Homemade Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe

ByJamie Sanders August 4May 26

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

I’m excited to share this amazingly delicious Homemade Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe today!

Sweet vanilla custard ice cream swirled with toasted, butter-candied pecans. This recipe is way better than store-bought and might just become your new favorite ice cream flavor!

The Best Butter Pecan Ice Cream is Homemade!

No dessert screams summer more than a big bowl of homemade Buttered Pecan Ice Cream!

There’s just something about that sweet, rich vanilla caramel-y flavor with crunchy sweet buttered pecans that can’t be beaten. Especially when I’m enjoying that bowl out on the porch, watching the sunset on a warm summer evening.

What is Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Buttered Pecan Ice Cream is a rich custard-based vanilla ice cream (at least this recipe is), full of deliciously crunchy, sweet buttered, and candied roasted pecans.

You’ll definitely want to try the candied pecans recipe on its own. The sweet, crunchy pecans make an amazing sweet treat for snacking. So good that I figured, what better way to enjoy these pecans than to add them to my favorite Vanilla Ice Cream recipe?

That was definitely a good call because this Homemade Buttered Pecan Ice Cream is one of the best ice creams I’ve had in a while!

Ingredient + Notes:

See the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions.

Butter | I prefer salted butter in the recipe. Unsalted will work in a pinch, just add a pinch of salt to your pecans while cooking them.
Pecans | Raw pecans work best as you will be toasting/candy-ing them in a pan.
Sugar | White granulated sugar is used in the ice cream base and for the pecans. However, many people love the extra flavor brown sugar gives to the pecans. If you want to use brown sugar, it is a one-to-one swap.
Milk | I generally use whole milk in my ice cream recipes. Sometimes I get fancy and want my ice cream to have a richer, creamy texture, so I will use one to one mixture of half-n-half and whole. Other times I will use just 2% milk. The taste will be similar, but the consistency of the butter pecan ice cream will vary based on the fat of the milk. More fat will give you a richer, decadent mouthfeel, and lower-fat or skim milk will produce a more icy result.
Eggs | Eggs give the ice cream that delicious custard flavor. (Cooking the custard base is up to you – Although I always do cook my egg-based ice cream recipes. See more info below in the recipe notes and FAQ section.)
Sweetened condensed milk: I use sweetened condensed milk in all my custard-based ice cream recipes, which gives it that extra rich homemade taste.
Vanilla extract: Use the best quality extract you can find.
Optional: Caramel Ice Cream Topping | I like to swirl in a bit of caramel ice cream topping at the end for an extra layer of sweet caramel flavor.

How to Make Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Heat the milk: Combine the vanilla and 2 milks in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Beat the eggs: In a separate bowl, beat the eggs together for a minute or two, add sugar, and continue mixing for another minute until eggs and sugar are completely combined.
Add the eggs to the milk mixture. Gradually whisk half of the milk mixture into eggs. Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. You may wish to pour the cooked egg mixture through a fine sieve to remove any cooked egg chunks.
Chill the ice cream base: To quickly cool the custard ice cream mixture, transfer the hot mixture to a chilled metal bowl, then set the bowl into an ice bath and stir til cooled. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour; ice cream base can be refrigerated up to 2 days ahead.
Freeze: Add the ice cream base to the ice cream maker and process it according to your machine’s manufacturer’s instructions. Add the toasted butter pecans (or whatever other mixins your like) toward the end of the processing time.
Serve: Seve immediately as soft serve or place the ice cream in a freezer-safe container until desired consistency is reached.

Variations

Add a swirl of caramel for an extra sweet caramel-y flavor.
Skip the eggs and make a Philadelphia-style ice cream base.
Add a combo of other nuts, like walnuts or almonds.
Make ice cream sandwiches. Add a scoop of ice cream in between two cookies. Yum!

Storage

For best results, store your Homemade Butter Pecan Ice cream in a freezer-safe airtight container for about a week. This is my favorite ice cream storage container.

Recipe Tips

Chilling the custard in the fridge before it meets your ice cream maker isn’t just a suggestion, it’s a must-do. This process allows the custard to cool down completely. If the custard is too warm when it goes into the machine, you might end up with an ice cream that’s more icy than creamy or unable to firm up all the way. To speed up the cooling, you can transfer the hot mixture to a chilled metal bowl, then set the bowl into an ice bath and stir til cooled. Then place in the refrigerator to fully chill.
If your ice cream has frozen too hard, let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes before scooping.

