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    Home » Recipes » Dessert Recipes

    Easy Lemon Gelato Recipe (Lemon Ice Cream)

    Published: Apr 26, 2022 by Chef Dennis Littley

    7.5K shares
    • Facebook177
    • Yummly
    4.55 from 79 votes
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    pinterest image for gelato

    Lemon gelato is an amazingly refreshing frozen dessert that will tantalize your tastes with fresh lemon flavor and the creamy texture of ice cream made with milk and heavy cream so the flavors shine through.

    scooping lemon gelato out of a bowl

    All you need to make my lemon gelato (which can be made in your ice cream maker) is lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, heavy whipping cream, milk, and a dash of salt. No egg yolks needed!

    spoonful of lemon gelato above the dish of gelato

    Gelato isn’t that much different than ice cream, the big difference is that milk is used instead of all cream, which actually makes the flavors of what you’re using stand out even more, and if you find the right balance between cream and milk, you still get that rich creamy texture that Americans have come to love about our ice cream!

    What ingredients do I need to make Lemon Gelato?

    ingredients needed to make lemon gelato

    Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make lemon gelato. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.

    Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

    *I originally made this gelato with Meyer Lemons so either variety are good.

    How do I make Lemon Gelato?

    It’s really easy to make my version of Lemon Gelato. All you need are a few simple ingredients to make this gelato / ice cream recipe.

    four images showing how to make gelato
    • Add the cream, milk, lemon juice, zest, sugar, and salt together. Using a wire whip, mix until the sugar dissolves and is completely incorporated. (the mixture should thicken some)
    • Pour the lemon mixture into a gelato or ice cream maker.
    • Allow the mixture to freeze.
    • When the gelato mixture has sufficiently frozen, place into a container and allow the lemon gelato to completely freeze.

    Can I Use an Ice Cream Maker to Make a Gelato Recipe?

    Yes, you can. The difference between the two machines is gelato is churned at a much slower rate than ice cream, incorporating less air and leaving the gelato denser than ice cream. 

    Of course, if you don’t have a gelato maker you can easily take my recipe for Lemon gelato and use your ice cream maker to make super creamy and delicious ice cream.

    scoops of lemon gelato in a bowl with a lemon slice

    So when life hands you Lemons make gelato. Your friends and family will be oh so happy that you did. Just be prepared for all the compliments and requests to make it again and again.

    Recipe FAQ’s

    What is the difference between gelato and ice cream?

    Ice cream has a higher butterfat content which masks some of the natural flavors, where the creaminess of the ice cream is more of the star than the added flavor. Italian gelato uses less butterfat, and also doesn’t whip the mixture as quickly adding less air into the gelato. This makes the gelato denser and packs the flavor into each spoonful because of the density.

    What ingredients do I need to make gelato?

    Five basic ingredients are needed to make gelato. Heavy cream, milk, sugar, salt and the flavoring you’ll be adding. Fresh fruit is my favorite added flavor when I make gelato, but you can easily make pistachio, chocolate or any flavor you can imagine.

    Do I need eggs to make Gelato?

    No, you don’t. You can of course make a custard-type base for your gelato using eggs, but that will require cooking the custard and allowing it to cool before freezing. The eggs will make the base richer, but eggs are not necessary for amazing gelato.

    More Gelato Recipes You’ll Love!

    • The Best and Easiest Strawberry Gelato Recipe You’ll ever Make!
    • Double Your Pleasure with Blueberry Cheesecake and Very Cherry Gelato
    • Grilled Peaches and Cream Gelato – National Ice Cream Month
    • Blackberry and Mango Gelato Recipes

    Did you make this? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!

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    lemon gelato in a bowl with a wedge of lemon
    Print Recipe Save Saved!
    4.55 from 79 votes

    Lemon Gelato

    You'll love the creamy texture and tart flavor of my lemon gelato. The recipe is easily made in a standard ice cream maker and is gaurunteed to amaze your family!
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time0 mins
    0 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Italian
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 300kcal
    Author: Chef Dennis Littley

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup Lemon Juice about 6 lemons
    • zest from one lemon very fine
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 1 cup milk
    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • ⅛ tsp salt
    US Customary – Metric
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Using a micro-planer or a very fine grater, zest one Lemon
    • Cut lemons in half and juice them, straining out all the seeds.
    • Add the cream, milk, lemon juice, zest, sugar and salt together and using a wire whip, mix until the sugar is dissolved and completely incorporated. (the mixture should thicken some)
    • Pour the mixture into a gelato or ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instructions.
    • Yield will be about 1 quart of lemon gelato

    Nutrition

    Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 82mg | Potassium: 132mg | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 650IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 0.2mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askChefDennis or tag #askChefDennis!

