Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: June 8, 2023

In the last week, my outlook on life has improved, oh, about 1000%, and here’s why: we finally got an air conditioner! It’s such an important event that I feel our time here will forever be divided between the time before and after its arrival.

While it’s transformed just about every aspect of daily life—from being able to sleep through the night to actually feeling clean after a shower to feeling motivated once again to do things other than sit in front of the fan (not conducive to blogging, believe me), most importantly of all, I can now, once again, envision food being made. The cereal diet has been lifted and I will never again underestimate the value of HVAC.

This ice cream is one of the few things I could muster into being during the time B.A.C. (before A/C) and the reason is because it involved absolutely no stove time whatsoever. That’s right. Which makes it my first custard-less ice cream ever. And it’s delicious.

I’d originally been inspired by this awesome-looking strawberry sour cream ice cream that Katie had made awhile back. Except I balked at the number of egg yolks the recipe called for (Nine. Really? Are they really necessary? Does anyone know what the relation is between number of yolks and consistency/taste?). So after a quick web search, I found another recipe for sour cream ice cream that involved zero yolks, and little much of anything else. It was the simplest recipe ever: mix the ingredients, refrigerate, churn. Easy. Clean up consisted of one bowl and one immersion blender (as well as the usual assortment of measuring implements, but they don’t count).

The ice cream came out with just the right amount of tang, sort of similar to the plain-flavored fro-yo that’s so popular these days, but much creamier and smoother, like Cheesecake Lite. I also love how the blueberry sauce came out, streaks and pockets and bursts of lovely violet that taste delicately sweet against the sharpness of the sour cream.

I am a huge fan. And though I’m back in action in the kitchen, this is one easy recipe that I’ll be coming back to again and again.

One year ago: Apricot raspberry galette

BLUEBERRY SOUR CREAM ICE CREAM

Adapted from Gourmet
Makes about a quart

Ingredients:

For the blueberry sauce:

1-1/2 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar

For the ice cream:

1 16-ounce container chilled sour cream
1 cup chilled whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chilled heavy cream
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch salt

Directions:

For the blueberry sauce:

Put the blueberries and sugar in a small saucepan, stir to mix, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the berries are very tender and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let cool. Refrigerate until cold before using.

For the ice cream:

Blend all the ingredients until mixture is smooth and sugar has dissolved. Chill until very cold, overnight if possible. Freeze mixture in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container, drizzling in the blueberry sauce intermittently. Place in freezer until firm.

Subscribe for New Racipies

Get mental health tips, updates, and resources delivered to your inbox.

Whipped Ricotta with Mixed Berries, Or Reminiscing on Holidays Past

Dessert

Christiana George

Updated Date:
January 6, 2026

This Fourth of July, Chris and I will find ourselves alone, with nary a barbecue or picnic to attend. It’s a lonely position to be in, but such is the case when you’re a stranger to an area I suppose.

We should really be used to it by now.

Last Thanksgiving, we were in Puno, Peru. I believe we ate street hamburgers, 33 cents each, and arroz con leche—also bought off the street from a man with a cartful of the stuff—for dinner. We were resolute about not making a big deal out of the day. I made a big deal out of the day.

For Christmas, we were in Mendoza, Argentina, and celebrated the evening at a huge hostel-organized dinner where we endured ham stuffed in chicken stuffed in something else because I didn’t want to spent the holiday alone, just the two of us. The evening quickly devolved into a girls-gone-wild soiree, where tequila shots were generously given out to those brave enough (or wanton enough) to slurp them from some poor girl’s bellybutton (I was not wanton enough to be that girl).

And New Year’s Eve was celebrated in Santiago, Chile. We’d debated trying to be in Valparaiso that night, but, again, in the attempt to not make a big deal over the holiday, we opted to stay in Chile’s capital instead. Where we were invited to a concert which turned out to be more like a rave and spent the entire night alternating between momentary blindness and momentary deafness. It turned out to be one of our more fun New Year’s Eves.

If this last year has taught me anything, it’s how not to make a big deal over holidays.

But I’m not saying we won’t be a little lonely.

Sometimes, all it takes is going through the motions to make a day feel festive. Or make-believe motions in this case.

If I were playing hostess to a yardful of guests, I would totally serve this dessert as a 4th of July finale, after an evening of food-gorging, fireworks-watching, and beer-guzzling. It’s sweet, velvety, and cold, the cream cheese imparting a slight tartness, the ricotta grounding it firmly as a luxurious dessert. While not heavy, it’s certainly rich. And the berries, oh the berries: I will miss them when they’re out of season.

WHIPPED RICOTTA WITH MIXED BERRIES

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
4 ounces (1/2 cup) cream cheese, room temperature
4 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp honey
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups mixed fruit (strawberries, blueberries, peaches, raspberries, etc.)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Mix ricotta cheese, cream cheese, 2 Tbsp sugar, honey, and vanilla extract thoroughly (alternatively, blend everything together in a food processor and transfer to a bowl). Cover and refrigerate until slightly set (about 2 hours).

Toss fruit with lemon juice and remaining 2 Tbsp sugar in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Divide ricotta among six bowls. Top with berries and serve.

Note: You can go all-out patriotic like I did, and use blueberries and strawberries in your fruit blend, but I think peaches would work terrifically as well.