Easy Mulberry Ice Cream

Enjoy the amazing flavor of fresh mulberries with this Mulberry Ice Cream recipe! It's super easy to make with an ice cream maker and just 6 ingredients, and has such an amazing flavor and color thanks to juicy, ripe mulberries.

Run, don't walk, to freeze your ice cream maker bowl NOW so you can make this ice cream ASAP!

Mulberry ice cream

This EASY mulberry ice cream has just 6 ingredients (one of them being mulberries, and 2 of the ingredients are optional). The ice cream is made by making a really concentration mulberry syrup (which is one of my most popular mulberry recipes!), and combining that syrup with heavy cream, milk, and vanilla extract.

The vanilla is optional, but trust me, the addition of vanilla to mulberries is so delicious!

This ice cream recipe does require a little planning ahead because you need to have the ice cream maker bowl frozen from the day before. I recommend keeping the ice cream maker bowl in the freezer ALL THE TIME in the summer (after washing it from your previous batch of homemade ice cream). This way you're ready to to make ice cream if you come across a really great mulberry tree and have tons of fresh mulberries!

Related recipe: Mulberry Mojitos

Mulberry ice cream from fresh or frozen mulberries

You can use fresh OR frozen mulberries for this ice cream recipe! I often freeze mulberries when I can't get through them all if it's a really good mulberry season.

To freeze mulberries for ice cream, remove the stems (if you want to take the time to do that—see recipe notes below) and wash them really well. Measure out the mulberries in 1-cup or 2-cup increments and label the freezer bag with the amount so you know how much you have when using the mulberries for a recipe.

There might be frozen juice at the bottom of your freezer bag with mulberries. Make sure to use that frozen juice for the syrup too! 

Related recipe: Mulberry Iced Tea

Ice cream recipe using an ice cream maker

I used to think I didn't need an ice cream maker, but having an ice cream maker is SO WORTH IT!! I love making high quality creamy ice cream at home without any xanthan gum thickeners or artificial flavors. 

I always look for sales for heavy whipping cream (double cream for those in Australia) and buy some so I have it on hand whenever I want to make ice cream. So much cheaper than buying ice cream in stores! Or at least, cheaper than high quality ice cream.

This recipe uses a 1.5-quart ice cream maker (2.5 cups of cream/milk + ¾ cup of mulberry sauce), but you can make it fit in a 1-quart or 2-quart ice cream maker if that's what you have. 

If you need an ice cream recipe to try without an ice cream maker, you can make this mulberry ice cream following this recipe for blueberry cheesecake ice cream, but substitute the blueberries with mulberries.

Ready to get started??

Related recipe: Mulberry Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh mulberries (with stems removed—removing stems is optional but read the recipe tips below!), plus an optional ¼ cup for stirring into the ice cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoons lemon juice (optional, but recommended to cut the sweetness!)
• 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional, but highly recommended because the combination of vanilla and mulberries is delicious!)

Related recipe: Vanilla Blackberry Bourbon Jam

Related recipe: Mulberry Puff Pastry Danishes

Step 1: Make the syrup: Combine the fresh mulberries, sugar, and lemon juice in the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mulberries release juices. Cool the pot in the ice bath for a few minutes so it is not crazy hot.

Step 2: Pulse the mulberries with an immersion blender (careful not to splash!), or transfer carefully to a blender or food processor and pulse a few times. You do NOT want to liquify all the mulberries, but simply to break them down more.

Step 3: Put the pot back on the stove and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent boiling over. When the mulberry syrup starts to thicken and stick to the sides of the pot a little, it is ready. Put the pot back into the ice bath to cool down.

Related recipe: Boozy Milkshake with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Step 4: Pour the mulberry syrup through a fine mesh sieve, using a spoon or spatula to push the syrup through into a large bowl. You should have almost ¾ cup syrup and ½ cup of mulberry pulp left over. If you have a lot less, try to squeeze more syrup out. If you have a lot more, you might need to cook the syrup down a little more so it thickens. By the way, the mulberry pulp is great for spreading on toast or stirring into yogurt so don't throw it out!

Step 5: Add the rest of the ice cream ingredients (heavy cream, milk, vanilla extract) to the syrup and mix together really well—some of the syrup will sink to the bottom so you want to stir that all in.

Step 6: Follow the ice cream maker instructions to make the ice cream, but here's what I do: Carefully pour the mixture into a frozen ice cream maker bowl as it is churning. Allow to churn for at least 20 minutes. Optional: stir in up to ¼ cup fresh mulberries during the last few seconds.

Step 7: Carefully pour the chilled ice cream into a freezer-safe container (I love a bread loaf pan for this!). Cover with plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn and freeze for at least 4 hours, or until frozen. When ready to serve, you might need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften the ice cream, but it should be creamy enough to serve right from the freezer with a hot ice cream scoop!

Related recipe: Fresh Apricot Ice Cream

Recipe tips

→ Ice cream maker: If you forget to freeze the bowl of your ice cream maker, you can still prepare the ice cream mixture in advance and just keep it all refrigerated until ready to pour into the frozen bowl. I recommend ALWAYS keeping the bowl of the ice cream maker in the freezer after every batch of homemade ice cream, so you can make ice cream any time you want! Or any time you find heavy cream on sale. 🙂

→ For best results and creamier ice cream, get your ingredients ice cold before pouring into the ice cream maker. This is why I recommend getting an ice bowl to cool the syrup down after cooking it to cool the syrup down faster. Don't get lazy about it!

