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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}
Hi Mary,
Thanks for posting this. I know above you mention that this is a common question but can this particular recipe and method you describe here work without the ice cream maker?
I ask because in the instructions you’ve linked for making ice cream without a maker the actual recipe itself is different. Just curious if you can follow these initial steps for the flavor, but then transition into the manual ice cream making method you describe in the link.
The recipe is basically the same, Cole. You can use pretty much any recipe with that method though. Happy ice cream making!
Thank you for this recipe! I’m excited to try it! I’m new to ice cream making so forgive me if the answer to this question seems obvious, but when is the best time to add the add ins? After the churning process or do you add them into the maker to churn along with the ice cream?
You’ll stir them in at the end of the churning process, Kathleen.
Can I get away with using half and half for the heavy cream?
Yes, that will churn and freeze, Melody. You’ll want to sub the half and half for BOTH the cream and the milk in the recipe. It still won’t be quite as creamy as the original, but it will work.
This ice cream is delicious but mine turned out rock hard. Maybe my old manual ice cream maker was too cold because I had a hard time churning it and ended up stirring it using a spatula in the frozen cylinder because the handle got stuck. I also stored it in a glass container and when we were ready to eat it I actually had to hammer and chisel it to break it into pieces. Looked like a mess but it is tasty.
That’s very unusual for this ice cream, Kris. Did you by any chance adjust an ingredient? Maybe reducing the cream amount? I’ve never had it freeze that firmly.
Hello and thank you! I doubled and made this recipe (mixed and chilled last night then churned today) and I habe to admit it is better than all of the ice creams I made last summer. Who’da thunk a “no egg” recipe could ever be better than one which includes them? This recipe does take much longer to freeze but enduring the sound of that churning motor will pay off. Let it ride and oh boy…heaven.
This was okay. For me I think it was a little too much heavy whipping cream as it sort of tasted like whipped cream. It also left a film in my mouth like whipped cream does. Was much better with fruit in it though. Turned out super thick which is just how I like it. I think next time I make it, I’ll sub for just half and half for both the milk and heavy whipping cream. Thanks for the recipe!!
Lovely recipe. Thank you. My “invention” was to add half a tin of coconut cream. Adds another flavour dimension – and still whips up well. Thanks again Mary. G
I’m so glad you like the ice cream, Gerard!
Perfect for creamy root beer floats in small mason jars for summer game night. Kiddos gave rave reviews, and I love that it didn’t require the extra step of egg yolk fussing. Thanks for the keeper Mary!
I’m glad you’re enjoying the ice cream, Candace!
So easy! I made it in my Cuisinart ice cream maker. I used the no-cook method and we had delicious soft serve ice cream in 30 minutes. I whisked in a couple scoops of dark cocoa powder and a scoop of PB2 powder. It was so creamy and chocolatey and delicious. It tasted like a chocolate malted. Next time will try vanilla with black cherries. Thank you!
I’m so glad you like it!
Awesome recipe, Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you like the ice cream, Sivan!
Looking forward to making this but I have a question which I did not see the answer to. How much ice cream does this recipe yield? I have a 6 quart ice cream maker and want to fill it full!
This recipe will fill a 1.5QT machine. I would triple the recipe for a 6 QT machine, though you might get away with quadrupling it, Sharon.
This may have been asked before, not sure Can I use Half and Half pulse whole milk instead of whipping cream?
You can substitute all half and half for BOTH the cream and the milk. You could sub it for just the cream, but the resulting ice cream will be much icier and not as creamy.
Just post the recipe, I dont need a life story
Bless your heart for taking the time to tell me how to manage the FREE recipe content I provide on my personal website. The recipe and the full ingredient list is always provided at the bottom of the page, as is standard with every recipe website these days. Feel free to 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, I recommend making use of the handy “jump to recipe” button at the top of the post.
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.
Tired of this, you are just a jerk. I’m thankful that she’s taking her time to provide the recipe to us. I personally enjoy the commentary
This ice cream is yummy! What would you suggest to use to make peanut butter or peanut butter fudge ice cream?
There are 60+ ice cream recipes on the site. You can check them all out here: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/category/desserts/ice-cream/ I have a couple different chocolate and peanut butter combos.
I made this and using eggs made it a great texture. However I didn’t trust the peanut butter so I chopped up Reece’s peanut butter cups. It was excellent thanks.
Mmmmm, that sounds delicious!
Not only do we think this is the best ice cream recipe but it is by far the easiest.
We have made it even easier by e mploying old plastic mayonnaise jar (
I saw your email and loved the idea, Frank!
We enjoyed the ice cream. However I never could get it to solidify it remained soupy. I’m not sure what I did wrong. Are used a electric ice cream maker with a frozen bowl. Any thoughts? Thanks!
It sounds like there might be a problem with the machine or perhaps it was exceptionally warm in the house. Was the bowl frozen absolutely solid (at least 24 hours) before churning? The freezer bowl machines can be frustrating to troubleshoot. The mixture would have frozen without churning in the freezer, so it isn’t an ingredient issue. Some machines simply don’t firm up the ice cream that well and the very soft mixture can benefit from a little time in the freezer afterwards as well.
This is DELICIOUS. We made the New York Times ice cream recipe the other day that was supposedly “the best ice cream recipe you’ll ever eat,” and this is way better. Truly. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Awe! I’m so happy to hear that it’s a hit, Angie.
This was my very first time ever making homemade ice cream. I did the no cook option and I must say I did great!!!! I doubled the recipe because it just didn’t look like it would be enough and I’m sooo glad I did. I used vanilla bean paste instead of extract. My kids absolutely love it!!! I will definitely be making this recipe again!!!
YAY! I’m glad you love it too.
Loved it! Super easy!!
I’m so glad you like the ice cream, Patty!