This sweet potato ice cream is made with cream cheese for a super creamy, fall inspired treat. It’s a slightly sweet, cinnamon infused dessert that gives pumpkin a run for its money.
I first posted this sweet potato ice cream recipe during a fall trip to North Carolina for my brother’s 30th birthday. In exactly two months, he’s now turning 40. Time is crazy in that he now has a 9 year old and 8 year old that didn’t exist when this recipe went up and in the fact that I actually thought the old pictures of this ice cream were good. A decade seemed like a good time for an update.
If you’re excited about fall and the seasonal flavors that come with it, you will love this spiced sweet potato ice cream. It gives you that creamy, decadent warmth you crave in a fall dessert without the need for pumpkin.
That’s one of the things I love about sweet potato, its seasonal relevance sticks around for a bit longer than pumpkin. In my opinion, this ice cream flavor can work from September all the way through March. It’s perfect for any cold weather month and kind of tastes like Thanksgiving dinner in dessert form.
Ingredient Rundown
Sweet potatoes — Use a fresh orange sweet potato that’s been peeled and chopped. It’s on my radar to try this recipe with purple sweet potatoes at some point too, but for this beautiful golden color, you’ll use regular sweet potatoes.
Milk — This is used as part of the base of the ice cream, but also for boiling and cooking the sweet potatoes. I always use whole milk here for the creamiest outcome. I don’t suggest anything below 2% when making ice cream as the lower fat content will lead to an icy texture.
Cream cheese — Regular cream cheese is the secret ingredient in this sweet potato ice cream recipe for the ultimate creamy and decadent texture.
Spices — Salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves flavor the ice cream and go perfectly with the sweet potatoes.
Vanilla extract — A hint of vanilla complements the sweet potato flavor.
Heavy cream — If you want a creamy ice cream, you need to use heavy cream, even if it’s cut with milk.
Cornstarch — Since we’re not using an egg (custard) base for this recipe (like our Bailey’s ice cream recipe does), cornstarch helps thicken the ice cream and provide a smooth mouthfeel once it’s churned and frozen.
Brown sugar and molasses — These two ingredients sweeten and add depth of flavor to the ice cream in the same way they would with sweet potato pie or casserole.
How To Make Sweet Potato Ice Cream
Start by combining the chopped sweet potato with milk in a sauce pot and bringing it to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. This should take about 10-15 minutes.
My Pro Tips
Recipe Tips
- You can find canned pureed sweet potato in many grocery stores, usually in the same area as pumpkin. Feel free to use this shortcut if desired (I’ll use it for sweet potato pancakes sometimes), but I’ve found the flavor to be better when boiling the sweet potatoes in the milk for this recipe.
- For an alternative approach and even deeper sweet potato flavor, you can roast the sweet potatoes whole in the oven until soft and tender. Let them cool, then scoop out the flesh and blend it with the milk. Roasted sweet potatoes will bring even more natural sweetness to the ice cream.
While the potatoes boil, combine the cream cheese with the salt, spices and vanilla in a separate bowl.
Pour the sweet potatoes and milk into a blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender in the sauce pot to accomplish the same thing.
Pour the blended mixture back into the sauce pot over medium heat. Whisk together the cornstarch and heavy cream in another bowl. Pour it into the sauce pot and stir to combine. Add the brown sugar and molasses and stir until they both dissolve.
Turn off the heat, add the cream cheese mixture and whisk or stir until totally combined. Pour the sweet potato ice cream base into a large bowl. Place that bowl into an ice bath or transfer to the refrigerator to cool. The ice bath will take about 30 minutes to cool completely while the refrigerator method will take about 3 hours.
Once cooled, pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s directions. This process can take up to 20-30 minutes depending on which type of ice cream maker you have. Don’t be impatient and stop it too soon.
My Pro Tip
Recipe Tip
If you want to incorporate any of the toppings and add-ins below into the ice cream, do so at the end of the churning process. Allow the machine to incorporate them in for 2-3 minutes so they’re well distributed throughout the ice cream.
Transfer the churned ice cream to a loaf pan or other freezer proof container and freeze until set, about 4-6 hours.
Topping and Add-In Options
I think one of the things that makes sweet potato ice cream so incredibly good is the variety of topping options that go with this flavor.
