Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe (No cook recipe)
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This Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe is rich, creamy, delicious, and made with only 5 ingredients. Since this is a no-cook recipe, you can be eating your vanilla ice cream in 30 minutes!
No ice cream maker? Don’t worry; I’ve also included the instructions to make this recipe no churn.
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
In case you didn’t already know, ice cream is one of my favorite desserts!
And when it comes to ice cream flavors, Homemade Vanilla is pretty much the gold standard, IMO.
The good news is, this easy vanilla ice cream recipe can be made either in an ice cream maker OR by using a super easy no churn method.
5 staple ingredients are all that are needed for this no-cook vanilla ice cream. Toss everything into your ice cream maker or follow the no-churn directions below. Either route, you get a creamy and perfectly sweet homemade ice cream to dish up.
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
Whether you are looking for your favorite summer dessert to serve up after dinner, or want homemade ice cream for your next birthday bash. I have found making ice cream at home couldn’t get any easier than this recipe right here.
My very favorite vanilla ice cream recipe is a custard-based ice cream recipe with lots of eggs. (As an example, I use the custard-based recipe as the base in this Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream recipe and my Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe.)
Eggs add a deliciously thick and rich dimension to homemade ice cream, but the issue with custard-based ice cream recipes is, (technically) you should cook any ice cream base made with eggs. And cooking your ice cream base will delay your homemade ice cream by at least 2 hours since you have to wait for the base to cool before adding it to your ice cream maker.
Sometimes, you just need a vanilla ice cream recipe that can be ready in 30 minutes or so. That is why this no-cook recipe is so awesome!
Ingredients Used in This Vanilla Ice Cream
Want to try this recipe? These are the ingredients to add to your shopping list. (At a glance, full printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
- Half and Half | This is going to really give your ice cream that ultra velvety and creamy texture you want.
- Heavy Cream | You can’t make ice cream without heavy cream. This is going to help thicken up your mixture for the perfect scoop-able ice cream.
- Sugar | Reach for granulated sugar that you will stir in and add the perfect amount of sweetness. Feel free to adjust the measurement to fit your taste-buds.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk | A touch of sweetened condensed milk adds a wonderful extra flavor dimension to this recipe.
- Vanilla Extract | Don’t skimp, as the vanilla is going to stand out. I recommend buying quality vanilla for this or even adding in some vanilla bean if you want those small black specks throughout your ice cream.
How To Make the Vanilla Ice Cream
What I love about this particular recipe is you have two methods to choose from. If you own an ice cream maker, you might opt for that method. Or if you want easy and quick, aim to do the no-churn method. (scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe card)
Ice Cream Maker Instructions:
- Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix until the sugar is dissolved.
- Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- When ice cream is ready, serve immediately as soft serve or transfer to a freezer container for about 2 hours or until your ice cream reaches desired consistency.
No Churn/No Ice Cream Maker Instructions:
- For best results, replace the half-n-half with all heavy whipping cream. Use a hand or stand mixture to whip the cream until soft peaks are formed. Gently fold in the rest of the ingredients.
- Transfer the ice cream mixture to a freezer-safe container. (I prefer using a 7 by 9 casserole-type dish for faster freezing and easier scooping.)
- Cover the vanilla ice cream tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer and freeze until solid, about 6 to 8 hours.
How To Soften Ice Cream For Scooping
You will find homemade ice cream will freeze fairly hard in a freezer. To scoop ice cream that has frozen rock solid, place the container of ice cream on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes.
If you are using a metal ice cream scoop, place the scoop in a cup with really hot water. This is going to help heat the spoon so that when you dig into the ice cream, it comes out easier. Just remove the scoop from the water, shake off the excess, and dip it into the ice cream. Repeat dipping in hot water if needed.
Can I Use Regular Milk in Place of the Cream?
Yes, you can replace the heavy cream with regular milk. (You can even use 2%.) The ice cream will still be delicious but will have a more icy, less rich, and creamy texture.
Vanilla Ice Cream Add-ins:
There are so many ways to dress up vanilla ice cream! Most of the time, we eat ours straight out of the ice cream maker as soft serve. (This is why I have 2 ice cream freezer bowls. We eat the first batch immediately, and then I start a second batch for later, lol.)
Then we can add whatever toppings we like to the second batch.
A few topping/add-in ideas are:
- Caramel Banana topping -mmm, so good!
- Fresh Homemade Strawberry jam or Blueberry jam
- With brownies, maraschino cherries, and whipped cream
- Magic Shell Chocolate Sauce – kids love this stuff!
- Granola and honey
- Nuts
Looking for More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
- Coconut Sorbet | Here, you have a sorbet that is tropical, refreshing, and will cool you down on a hot summer day. This is one of my favorites and is so simple, yet satisfying.
- Key Lime Pie Ice Cream | Wow, this recipe wins me over every single time. If you are a fan of key lime desserts, this ice cream will blow your mind.
- Homemade Banana Ice Cream | If you have some extra bananas on hand, whip up this homemade banana ice cream. Great to serve in a cone, as a banana split with a twist, and more.
Products used or recommended for this recipe:
- Ice cream machine
- extra freezer bowl
- best ice cream scoop ever
- Easy Scoop Ice cream tub for freezer.
- waffle cones or sugar cones
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: about 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 quarts 1x
- Category: ice cream
- Method: ice cream maker
Ingredients
- 2 cups half n half
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 3 teaspoons of good vanilla extract
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Instructions
Ice Cream Maker Instructions:
- Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix until the sugar is dissolved.
- Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- When ice cream is ready, serve immediately as soft serve or transfer to a freezer container for about 2 hours or until your ice cream reaches desired consistency.
No Churn/No Ice Cream Maker Instructions:
- For best results, replace the half-n-half with all heavy whipping cream. Use a hand or stand mixture to whip the cream until soft peaks are formed. Gently fold in the rest of the ingredients.
- Transfer the ice cream mixture to a freezer-safe container. (I prefer using a 7 by 9 casserole-type dish for faster freezing and easier scooping.)
- Cover the vanilla ice cream tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer and freeze until solid, about 6 to 8 hours.
Notes
If after freezing, you find your ice cream is too hard to scoop, let it rest on the counter about 5 minutes and try again.
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