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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 need to make 4 qts and doubling the recipe will only make 3 qts do you know how much of each ingredient i should put in here the recipe I already tried and it is delicious so i would like to stick with this one.
Hi Henry! If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card (6 servings is typically about 1.5 qts) you can slide the toggle to the number of servings you want to make and it will adjust the ingredient amounts. I’m glad you like the recipe!
If you want to put fruit (strawberries or peaches) in this mixture, how much and when do you add it? Do you need to do anything special to the fruit?
You’ll want to smash the fruit into a puree first. If you add chunks of fruit, it will harden into bits of ice when it freezes. There are some fruit ice cream recipes here too that you might want to try!
You are SO on the money with this one, Mary. Absolutely delicious ice-cream to accompany the baked apples with caramel sauce I’m making for my Dad for Father’s Day tomorrow (in Australia). And SO, SO easy. Easier than getting in the car and going into town to buy an average one! This one’s a definite keeper. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. 🙏
I’m thrilled that you like the ice cream, Donna!
His much is this for? I have a 6 quart I’ve machine
You should be able to triple the recipe if you want to make that much ice cream, Renee.
Hy Mary.
This was good and simple. I made this, without warming the cream to dissolve the sugar. Used my Ninja to combine all the ingredients. Only changes I made was to the amount of sugar increased from 3/4 c. to 1 cup. I added 2 cups of strawberries. Used my Kitchenaid Icecream maker attachment. The results were delicious
The results were delish.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed the ice cream, Chan!
Amazingly delicious and now a family favorite. I absolutely love this recipe! BEST vanilla ice cream ever. It goes wonderful with bits of peanut butter cups and snickers with caramel and chocolate sauce! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I’m happy to hear that you love the ice cream so much, Anna!
Been churning for 2.5 hours and still very liquid. The mixture will not thicken. Not my first time making ice cream, but this is my first time not having it thicken…..
Hey Matt, this sounds like an issue with the machine. Even plain milk and sugar should churn to “ice milk” in an ice cream maker.
Can I use half and half. I don’t have full cream at the moment? If so, any other alterations needed?
Yes, you can substitute half and half for BOTH the cream and the milk in this recipe. It will be slightly less creamy, but it will work nicely.
I found a Nostalgia ice cream maker at Walmart for $29. I’m 46 and had never made ice cream in my life. I bought and brought it home. My husband rolled his eyes like “you shouldn’t be allowed in Wal-Mart by yourself”. Jokes on him because we have made this recipe doubled every other weekend. It is delicious! We freeze it in plastic to go cartons I found on Amazon and he gets a bowl every evening.
If you were to add crushed Oreo cookies, would you churn first for a little while before adding the cookies? I feel like the cookies might get soggy if mixed in with the ordinal mixture. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I love this so much, Tami. I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying the ice cream maker. When I make cookies and cream ice cream, I stir in the crushed Oreos at the end after churning.
Geez, ramble much?!? Just searched for best recipes and didn’t want to look for a needle in the haystack after so much rambling!
Hi Rick, The recipe and the full ingredient list is always provided at the bottom of the page, as is standard with every free recipe website these days. Just scroll down to the bottom of the post, if that’s all you need. And if you aren’t interested in scrolling through the post, feel free to make use of the handy “jump to recipe” button at the top of the post. In the past, when I’ve tried providing the recipe at the top of the page, the number of people asking questions about the recipe multiplied exponentially, as most never scrolled down to see where things had already been answered. I do my best to provide as much information as possible to avoid the multitude of questions that tend to be inevitable for many recipes, this also helps tell Google and other search engines that all relevant information has been provided – sometimes even more than some people might need/want.
You can very easily scroll or use the jump to recipe button. Lots of free websites only get revenue from word count and ads, and usually add tips for people interested in learning more work as FAQs about the recipe.
Don’t blame others for your own laziness, lol.
Troll much?
Troll much Rick? Take your anti rambling self elsewhere. I doubt anybody gives a rip about what you think.
I made this over the summer and it was DELICIOUS! Definitely my new go-to vanilla ice cream recipe! I saw you have a recipe for cinnamon custard-style ice cream, but want to avoid using egg yolks.. does it work to just add cinnamon to this vanilla ice cream recipe?
Yes! To be clear, it isn’t quite the same as the cooked recipe, but it’s close and I make it this way when I’m rushed, Jennifer. Here’s a recipe for a 5-minute version: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/easy-cinnamon-ice-cream-recipe/ Enjoy!
Sorry, but I just got an ice cream maker and a novice. If you add things like brownies, cookie dough, etc. , When do you add it?
You’ll want to stir the add-ins into the churned ice cream after it is done churning, Dinah. I typically layer them in as I’m transferring it to a freezer-safe container.
Always look for a simple but great recipe and this is it! Found a. Old crank freezer in ou basement and made a double batch. It would hold a triple, Im sure. Had some Grandkids come to crank and it rurned out great. Cant wait to do it again. Thanks from a 78 year old barefoot Granny.
I’m so happy that you love the ice cream, Gretchen!
Added oreo bits and my kids say it’s better than Baskin Robbins!! Can I make this into chocolate ice cream? When do I add the melted chocolate?
Hi Catherine! I’m so happy that you’re enjoying the ice cream. I’d recommend checking out one of the chocolate ice creams here on the site for the best options for chocolate ice cream. Enjoy!
how much choco should i add if i want to make it a chocolate recipe?
For the best results, I recommend following one of the chocolate ice cream recipes here on the website.
Brevity would benefit this rambling article.
Hi Bob, The recipe and the full ingredient list is always provided at the bottom of the page, as is standard with every free recipe website these days. Just scroll down to the bottom of the post, if that’s all you need. And if you aren’t interested in scrolling through the post, feel free to make use of the handy “jump to recipe” button at the top of the post. In the past, when I’ve tried providing the recipe at the top of the page, the number of people asking questions about the recipe multiplied exponentially, as most never scrolled down to see where things had already been answered. I do my best to provide as much information as possible to avoid the multitude of questions that tend to be inevitable for many recipes, this also helps tell Google and other search engines that all relevant information has been provided – sometimes even more than some people might need/want.
Hi there! You mentioned having tried many combinations – have you tried using all cream? If so, what did you think of it? I tried to filter through the comments first to see if this had been asked already but there were sooooo many – sorry! Quite the popular recipe 🙂
The reason I ask is because my dad is coming for my daughter’s birthday celebration and is lactose intolerant…I read one comment who said they used lactaid milk and it didn’t set up…and honestly, it just kind of weirds me out 😀 But apparently he can have straight cream just fine…? I’ve seen recipes where they whip cream and then mix with sweetened condensed milk…but I have an ice cream maker…thoughts?
You could probably make it with all cream, but it is going to be very rich, Andie. You could also mix coconut milk or almond milk with the heavy cream.
I liked the recipe
I’m glad you enjoyed the ice cream, Ayush.
Awful, boring. I wanted a ice cream recipe not a life story and for it to end with out it in a machine thats not what i was looking for and you waisted more of my time then you should have.
Hello darling, aren’t you the sweetest thing ever? If you read the post that you complained about here you would have seen the link to this ice cream recipe made without a machine. Provided specifically for people like yourself who would like to make ice cream without an ice cream maker.
You are so rude and disrespectful.
I simplified by using 1/2 cup sugar, 3 cups heavy cream whipped together and then added 1/4 cup dried cherries soaked in brandy – makes 1 qt of very rich, delish ice cream. It takes overnoc in the freezer to freeze but worth waiting for!