→ Mulberry substitutions: You can use frozen mulberries to make the syrup for this mulberry ice cream!! I do NOT recommend using dry mulberries for this recipe, it just won't work. If you don't have enough fresh or frozen mulberries, you can use add blueberries or blackberries.

→ Removing the stems from the mulberries: You can eat the mulberry stems, so it's not absolutely necessary to remove them. I like to remove the stems from the mulberries so I can enjoy the pulp remaining from straining the syrup as a spread on toast or to stir into yogurt. If you leave the stems on, they're not that noticeable. 

→ Adding mix-ins: The most obvious mix-in would be to add fresh mulberries to the ice cream during the last few seconds of churning it, or right into the freezer container before freezing it. Another great mix-in that would go GREAT in mulberry ice cream is pieces of shaved chocolate. 

→ Serving ice cream: This ice cream should be creamy enough to serve straight from the freezer with a hot ice cream scoop (run it under hot water or dip it into a cup of hot water). If it's too hard, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften. This ice cream is AMAZING with a drizzle of mulberry syrup (sooooo you should probably make extra syrup), or with a bit of chocolate sauce (try the chocolate sauce from these churro pancakes!) or magic chocolate shell that hardens when it touches the ice cream.

I hope you get to try this mulberry ice cream and enjoy it as much as we do!! I know it looks like it's quite a lot of steps, but it's a REALLY easy recipe and so worth it! But if you're looking for something much quicker, try this matcha banana ice cream!

More foraging recipes to try: Garlic Mustard Pesto

If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!

Print Recipe

4.94 from 16 votes

Easy Mulberry Ice Cream

Just 6 ingredients and about 20 minutes of your time to make this homemade mulberry ice cream! The delicious fresh mulberry flavor is amazing! This ice cream can be made with fresh or frozen mulberries. Make sure to read the notes below for helpful recipe tips.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Chilling, churning, and freezing time4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time5 hours hrs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Servings: 8

Author: Kate

  Cook Mode: Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

For the mulberry syrup:

• 2 cups fresh mulberries - or frozen mulberries (with stems removed—removing stems is optional but read the recipe tips below!), plus an optional ¼ cup for stirring into the ice cream
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoons lemon juice - (optional, but recommended to cut the sweetness!)

For the ice cream:

• 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract - (optional, but highly recommended!)

Special equipment

• Ice cream maker
• Fine mesh sieve
• Small or medium saucepan
• Immersion blender (or blender or food processor)
• Spatula
• Bowls, measuring cups, and spoons
• Large bowl with ice to cool down the mulberry syrup (optional, but helpful to speed things up!)

Instructions

Before getting started:

• Freeze the ice cream maker bowl for at least 24 hours.

Make the thick mulberry syrup:

• Combine the fresh mulberries, sugar, salt, and lemon juice in the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mulberries release juices. Cool the pot in the ice bath for a few minutes so it is not crazy hot.
  
• Pulse the mulberries with an immersion blender (careful not to splash!), or transfer carefully to a blender or food processor and pulse a few times. You do NOT want to liquify all the mulberries, but simply to break them down more.
  
• Put the pot back on the stove and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent boiling over. When the mulberry syrup starts to stick to the sides of the pot a little, it is ready. Put the pot back into the ice bath to cool down.
• Pour the mulberry syrup through a fine mesh sieve, using a spoon or spatula to push the syrup through into a large bowl. You should have almost ¾ cup syrup and ½ cup of mulberry pulp left over. If you have a lot less, try to squeeze more syrup out. If you have a lot more, you might need to cook the syrup down a little more so it thickens. By the way, the mulberry pulp is great for spreading on toast or stirring into yogurt so don't throw it out!
  

Make the ice cream:

• Add the rest of the ice cream ingredients (heavy cream, milk, vanilla extract) to the bowl with the syrup and mix together really well—some of the syrup will sink to the bottom.
  
• Follow the ice cream maker instructions to make the ice cream, but here's what I do: Carefully pour the mixture into a frozen ice cream maker bowl as it is churning. Allow to churn for at least 20 minutes. Optional: stir in up to ¼ cup fresh mulberries during the last few seconds.
  
• Carefully pour the chilled ice cream into a freezer-safe container (I love a bread loaf pan for this!). Cover with plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn and freeze for at least 4 hours, or until frozen.

Notes

→ If you forget to freeze the bowl of your ice cream maker, you can still prepare the ice cream mixture in advance and just keep it all refrigerated until ready to pour into the frozen bowl. 

→ For best results and creamier ice cream, get your ingredients cold before pouring into the ice cream maker.

→ Mulberry substitutions: You can use frozen mulberries to make the syrup for this mulberry ice cream!! I do NOT recommend using dry mulberries for this recipe, it just won't work. If you don't have enough fresh or frozen mulberries, add fresh or frozen blueberries or blackberries.

→ Removing the stems from the mulberries: You can eat the stems, so removing them is optional. I like to remove the stems from the mulberries so I can enjoy the pulp remaining from straining the syrup as a spread on toast or to stir into yogurt. If you leave the stems on, they're not that noticeable in the spread.

→ Nutrition facts are estimated assuming 8 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 285kcal (14%) | Carbohydrates: 31g (10%) | Protein: 2g (4%) | Fat: 17g (26%) | Saturated Fat: 11g (55%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 54mg (18%) | Sodium: 97mg (4%) | Potassium: 92mg (3%) | Fiber: 0.01g | Sugar: 28g (31%) | Vitamin A: 706IU (14%) | Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) | Calcium: 67mg (7%) | Iron: 0.1mg (1%)

The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.