Pin this recipe for later.

Pin it

FAQ’s

Does This Ice Cream Have Raw Eggs In It?

This ice cream recipe does have eggs, but whether they are raw or not depends on you.

My favorite homemade ice cream recipe is custard-based, made with lots of vanilla and eggs. In the past, I would make our ice cream with a pasteurized-in-the-shell egg (which made it perfectly safe to consume raw eggs), but since these eggs no longer seem to be available, I do now cook my custard-based ice cream recipes before adding them to my ice cream maker.

So for this recipe, you have 2 choices for the eggs:

Use the eggs raw. (My mom always did it this way, but I can’t bring myself to serve raw eggs to my family.)
2nd choice is to cook the ice cream base and let it cool completely before adding it to the machine. (After cooking the ice cream base, I transfer it to another bowl and place that bowl in an ice bath, stirring continuously for a few minutes to help it chill. Then put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour, chilling it enough for the ice cream maker.)

I’ve updated the directions in the recipe card to include instructions for cooking your ice cream base, so here they are in case you choose to go this route:

How To Cook This Buttered Pecan Ice Cream Base:

Combine the vanilla and 2 milks in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs together for a minute or two, add sugar and continue mixing for another minute until eggs and sugar are completely combined.
Gradually whisk half of the milk mixture into eggs. Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 6 to 8 minutes.
You may wish to pour the cooked egg mixture through a sieve to remove any cooked egg chunks.
To quickly cool the ice cream base, set the bowl of custard in an ice bath and stir til chilled.
Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour; ice cream base can be refrigerated up to 2 days ahead.
Add ice cream base to the ice cream maker and process according to your machine’s instructions.

Can I Use Egg Beaters In This Buttered Pecan Ice Cream Recipe?

I do not recommend the “egg beaters” type pasteurized egg product as all the fat from the yolks has been removed. Egg yolks have a lot of fat and fat, which freezes differently and is less hard than water, making ice cream soft and creamy.

Plus, ice cream made with real eggs has a deliciously rich custard flavor

What Milk is best for Ice Cream?

When making homemade ice cream, you’ll need milk and cream. Milk comes in different fat levels – Heavy whipping cream (36% fat, light (or regular) whipping cream (30% fat), half n half (around 11%), whole (3.25%), 2%, and skim (0%).

I have read that anywhere from 12 to 23% fat is the optimal fat level for homemade ice cream, and I agree that a combo of heavy cream and whole or half-n-half gives a fantastic result. When making ice cream for just the family, I just use what is in the fridge, but my preference is half whole milk and half half-n-half. For guests, I will step up the fat level to half heavy cream and half whole milk.

Can the ice cream be made ahead of time?

You can make the ice cream base and store it in the fridge for a few days. I would not process the ice cream too much in advance. Due to the lack of stabilizers in homemade ice cream, it will become icy after a prolonged time in the freezer.

Can I Make this recipe without an ice cream maker?

Yes, you can make this recipe no-churn. The results will be a little less creamy but still very yummy!

Add the ice mixture to a suitable container and place it in the freezer. Stir the ice cream mixture every 30 to 45 minutes over the next 4 hours. Once the ice cream has set, gently mix in the pecans and any other desired mix-ins. Cover the container with plastic wrap and continue freezing until the desired consistency is reached.

Which Ice Cream Maker Is Best:

The best ice cream maker is the one you already have, lol! However, if you are in the market for a new ice cream maker, I have to tell you I recently upgraded to the kind that uses a bowl you keep in the freezer. (This one ==>>Cuisinart ice cream maker.) And I can’t tell you how wonderful and easy to use this new machine is!

The machine makes slightly less ice cream than my old one that required ice and rock salt, but I’m ok with that since it is just so ridiculously easy to use. Ice cream in 25ish minutes from start to finish? Sign me up!

It’s on my wishlist to purchase a second bowl for the machine, so I can make two different flavors right in a row!

Can Butter Pecan Ice Cream Be Made in the Nija Creami?

Yes, make your ice cream base as directed, add it to a Creami container, and freeze. Then process as directed, adding your mixins at the end.

Quick tip

Like your ice cream super sweet? Add a few swirls of caramel topping at the end of the freezing time and you will be in ice cream heaven!

Products used and recommended in this post:

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a big double scoop ice cream cone calling my name!

More Ice Cream Recipes to Enjoy:

Did you make this Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe?

Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. If you share an image on Instagram or Facebook, be sure to tag me and use #scatteredmomrecipes!

