Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Recipe

This homemade Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Recipe is made with a cheesecake ice cream base and swirled with an easy blueberry pie filling. Add in some sprinkled graham crackers and you’ve got yourself one of the best desserts of summer!

This Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream begins with a cream cheese ice cream base (cream cheese custard of sorts) made with egg yolks and ends with a homemade blueberry filling that gives this ice cream that perfect summer flavor. 

Apparently, July is National Ice Cream Month.

And this past Sunday, it was National Ice Cream Day.

So, in true Michelle fashion, I’m sharing an ice cream recipe with you all after National Ice Cream Day.

#whoops

You’d think I’d be in the know a little sooner on days as important as this one, buuuut, in my defense, I’m pretty certain there’s a food holiday almost every single day of the year and I just don’t have the energy to try to memorize all of those.

Despite my love of food and all things dessert, I do have a life apart from food. 😉

Let me just being by stating how difficult it is to photograph ice cream. Especially when it’s the middle of summer (although, to be fair, I made this recipe back in early June and it wasn’t nearly as warm as it has been as of late) and temps are r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s.

The ice cream melts so quickly, and of course, once it melts it gets everywhere. You have to either photograph quickly or be prepared to take breaks and pop the ice cream back in the freezer and wait until it’s hard once again.

It’s a labor of love to share ice cream recipes (I know, I know—you can all thank me later for this true heroic effort I’ve put forth), but let me tell you, this Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream is worth every single melted ice cream drip.

I’ve never made a homemade ice cream with egg yolks (and yes, this ice cream does need an ice cream maker). My homemade Strawberry Ice Cream is made without eggs, my Caramel Ice Cream Pie is made with a no churn caramel ice cream recipe, and this Mint Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream Pie is made with store-bought mint and chocolate ice cream (so good and so easy!!).

After making this Angel Food Cake, I was left with a bunch of egg yolks; I didn’t want to waste them so I opted to put them in this Homemade Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream.

And you know what? It was a fantastic decision.

Cream cheese ice cream swirled with homemade blueberry pie filling and graham cracker crumbs has kind of become my new favorite summer dessert.

Seriously, that cheesecake ice cream recipe is to die for. It’s rich and creamy and it might be the only ice cream I eat from now on.

The Cheesecake Ice Cream Ingredients are:

• cream cheese
• sugar
• egg yolks
• half and half
• milk
• vanilla extract
• lemon zest & juice (optional, but gives a brightness to the ice cream)

Between the egg yolks, the half & half and the cream cheese, this ice cream is incredibly rich and creamy.

All right, let’s talk about how to make homemade ice cream with egg yolks. 

While you can (and I have) make great ice cream without egg yolks, egg yolks truly do enhance the richness and creaminess of the homemade ice cream.

The most important thing about the egg yolks is to temper them, which basically means when you mix the hot liquid (in this case, the half & half and milk) with the egg yolk mixture, you want to mix only a little bit at first. This helps to gradually bring the egg mixture temperature up; if you mix in all the hot liquid, the egg yolks could scramble—not great for ice cream.

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Tips & Tricks:

• There are a few steps to this homemade blueberry cream cheese ice cream recipe, but if you plan ahead, it is entirely worth it.
• The cream cheese base has to sit in an ice bath until it cools; then it needs to be refrigerated; then it can be put into your ice cream maker.
• The cheesecake ice cream is swirled with blueberry filling, so you layer the ice cream, filling and graham cracker crumbs in your container. The blueberry filling is not churned in the ice cream maker.
• I have a 1.5 quart cuisinart ice cream maker. If you have a bigger size, you can definitely double the blueberry cheesecake ice cream recipe to fit in your cuisinart (or whatever ice cream maker you have). However, this recipe does make a little over a quart (5-6 cups) of ice cream.

Ready to get your ice cream on?? This Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream recipe is (hopefully 😜) about to be your summer new fav!

5 from 2 votes

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Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Chill Time

7 hrs

Total Time

8 hrs

 

This homemade Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Recipe is made with a cheesecake ice cream base and swirled with an easy blueberry pie filling. Add in some sprinkled graham crackers and you’ve got yourself one of the best desserts of summer!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Servings: 5 -6 Cups (a little over a quart of ice cream)

Author: Michelle

Ingredients

Blueberry Pie Filling

• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp water

Cheesecake Ice Cream

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 1/2 cups half & half
• 1 cup milk (I used 2%; whole milk works as well)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp lemon zest (optional; it brightens the flavor of the ice cream)
• 2 tsp lemon juice, fresh (optional; it brightens the flavor the ice cream)

Graham Crackers

• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

Instructions

Blueberry Pie Filling

1. Whisk lemon juice, water and cornstarch together. Pour into the blueberries and mix until combined.
2. In a small saucepan, mix 1 cup of blueberries, sugar and the cornstarch mixture together.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil over med-low heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries into the mixture and cook on low for 1-2 more minutes. Remove from the heat.
5. Allow the blueberry filling to come to room temperature, then refrigerate until ready to use.

Cheesecake Ice Cream

1. Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, egg yolks, vanilla extract and lemon zest & lemon juice together in a large bowl. Set aside.

2. Combine half & half and milk in a medium-large saucepan; bring the mixture to a boil over med heat, stirring occasionally.

3. Once boiling, remove from the heat.
4. Stir 1/2 cup of the half & half and milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture, whisking until everything is combined (this tempers the eggs in the cream cheese mixture).
5. Stir the rest of the half & half and milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture, whisking until everything is combined.
6. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over med-low heat for about 6-7 minutes (stirring constantly), or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.

7. Place pan in a large bowl of ice for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (this helps cool the mixture down quickly).*

8. Once the custard mixture has cooled down to about room temperature, pour into a bowl, cover the custard with plastic wrap (making sure the plastic wrap is pressed onto the surface of the custard). Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, or until cold.
9. Once the custard is cold, pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions (mine took about 15-20 minutes to churn).
10. In your freezer safe ice cream container (I used a 9x5 bread loaf pan), pour in half of the cheesecake ice cream and spread in an even layer.
11. Dollop half of the blueberry filling over the cheesecake ice cream. Using a knife, gently swirl the ice cream with the blueberry filling. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs over the top.
12. Pour the remaining cheesecake ice cream over the top and spread in an even layer. Dollop the remaining blueberry filling on top, and swirl. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of graham crackers on top.
13. For soft serve, freeze for about 2-3 hours; for true ice cream, freeze for at least 5-6 hours, or overnight.
14. Scoop and serve!

Recipe Notes

*Note
You can allow the mixture to cool on its own to room temperature. It will probably take about 20-30 minutes or so (and don’t forget to whisk occasionally). Basically, you want the custard to come to room temperature before refrigerating.

Here are some other recipes you might enjoy:

Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

Mocha Coconut Ice Cream Sandwiches

Banana Split Ice Cream Cake