What could be better than Strawberry Gelato? Try my easy-to-make and oh so delicious Strawberry Gelato Recipe and decide for yourself.
*It also works well in an ice cream maker
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When I was in Italy, I just couldn’t get enough Gelato! I don’t care what time it was, or how cold it was, it was always time for gelato, but when I’ve tried it in the states (with very few exceptions) it just didn’t taste right.
The flavor might have been there, but the texture was wrong, it was just never quite right.
Over the years I have attempted to make my own gelato always blaming the fact that it didn’t come out right on my ice cream maker. The truth is it was the recipe I was using.
And yes I did also buy a gelato maker…..boys and their toys..sigh.
Whyn Is Gelato Different than Ice Cream?
Technically speaking “Real Gelato” is made differently than Ice cream. It’s denser and creamier, and the flavors are more intense than regular ice cream. The reason for this is due to a very important ingredient – air.
American ice cream can contain up to 50% air. This results in a lighter airier texture. And to compensate for this lighter airier texture we tend to like our ice cream richer getting more of the taste sensation from the cream.
When making gelato, air is prevented from blending into the mixture. This creates the denser and more intense flavors that gelato is so popularly known for.
To keep the intensity of the flavors, traditional gelato is made using more milk than cream. Some recipes won’t include cream and some even use part water. So when I worked on my recipe I decided to blend milk with some cream to get the consistency I wanted while not sacrificing the intense gelato flavor.
I also found recipes with eggs, and while I do love a good custard-style ice cream, this was Gelato not ice cream and the addition of eggs only seemed to complicate the recipe and detract from the gelato flavor.
Ingredients
Let’s start by gathering the necessary ingredients to make Strawberry 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.
Can I Use an Ice Cream Maker to Make the Recipe?
I used the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment to recreate my original recipe when I updated this post, and I was very happy with the results. So don’t feel you need to go out and buy a gelato maker. Your regular ice cream maker will work just as well.
How to make Strawberry Gelato
- Place the strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a food processor and process until liquefied.
- Add the milk and run the food processor until all the mixture is smooth.
- Whip the cream with a wire whisk until it begins to thicken slightly and becomes the consistency of buttermilk.
- Mix the cream and strawberry mixture in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
Pour the mixture into a gelato or ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instructions. When the mixture is thickened and frozen, transfer it to a freezer-safe container and allow it to freeze completely (2-3 hours).
Serve up this amazingly delicious gelato and watch the smiles around the table.
If you’re looking for a gelato maker, I recommend these three.
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Strawberry Gelato
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh strawberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup whole milk (water, 2% or skim milk can be used)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Remove the stems and leaves from the strawberries and rinse in cold water.
- Place the strawberries, lemon juice and the sugar in a food processor and process until liquefied.
- Add the milk and run the food processor until all the mixture is smooth.
- Whip the cream with a wire whisk until it begins to thicken slightly and becomes the consistency of buttermilk.
- Mix the cream and strawberry mixture in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the mixture into a gelato or ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Place the finished gelato into a freezer safe container and allow to fully freeze before serving (2-3 hours).
Jamie says
I love the presentation of this! Beautiful!
Angela says
I love that with just a few great ingredients this gelato comes out so delicious.
Jeanne coe says
I am looking forward to trying this recipe! I have the Lopie 1.6 machine, but I don’t see where there area y settings for gelato. Is there a trick to it, ordoyou just use the ice cream setting? Thankyou!
Chef Dennis Littley says
just use the ice cream setting.
Stephanie says
I have the kitchen aid ice cream maker attachment. Would that work as well? My first gelato was in venice and re creating it is very hard because I swear I had 18 scoops in one sitting. Please let me know if my machine would work. Thank you for sharing
Chef Dennis Littley says
that will work with this recipe. I know what you mean about gelato in Italy, it’s addictive!
Feri says
I made it with low-fat milk and a bit less sugar. It came out great! It froze in my ice cream machine in less than 10 mins. vey nice! Next I will try it with Mango. thank you for the recipe!
Chef Dennis Littley says
you’re welcome! and I’m happy to hear you adjusted the recipe to your preference. I hope you find more recipes to try
Frank Langheinrich says
I made the milk-based version. It was easy and the result was excellent.
zach says
so good
donna crews says
Wow, I made this for dinner tonight, and it was delicious! Thank you. How about a chocolate version!? 😉
Chef Dennis Littley says
I will work on one Donna. This version wouldn’t work as well for chocolate.
Fran says
Love your recipes so glad i stumbled upon them, could I use honey or maple instead of sugar, thanks for the great recipes
Ben K says
What a great recipe! We made this with fresh strawberries we picked from a farm. The strawberry flavor is amazingly intense. Tried it as written, with half and half instead of cream and water, and with cream and water depending on what we had on hand. Really didn’t notice any issues with ice crystals. Made it again with the same farm fresh strawberries that had been frozen. (We picked 10 lbs. of strawberries, so we made several batches). We used a blender instead of food processor. Also made a batch with peaches that was outstanding. Thanks for sharing this.
Kristen A says
I made this using 2% milk instead of water in my DeLonghi gelato maker. It was the perfect concoction. I substituted peaches instead of strawberries and it was just as good!
Chef Dennis Littley says
its a good basic recipe Kristen, I’ve used it to make many fruit gelato’s. Thanks for the great review and comment!
Cindy says
Yum,yum! So flavourful. Could I try changing out the strawberries for blueberries? What about a chocolate gelato?
Chef Dennis Littley says
you sure can, any fruit would work well with this recipe. I have never made chocolate gelato and this recipe would require quite a few changes to accomplish that to properly incorporate the chocolate.
Colleen Newtson says
What Gelato maker do you recommend?
Chef Dennis Littley says
there are links to two machines in the post
Dorothy Mauger says
This gelato is excellent! Possibly the best outside of Italy. I used 2% milk instead of water. Will make often!
Jeff Berman says
Holy cow, this was amazing!! I made it with low-fat milk instead of water, but otherwise followed the recipe. Best tasting strawberry gelato I’ve ever made and the easiest to make, too (no egg yolks to deal with and no simmering the milk). Oh, I guess I didn’t totally follow the recipe; we don’t have a food processor so the berries went into a blender.
Thank you, Chef Dennis — I’m definitely making this again!