Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream is a deliciously creamy cherry ice cream and does not require making a custard. Just chill your ingredients before freezing in your ice cream maker and you will soon be enjoying your new favorite dessert.
Who else loves ice cream? Some of my favorites besides this Maraschino cherry version are cherry chocolate chip ice cream and lemon poppy seed!
Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream Recipe
If there were ever an ice cream to make you feel like a kid again, this version of a cherry ice cream is it!
Just the color of this frozen treat, the perfect shade of petal pink, inducts memories of long past kid birthday parties and eating ice cream out of cute paper cups all while playing silly games.
The color is also reminiscent of those favorite circus animal cookies – dipped in a generous coating of pink or white icing, and showered with festive rainbow nonpareils.
Many have memories of enjoying this maraschino ice cream flavor on beach boardwalks or at favorite ice cream spots. It’s hard to find anyone who has a bad a memory of this delightful treat!
Ingredients for Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream
Pantry Ingredients
- sweetened condensed milk – using this means making a custard is not necessary, but you want to make sure it is very cold before adding to the ice cream freezer
- vanilla extract – use pure vanilla extract, it tastes so much better
- maraschino cherry juice – you can get one cup of juice from a 16 oz jar of cherries or two 8 oz jars of cherries
- maraschino cherries – chop each cherry into four equal parts
Fresh Ingredients
- heavy cream – find whipping cream that has the highest percentage of fat. It will often be labeled 36%. The higher the fat percentage, the better result you will have with solid ice cream
You can add each COLD ingredient to the ice cream freezer bowl separately or you can mix them all together and chill in the refrigerator until very cold.
How to Make Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream
Step one: Add all ingredients, except the chopped cherries, to a large bowl and place in the refrigerator until very cold (at least four hours).
Step two: Pour chilled ingredients into the bowl of an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers directions. Add chilled chopped cherries the last couple minutes of freezing.
Step three: Add ice cream to a container and freeze in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
Step four: Serve in cones or bowls
The ice cream is sweet and yummy. And, if “pink” was a flavor, this is what it would taste like.
Do Maraschino Cherries Need To Be Refrigerated?
Only once opened.
Keep your unopened maraschino cherries in the pantry where temperatures are kept below 75 degrees F. Once the cherries are opened, reseal the jar and place in the refrigerator. If your cherries are in a tin can, once opened, transfer them to another sealed container before palcing them in the refrigerator.
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Favorite Ice Cream Makers
- If you love the nostalgic look of the ice cream maker used in this post, this old-fashioned looking ice cream maker is for you. This one can make a large amount of ice cream for a big group.
- This ice cream maker is modern and sleek looking and is big enough for this recipe.
- If you’re looking to splurge, this is the ice cream maker I would get.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure all ingredients are very cold before adding them to the ice cream freezer.
- Look for heavy cream with a high percentage of fat. They are often labeled 36% heavy cream.
- Make sure the container you are adding the finished ice cream to is also very cold.
Favorite Ice Cream Scoops
- This ice cream scoop is the best for scooping out hard ice cream.
- For the price, this ice cream scoop is a great alternative.
- The perfect old-fashioned ice cream scoop.
If serving in a bowl, definitely garnish with some extra maraschino cherries.
How pretty does that look?
Other Maraschino Cherry Recipes You Might Enjoy:
Cherry Tassies
Soft Baked Maraschino Cherry-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adult Shirley Temple Cocktail
Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1-1/2 tsps vanilla extract
- juice from two (8 oz) or one (16 oz) jar(s) of maraschino cherries, cold
- 1 cup chopped maraschino cherries, chilled
Instructions
- Add all ingredients, except the chopped cherries, to a large bowl and place in the refrigerator until very cold (at least four hours).
- Pour chilled ingredients into the bowl of an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers directions. Add chilled chopped cherries the last couple minutes of freezing.
- Add ice cream to a container and freeze in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
- Serve in cones or bowls.
Notes
Nutrition
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Kristine says
Farrell’s was so awesome!! I haven’t thought about them since I was a kid!
PS. This ice cream looks amazing. Have you ever tried to mod this recipe to be vegan? I’m intolerant of lactose so I’ve given up cow milk products as I can.
Cathy says
Sorry Kristine I haven’t.
Mansoor says
For future readers (like myself), you can’t make this recipe lactose free, as there don’t seem to be lactose free heavy creams. However, other recipes call for mixing cream and milk, which is half-and-half. And that does come in a lactose free version! The tradeoff compared to this recipe would be ice cream that is less creamy (but also lower in fat).
