Lychee Ice Cream

5 from 6 votes

My easy lychee ice cream recipe is a refreshing and dreamy combination of creamy texture and fruity flavor with a hint of sweet floral notes. Not only that, my version of this lychee dessert can be made with or without an ice cream maker. Made with just five ingredients, it's ideal for anyone looking for a homemade, sweet, indulgent treat!

Prep Time3 10

Churning Time40

Total Time3 50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Asian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 328kcal

Author: Anjali Shah

Equipment

Ice Cream Maker

Ingredients

19 oz canned lychees
14 oz can of condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Instructions

First, freeze the ice cream machine bowl for at least 24 hours before making ice cream.
Drain the canned lychees.
Add all ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until desired texture.
Transfer to a mixing bowl, cover and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours to intensify the flavors.
Once chilled, pour the lychee mixture into the frozen bowl of the ice cream machine, and follow the manufacturer's directions. Churn time is approximately 40 minutes - 90 minutes depending on your ice cream maker (look at the manual to determine the right churn time).
Serve immediately for a soft serve ice cream or transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 1 hour before serving for a delicious, scoopable ice cream.
Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Video

https://youtu.be/dIuJIb7kRVE

Notes

How to freeze without an ice cream machine:

After the mixture has chilled place it into an airtight container and into the freezer for 1 - 2 hours.
Remove and whisk to break up any ice crystals that may have formed.
Repeat this process several more times until you have thick frozen ice cream.
This process can take 5-6 hours.
As the ice cream becomes thicker you may need to place it into a high speed blender to break up ice crystals and to make it smoother.
If you use an ice cream machine, churning time will be about 40 min - 1 hour. But if you don't have an ice cream machine, using the freezer/stirring method will take up to 6 hours.

Other Tips

If you’d like your ice cream to be smooth, blend until there are no lumps of lychee; however if you’d prefer it to be textured pulse several times to incorporate all ingredients, but leave it slightly chunky.
Churning times will vary based on the machine you’re using or if you’re making it without a machine.
Fresh or canned lychee can be used in this recipe.
Chilling the mixture before freezing intensifies the flavors and makes the freezing process faster.
To make this vegan friendly, swap out the condensed milk for condensed coconut milk, heavy cream for coconut cream and milk with any plant based milk.
A vanilla bean can be used instead of vanilla extract, simply slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and mix into the milk mixture.

Nutrition