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Homemade Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream

99 Comments

Sweet and fresh oranges mixed with the creaminess of the favorite childhood orange creamsicle made into a smooth no-churn ice cream!

creamy homemade orange creamsicle ice cream

Orange Creamsicle

Orange creamsicles are a delicious frozen treat with sweet and creamy vanilla ice cream surrounded by a tart layer of orange sherbet. I remember enjoying them on hot summer days as a kid, and they were definitely a favorite.

I wanted to recreate this nostalgic frozen treat using fresh whole food ingredients in an easy no-churn ice cream. You will feel great enjoying my Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream with your kids on a hot summer day!

orange creamsicle ice cream with fresh orange slices

Ingredients for Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream

You only need 4 ingredients for this recipe!

  • Coconut milk – you will need canned full fat coconut milk for this recipe. The fat in the milk makes the ice cream rich and creamy.
  • Oranges – I like navel oranges for this recipe because they are considered to be the sweetest variety.
  • Sweetener – you can use honey, confectioners sugar, or maple syrup.
  • Vanilla – use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.

Ingredient Substitutes for Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream

  • Can I use a different type of milk? You can, but you will want to make sure it is a full fat milk. You can use whole milk, half and half or heavy cream. If you are looking for a plant-based non dairy milk alternative, there are full fat options available. I would not recommend regular almond or soy milk because they are typically a lot lower in fat and will result in a more slushy texture instead of smooth and creamy.
  • Can I use fruit other than oranges? You definitely can, but it won’t be orange creamsicle ice cream 😉 This recipes works well with frozen strawberries, blueberries, mango and banana.

How to Make Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream

This ice cream is literally the easiest thing to make.  You don’t need an ice cream maker or any fancy equipement!

  1. Peel and section oranges.  Lay flat on a tray and freeze until hardened. (about 1-2 hours)
  2. In a blender or food processor, add coconut milk and half of the frozen orange sections.
  3. Blend until smooth.  Add the remaining oranges and continue blending.
  4. Add the sweetener of your choice (honey, powdered sugar, maple syrup) and vanilla extract.
  5. Blend.
  6. Pour into a freezer safe container and freeze until solid.
  7. When ready to serve, let it sit out for a few minutes to make it easier to scoop. Enjoy!

How to Store Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream

The best way to store this ice cream is in an airtight container that has a tight fitting lid. You want to make sure that air doesn’t get into the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming and to keep it smooth and creamy.

This will store well for about 2 weeks in your freezer.

More of our Favorite Homemade Ice Cream Recipes:

orange creamsicle ice cream
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3.7 from 180 votes

Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream

Sweet and fresh oranges mixed with the creaminess of our favorite childhood orange creamsicle made into a smooth no-churn ice cream!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Freezing2 hours
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 146kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Peel and section oranges.  Lay flat on a tray and freeze until hardened. This will take about an hour.
  • In a blender or food processor, add coconut milk and half of the frozen orange sections. Make sure your coconut milk is the full fat kind from a can.
  • Blend until smooth.  Add the remaining oranges and the sweetener of your choice (honey, maple syrup or confectioners sugar) and vanilla extract. Blend until combined.
  • Pour into a freezer safe container with a tight fitting lid, and freeze until solid.
  • When ready to serve, let it sit out for a few minutes to make it easier to scoop. Enjoy!

Notes

Tips:
  • You can eat it right out of the blender if you want more of a soft serve/smoothie consistency.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cups | Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 74IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 2mg
Keyword : orance creamsicle

www.superhealthykids.com

Natalie Monson

I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.

Learn More about Natalie

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Recipe Rating




99 Comments

A few tips for a creamier ice cream:

The reason homemade ice cream gets ice crystals in it, is because the longer it takes to actually freeze, the more room for air and ice crystals are able to form.
-Higher fat content of the ice cream. Fat doesn’t typically freeze if there is a low water content and so it helps make it smoother and creamier and less icy. Make sure you are using a full fat coconut milk.
-Sugar. A higher sugar content and type of sugar produces a less icy ice cream.
-Quick freezing. The faster the ice cream freezes after it is done, the less ice crystals will form. You can freeze the container it will go in ahead of time, and then put it in the coldest part of your freezer immediately after it gets done in the blender.

Natalie – AMAZING recipe. I love it and I’ve posted this to my blog and emailed the recipe (directly linking here) to about 20,000 parents. Hope that drives some appreciative traffic your way.

