This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon. I receive commissions for purchases made through the links in this post at no cost to you. For more information, please visit our Disclaimer page.
If you had to choose an all-time favorite drink, what would you choose? It can be anything from water (boring but a true classic) to a complicated cocktail I probably couldn’t pronounce.
My favorite would have to be a classic limeade from Sonic. Using that as inspiration, Alex and I decided to create a cherry limeade ice cream!
The flavors of cherry and lime come together in perfect balance in this ice cream. By using maraschino cherries, lime zest and juice, and lime extract, we were able to create the perfect blend in this fruity flavor!
If you’ve never heard of or been to a Sonic, it’s basically a drive-in that serves ice cream, slushes, drinks, and fast food. Growing up, my dad would drive my brother and I to our elementary school which was about 15 minutes away.
Right by our school was a Sonic (we were very lucky). Occasionally, my brother and I could convince my dad to take us after school for a delicious treat! My favorite was usually an M&M Sonic blast, and my brother would always go for something peanut butter flavored.
Back then, I had never had a limeade (it’s hard to not get ice cream at an ice cream shop for a kid).
However, once I was in high school, I was introduced to the limeade. I’ve never looked back. The limeade is a delicious soda-based drink that is full of lime and whatever flavors you want to add. My personal favorite is strawberry limeade with real chunks of strawberry, but Alex’s favorite is the cherry limeade.
Cue this delicious Ninja Creami ice cream recipe!
When we made this recipe, we used finely chopped maraschino cherries. After spinning the ice cream once, we noticed most of the cherries were still on the bottom.
We quickly spun it by hand with a spoon and that immediately helped the flavor of the ice cream and spread the cherries out. So if you have that same issue, there is a quick and easy fix!
To Make Dairy-Free Cherry Limeade Ice Cream, Use the Following:
- 1 tbsp vegan cream cheese for 1 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 cup oat milk for 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup cream of coconut for 3/4 cup heavy cream
First Time Using the Ninja Creami or Looking for Tips?
While the Ninja Creami is a machine with only 7 (or 11) buttons, it can still be intimidating! Here are a few tips and tricks Alex and I have picked up since beginning our ice cream journey with the Ninja Creami!
- Why did the maraschino cherries sink to the bottom of the pint after spinning? This happened to us as well – don’t worry, we have a quick fix! Simply take a spoon and stir the ice cream to scoop the cherries off the bottom and spread them throughout the rest of the pint. This should help make the flavor more even and give you that fantastic cherry limeade flavor!
- What if I want more cherry flavor? If you want more cherry flavor, simply use more of the juice from the maraschino cherry jar! We added in 1 tsp, but feel free to add more to make it as cherry as you like!
- If I put the pint back into the freezer, do I need to mix the ice cream up again before enjoying? Surprisingly, no! When using the typical base ingredients (whole milk, heavy cream), re-spinning is probably best to get the ice cream back to its original creamy consistency after freezing. However, we have found when using oat milk and cream of coconut, our first spin leaves the ice cream very creamy (almost like a soft-serve texture). After putting it in the freezer for 24 hours after this original spin, the ice cream is the perfect texture to enjoy without re-spinning! My suggestion is see how the texture is without a re-spin, and re-spin only as necessary!
- What button should I use to spin my ice cream? This all depends on the consistency you’re going for! Each button operates the machine at varying speeds. For thicker concoctions (like ice cream), the ice cream button is best. However, if using eggs in the recipe (like a gelato), use the gelato button! The sorbet button is best used with fruit mixtures. For example, if mixing a can of pineapples in heavy syrup, use the sorbet button to make a delicious fruity creation! Overall, it’s something you can experiment with to find your personal preference for your ice cream consistency!
Looking for More Ninja Creami Recipes?
If you’re on the hunt for more Ninja Creami recipes, be sure to grab one of our recipe e-books, Top 25 Ninja Creami Recipes ($2.99), or the great value of over 50 recipes in Ninja Creami Cookbook: Ice Cream & Gelato Edition! Each includes favorites such as cake batter gelato, red velvet ice cream, Shirley Temple ice cream, and many more!
If you’re like us and are running out of ice cream storage containers, grab a two-pack of Ninja Creami pints to keep your freezer full with all of your ice cream creations!
Or if you don’t have a Ninja Creami and are on the fence about getting one, check out my honest review!
Do You Want to Make Your Own Ninja Creami Cookbook?
If you want to make your own version of a Ninja Creami cookbook, check out our Ninja Creami Recipe Page Template! Besides the fun design, it has space to write the spin setting, number of servings, ingredients, directions, and notes (everything a Creami recipe needs)!
Ninja Creami Cherry Limeade Ice Cream
Description
Cherry limeade ice cream uses real cherries and juice/zest from a lime to create the perfect blend of fruity flavors. The sweetness of the cherries and pop of lime will leave you coming back for more!
To make this recipe in the Ninja Creami Deluxe, multiply all ingredients by 1.5
Note: 1 pint = 1 serving
Ingredients
Instructions
Place 1 tbsp cream cheese in a medium bowl and microwave for 5-10 seconds. If the cream cheese was in the fridge, these 5-10 seconds in the microwave will help soften it up to mix well with the other ingredients.
Combine cream cheese with 1/2 tsp lime extract and 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Whisk until the ingredients are mixed together.
Take a lime and zest it entirely. When finished, cut the lime in half, and squeeze all of the juice into a small bowl.
Gather all of the lime zest (approximately 2 tsp) and add it to the cream cheese/extract/sugar mixture.
Gather all of the lime juice (approximately 1 1/2 tbsp) and add it to the mixture as well.
Grab 8 maraschino cherries and finely chop them.
Add these to the mixture.
Whisk in 1 tsp maraschino cherry juice (juice from the jar), ensuring the mixture is even throughout.
Slowly whisk in 1 cup whole milk and 3/4 cup heavy cream.
Pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container, ensuring it does not go over the max fill line.
Freeze the pint for 24 hours, ensuring it is placed on a flat surface in the freezer.
After 24 hours, remove the pint from the freezer, and plug in your Ninja Creami machine! Time for the magic.
Remove the lid from the pint and grab the Ninja Creami outer bowl. Place the pint securely into the outer bowl and cover with the lid. Once the lid is on, place the outer bowl into the machine, twisting to the right until it locks into place. Press the "Ice Cream" button and (try to) wait patiently for the creamy treat coming your way.
Once the process is finished, press and hold the button on the left side of the Creami to twist the bowl to the left and remove it from the machine. Twist the lid off of the outer bowl and remove the pint.
If the cherries have fallen to the bottom, use a spoon in order to hand-stir them throughout the ice cream.
Now your cherry limeade ice cream is ready to enjoy!
Note
If you don't like following recipes, don't worry - you can customize it however you want! We personally use oat milk and coconut cream to avoid most of the dairy, and it's some of the best ice cream we've ever had.
If you liked this recipe, check out our recipe for orange creamsicle ice cream here.
Can you substitute the cream cheese and, if so, with what? Just can’t stand cream cheese!
I’ve substituted mascarpone cheese (for our tiramisu recipe). I’ve heard from others that they have left it out and it’s worked out fine, so I would try that if you really don’t want to use cream cheese! I think there just needs to be some type of stabilizer like cream cheese, or maybe a bit of instant pudding mix, or something like that.
Hope this helps!