Homemade Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream (2024)

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

Homemade Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream (3)

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.

Homemade Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream (4)

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!

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

Homemade Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream (5)

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.

Homemade Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream (6)

More of our Favorite Homemade Ice Cream Recipes:

Creamy Mango Ice Cream
Dairy Free Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
6 Green Ice Cream Ice Creams
Coconut Ice Cream in a bag

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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 mins

Cook Time0 minutes mins

Freezing2 hours hrs

Total Time2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 146kcal

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups coconut milk canned full fat
2 medium oranges navel
4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup, confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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

Keyword : orance creamsicle

www.superhealthykids.com

Can you use almond milk instead of coconut milk?

I was wondering that, too.

I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure it would work great!

Maybe I did something wrong, but this is shaved ice a best
?

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.

Have you tried this? It sounds great and want to try myself!

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.

Thanks Chris!! And thank you for the tips!

I love my blendtec too! To freeze faster you can just add ice and use the ice cream setting. Quick results!

sounds easy and delishous too

Which kind of coconut milk? My hub brought home the unsweetened coconut milk in the can from Taste of Thai.

I used Thai Kitchen, but I’m sure Taste of Thai will work just great.

Just made this sooooo good!

How stevia sweetener?

We actually never use stevia, and so I can’t really give you advice on that!

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!

Soften apples and add cinnamon. Yummy!

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!

Could you use regular dairy milk here? My son has allergies to coconut and nuts.
Thanks

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!!

Sweetener is a bigger poisen than sugar. Apart from that great job!

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?

Do you have a dairy allergy?

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!

Thanks for the recipe – very nice! Do you know how long it would last in the freezer?

I would say it will stay good for 2 weeks.

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?

Yes – I think vanilla extract would be really yummy with 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.

would a vitamix work just as well?

Yep! It will work great.

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!