Stellar Scoops Scoop Planner
Menu

Raspberry ice cream

Raspberry ice cream is a bright pink-red, tart fruit ice cream made with raspberry puree that is often strained of its seeds.

Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers. What the badge means

Raspberry ice cream is a fruit flavor with a bright pink-red color and a tart bite. You will find it in some shops and some grocery freezers, but not everywhere.

This page covers how it tastes, how to make raspberry ice cream at home, what to serve with it, how common it is in U.S. surveys and what the nutrition figures show.

What raspberry tastes like

Raspberry ice cream tastes tart and fruity, with the sharp edge of fresh berries softened by the cream and sugar. Its color is a bright pink-red that comes straight from the fruit. The main flavoring is raspberry puree. Most makers strain the puree to take out the seeds, so the ice cream stays smooth instead of gritty. Some versions skip the strained puree in the base and swirl a raspberry sauce through a plain base instead, which gives you ribbons of deeper red against a paler background. Either way, the berry is the whole point.

Where raspberry comes from

The sources we use do not record who first made raspberry ice cream or when.

What they do record is how the flavor is defined in the United States. The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations says that under 21 CFR 135.110, when raspberries are used together with artificial raspberry flavor, the artificial flavor is treated as predominant if the fruit makes up less than 6% of the finished weight. That rule shapes how a carton can describe its flavor.

The Guelph e-Book adds notes on how fruit ice cream is made in a factory. It says fruit juice goes into the mix, while fruit pieces go in after freezing, when the ice cream is about as soft as soft serve. It also says color should suggest the flavor, and many fruit preparations sold to makers already include color, which helps explain that familiar pink-red scoop.

How to make raspberry at home

For a home batch, start with a Philadelphia base, which uses no eggs and lets the fruit taste clean. The Base Builder sets that style up for your machine, in grams and cups. A sorbet base (fruit, no dairy) or a no-churn base (condensed milk and whipped cream) also works. The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.

To add the flavor, puree raspberries, press the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds, sweeten it and stir it into the cold base before churning. The Guelph e-Book says fruit usually makes up about 15 to 25% of ice cream by weight. You can also swirl a raspberry sauce in instead.

For extra color and tang, swirl a little more sauce in as you pack the container. If you already have a recipe you like, the Recipe Scaler resizes it to your machine and converts cups to grams.

Base formula

Open the Base Builder: Philadelphia (no eggs)

Other styles that suit it: Sorbet (fruit, no dairy) , No-churn (condensed milk and whipped cream)

The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.

What to serve with raspberry

Raspberry goes well with chocolate, whether that is a scoop of chocolate ice cream beside it, chocolate sauce on top or shaved chocolate. Peach is another good match: serve it with sliced peaches or next to a scoop of peach ice cream. Lemon works too, since its brightness sits well with the berry's tartness. Try a lemon sorbet alongside or a little lemon zest on top.

  • chocolate
  • peach
  • lemon

How common raspberry is

Our badge for raspberry is a first quarter moon, 3 of 5, labeled "Sometimes found": you can find it in some shops and some grocery freezers. The badge shows how easy it is to find, not how much people like it.

In IDFA's April 2026 survey of 2,205 U.S. adults, raspberry ranked 29th of 40, with 3% picking it as one of up to five favorites. In the same survey, 1% named it their single favorite. In IDFA's April 2024 survey of 2,203 U.S. adults, it ranked 25th of 40, with 6% picking it among up to five favorites.

How it ranks in surveys and order data

SurveyResult
IDFA survey, April 20262,205 U.S. adults, online, April 7-9, 2026, margin of error +/-2 pointsRanked 29th of 40: 3% picked it as one of up to five favorites
IDFA survey, April 20262,205 U.S. adults, online, April 7-9, 2026, margin of error +/-2 points1% named it their single favorite
IDFA survey, April 20242,203 U.S. adults, online, April 16-18, 2024, margin of error +/-2 pointsRanked 25th of 40: 6% picked it as one of up to five favorites
  1. Rare Rare enough that you would most likely make it at home.
  2. Hard to find Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs.
  3. Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers.
  4. Easy to find Common in most grocery freezers.
  5. Classic A classic you can buy almost anywhere.

Nutrition, roughly

FoodData Central has no record for raspberry ice cream, so the figures shown are for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich. Regular vanilla has 207 kcal per 100 grams, with 11 g fat and 21.2 g sugars. Per 1/2 cup (66 g), that is about 137 kcal. Rich vanilla has 249 kcal per 100 grams. The raspberry puree, sauce and sweeteners you add will change these numbers.

Nutrition per 100 grams

FoodData Central record Calories Fat Saturated fat Sugars Protein
Ice creams, vanilla FDC 167575 1/2 cup (66 g): about 137 kcal, 7.3 g fat 207 kcal 11 g 6.79 g 21.2 g 3.5 g
Ice creams, vanilla, rich FDC 167573 249 kcal 16.2 g 10.30 g 20.6 g 3.5 g

FoodData Central has no record for raspberry itself: these are the figures for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich. Mix-ins and sweeteners change them.

Questions people ask

How do you make raspberry ice cream at home?

Puree raspberries, press the puree through a sieve, sweeten it and stir it into a cold Philadelphia base before churning. You can also swirl a raspberry sauce through, adding a little extra as you pack the container.

Do I need to strain the seeds out of raspberry ice cream?

Straining is common and gives a smoother ice cream. Pressing the raspberry puree through a sieve takes out the seeds before you sweeten the puree and stir it into the cold base.

How much fruit goes into raspberry ice cream?

The Guelph e-Book says fruit is usually added at about 15 to 25% of the ice cream's weight. Federal rules also say that if real raspberries are under 6% of the finished weight alongside artificial flavor, the artificial flavor counts as predominant.

Is raspberry ice cream a popular flavor?

It is a middle-of-the-pack flavor. In IDFA's April 2026 survey of 2,205 U.S. adults, it ranked 29th of 40, and 3% picked it as one of up to five favorites.

Fruit ice cream flavors ยท All flavors

Plan and make it with these

Sources

  1. 21 CFR 135.110, Ice cream and frozen custard Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR)
  2. Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Fruit Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
  3. Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Colour in Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
  4. Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Freezing/Whipping of Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
  5. Ice cream preferences of U.S. adults, topline results (Morning Consult for IDFA, April 7 to 9, 2026) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
  6. Ice cream survey of U.S. adults, topline results (Morning Consult for IDFA, April 16 to 18, 2024) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
  7. Ice creams, vanilla (FDC 167575) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
  8. Ice creams, vanilla, rich (FDC 167573) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service

Every data source the site uses is on the Sources page.