Key Lime Ice Cream

My dad made Paula Deen’s Key Lime Ice Cream for a family party one time and it was a hit. So much so that it’s starting to become a tradition at our son’s birthday party. Since most of my family is now participating in theNext56Days, I decided to tackle this recipe and see if I could make it approved for that program. You can find the original recipe here. I had to make a couple of major changes, but the end result ended up being pretty darn close to the original.

This ice cream is a bit different from the others. I used a standard ice cream maker with ice and rock salt. The recipe below makes about a gallon of ice cream.


4 cups heavy whipping cream
1 2/3 cups xylitol
1 1/4 cups key lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 block Neufchatel cheese
2 cups almond milk


In a very large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer, beat 2 cups of the heavy whipping cream until it starts to thicken. Slowly add in the xylitol. You’ll see stiff peaks forming. Now you can add in the lime juice and lime zest. The mixture will thin out a bit and then you can add in the Neufchatel cheese. Finally, add in the last 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and the 2 cups of almond milk and mix thoroughly.

Transfer the mixture to the ice cream maker and follow the directions on your maker.

Right out of the ice cream freezer you’ll notice a fluffy texture. If you like a firmer, creamier texture, store in the freezer. 

We stored ours in the freezer over night and ended up with the same consistency of ice cream you get out of the grocer’s freezer section.

Not even going to guess on the calories… it’s a lot.
Makes 1 gallon