Homemade Buttered Pecan Ice Cream Recipe

Don't miss any more posts!

Follow along on:

Feedly, Bloglovin', your favorite feed reader, or signing up via email and have new posts delivered to your email box each week!

About the Author

Jamie Sanders is a wife and mom of 2, located in the heart of Texas. She founded Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom in 2011 as a place to share creative ideas and family friendly recipes. Her work has been featured on Martha Stewart, Woman’s World, HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, CNET, Good Housekeeping, Yahoo, Oprah Daily, and Redbook, plus many other publications. To date, she had given away just under a million free pdf sewing patterns.

59 Comments

Kim says:

at

I loved this and my husband did too. I think next time I will add a little rum.

Reply
Denise says:

at

This is the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten. It took a little time to make, but it was worth it! My family loved it! Thanks for a great recipe!

Reply
Stacey says:

at

I still make my ice cream with eggs! However, I warm part of the cream (milk) in the microwave, it will make a film over it..just remove and throw that part away! After I have beaten my eggs, sugar and vanilla together in a separate bowl, I gradually add the warmed milk to egg mixture and that will cook or temper them if you will to a cooked state…add remaining cold milk and any other ingredients and boom! eggs have been cooked and the cooler milk skips the need to refrigerate!

Reply
1. Jamie Sanders says:
  
  at
  
  Great tip!
  
  Reply
Nicky says:

at

This was soooooo good. My husband loved it. So rich and buttery. Will definitely make again.

Reply
Neha says:

at

My custard base curdled .. I used 1 cup heavy whipping cream and 3 cups of milk .. any possibilities why ?

Reply
1. Jamie Sanders says:
  
  at
  
  Overcooked/too high heat or not stirred constantly, most likely. From the web: ” All egg-based custards can curdle if they are cooked for too long, or at a high temperature. A low temperature and constant stirring are important to prevent the custard from curdling. ”
  You could try straining it through a fine-mesh sieve to save it.
  
  Reply
Sandy says:

at

This was by far the best ice cream I have ever made!

Reply
Keith says:

at

I would like to know how much this makes, I would like to make a gallon. Would you please tell me how to make a gallon

Reply
1. Jamie Sanders says:
  
  at
  
  This recipe makes about 2 quarts.
  
  Reply
camilla says:

at

this was the best ice cream recipe ever!

Reply
Ruth says:

at

This is an amazing recipe. I made it for a church ice cream social and it was a hit. I used the full-fat everything! go big or go home. 🙂 It was rich and creamy and I loved the sugared pecans. I will say, I have the same countertop churn you do and it didn’t solidify but was a very watery soft serve consistency. I was ready for that and knew to make it enough in advance to put it in a container and place in the freezer for several hours so it would get a thicker consistency. I’ve never gotten my churn to make thick ice cream even if I refrigerate my mix for hours before and I leave my churn bowl in my freezer all the time. Anyway, I can’t wait to use this recipe again and again. Thanks for sharing it!

Reply
1. Jamie says:
  
  at
  
  So glad you liked it, it’s my favorite too! I get pretty firm soft serve consistency with my machine. I keep the bowl permanently in the freezer and i always make sure my ingredients ar super chilled when I start. We are able to eat it straight out of the machine, but to photograph the ice cream, I always put it in the freezer for a couple of hours.
  
  Reply
Sade says:

at

How do I cook the mixture since I cannot find the pasteurized eggs?

Reply
1. Jamie says:
  
  at
  
  I have not been able to find the pasteurized eggs recently either, and I am soo Sad! I used them all the time!
  
  You have 2 choices. Use them raw. (my mom always did it this way, but I just can’t do it.) 2nd choice is to cook the ice cream base and then let it cool completely before adding it to the machine. I have been meaning to update the directions on this post, so here is the cooking instructions in case you choose to go this route:
  
  To cook the ice cream mixture:
  1. Combine the vanilla and 2 milks in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
  2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs together for a minute or two, add sugar and continue mixing for another minute until eggs and sugar are completely combined.
  3. Gradually whisk half of milk mixture into eggs. Pour egg-milk mixture back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 6 to 8 minutes.
  4. You may wish to pour the cooked egg mixture through a sieve to remove any cooked egg chunks.
  5. To quickly cool the ice cream base, set the bowl of custard in an ice bath and stir til chilled.
  6. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour; ice cream base can be refrigerated up to 2 days ahead.
  7. Add ice cream base to the ice cream maker and process according to your machine’s instructions.
  
