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This churro ice cream recipe is the perfect way to deal with the hot weather, without the use of an ice cream machine. Inspired by sopapillas it’s a no churn ice cream recipe full of cinnamon and crunchy cinnamon sugar pie crust, like a churro!

ice cream scooped into clear ice cream bowl and a churro piece mixed in.


Easy Churro Ice Cream

Sopapilla is traditionally a fried dough served with honey or sugar, and churros are a soft and chewy fried dough coated in cinnamon sugar. I decided to marry the two and turn them into ice cream – no machine needed!

Easy Ice Cream is my favorite to make – just 2 main ingredients. Then you add the cinnamon sugar crunchy pie crust pieces and it takes this recipe to the next level. If you’re looking for a cinnamon ice cream – this is it!

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • Easy ice cream, no machine needed!
  • Uses whipped cream but you can substitute Cool Whip for a lower-fat dessert.
  • Use refrigerated pie crust to keep with the easy theme!
ingredients in churro ice cream.

Ingredients Needed

  • Pie crust: from a refrigerated pack of 2 or my pie crust recipe from scratch
  • Cinnamon Sugar: the star of the recipe, made with ground cinnamon and granulated sugar
  • Cold heavy whipping cream: Make whipped cream by whipping until stiff peaks form – this helps make the ice cream. See notes for using Cool Whip.
  • Sweetened condensed milk: You can use regular or fat-free
  • Cream cheese: you can also use reduced fat cream cheese but I’ve never subbed fat-free, so use caution. Make sure it’s room temperature to avoid lumps,

Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!

How to make churro ice cream

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  2. Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Unroll pie crust and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Press lightly with your hands to seal it to the crust. Spray the crust lightly with cooking spray.
  3. Bake crust for 8-12 minutes, until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool completely before making ice cream churro.
  4. Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
  5. Place cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in another large bowl and mix with a hand mixer until smooth. You can do this by hand, but I find that using a hand mixer makes it easier to get out the lumps. Mix in vanilla and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Fold in Cool Whip (see note).
  6. Crumble cooled pie crust into small pieces and stir into ice cream mixture. I reserved about 1/4 of the crust for topping, but you can add it all if you wish.
  7. Place ice cream in a large resealable container and freeze for at least 4 hours but overnight is better. Will keep in the freezer for up to one month.
ice cream in grey tin with an ice cream scooper in the tin.

Expert tips

  • You can use reduced fat cream cheese and/or sweetened condensed milk
  • You can substitute 2 containers (8-ounces each) of cool whip for the heavy cream. Use any kind of whipped topping (regular, low or fat-free or sugar free)
  • This ice cream works without cream cheese too, it just won’t have that tangy cheesecake flavor.

FAQs

What is churro flavor ice cream?

It’s a cinnamon sugar flavor with a vanilla ice cream base. 

How long does homemade ice cream last?

Will keep in the freezer for up to one month.

ice cream scooped into clear ice cream bowl and a churro piece mixed in.

No Churn Churro Ice Cream

5 from 1 vote
Ice cream made without a machine, full of cinnamon, cheesecake flavor, and sopapilla pie crust!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chill Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 5 hours
Yield 12 servings
Serving Size 1 serving

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pie crust (from a refrigerated pack of 2 or from scratch)
  • 1 tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon divided
  • 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
  • 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Mix granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Unroll pie crust and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Press lightly with your hands to seal it to the crust. Spray the crust lightly with cooking spray.
  • Bake crust for 8-12 minutes, until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool completely before making ice cream.
  • Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
  • Place cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in another large bowl and mix with a hand mixer until smooth. You can do this by hand, but I find that using a hand mixer makes it easier to get out the lumps. Mix in vanilla and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Fold in Cool Whip (see note).
  • Crumble cooled pie crust into small pieces and stir into ice cream mixture. I reserved about 1/4 of the crust for topping, but you can add it all if you wish.
  • Place ice cream in a large resealable container and freeze for at least 4 hours but overnight is better. Will keep in the freezer for up to one month.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  • You can use reduced fat cream cheese and/or sweetened condensed milk
  • You can substitute 2 containers (8-ounces each) cool whip for the heavy cream.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 128mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 838IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Other Churro Recipes




Last Updated on April 28, 2023



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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57 Comments

  1. This is absolutely delicious & super easy. I’ve already made it 4 times in 2 weeks!!! Thank you for sharing this. It’s my new favorite addiction!

  2. 90 degrees and you want it to go away already?! Giiiirl, don’t talk so crazy! 😉 This ice cream sounds like the perfect way to deal with the hot weather! Love the flavor!

  3. Hello, i read your blog occasionally and i
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  4. This cheesecake ice cream looks the best! I love the flavours- Happy Cinco de Mayo!

  5. I visited my aunt and uncle in New Mexico when I was in high school and we went to the most amazing Mexican restaurant in Santa Fe and the best part of the meal was the sopapilla for dessert! What a great idea to turn it into ice cream! Looks delicious!

  6. Ughh… my husband and I love sopapillas with honey on them. The fact that you turned it into an ice cream and a cheesecake ice cream on top makes you nothing more than sheer genius! Love this and I’m totally right with ya on the 80 degree weather… I sat out yesterday and sun tanned.. ha! 🙂

  7. Sopapilla is my brothers’ all time favorite flavor. I cannot get over the fact that you put it in ICE CREAM. Like, can we talk about how amazing that sounds?? Creamy, cold, and lots of cinnamon and sugar sounds incredible. Pinning!

  8. I hadn’t heard of ‘sopapilla’ before either but it looks delicious!! Anything cinnamon sugary with pastry and ice cream is heaven in my opinion. Amazing photos Dorothy… haha, and I’m 30 and I’ve never attempted a selfie! You and your friend rock!