Nicole – while you probably could use almond milk I think you’ll have a hard time making it into ice cream. Almond milk is mostly water, so it will freeze into a big block of ice. Coconut milk is much higher in fat (healthy medium-chain triglycerides) and when frozen it doesn’t quite turn into the same block of ice that almond milk will.

Also, if you use just almond milk you’ll be taking away all of the healthy fat calories (or practically all) and these are what satifsy hunger. I wouldn’t do it unless you can’t use coconut milk.

Hi
Thanks for this recipe! I am excited to try it for my niece’s 2nd birthday as she is sensitive to soy and dairy (to the point of intolerance.) I was wondering if you had thought of or tried it with other fruits? What’s your opinion? She is in LOVE with apples at the moment and as odd as it may sound that sounds yummy to me lol. Thanks again.
-Jess

You could definitely try it – honestly I’m not really sure how it would turn out. I would probably soften the apple just a bit before blending it!

Greetings,
Would frozen oranges be best for making orange ice cream?
Or would refrigerated oranges be best?

We want to bring out the best flavor and quality possible.

Thanks,
Your Fellow Recipe Chef
Kaz

Frozen worked well for us. I’m sure fresh would work just great, it may make the mixture thinner because of more moisture requiring more freezing time and an icier texture. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!

Maria – yes you can use regular dairy milk, but I would suggest half and half or cream. The higher fat content will give it a creamier and much less icy texture.

Hi, there would I be able to use Zymil lactose free milk for this instead of coconut milk? Or do half and half maybe? Would it work just as good? I’m trying to find an ice cream recipe that is lactose free and still creamy? Thanks I love your site by the way 🙂 great recipes

Thank you! Coconut milk is non-dairy and is lactose free. You should be able to use that just fine. I’m not familiar with Zymil.

Have you found that one type of orange over another tastes better? Definitely need to try this with my highly lactose-intohlerant 4yo!!

Nicole – I’m not sure what you are referring to as a sweetener, but when we say ‘sweetener’ we are referring to honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar – not refined sugars or artificial sweeteners.

Hi, normaly I would squeeze the oranges and freeze it with other ingredients and then remove from freezer and blend it and refreeze, this way is a lot easier, but I can’t use any kind of milk, what would u suggest?

I’m wondering about other fruits. I love orange sherbet but I also love lemon, lime (which I assume would be similar), strawberry or any other fruit really. It would be nice to be able to switch things up and make not just orange. Have you used other fruits??

We haven’t tried this recipe with other fruits, but we have with lots of other ice creams. Definitely give it a try!

Definately a sherbet and not ice cream. Consistency was icy and not creamy (in, sherberty). I used extra sweetner due to tart oranges. Make sure it’s sweet enough before freezing as it gets less sweet when frozen. Very good, will make again.

I made it and even used a glass air tight container and it had ice crystals in it.. Did I do something wrong?

The reason homemade ice cream gets ice crystals in it, is because the longer it takes to actually freeze, the more room for air and ice crystals are able to form. A few things to help with this:
-Higher fat content of the ice cream. Fat doesn’t typically freeze if there is a low water content and so it helps make it smoother and creamier and less icy. Make sure you are using a full fat coconut milk.
-Sugar. A higher sugar content and type of sugar produces a less icy ice cream.
-Quick freezing. The faster the ice cream freezes after it is done, the less ice crystals will form. You can freeze the container it will go in ahead of time, and then put it in the coldest part of your freezer immediately after it gets done in the blender.

Good luck!

Which sweetener do you think works/tastes best? We have coconut sugar, honey, and Maple syrup in the house, not sure which to try.

Personally I prefer the taste of either coconut sugar or honey. I use honey when I make it.

Natalie, in regards to the sweetener, do you add the vanilla extract along with something like honey? Or do you just add the honey?

I have made something similar using blueberries, coconut milk, and maple syrup….if you can handle eggs, you can blend in an egg to make it creamier. I would post the link, but the blog I got it from is no longer active. Any frozen fruit works.

Could you be a bit more specific with the oranges? Maybe listing weight or cups so that I can have a reference. I really want to try it, but I am always afraid of messing up and wasting. Thank you very much for this great idea!

This recipe doesn’t have to be to the exact measurement. I used 2 oranges that were medium in size, but if you have 2 oranges that are large it won’t be a problem!

When you said “coconut milk, full fat”, do you mean using the white coconut cream not the coconut water in the can?