  I do not recommend the “egg beaters” Type pasteurized egg product as all the fat from the yolks have been removed.
  
  1. Combine milk and cream in a medium saucepan. Add vanilla seeds and pod. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally; remove from heat.
  2. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
  3. Pour custard through a fine sieve into a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water; discard vanilla pod. Let cool, stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour; custard base can be refrigerated up to 2 days ahead.
  
  Reply
Christina says:

at

This recipe did not thicken in my kitchen aid ice cream attachment like most other recipes. I’m hoping it’ll still taste okay after putting it in the freezer. :/ I used heavy whipping cream and 2% milk. Have you had this issue? It was still runny after an hour of mixing. Usually it takes other recipes only 20-30 min. Have you had this issue and how did it turn out?

Reply
1. Jamie says:
  
  at
  
  This is my standard ice cream recipe that I use for most bases (and it is the base recipe my mom has used since I was a child.) I have always used the kind of ice maker that uses ice and rock salt and most recently my Cuisinart one with the bowl that goes in the freezer. (the one w/ rock salt always seems to take longer.) The ice cream always freezes up to a certain point I’ve never actually set a timer to it, I just let it run until I hear that typical sound of the machine struggling because it is so thick. If you let it keep going the machine will eventually stop, but I am always afraid to let it go that far because I am afraid it will burn out the motor.) Any ice cream I have ever made generally only gets to the soft serve stage. We usually eat it as is, but to get it to look like the photos, you have to put it in the freezer for 2 to 4 hours. Which the directions state. I am going to guess it still tasted delicious!
  
  Reply
Deb Zupancic says:

at

What brand ice cream maker do you use?

Thank you!

Reply
1. Jamie says:
  
  at
  
  Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker http://amzn.to/1Tw8WM4
  
  Reply
Betty Hair says:

at

Can I use almond milk in this recipe instead of whole milk? Thanks,

Reply
1. Jamie says:
  
  at
  
  you could, but the results will not be the same.
  
  Reply
Pam says:

at

I just discovered your site. YUMMO!!! I love, LOVE butter pecan ice cream, but am now allergic to tree nuts. How can I get that yummy salty buttery (my mouth is watering) flavored ice cream without putting in the pecans? Thanks for all your recipes. I have an ice cream maker and we are moving from our home to an RV and traveling the country for a few years and plan to make ice cream often. Can’t wait!! Thanks!!

Reply
1. Christy says:
  
  at
  
  I would use butter flavored extract along with the vanilla extract
  
  Reply
Stephanie says:

at

Looking forward to trying this tomorrow for National Ice Cream day. Just a question…how much does this recipe make? Thanks, can’t wait to make.

Reply
tammy says:

at

I don’t like homemade icecream but I decided to make this for my husband for father’s day. I have now changed my mind. I LOVE this homemade icecream. It was absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

Reply
1. Jamie says:
  
  at
  
  I agree, this one is really good and I’m thrilled you like it too!
  
  Reply
  1. Kristen says:
    
    at
    
    Do you cook this recipe? I’m a little confused?
  2. Jamie Sanders says:
    
    at
    
    That is up to you. Some people don’t have an issue consuming raw eggs. (I do and that is why I now cook this recipe.)
    
    From the post:
    So for this recipe, you have 2 choices for the eggs:
    
    Use the eggs raw. (My mom always did it this way, but I just can’t do it.)
    2nd choice is to cook the ice cream base and then let it cool completely before adding it to the machine.
    I’ve updated the directions in the recipe card to include instructions for cooking your ice cream base.
Brooke says:

at

Eggs can’t be found in my area. How can I make this with regular eggs?

Reply
1. Jamie says:
  
  at
  
  Any pasteurized egg product will work,like the kind you find in the carton. You could also use regular eggs and just cook the mixture. You will need to completely cool the next ice cream mixture before adding it to the ice cream maker.
  Good luck
  Jamie
  
  Reply
Kathryn Stevens says:

at

Where can I find these eggs in Calgary Alberta???

Reply
1. Jamie says:
  
  at
  
  use the store locator to find out if they are sold near you.
  
  Reply
Mrs Susan Read says:

at

I made this but mixture too much for my machine it was runny but I put in freezer.. It was icy but yummy. Next time I’ll half mixture see if it thickens thanks for recipe

Reply
Amy says:

at

Yum! That ice cream is a must!

Reply