Strawberry Soft Serve
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Make strawberry soft serve at home with fresh or frozen strawberries. This easy soft serve recipe is perfect for the GreenPan Frost.
This fresh strawberry soft serve is creamy, smooth, and packed with real strawberry flavor. We cook down frozen or fresh strawberries first, which concentrates their flavor and removes some of the extra water that can make homemade strawberry ice cream icy.
Strawberry season is one of my favorites, and this is such a fun way to use fresh strawberries when we have a bunch on hand. After getting so many questions about adding fruit to our vanilla soft serve, I knew strawberry had to be next!
The trick with fresh fruit is getting plenty of strawberry flavor without adding too much water to the soft serve base. Reducing the strawberries gives us a stronger berry flavor while helping the finished soft serve stay creamy. Also, we use a blender to make sure the mixture is smooth.
For the smoothest texture, use a high-speed blender to break down the strawberry seeds. If your blender doesn’t fully break them down, pour the strawberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve before chilling.
This recipe does require a little planning since both the strawberry reduction and finished base need time to chill. Once everything is cold, the GreenPan Frost does the rest of the work!
Quick Bites About This Recipe
Skill Level: Easy and beginner-friendly.
Swaps: Use fresh or frozen strawberries and vanilla paste or extract.
Make Ahead: Make the strawberry “reduction” and base ahead of time and chill.
Freezer Friendly: Best fresh, but keeps frozen up to 1 month.
Variations & Substitutions: Add a little lemon juice for a brighter strawberry flavor.
Fresh Strawberry Soft Serve Ingredients
Fresh strawberries: Fresh or frozen strawberries give this soft serve its real strawberry flavor. We reduce them before adding them to the base to concentrate the flavor and remove excess water.
Granulated sugar: Sweetens the strawberries and also helps keep the soft serve from freezing too firm. You may need to adjust depending on how sweet your strawberries taste.
Whole milk: This forms the main liquid base and keeps the soft serve creamy without making it too rich.
Heavy cream: Adds richness and helps the soft serve dispense smoothly instead of freezing too firm.
Instant vanilla pudding mix: A small amount adds structure and helps give the soft serve a smooth, creamy consistency without making it gummy. You can omit this, but it helps make it a little firmer.
Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract: This adds a subtle vanilla flavor that pairs really well with the fresh strawberries. We love vanilla bean paste for the extra flavor and those little vanilla specks.
How to Make Fresh Strawberry Soft Serve
Add the fresh or frozen strawberries and sugar to a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, mashing the strawberries as they soften. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced.
Remove from the heat and let cool for about 30 minutes. You can blend the strawberry reduction now for a smoother texture or blend it later with the remaining ingredients.
Transfer the strawberry reduction to a covered container and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight, until completely chilled.
Once chilled, blend the strawberry reduction with the whole milk, heavy cream, pudding mix, and vanilla. If your ingredients are already cold, you can make the soft serve right away. You can also refrigerate the entire prepared base for 4-6 hours or overnight before churning.
Either way, the soft serve mixture should be thoroughly cold before adding it to the GreenPan Frost.
Pour the cold mixture into the GreenPan Frost mixing bowl. Select Soft Ice Cream (Level 4-6) and let the machine churn until thick and creamy.
Once ready, dispense the strawberry soft serve and enjoy immediately.
You can omit the vanilla pudding mix if needed, but I prefer to not use the star tip when doing so.
Storing and Reheating (If There’s Any Leftovers!)
Refrigerate: Unspun base keeps refrigerated up to 24 hours.
Freeze: Freeze finished soft serve up to 1 month.
Reheat: Let frozen soft serve soften for 10-15 minutes before serving.
How to Serve Fresh Strawberry Soft Serve
Enjoy your strawberry soft serve right after dispensing for the best creamy texture. We love it in an ice cream cone, but you can also serve it in a bowl with fresh strawberries, sprinkles, whipped cream, or your favorite ice cream toppings.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Reduce the strawberry mixture to about 200 g. This concentrates the strawberry flavor while removing excess water.
- Make sure the strawberry reduction is completely chilled before making the soft serve base.
- Chill the finished base thoroughly before spinning.
- Use instant vanilla pudding mix, not cook-and-serve pudding mix.
- Blend the cream mixture only until combined.
- Dispense immediately for the smoothest soft serve texture.
- Frozen soft serve will become firmer. Let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Use a mesh sieve to remove any seeds if not using a high-speed blender.
Strawberry Soft Serve Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups (300) strawberries fresh or frozen (sweet is best!)
- 1/2 cup (100) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (360) whole milk
- 1 1/4 cups (300) heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the fresh or frozen strawberries and granulated sugar to a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, mashing the strawberries as they soften and release their juices.2 cups strawberries, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the strawberry mixture reduces and thickens.
- Remove from the heat and let the strawberry reduction cool for about 30 minutes. Blend the reduction now for a smoother texture, or blend it later with the remaining ingredients.
- For a smoother texture, strain through a fine-mesh sieve if your blender doesn’t break down the strawberry seeds.
- Transfer the strawberry reduction to a covered container and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight, until completely chilled.
- Once chilled, add the strawberry reduction, whole milk, heavy cream, instant vanilla pudding mix, and vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract to a blender. Blend just until smooth and combined.1 1/2 cups whole milk, 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, 1 1/2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the cold strawberry soft serve base into the GreenPan Frost mixing bowl. Select Soft Ice Cream (Level 4-6) and let the machine churn until thick and creamy.
- Once ready, dispense the strawberry soft serve and enjoy immediately for the best texture.
Video
Notes
- Substitutions: Use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. For the best creamy texture, we recommend using whole milk and heavy cream.
- Storage: Unspun base can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Finished soft serve can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
- Reheat: No reheating needed. Allow frozen soft serve.