Summer says
Since your comment has aged, there are lactose free heavy creams out there. Silk makes one that is perfect. I used it in this and it turned out rich and creamy. It froze properly as well, no ice crystals. I highly recommend finding Silk Heavy Cream and trying it.
Summer says
I used Silk Heavy Cream and condensed coconut milk. Zero lactose and it came out perfect. I can’t have lactose either and I substitute with Silk, Lactaid brands, and condensed coconut milk in everything, with excellent results.
Lea Ann (Cooking on The Ranch) says
Congratulations on the award Cathy! Very well deserved. And this ice cream looks fabulous.
Cathy says
Thanks Lea Ann!
Judith - Texas says
…you are so deserving to be honored in Babble…congratulations. I subscribe to many blogs but a big smile comes on my face when I see you have posted an entry; always entertaining and delicious goodies to make.
Definitely will make this ice cream – thanks for sharing.
Cathy says
Thanks Judith!
April says
Looks fantastic! I have a question though. The coconut ice cream was delicious, but a little too sweet for my taste. Is this as sweet? And if so, do you have any suggestions for making it a little less sweet?
And did you think of maybe adding some mini semi sweet chips in there?
Cathy says
I do not think it’s as sweet as the coconut ice cream and I also thought about adding mini chocolate chips. I think it would be perfect.
Lynn says
congratulations Cathy on the blog honour. It is well deserved. Your recipes are delicious with readily available ingredients – so “doable” . Thank you for sharing.
Cathy says
Thanks Lynn, I appreciate it!
Sarah Caron says
You make it sound do easy! I’ve made ice cream with custard but never condensed milk. I’ll have to give it a shot!
Cathy says
It is easy, just make sure it cold!
Jan says
Yum! Now I need a ice cream maker asap!!! All it needs is some flecks of chocolate! Congrads on your award!
Cathy says
You need to get one!
Adrienne says
Just throw all the ingredients into the maker? I love it! Usually there’s some stove action when i make ice cream.
Cathy says
I know, it’s just too easy.
Amy @ What Jew Wanna Eat says
Congrats! Love all your unique recipes 🙂
Cathy says
Thx Amy!!!
Alexis Gentry says
Huzzah! Congrats!!!! (Totally not surprised you’re on the list—it’s true, your site is FAB.)
And…I was just gifted an ice cream maker; squeeeeeeeaaaaaallllll! So, I am going to try this recipe ASAP. And I need to schedule my mini road trip down to you. Because the summer is melting away before our very eyes! xo, alexis
Cathy says
Thx Alexis and come down any time!
Barbie with a T says
Congratulations! Your site deserves to be #1. I’ll take a small serving of that ice cream right now!
Cathy says
Thanks Barbie!
j3nn says
Congrats on making Babble’s top 100!!
This ice cream sounds SO good. I love the cute little striped paper cups! My mom is crazy about cherry ice cream, she’d definitely enjoy this. When you mentioned coconut ice cream it brought me back to childhood when we made coconut gelato at our stand. Haven’t had it in years! I might have to correct that. 🙂
Cathy says
I’ve never had coconut gelato, would love to try that.
Carrie says
Farrell’s was a family fave growing up….I didn’t know they were still in existence! We are headed to SoCal in August and I got excited for a minute thinking I could take my kids to Farrell’s but alas there isn’t one near enough to our destination 🙁
Your ice cream looks delish!
Cathy says
Oh too bad, I would love to go as well!
katie says
yummmm! What a brillant idea and of course I love that its egg free which means you can churn it right away! I can’t wait to give this recipe a try and of course as always your photos are stunning!
Cathy says
Yes…faster is always betta’ when it comes to ice cream makin’.
Robin @ Simply Southern Baking says
This looks soooo yummy! Wish I had some right now!
Cathy says
Me too!
natalie@thesweetslife says
CONGRATS on the award!! I absolutely love maraschino cherries, so I’ll have to make this!
Beverly says
I made this tonight…..sitting in the freezer now firming up. I ran my ice cream maker for almost 25 minutes and the mixture never got very thick (but maybe it’s not supposed to?). I hoping it turns out! (Also, I got a pretty heavy “ring” around the bottom half of the ice cream container and had to chip it off but I ended up throwing it out.)
Cathy says
Yes, the ice cream is not one of those high-butter fat mixtures that gets really, really hard in the freezer. It’s a little softer making it easy to scoop but is still very much ice cream consistency. As long as you started with very cold ingredients you should be fine. As far as the bottom ring, did you let your ingredients sit in the mixer too long before turning it on? That’s the only time I’ve experienced something like that. Enjoy!
