A good 3-ingredient basic no-churn ice cream recipe is all you need to create countless creamy frozen treats. This easy method doesn’t require any special equipment. All you need is your imagination.
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❤️ Why you’ll love it . . .
- no special equipment needed.
- easy to make.
- uses common ingredients.
- rich and creamy.
- you can make countless different flavors.
Any time you get a craving for a frozen dessert, you can whip up a batch of your favorite ice cream.
🛒 Ingredients
- Heavy whipping cream
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Vanilla extract
This is the base for Vanilla ice cream but you can create your favorite flavors by doctoring up the basic mixture.
🔪Equipment
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- Hand or stand mixer will make whipping up the cream a breeze. I like the slow start so it doesn’t splatter.
- Two Large metal bowls or glass will do. We like to chill them so that the cream whips up faster. These bowls have a non-skid bottom which prevents them from scooting.
- Rubber spatula makes folding the whipped cream into the milk mixture easy.
- Freezer containers for ice cream or any frozen desserts. We have some just like this and they keep the ice cream from getting ice crystals.
Instructions
- Whisk the vanilla and sweetened condensed milk together. Chill.
- Beat the heavy cream with and electric hand or stand mixer until stiff occurs.
- Fold the whipped cream into the vanilla-milk mixture.
- Pour into freezer containers and place in freezer.
🥫 Storage
The easiest method is to put in air-tight freezer containers. They make special ones just for ice cream.
You may also pour the blended mixture into a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Don’t fill the can to the top because you’ll need to stretch a sheet of plastic wrap across the top of the pan.
💭 Tips
These suggestions will help insure you have the BEST ice cream you’ve ever tasted.
- The homemade basic no-churn ice cream doesn’t take a lot of ingredients so it’s important to use what is in the recipe card. Don’t try to substitute lower fat or lower sugar ingredients.
- If trying out other extracts like peppermint, add only a little at a time so as not to overdo.
- When adding additional ingredients, make sure they are chopped up. Large pieces such as chocolate chips, nuts, and M&M’s are very hard when frozen.
- Adding 2 to 3 Tablespoons of flavored vodka or liqueur will prevent your ice cream from freezing too hard. Try vanilla or cinnamon vodka in your vanilla ice cream.
- For a fast start to flavoring your ice cream use pie filling. It’s perfect.
Expert Tip: Be sure to use pure vanilla extract rather than “imitation vanilla” for better flavor in the recipe.
👩🍳 FAQs
It means that there is no need for an ice cream machine.
No-churn ice cream is very good. In fact, we think it tastes better and it’s creamier.
Heavy whipping cream is whipped with a hand or stand mixer and then it’s combined with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. The mixture is put in the freezer for several hours and it’s then ready to enjoy.
The basics are heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, and an extract such as vanilla.
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This is a holiday dessert in a glass. Celebrate year round with Cherry Almond Ice Cream.
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🗒 Variations
Key Lime pie — add lime juice, white chocolate chips, graham cracker pieces.
Grasshopper pie — Creme de menthe, peppermint extract, mini chocolate chips.
S’mores — mini toasted marshmallows, graham cracker pieces, chocolate pieces.
Lemon — lemon curd, lemon zest, limoncello.
Peach — canned peaches, almond extract, amaretto liqueur.
📝 Recipe for basic no-churn ice cream
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Basic 3-Ingredient No-Churn Ice Cream Recipe with Variations
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk NOT evaporated
- 2 tsp vanilla extract not the imitation kind
Equipment Needed
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Rubber Scraper
Instructions
- Open the sweetened condensed milk and pour into large metal or glass bowl. Whisk the vanilla into the milk. Chill in the refrigerator.
- In a large chilled metal, glass, or ceramic bowl, beat heavy cream with an electric hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks occur. Be careful not to over whip because you'll get butter.
- Remove the chilled milk and vanilla mixture from the fridge and gently fold the whipped cream with a spatular INTO the sweet milk mixture. Do this slowly so that the dessert stays light and airy.
- Now you can add any other flavoring you desire or pour into a air-tight freezer safe container.
Notes
- The homemade basic no-churn ice cream doesn’t take a lot of ingredients so it’s important to use what is in the recipe card. Don’t try to substitute lower fat or lower sugar ingredients.
- If trying out other extracts like peppermint, add only a little at a time so as not to overdo.
- When adding additional ingredients, make sure they are chopped up. Large pieces such as chocolate chips, nuts, and M&M’s are very hard when frozen.
- Adding 2 to 3 Tablespoons of flavored vodka or liqueur will prevent your ice cream from freezing too hard. Try vanilla or cinnamon vodka in your vanilla ice cream.
- For a fast start to flavoring your ice cream use pie filling. It’s perfect.