I mean buying regular full fat coconut milk in the can. Some of them say ‘lite’ or ‘reduced fat’

As oranges are really sweet right now in my market, I’m going to try this recipe. I have a Vitamix so I’m wondering if I can add the oranges all at once instead of how its listed in the directions. Also, what is the total servings that this recipe makes? Thanks.

Yes – if your blender is powerful enough, you can definitely add them all at once. It makes about 8 1/2 cup servings.

YUM! My husband and I are making a whole bunch of ice cream flavors for my daughter’s 3rd birthday party next weekend and I just had to try this. I LOVE orange creamsicles, and this is such a fabulous, healthy way to satisfy that craving. Absolutely delicious . I will be making this again!

I loved this recipe! As did my little girls! That said, despite following the recipe exactly (full fat coconut milk, etc) , it was definitely more icy /crystallized/rock solid than ice cream even after it sat out. Luckily I had put half into Popsicle trays and the rest in a glass container so the girls loved eating them as Popsicles, and then I just had to scrape and scrape to get the frozen block out of the glass bowl. But it was still very tasty! Can’t wait to try it with strawberries too!

I make this with full cream coconut milk or normal dairy whipping cream. Have used frozen oranges, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, mango and i have also added coconut, cocao, nuts etc. Have end chopped up chocolate buttons and put through it. Use your imagination ?

Does it have a noticeable coconut taste?

If so, could I substitute the coconut milk with cashew cream? Will it still be as creamy?

Thanks

Cashews have a higher fat content, and so it would probably work. I have noticed though that cashew cream tends to be a little bit on the liquidy side – this could result in a bit more ice crystals. Always an experiment!

Thanks for answering!

If I use full fat coconut milk, will it overpower the orange creamsicle flavor? Is the coconut noticeable at all?

Yes you definitely can. You should be aware though, that the longer it takes to freeze, the more ice crystals are able to develop and it will have an icier texture. If you ice cream maker freezes fairly quickly, it should be smooth and creamy 🙂

I Just added regular unsweetened coconut milk not the full fat. I misunderstood. I will try again with full fat and more oranges. Thx for the recipe. Sherry

I used 1 cup of the hard coconut from the can of native forest coconut milk. I used one cup of fresh squeezed orange juice. 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and 10 drops of liquid stevia. It was amazing!!

I made your recipe and changed it up and added 4 drops doTERRA orange and 4 drops ginger essential oils. I won 2nd prize in an icecream contest.
Next time I will try the recipe with my Kitchen aid ice cream maker.
Thank you.

4 stars
Ali, this was absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and made no changes. Another one of your recipes has pleased my family. Thank you for sharing!

5 stars
I like this Ice Cream very much because it will be my recommendation for the upcoming Thanksgiving New tast in my family’s dessert menu

5 stars
These look absolutely delicious! You have amazing food photography too :] As much as I know my girl’s will love these.

Hi Shelley! It will vary a bit depending on the size of your oranges, but you can roughly expect four cups of ice cream from this recipe.

Hi Sean! Thanks for reaching out. I’m not sure if dairy milk would be work mixing with the oranges (it might curdle a bit?) You could certainly experiment! (I think the taste would be nice, I’m just not sure about the texture.) Soy milk would not curdle, so that might also be an option for you.

Froze the oranges
No one eating ,used coconut dream milk And agave syrup for sweetener . Tasted so good out of the blender cannot wait to try it once it’s completely frozen ! I have some orange mint in the garden to top it off . ?

Using regular coconut milk definitely helps with the creaminess factor, but you can use light! It might make the consistency a bit ‘icier’.

The delicious and nutritious recipe, my children were delighted with the taste of this delicacy. I advise everyone to try at least once. Thank you so much Natalie.

Is the canned coconut milk in the recipe the same as the coconut milk in the dairy section of the super market? We can’t find canned coconut milk.

Canned coconut milk has a higher fat content. You can usually find it with the ethnic foods in your local grocery store! You would get a better end result if you used cream if you can’t find canned coconut milk- you can use the refrigerated kind, but you might end up with more of a slushy than an ice cream. 🙂

That should work- it’s a little thick, but you should be able to spoon it in just fine. 🙂

I tried the orange creamsicle ice cream recipe. I was really looking forward for an easy recipe for an ice cream.

This is not an ice cream. It’s more like a whip cream that tastes a little like vanilla/ orange. I was disappointed. Ended up throwing it away.