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I have a well-established love of ice cream, with over 150 ice cream recipes here on the website, and yet I still make this simple ice cream recipe at least once a month. There’s a reason why we call this the easiest (and best!) ice cream you will ever make or taste.
How To Make Homemade Ice Cream
Can anyone ever turn down a scoop of rich and creamy homemade ice cream? With just a handful of ingredients, this vanilla ice cream is beyond easy to make and it’s adaptable for whichever add-ins you’re craving.
While ice cream is a staple in our freezer year round, the add-in potentials for this particular ice cream are endless. I’ve filled this ice cream with chunks of brownies, bits of cookie dough, pieces of oatmeal cookies, and swirls of salted caramel sauce.
I have tried many ice cream recipes with many levels of difficulty, but my husband has deemed this recipe his favorite! Thank you so much for your hard work! I love the endless possibilities!
I try to keep a stash of crumbled cookies, brownies, and other treats in the freezer so that I can toss in a few handfuls whenever I’m churning a batch of ice cream.
I’ve also topped this ice cream with warm chocolate sauce, salted caramel sauce, or my favorite of all, this simple berry sauce. There has yet to be a combination that we didn’t love.
Homemade Ice Cream Recipe
When I first started making homemade ice cream, I initially followed recipes for traditional custard-style ice creams. And while a custard base does make for an amazing ice cream, don’t get me wrong, custard ice creams tend to be rich as can be.
And I quickly found that most custard ice creams just aren’t my thing. Besides, I’ll be honest, I like to make things simpler and not more complicated in the kitchen wherever possible.
The Ice Cream That Changed Everything
When I discovered Philadelphia-style ice cream, it was a complete game changer. You’ll need just 5 ingredients to make this ice cream: cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt.
Philadelphia style ice cream is simply ice cream made with no eggs. I’ve played with the basic ratios and the method over the past few years and I’m telling you now that this recipe is hands down, the BEST simple vanilla ice cream I have ever made.
The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!
How To Make Ice Cream
This ice cream is dead simple. Just combine some cream, milk, sugar, a pinch of salt, and a splash of vanilla in a saucepan. Give it a stir and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Then cool, chill, and churn; less than 10 minutes of actual prep time. If I put the mixture together in the morning, refrigerate it, and then churn it in the afternoon, we will happily scoop this ice cream into bowls or cones for dessert the same evening.
Want To Make It Even Easier?
If you are in a rush, you can simply stir everything together cold and pour it into the machine. I can’t deny that simmering it just long enough to dissolve the sugar and then cooling it again does make it even better.
Truthfully though, I’m impatient most of the time, so I skip the simmer step frequently. This is fantastic ice cream, however you make it.
The ice cream works beautifully in every ice cream maker I’ve tried. Hand crank, electric crank, freezer bowl, and ice cream compressor are all terrific options, but don’t worry, you can make ice cream without a machine too!
Ice Cream Recipes
Once you have an ice cream maker in your kitchen, get ready for all the ice cream recipes you can handle. Two kinds of chocolate and real cream make this the best and easiest homemade chocolate ice cream. The deliciously rich chocolate flavor of this recipe comes from the combination of both cocoa powder and melted chocolate chips.
Strawberry Ice Cream is an old-fashioned favorite made simply with strawberries, sugar, cream, and milk. Just a few ingredients add up to a summer ice cream treat that everyone loves.
Fresh Mint Ice Cream is like no other mint ice cream you’ve tried in the past. Sweet chunks of edible cookie dough fill each scoop of this rich and creamy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream.
This creamy, rich Blueberry Ice Cream is filled with chunks of dark chocolate that will melt in your mouth. Oh, my friends, make this. You won’t regret it – and I’m willing to bet that you’ll fall in love with it at first bite. I know I did.
Don’t miss our Ice Cream Maker Review for all the information you need to find the BEST Ice Cream Maker for your needs! Spoiler alert – our top-rated machine under $50 just might surprise you. It sure surprised me!
The Best (and Easiest) Ice Cream You’ll Ever Make
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups heavy cream
- 1¼ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean split in half lengthwise
Instructions
- Pour 1 cup of the cream into a saucepan and add the sugar and salt. If using a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds of the bean into the mixture and then add the vanilla pod to the saucepan.
- Warm the mixture over medium heat, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the remaining cream, milk, and vanilla extract (if using extract). Whisk to combine and chill in the refrigerator.
- When ready to churn, remove the vanilla pod, whisk the mixture again, and pour it into the ice cream maker. Churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Serve immediately or transfer the finished ice cream to an airtight container and place it in the freezer until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 5/22/18 – recipe notes and photos updated 9/14/25}
This ice cream did not freeze.
Hi Sabra, unfortunately, that sounds like a problem with the ice cream maker, not the recipe. How were you trying to make it?
yum! I made this with my ice cream it was very easy and it was delicious! this is going t be my favorite vanilla ice cream recipe1 thanks!
I’m thrilled it’s a win for you!
sounds easy hope for good luck on ours
I hope that you love it as much as we do!
New fam favorite!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the ice cream!
How do you churn it if you don’t have a machine?
This is how I make ice cream without a machine: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/ice-cream-without-a-machine/ Happy ice cream making!
can it be doubled? sometimes the freezing takes longer. . .
While it might take a few minutes longer to churn, depending on your ice cream maker, doubling or tripling the recipe doesn’t typically affect the time required. How much you can make at it time is just dependent on the size of your machine. Happy ice cream making!
My kids and I love this recipe and they always request Dad to make this instead of store bought. I’ve made it both simmering and not, but last time not simmering and there were some chewy strands…simmering now hopeing this help but any ideas? is it the chill phase separating the ingredients, maybe I just need to whisk more before putting in ice cream maker.
I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying the ice cream! There are a couple of things that might have happened to cause those strands.
The first thing that might be happening is when the milk and cream are at room temperature, or if the mixed base isn’t thoroughly chilled before being poured into the machine, the ice cream maker will take too long to freeze it. Prolonged churning at a warm temperature breaks down the ice cream base, separating the fat into strands instead of freezing the mix into smooth micro-crystals.You can prevent this by either making sure that your ingredients are ice cold when you whisk them together or mixing them and then covering the base and chilling it in the coldest part of your refrigerator for at least a few hours (or overnight) before pouring it into your machine and churning it.
The second thing that might be happening could be leaving the ice cream machine running too long, you push the mixture past the churned stage and into the butter-making stage. The paddle forces the fat from the cream into forming waxy-feeling strands.You can prevent this by stopping the machine the moment the ice cream looks like soft-serve and the surface shifts from glossy wet to matte and barely scoopable. Do not wait for it to get firm in the machine; it should still be easily pourable or scoopable into a container to firm up in your freezer.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Making my 4th batch. My kids are crazy about it and it always comes out perfect. 😃
That’s great to hear!
I used this recipe but with 2 percent organic milk and it still turned out to be some of the best ice cream had, maybe even the best!
I’m so glad you like it!
The best ice cream I have made so far we absolutely loved it
I am so happy to hear that you’re enjoying the ice cream!
Hands down the easiest and most delicious Ice cream I’ve made and I go way back making ice-cream as a kid via a hand churn …..great memories! I use the 4qt cheap churner purchased at Walmart. Tip: place entire churn in the freezer minus motor a day or two before plan to make ice-cream. I also prepare the recipe the day before and place cooked mixture in the refrigerator so it’s real COLD & ready for churning. ENJOY!
I’m so glad you are enjoying the ice cream!