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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.
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}
I made this recipe last weekend, but it was not enough for my ice cream freezer. I added a can of sweetened condensed milk and 6-1/4 cups of whole milk and it was fabulous! It’s now our family’s favorite ice cream.
Hi, can you give me the measurments in grams or ml. I checked few websites but im getting different results. Also is heavy cream like whipping cream? Thank you
Yes, you’ll use heavy whipping cream for this recipe. I don’t use metric measurements, so you’ll need to convert that using one of the online calculators.
This recipe doesn’t make enough for a full 2 qt ice cream freezer. You will need to double the recipe.
If you were going to add fresh fruit to the recipe (say peaches as it is that time of year) would you alter any of the other ratios?
So, here’s the deal with adding chunks of fresh fruits to ice cream, it often has a very high water content and as a result, it freezes fairly solid and isn’t always great that way. However, you can use this method to roast the peaches before adding them to the ice cream: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/honey-roasted-peach-frozen-yogurt-recipe/ or you can go to a little extra effort and make this ice cream: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/peach-cobbler-ice-cream-recipe/ it is one of my all time favorites.
Can we use brown or white sugar ? Granulated or castor.. an specifics ?
Granulated white sugar.
How long it did to fully freeze, please answer as quickly possible thanks!
The freezing time will depend on your ice cream maker. There’s no universal answer for that. Typically, most machines will churn in less than an hour.
Can you use evaporated milk instead of whole milk?
It will still work and freeze with evaporated milk, but I can not speak to how that will taste.
This ice cream is amazingly easy and tastes fantastic. Made it twice in a week! Thanks for the great recipe!
Can you make this without the nuts?
There aren’t any nuts in this recipe.
Can you make this without nuts?
I’ve never been a huge homemade ice cream fan. In the past it was always so watery and not very creamy. Decided to give it one more try and made this for Father’s Day yesterday. Wow! Seriously the best ice cream ever. It was so creamy and had so much flavor. My only complaint is I wish we had more!!
What size is your serving? Trying to do the math for 4 quarts
I made this yesterday and it’s really good! I am in love with how easy it is. My husband thinks it’s perfect as is but it’s a little rich for me, so I am going to try with more milk and less cream next time. Or maybe half and half? Not sure. I can really taste the heavy cream so maybe just switching the milk and cream amounts in the recipe will give it the lighter taste I’m looking for. 🙂
That should do it. It will be a little less creamy that way, but it sounds like that’s what you’re looking for. (I make it with whatever amount I have on hand some of the time.) Enjoy!
I tried with half and half and it was too crumbly after being frozen. Then I just switched the cream and milk amounts and that was perfect! It’s not quite as creamy, like you said, but definitely still creamy and so delicious!
How to make chocolate ice cream? Add cocoa to your original vanilla recipe? How much?
I have several chocolate ice cream recipes on this website. You can search the ice cream recipe index here: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/category/desserts/ice-cream/ Enjoy!
What ice cream maker(s) do you recommend?
I use this freezer bowl machine, and this ice cream compressor. The compressor is my favorite, but they both work great.
Perfect ice cream base! Follow the directions exactly and you won’t get curdling. It keeps well in the freezer, and doesn’t get icy like many homemade ice creams do. Delicious.
Would the condistency still be the same if I replaced the milk with almond or coconut milk? I’m trying to make a simple tasty low carb/keto version. I plan on using Monk fruit/erythritol blend to replace the sugar. Thoughts?
I was wondering the same. Did you try it?
I’ve been thinking along the same line, however I have taken a plastic tumbler and filled it with either frozen strawberries or blueberries and poured unsweetened almond or cashew milk over the berries. The milk freezes instantly as it coats berries. Yes, it is somewhat watery, but I love the milk and as the berries melt it is a tasty treat. I was wondering how an ice cream maker might improve the process or whether a blender is all that I need.
If we want to make 6 quarts of ice cream. How many recipes should we make?
Do the math; 4 cups liquid per quart.
I have used this recipe lots of times now, I love it. I have tried other recipes but they all had a negative about them. But this is now my go to recipe, and I use a super cheap ice cream machine I got online and it works great every time as long as I follow the recipe, as mentioned in other comments you get a different result with small changes.
Can I churn the creamed stuff using a Cuisine Food Processor? If so, at what speed should it be on? And for how long?
I’m looking forward for your answers soon so I can try out this recipe.
Thank-You,
Ken Wright
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to churn this isn’t ice cream without an ice cream maker. It needs to freeze as it churns.
How do you think using skim milk would change this recipe?
With a lower fat content, the ice cream will be icier – more like ice milk than ice cream.