Salted Lime Sherbet {Margarita Ice Cream}

This delicious Salted Lime Sherbet made an appearance in my Hibiscus Strawberry Margarita Ice Cream Float earlier this week, but here’s that Margarita Ice Cream in all its glory, because it deserves its own post! This lime sherbet is tangy, salty, creamy and refreshing, and super easy to make! It’s got all the flavours of a classic margarita, (optionally) MINUS the alcohol, so even kids can enjoy this all summer year long!

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So I’m just sitting here at my laptop, having eaten a bowl of this Salted Lime Sherbet, and I’m at a loss for words. This just might be the biggest flavour party in town, and it’s all happening in my mouth baby! Unabashedly refreshing, salty, sweet, creamy and most of all tangy, especially tangy, this Salted Lime Sherbet is just SO good, if I say so myself. It’s a party alright, and you’re cordially invited.

I’ve been eating lime sherbet for years, but adding salt is a new habit. I’m not really sure why I never thought of it before. After all, I love drinking margarita, and before that, long before I turned 18 (legal drinking age where I grew up, yay!), I loved drinking lime juice drinks. Chilled lime juice drinks are almost unnaturally popular in Sri Lanka, where limes are readily available any time of the year, and the best lime juice drinks always had a hint of salt. Lime juice was my go-to beverage as a kid whenever I went to a restaurant there, not sodas. And it’s still my favourite pick-me-up drink when I’m feeling unwell. The salt has this uncanny ability to enhance the sweetness and all the other flavours of lime juice and also dulls the sourness and tanginess. But if you do decide that you don’t want to make this Salted Lime Sherbet, salted, I’d still recommend reducing the salt to 1/4 tsp, so that it’s not actually salted, but there’s still a hint of it to intensify the flavour profile of this lime sherbet.

So why am I also calling it a Margarita Ice Cream? Because it’s got all the flavour of a traditional margarita, MINUS the alcohol. But there’s a quick fix for that of course – just pour a shot of tequila and a splash of soda (limeade, lemonade or club soda) over a scoop of this delicious salted lime sherbet! 

OR

Add a scoop of sherbet with a shot of tequila (or two – who am I to judge?), and stir or blend to mix the tequila and sherbet together (to melt the sherbet) and drink! That way you get a delicious creamy margarita!

However you decide to eat it though, I guarantee you’re going to love this margarita ice cream. It’s super tangy, refreshing, creamy, with a lovely saltiness and the perfect amount of sweetness. If a sherbet could ever make you long for summer, a beach, and the sun on your back, then this is the one to do it.

And remember, sherbets harden a little more than ice cream. So while it tastes smooth and creamy, you need to let it soften a little before you can form smooth scoops.

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4.75 from 4 votes

Salted Lime Sherbet { Margarita Ice Cream }

Author: Dini K.

Print Rate

Ingredients:

• ▢ ⅔ cup lime juice I used small limes, so I had to use A LOT
• ▢ 4 tsp grated lime zest
• ▢ 3 oz sugar
• ▢ ½ tsp kosher salt
• ▢ ¾ cup of whole milk or half and half
• ▢ Additional 1 cup of whole milk chilled
• ▢ 1 cup of cream chilled or substitute with half and half
• ▢ 3 - 4 tbsp Silver tequila optional - and will result in a softer sherbet

Instructions:

• Place ¾ cup of whole milk, salt and sugar in a saucepan. Heat until the sugar has melted. Add the grated lime zest and lime juice and mix to combine. The milk will curdle - this is normal.
• Add the rest of the chilled milk, cream and tequila (if using) and mix well to combine. Transfer to the freezer or fridge to chill.
• Add the chilled mix to your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Transfer to a container and let it harden in the freezer for a few hours.
• Let it soften a little before scooping the ice cream (or use a warm scoop to make it easier).
• Zest extra lime on top before serving (optional).

No Ice Cream Churner? No problem!

• Place the milk mixture in a large flat freezer proof dish. Every few hours, break the hardened milk base with a fork and mix it in with the rest.
• Repeat this every few hours (changing to a whisk or hand mix as the mixture hardens more), until the mix is icy and smooth. Let it harden for a few hours.

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

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And don’t forget to check out how I used this Salted Lime Sherbet in this DELICIOUS Hibiscus Strawberry Margarita Ice Cream Float!

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