Homemade Strawberry Kefir Ice Cream Recipe

This Strawberry Kefir Ice Cream Recipe adds a tasty bit of tang to an otherwise traditional strawberry ice cream recipe. You’ll be amazed at how tasty it is!

My sister has a very special talent that I am incredibly jealous of. And every time she flaunts her magical talent, I am left with my jaw on the floor. I often find myself asking, “Just how on Earth did she do that?” Every time she succeeds, I remind myself to watch closer next time because I must keep missing something. She must be using some fancy persuasion trick that I didn’t learn in my parenting books. Now you might be wondering what this special talent is and if you’re the parent of a picky eater or two, you are going to be as jealous as I am.

My sister can get my children to eat anything. And I do mean anything!

In the beginning of the summer, we sat our four children down for lunch. As I was taking their lunch orders for the chef (my sister), I asked each of them what they would like to drink.

“Blueberry Kefir!” said one.

“Strawberry Kefir mixed with Peach Kefir!!” said another.

(Note: it was not my children excitedly asking for it.)

My sister saw the look of astonishment on my face and turned to my kids. She asked them if they would like to try some of the “yummy drink” that their cousins were having. As I started to protest that my kids don’t like yogurt drinks, she gave me that look. The looks she has given me many many times as my older sister. The look that said, “Not another word.”

My kids hesitantly said, “Yes.” My sister then told them that their mommy would like to try some too. (Eeeek – I do? But I don’t like yogurty things.) She poured each of us a small glass and we all took a sip. My daughter proclaimed that she loved it, my son said it was good, and I was very pleasantly surprised. I really liked it. It was a little bit tangy, a little bit bubbly, and it was unlike anything I had ever tasted before.

My sister explained to me, that it wasn’t “yogurt”, it was “kefir” and that her family drinks it every day. She started drinking it after a horrible battle with diverticulitis and to this day she swears it helped cure her. After I learned more about Kefir, I decided that this was a simple and very healthy addition to our diet and it is now part of our daily morning breakfast routine.

If we aren’t drinking it from the bottle, we like to make smoothie creations from them. I was recently inspired by all of my sister’s amazing ice cream recipes and I started wondering if I could make a Kefir ice cream recipe. Turns out, it is incredibly easy to do! I made a Strawberry Kefir Ice Cream in my ice cream machine and I have to say, it came out amazing. I imagine any of their flavors would work equally as well – just swap out the fruit to match the Kefir flavor.

STRAWBERRY KEFIR ICE CREAM RECIPE

(adapted from the Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream recipe in my cuisinart recipe booklet)

Ingredients:

1½ cups fresh strawberries, hulled
¾ cup Lifeway Strawberry Kefir
²∕³ cup granulated sugar
pinch salt
1½ cups heavy cream
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Step 1.) Blend the strawberries in a blender until they are the consistency you like (I liquefied mine). Place in a separate bowl.

Step 2.) In a medium bowl, use a mixer on low speed to combine the milk, sugar, and salt until the sugar is dissolved. (I heart my KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer.) Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Stir in reserved strawberries with all juices. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Step 3.) Turn on the ice cream machine; pour the mixture into the frozen freezer bowl and let mix until thickened, about 20 minutes. Place in an airtight container and store in freezer.

Thanks for Reading!

Daniele

This post originally appeared on We Know Stuff here.

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