Beverly says
Thanks Cathy for the reply! My ingredients were cold and I turned on the machine before pouring everything in. Maybe I just ran it too long. I can’t wait to taste test tonight!!
Judy says
I made this today for the 4th of July celebration. Do you know calorie content &/or nutrition facts. We all really enjoyed it so much. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Terry says
This is the best homemade ice cream ever!
Kayla says
So easy and absolutely delicious!!! My kinda recipe 😉
Susan C. says
The kids and I made this the other evening.
Absolutely wonderful dessert.
We plan to make this again as I had to adjust the recipe to make up for an absent pantry item.
Spencer says
Hello there,
I tried making this before with a custard base. I added granulated sugar and the juice from the cherries to the base. When I went to freeze it, it never froze. I think it was too much sugar. I noticed in your recipe that you don’t use granulated sugar so I’m thinking that is why yours froze and mine didn’t. If you have any comments or suggestions, my ears are open. Thanks…
Cathy says
I’m not really sure how to help. The recipe you made really isn’t this recipe so I don’t know how to troubleshoot the issues you had. Sorry.
Deb Mays says
Just made this and it’s delicious but seems to be really loose rather than firming up in the ice cream maker. Wondering if you measured the liquid from the cherries and the brand I used had more liquid………
Leslie says
This is my families favorite summertime treat! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
Ravi Gupta says
I don’t have a ice cream maker, but I’ve seen and tasted my parents make mango ice cream using mango pulp many times before by just softening up the vanilla ice cream and adding canned mango pulp (and possibly sugar) and it’s divine.
Anyway, can I use the same method they did by just using store bought vanilla ice cream and then using maraschino cherries and their juice per your recipe?
I assume the rest of the ingredients you have listed is for a vanilla ice cream base, correct? Thank you!
Cathy says
You are welcome to try anything you like, but I cannot guarantee the results or that it is comparable to this recipe.
Barbara Brice says
I have a big jar of cherries, not the 16 ounce one. My question to you is How much juice from the cherries do I need to use. I don’t want to go out and by more cherries just foir the juice when I have plenty. Thanks so much…Barb
Cathy says
I’ll have to measure next time I make them.
Claudia Kemper says
Yes please, a measurement for the juice would be helpful.
Alice says
This was absolutely perfect, loved every bot of it!
Janet Anderson says
Just made this yesterday and my husband and I ate the whole thing! Made a few substitutions because we didn’t have enough whipping cream…so I used 1 1/4 cups vanilla flavored cream or whipping cream, 1 3/4 cups of whole milk, 3/4 cup of Maraschino cherry juice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla. Last 5 minutes added shaved chocolate and cut up cherries. Delicious. Probably not as creamy as the recipe you have, but it was light and delicious!!!
Paul Dyer says
Literally my favorite ice cream now.
Lauren Kelly says
Cherry ice cream has always been my favorite since childhood, but nothing beats homemade!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
My husband loves cherry anything! This is so yummy!
wilhelmina says
This is a great ice cream! It’s so easy and my daughter absolutely loved the pretty pink color!
Cathy says
Yes!
Toni Dash says
This is really amazing!! I need to get that ice cream maker! So cool!
Cindy Shebel says
Love this recipe, my kids always request it.
Cathy says
Awesome.
Amy says
This cherry ice cream has become one of our favorite homemade ice cream traditions!
Cathy says
Glad you love it.
Mabel says
We love this cherry ice cream with chocolate cake.
Cathy says
That’s a perfect combo.
Chelsea says
We absolutely love making this cherry ice cream.
vicki says
This cherry ice cream makes me feel like a kid again. Love it.
Mila says
This cherry ice cream was absolutely a lovely treat. Will be making again soon.
Sienna says
My kids beg for this ice cream all the time. It’s so good.
Barnth says
Best best best ice cream flavor. Makes me feel like a kid again.
Ashley says
Made a batch yesterday and it turned out so perfect for sugar cones!
Mable says
My girls loved this so much, they were so excited with pink ice cream that was not peppermint.
Kayce says
This turned out so good. We totally loved every bite.
Heidi says
This ice cream was wonderful! I am trying to go sugar free so next time I will use sf sweetened condensed milk. Made this for my bosses birthday as he said cherry ice cream was a favorite. Everyone loved it.
Olivia S says
Does anyone know how many quarts this makes? Trying to adjust for the large white mountain freezer we use (6qt).
Cathy says
1.5 quarts.