Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream is an easy no-churn ice cream made with a hand-full of ingredients, including lemon curd, lemon zest, and crunchy poppy seeds. It has the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavor and is absolutely delightful!
This lemon poppy seed ice cream is sunshine in a bowl! It's bright, light, zesty, and so creamy. I love serving it with a slice of lemon blueberry crumb cake, on top of a warm blackberry crisp or piled high in a cone.
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♡ Why You Will Love this Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream 🍋🍦
- SO easy to make. There are very minimal steps, plus no ice cream machine is needed. If you're looking for no churn ice cream recipes, try my chocolate coconut popsicles, raspberry shortcake ice cream bars, or this pistachio chocolate semifreddo!
- Incredibly creamy. The creamy texture is the result of using sweetened condensed milk and creamy lemon curd.
- For lemon lovers. The base of our bright lemon flavor comes from a combination of lemon curd and fresh lemon zest and lemon juice.
If you love lemon as much as I do, be sure to check out some of my favorite lemon recipes - lemon tart with graham cracker crust, lemon poppy seed loaf cake, lemon blondies, and pistachio lemon sandwich cookies.
Ingredient Notes
Here are some notes about all the ingredients used in this Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream. Quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card below!
- Heavy Cream - Heavy cream is the base for our no-churn ice cream.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk - Sweetens and thickens the ice cream.
- Lemon Curd - You can use your favorite store-bought or homemade lemon curd. Trader Joe's lemon curd is my favorite. I also tested this recipe with Bonne Maman's lemon curd and it was also great.
- Lemon - We'll be adding a bit of lemon zest and lemon juice to enhance the flavor from the lemon curd.
- Poppy Seeds - Adds crunchy texture. If you don't have any on hand, you can leave it out.
- Vanilla Paste - For flavor.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor.
*See recipe card for quantities.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Here are step-by-step photos and instructions on how to make this Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream! Please find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
💡 Tip
Before you start, freeze your mixing bowl and beaters for 10 minutes.
Step 1. Whip cold heavy cream and salt in a large bowl until firm peaks form.
Step 2. Add lemon curd, sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and poppy seeds.
Step 3. Using a silicone spatula, fold until evenly incorporated.
Step 4. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze overnight.
Flavor Variation
- Other Curds - Try another curd such as orange curd, lime curd or berry curds for a fun variation.
- Add Cookie Pieces - For even more texture, crush up some graham crackers, vanilla wafer cookies, golden Oreos, lemon Oreos or shortbread cookies.
- Add Nuts - Pistachios, sliced almond and walnuts all work well with lemon.
- Add Chocolate - Try adding mini semi-sweet chocolate chips or white chocolate chips.
- Add Sprinkles - For a festive touch, you can replace with poppy seeds with some festive sprinkles.
⭐️ Expert Tips
Freeze your mixing bowl and beater for 10 minutes before you start. This will help your heavy cream whip up.
Do not over whip the heavy cream. Whip on medium speed until firm peaks start to form.
Use a microplane grater to zest your lemons. It's not fun biting into pieces of large lemon peel.
Freeze the ice cream overnight. I know it will be tempting to wait so long, but freezing it overnight will yield a texture closer to churned ice cream.
FAQ
Yes, you'll need to use a whole 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk. Depending on your taste preference, you'll want to add 2 to 3 tablespoons (4 to 5 lemons) of finely grated lemon zest, and ¼ to ⅓ cup of fresh lemon juice. You may also want to add a bit of lemon extract to boost the lemon flavor too.
If stored well in an airtight container, it can last up to 1 month.
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
- Mixing Bowl
- Microplane Grater
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Cups (473g) Heavy Cream cold
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 Cup (289g) Lemon Curd store-bought or homemade
- ⅔ Cup (192g) Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Zest 1 Lemon finely zested
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Paste or Extract
- 4 Teaspoons Poppy Seeds
Instructions
- Before you start, place a large mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes. Freeze your ice cream container as well!
- Remove the beaters and bowl from the freezer and add cold heavy cream, with a pinch of salt. Starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium speed, whip the heavy cream until firm peaks form. About 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add lemon curd, sweetened condensed milk, fine lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and poppy seeds. Using a silicone spatula, fold until evenly combined.
- Transfer the ice cream mixture into a freezer-safe container. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the ice cream to prevent ice crystal from forming. Then tightly wrap with another piece of plastic wrap. Freeze overnight until firm.
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