limes because I actually found some at the grocery store; though I believe regular limes would have been as good. The resulting dessert was creamy deliciousness!! I think I’m going to try other fruits as they come into season.
Hi Jenn, my husband loves this ice cream! But he said it tasted more like frozen pie than ice cream cus I guess the cream cheese texture. Is it a bit hard to scoop using regular spoon cus of the frozen cream cheese? I’m not a fan of cream cheese, so when I tasted it, I tasted more cream cheese than ice cream. Is the texture supposed to be like that?
The texture should definitely be closer to ice cream than cream cheese. I’m wondering if because you’re not crazy about cream cheese, that perhaps it stood out more to you?
I made this for Father’s Day and it was wonderful! I am not a fan of sweetened condensed milk, but every recipe of yours I have made has turned out great so I trusted I would not be disappointed. I was not –
this was excellent! Thank you for another great recipe.