No-Fry Fried Ice Cream

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

6 Comments

5 from 3 votes
6 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Freeze 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
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This Fried Ice Cream hack has the same delicious combo of cool ice cream in a crunchy cinnamon coating without the mess of deep-frying!

If you’ve tried this ice cream before, it was probably at a carnival or from a food truck, but you can easily make this Frozen Treat yourself. Try out my Fried Ice Cream Dessert Casserole and Ice Cream Sandwich Cake too!

Sabrina’s No-Fry Fried Ice Cream Recipe

Traditionally, Fried Ice Cream is made by deep-frying. Using a slotted spoon, you sink the balls into oil for a few seconds at a time. However, the easy cornflake coating in this recipe makes it so all you have to do is roll the ice cream in the buttery mixture. You get the same fried taste without the mess of frying. This recipe serves 6 but you can increase the recipe with another scoop of ice cream for every extra person you want to serve. Just add an extra ⅓ cup of corn flakes and increase the other coating ingredients by 1/3.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

No-Fry Fried Ice Cream Recipe

This Fried Ice Cream hack has the same delicious combo of cool ice cream in a crunchy cinnamon coating without the mess of deep-frying!
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
crunchy coated ice cream ball with whipped cream and cherry
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Ingredients
 

  • 6 cups vanilla ice cream
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cups corn flakes cereal , crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 cup whipped cream
  • 6 maraschino cherries , with stems

Instructions

  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and freeze for 1 hour.
  • Scoop 6 balls of ice cream onto baking sheet (about 1 cup each).
  • Freeze for 1 hour.
  • To a small saucepan add butter, corn flakes, and cinnamon.
  • Stir often, for 6-8 minutes or until corn flakes brown.
  • Remove from heat to a wide bowl and stir in sugar.
  • Remove ice cream from freezer and roll in cornflake mixture.
  • Serve topped with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

Nutrition

Calories: 382kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 296mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 910IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 185mg | Iron: 3mg

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Baker’s Notes

This dessert is so fun to experiment with! If you want extra flavor and texture, just mix in chocolate chunks, chocolate chips, or candy pieces with the ice cream before forming it into balls. For the crumb coating, you can use different ingredients other than cornflakes. Try your favorite crunchy cereal, broken-up pretzels, potato chips, or panko breadcrumbs instead of cornflakes.

Table of Contents

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Ingredients

  • Vanilla Ice Cream: The star of the dish. It’s rich, creamy, and provides a blank canvas that pairs beautifully with the crispy coating. While vanilla is traditional, feel free to experiment with other flavors.
  • Corn Flakes Cereal: Offers the crunch factor. Their flaky texture becomes wonderfully crispy when fried. Other cereals can be used, but Corn Flakes remain a favorite for this dessert.
  • Cinnamon: Introduces a subtle warmth to the coating. Its sweet-spicy profile elevates the overall taste of the dish.
  • Whipped Cream: Provides a cool and creamy contrast to the crispy ice cream balls and adds an extra layer of sweetness.
  • Maraschino Cherries: These give a burst of fruity sweetness and a vibrant pop of color, enhancing the dessert’s visual appeal.

Can this be made ahead of time?

Absolutely! These ice cream balls can be prepared ahead of time to make the serving process faster. Once you’ve rolled the ice cream in the cornflake mixture, place it back in the freezer until you’re ready to serve. If storing them for over a few hours, consider covering them with cling wrap to prevent freezer burn. When ready to serve, simply top with whipped cream and a cherry. However, consuming them within a day is best to ensure the Corn Flakes remain crispy and the ice cream doesn’t crystallize. 

How to Store

  • Serve: Fried Ice Cream is best served fresh. That’s when the cornflake coating will be at its best crispy texture.
  • Store: If you have leftovers, you can seal them in an airtight container in the freezer. They’ll stay good for 3-5 days, but after that, the cornflake topping won’t be good anymore. Eat the leftovers right out of the freezer while they’re still frozen.

Frequent Questions

Why use corn flakes for the coating?

Corn flakes provide a crispy and crunchy texture that contrasts well with the soft and creamy ice cream, bringing a toasted flavor to the dessert.

Why add cinnamon to the Corn Flakes mixture?

Cinnamon adds a hint of warmth and spice to the coating, enhancing the overall flavor of the ice cream.

Variations 

  • Toppings: Along with the cool whip and cherry, you can add any of your favorite toppings to your dessert before serving. Drizzle on homemade Caramel Sauce, honey, melted peanut butter, or homemade Hot Fudge Sauce.
  • Ice Cream Flavors: One easy way to change up this dessert is to use different ice cream flavors on the inside. Try chocolate ice cream, strawberry ice cream, or peanut butter ice cream with this recipe.

More Delicious Ice Cream Recipes

Read More Fun Dessert Ball Recipes
Ball of ice cream with a crunchy coating and whipped cream and a cherry on top.

Photos used in a previous version of this post:

Ice Cream collage
Crunchy ice cream dessert on a plate
crunchy coated Ice Cream on a plate
Ice Cream coated in corn flakes on a plate
Ice Cream collage
Ice Cream dessert pin

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I’ve had fried ice cream with a mix of puffed rice and shredded coconut before. This recipe sounds really good though.
    I wonder how it would be made with your cinnamon ice cream.

    Reply

  2. We always enjoy this fried ice cream throughout the summer! It is crispy outside and the ice cream is so rich and flavorful. Highly recommended.

    Reply

  3. I love this hack! All the flavor of fried ice cream, no actual frying involved – it was perfect for us and the kids loved it!

    Reply

  4. Fried ice cream is something that I recently learned that I love!! I love the crunchy, outer layer with the ice cream. It’s so good!

    Reply