Introduction: No Churn Ice Cream Recipe

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This recipe is a game changer! With just three ingredients, you can make fantastic and creamy vanilla ice cream at home with absolutely no churning or ice cream maker required.

Yup, you heard that right - awesome homemade ice cream - NO ICE CREAM MAKER REQUIRED! :D

This no churn ice cream is sweet and smooth - perfect for summer! I want to play around with mixing other flavors in soon. I think peaches would be absolutely heavenly in it.

Step 1: Ingredients

  • 2 cups of heavy whipping cream
  • 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 teaspoons of good vanilla extract - I'm using Nielsen-Massey
  • a container for freezing in - I'm using an 8x4 loaf pan.

The only real thing to worry about here is using a high quality vanilla - if you use something cheap, chances are you'll taste more alcohol than vanilla. The flavor just won't be as good!

Original recipe found here. Thanks, Martha!!

Step 2: Whip the Heavy Cream

Make sure the cream is nice and cold before you start! Sometimes I even put the bowl in the fridge too.

Use a hand mixer (or sheer muscle!) to whip the cream just until you get nice stiff peaks. When you pull the beaters out and the cream stands up, you are done. You'll be able to tell it's almost there when the beaters begin to leave very defined lines in the cream.

Just don't over whip - if the cream starts to separate, it won't work for this recipe.

Step 3: Mix the Vanilla and Condensed Milk

Pour the condensed milk into a bowl and add the vanilla on top. Mix well until you can't see any darker streaks in the condensed milk. :)

Step 4: Fold Everything Together

Pour the vanilla and condensed milk mixture gently into the whipped cream. (Normally you'd do this the other way around, but since it's a small amount of condensed milk I say just go for it!)

Use a spatula to fold the two together. This will take a couple minutes or so - you want to go slow and steady so you don't whack all the air out of the whipped cream.

The top photo shows what it looks like when it's still streaky - the second photo shows the mix when it's ready!

If you haven't folded ingredients before, check out this video for an explanation.

Step 5: Pour Into a Loaf Pan and Freeze

Use a spatula to help scoop everything out of the bowl into the loaf pan. Smooth the top out slightly, but don't press down on the ice cream or be rough with it - you really do want to keep all that air in there!

Place in the freezer and let it firm up for 4-6 hours minimum.

Step 6: Serving

This is a little different from traditional ice cream - it definitely melts a little faster! I don't recommend letting it sit on the counter too long to thaw - maybe 10 minutes max. The top layer and sides can go very soft and it's hard to get the original texture back if you let it hang out too long.

To serve, dip a ice cream scoop in hot water and dry it off. Use that to scoop it out without thawing it too much.

Enjoy! If you make it I'd love to know what you think. :D