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    About Chef Dennis

    Picture of Chef Dennis

    Chef Dennis is a semi-retired Chef, writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis aka Ask Chef Dennis®. Chef Dennis worked professionally in White Table Cloth Restaurants for 40 years and has been developing easy to make, restaurant-style recipes since 2009. The second phase of his reinvention from chef to blogger has earned him a place at the Worlds Dinner Table. Join him on his Culinary Journey enjoying his easy to make Restaurant Style recipes and travel adventures. For more details, check out his About page.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Evie

      December 22, 2022 at 8:03 pm

      5 stars
      We love this! We used Meyer lemons, and because they were small, zested two. We also added a dash of vanilla, but it was fantastic both ways. So refreshing and popular most of it won’t make it to tomorrow 😆 Thank you!

      Reply
    2. Katie

      March 26, 2022 at 8:38 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve been making this recipe pretty consistently now for a couple years. I am one of those people who loves everything lemon and creamy and this is the perfect combination of both. I’ve made it for family and I’ve made it for the other Nurse’s at work over holidays and I always get requests for the recipe!

      Reply
      • Melissa

        August 26, 2022 at 4:17 pm

        5 stars
        Oh my word! This stuff is da bomb!!! I was looking for a lemon ice cream recipe and came across your website. It seemed so easy that I gave it a whirl. Holy cow, so good!! As good, if not better, than any lemon gelato I have ever had. Having this knowledge is going to be a real problem for me and I forsee an extra dimple on my fanny from too much deliciousness. I can’t wait to try your other gelato recipes.

        Reply
        • Chef Dennis Littley

          August 26, 2022 at 4:20 pm

          I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the lemon gelato Melissa, and I feel your pain about the possible extra weight gain! You’ll have to try my strawberry recipe when you get the chance

    3. Tamera

      July 26, 2021 at 10:25 am

      5 stars
      This is my favorite gelato recipe! I’ve made it with both Meyer lemons and regular lemons and prefer the tangier flavor of the regular lemons. Just made it again this weekend for friends and it received high reviews!
      I recently purchased a ice cream/gelato maker (had been using my basic Cuisinart ice cream maker) from an individual who was upgrading to a higher end maker. We were both excited when the recipes we traded were both yours (me sharing with her your Meyer lemon and she recommending your strawberry recipe).
      Now off to try the blackberry gelato recipe!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        July 26, 2021 at 10:29 am

        You just made my day with your comment! Trading my recipes makes me smile!!!

        Reply
    4. Marziano DeSanti

      December 20, 2020 at 3:07 pm

      4 stars
      Wonderful recipe. Nice tangy and creamy flavour.
      Suggestion: if using an ice cream maker, try sprinkling zest into ice cream maker just prior to the mixture setting firm (say 10 mins before finishing) as I found if added at the beginning it tended to group together on different parts of the paddle even though I grated it super fine. I just noticed the comment about sugar coating the zest in a food processor so maybe that’s a better idea than what I suggested above.

      I used regular lemons.

      Reply
    5. Dixie

      September 22, 2020 at 12:58 pm

      5 stars
      I was hoping for that mouth-feel of sweet-creamy/tart-lemon heaven that delightfully coats the palate with every bite. But this wasn’t it. I blame the lemons. This was my first experience with Meyer lemons, so I’m not even sure if this is how they’re supposed to taste, even though I got fresh juicy organic ones. To me, they smelled rather pungent, which is probably why it tastes so unexpectedly bizarre. I can say that this gelato method is a good one; the milk/cream ratio is just right, and texture came out nice. So I will try making it again with regular lemons, as I’m sure I’ll like that a lot better. BTW, sugar-coating the zest in the mini-processor is a good suggestion; nothing stuck to the paddle in my ice cream maker.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        September 22, 2020 at 8:00 pm

        I would definitely give it a try with regular lemons, hopefully, that will come out better.