Toppings
- Cinnamon and other spices — You can keep it simple with just a dusting of your favorite warming spices and still have a delicious fall-inspired ice cream.
- Toasted pecans — Pecans and sweet potatoes are a meant to be match. I definitely recommend toasting them to draw out more of their nutty flavor. Walnuts are also a good option.
- Marshmallows — It’s not often I get to suggest marshmallows in a recipe, but this ice cream is the perfect opportunity. I’m not a fan of a marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole, but when it comes to ice cream, bring them on! For more of a sundae vibe, you can even do marshmallow fluff.
- Air fried bananas — Covered in cinnamon and sugar, these caramelized bananas would make the ice cream doubly sweet and decadent!
Add-ins
- Graham crackers — Give these a coarse chop or crush them up with a rolling pin.
- Caramel sauce — This can be swirled in to make lovely sweet ribbons of extra flavor.
- Pie crust — If you’re making this around the holidays and have some leftover pie crust, that would be a phenomenal addition.
- Cookie butter — For a Biscoff vibe, swirl in some cookie butter or use another nut butter of your liking.
- Apples or pears — Check out the toppings in this apple cinnamon oatmeal and this spiced pear oatmeal recipe and consider using either of those as an add-in or topping to the ice cream.
- Raisins — I know, you either love them or hate them. If you’re a lover, a rum soaked raisin would be a wonderful addition. If you don’t want to do alcohol, simply soak the raisins in warm water first to reconstitute them a bit for a nice plump bite.
Important Tips
Ice cream making isn’t hard, but there are some details that are important to follow to make sure things turn out right.
- Make sure your ice cream maker bowl is frozen a day ahead of time. This is the one thing about ice cream makers that’s a bit annoying, you need to plan ahead. Don’t even attempt to make ice cream if the bowl isn’t solidly frozen, it just won’t come out right when churning.
- You can make the base ahead of time and let it hang out in the refrigerator for a day or so before churning.
- Don’t attempt to churn the ice cream until the base is fully chilled. This is why I like using the ice bath over the refrigerator method, it cools the mixture down much quicker.
- For a soft-serve texture, feel free to enjoy the sweet potato ice cream right after churning. However, if you plan on scooping the ice cream into a cone, you’ll want to freeze it after churning for at least 4 hours.
- For best results, take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it thaw for 5-10 minutes before scooping and serving.
Storing Sweet Potato Ice Cream
The best way to store the ice cream is in a container with a lid in the freezer, or by tightly wrapping a loaf pan with a double layer of plastic wrap so it doesn’t get freezer burn. When stored properly, it will last for a couple of months in the freezer.
More Ice Cream Recipes To Try
Sweet corn bacon ice cream is another intriguing flavor that you won’t find in any ice cream shop. It’s so good with end of summer corn and the perfect predecessor to this sweet potato ice cream flavor.
If you’re looking for a creamy, indulgent ice cream that’s also dairy free, our coconut coffee ice cream is where it’s at.
For something a bit more fruity, you can’t go wrong with strawberry rose hip ice cream. If you can’t tell, creating wildly original ice cream flavors is something I love to do and nothing makes that more evident than this flavor.
And if the cream cheese in this ice cream recipe intrigues you, try this cottage cheese ice cream too. It’s such a great trick to add some protein to your sweet treat and because it’s whipped until creamy, there’s no weird texture issues!
Sweet Potato Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses
Instructions
- Combine sweet potato and milk in a medium sauce pot. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until fork tender.
- Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese, salt, spices and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- Transfer the sweet potatoes and milk to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the mixture back into the sauce pot over medium-low heat.
- Whisk together the heavy cream and cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour into the sweet potato mixture in the sauce pot and stir.
- Add the brown sugar and molasses and stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Turn off heat, add the cream cheese mixture to the sauce pot and stir until fully incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl.
- Place the bowl in an ice bath for immediate cooling or the refrigerator for 2-3 hours until chilled. If using the ice bath, let cool in the bowl, mixing occasionally for 20-30 minutes.
- Once cooled, pour mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for 2-3 hours to set before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Bummer to drive south to cold weather! This is totally my kind of ice cream. I love anything with sweet potatoes!
Wow! That is crazy! We just came back from vacation and barely missed a snow storm! I hope the rest of your stay is better!
This ice cream looks amazing!