The Best (and Easiest) Ice Cream You’ll Ever Make

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Homemade Ice Cream is the quintessential summer treat, isn’t it?

This homemade ice cream recipe can also be called the easiest (and best!) ice cream you will ever make or taste. I’ve been making this ice cream at least once a month for over 5 years now.

The BEST and easiest vanilla ice cream you will ever make! get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com

Can anyone ever turn down a scoop of rich and creamy vanilla ice cream? This ice cream recipe is the easiest once I make and it’s adaptable for whichever add-ins you’re craving.

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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 making a fresh batch of ice cream.

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!

HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

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’ve also topped this ice cream with warm chocolate sauce, and my favorite of all this simple berry sauce. There has yet to be a combination that we didn’t love.

I probably don’t even need to mention it, but this Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream is a pretty much dream come true for topping Southern Peach Cobbler, Grandma’s Cherry Flop, an Old Fashioned Apple Crisp, or this Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch.

You only need FIVE ingredients to make the best and easiest homemade ice cream! get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com

How To Make Homemade Ice Cream

With just five simple ingredients, you can have this smooth and creamy vanilla ice cream at your fingertips as well.

When I first started making homemade ice cream, I initially followed the recommended recipes and tried several custard-style ice creams. Traditionally, many ice creams begin with an egg custard.

While a custard base does make for an amazing ice cream, don’t get me wrong, custard ice cream is rich as can be and I quickly found that it just isn’t my thing.

Besides, I’ll be honest, I like to make things simpler and not more complicated in the kitchen wherever possible.

When I discovered Philadelphia-style ice cream, it was a complete game changer. 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!

Homemade Ice Cream is like no other! get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

This ice cream is dead simple. Stir everything together in a saucepan, simmer, Stir, Chill and Freeze; 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 are easily having this for dessert the same evening.

However, 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 makes it even better.

Truthfully though, I’m impatient about half the time, so I skip the simmer step frequently. This is fantastic ice cream however you make it.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream is like no other! get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com

This ice cream works beautifully in every ice cream maker I’ve tried. Hand crank, electric crank, freezer bowl, and ice cream compressor. Homemade Ice Cream turns out great in each one!

(And yes, I may have a wee bit of a thing for ice cream, because I have each of those machines and love them all!)

Ice Cream Recipes

Once you have an ice cream maker in your kitchen, get ready for all the ice cream recipes you can handle.

These recipes for Rocky Road Ice Cream, Cinnamon Ice Cream, Blueberries and Cream Ice Cream, and Cafe con Leche Ice Cream all need to be on your list to try. 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.

Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream by The View from Great Island and Peanut Butter Ice Cream by Pint Sized Baker both look delicious as well.

Homemade Ice Cream Recipe

  1. Pour 1 cup of the cream into a saucepan and add the sugar, salt. Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the pot and then add the vanilla pod to the pot.
  2. Warm the mixture over medium heat, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the remaining cream, milk, and vanilla. Stir to combine and chill in the refrigerator.
  3. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla pod, whisk mixture again and pour into ice cream maker. Churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  4. Transfer the finished ice cream to an airtight container and place in the freezer until ready to serve.

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The Best and Easiest Ice Cream Recipe

The Best (and Easiest) Ice Cream You’ll Ever Make

4.66 from 418 votes
Rich and creamy homemade vanilla ice cream recipe that only requires five ingredients!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 6 servings (about 1.5 quarts)

Ingredients 

  • cups heavy cream
  • cup whole milk
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean split in half lengthwise or
  • Optional: 2 cups of add-ins – soft brownies, cookies, and blondies work great

Instructions

  • Pour 1 cup of the cream into a saucepan and add the sugar, salt. Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the pot and then add the vanilla pod to the pot. 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). Stir to combine and chill in the refrigerator.
  • When ready to churn, remove the vanilla pod, whisk mixture again and pour into ice cream maker. Churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the finished ice cream to an airtight container and place in the freezer until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Notes

Feel free to skip the simmer step and simply whisk everything together, then pour directly into the ice cream maker. The ice cream is absolutely delicious this way, as well as when simmered and chilled first.

Nutrition

Calories: 373kcal · Carbohydrates: 30g · Protein: 3g · Fat: 27g · Saturated Fat: 17g · Cholesterol: 100mg · Sodium: 97mg · Potassium: 119mg · Sugar: 28g · Vitamin A: 1103IU · Vitamin C: 1mg · Calcium: 103mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @barefeetkitchen or tag #barefeetkitchen!

{originally published 5/22/18 – recipe notes and photos updated 7/1/21}

The Best and Easiest Ice Cream Recipe you will ever make! get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com

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Mary Younkin

Mary Younkin

Hi, I’m Mary. I’m the author, cook, photographer, and travel lover behind the scenes here at Barefeet In The Kitchen. I'm also the author of three cookbooks dedicated to making cooking from scratch as simple as possible.

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  1. Sherry Myers says

    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.4 stars

  2. Getrin says

    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 you5 stars

    • Mary says

      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.

  3. EJ says

    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?

    • Mary says

      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.

  4. Lita Johnson says

    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!!5 stars

  5. Sara says

    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. 🙂4 stars

    • Mary says

      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!

    • Sara says

      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!5 stars

  6. Anthony Allen says

    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.5 stars

  7. Jamie says

    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?5 stars

    • Robert says

      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.

  8. Bethany says

    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.5 stars

  9. Kenneth Wright says

    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

    • Mary says

      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.