        Reply
        • Dixie

          September 23, 2020 at 1:51 pm

          🙂 I will – thank you for the speedy reply!

        • Samantha

          March 21, 2021 at 7:13 pm

          Have you tried making this with sucralose? I did and it came out a frozen solid brick. Which is a shame because the flavor is amazing. Not sure if the sugar substitute caused problems or what?

        • Chef Dennis Littley

          March 21, 2021 at 7:47 pm

          hi Samantha

          Sugar helps keep ice cream/gelato from freezing into a solid block. The only real fix using sucralose would be adding alcohol to the mixture to keep it from completely freezing. The other option would be to freeze it smaller containers and use a blender to get back to a manageable consistency.

    6. Denise Fuentes

      September 03, 2020 at 4:56 am

      5 stars
      it was delicious and very easy to make. No cooking, great flavor.

      Reply
    7. Emily Johnson

      July 11, 2020 at 11:15 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is amazing! I made a recipe and half and added an extra 1/4 cup of sugar. Glad I did. Came out very tart after freezing completely. Delicious! And the best… I use the ice cream to make ice cream sandwiches with sugar cookies (just the kind you can pick up from your local store premade will work just fine). Taste like lemon pie! Yummy!

      Reply
    8. Mary

      June 15, 2020 at 3:00 pm

      5 stars
      My sister discovered your recipe and has made it several times. It is delicious! People rave about it. Yes, when life hands you Meyer Lemons, make this!

      Reply
    9. Lois

      June 14, 2020 at 6:23 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you! This recipe is AMAZING! We have food allergies in our house and recently purchased an ice cream maker so that my youngest could enjoy soft serve style ice cream and gelato at home. Your recipe turned out perfectly!! We thought we were back at a favorite little Italian cafe. You’ve made our family very happy.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        June 15, 2020 at 8:22 am

        I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed the gelato recipe! The lemon along with strawberry are my favorites!

        Reply
    10. Verna

      May 08, 2020 at 12:04 pm

      5 stars
      Excellent texture and flavor! Tart and refreshing just like I remember the limone gelato in Italy. It is quite light and stays soft when frozen. I’m quite pleased with the results and it is definitely a keeper. Also made it with Eureka lemons, adding 1/4 cup extra sugar – perfect!

      Reply
    11. Alyson

      April 20, 2020 at 12:27 am

      5 stars
      So easy. SO GOOD! Thank you!!

      Reply
    12. Mark

      February 24, 2020 at 3:42 am

      5 stars
      WOW! What a wonderful recipe. A friend has a Meyer lemon tree and gives me lemons. I usually make sorbet or something else out of them. I was looking for Meyer lemon recipes and happened upon your Meyer Lemon Gelato recipe. I have an Ice Cream maker that has a built in freezer and has a Gelato blade that was included. This is the first time I used that blade and it is amazing the texture of the Gelato when it was finished. The flavor was out of this world. I also followed Susan’s suggestion and blended the zest with the sugar in a small food processor. Amazing how the sugar turned to a yellow color after blending and the smell of the zest oils really permeated the room after blending. I will be using your wonderful recipe with Blood Oranges next. Anyway thanks much for the recipe…It is Wonderful!!!

      Reply
    13. Susan

      March 28, 2019 at 12:40 pm

      5 stars
      This is truly delicious, Chef D! I read some other reviews about the zest issue and here is how I solved it. I actually added more than a TBS of zest, finely grated,but I blended it with the sugar in a mini food processor for about 10 pulses. It not only coats the zest with the powder of the sugar, but it releases the natural flavors of the zest oils throughout. I use thi trick for anything I am making with citrus and sugar.

      Reply
      • Tracy Highett

        August 17, 2019 at 9:51 pm

        That idea sounds great, so thanks for the good tip! I’m going to try it today!

        Reply
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    My name is Dennis Littley or "Chef Dennis" as I'm known both at work and across the blogosphere. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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