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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}
Mary, I plan on trying this recipe soon. What I’m confused on is the vanilla portion of it.
In the ingredients list you say extract OR beans, but in the steps it says to use beans.
My dad made me some home made vanilla extract and I’m wondering if I can get good results with just using that, or if I should take the extra steps with the beans.
Hi, Rick! You should still be able to get good results from the ice cream if you omit the beans. I hope you love the ice cream!
Love making things more simple! Thank you!!
You are welcome, Sandy. Enjoy the ice cream.
Absolutely delicious!
Glad you’re loving the ice cream, Tracie!
Does this recipe fill a 4 quart maker or do you adjust it.
Hi, Thomas! One batch of ice cream is 1.5 quarts; I’ll often double the recipe if I’m using a larger ice cream maker.
While the ice cream was delicious, the high amount of HWC caused a film of milk fat to form on the roof of your mouth while eating. I wonder if adjusting the HWC to milk ration a bit would help? Again, taste was wonderful as was the texture. The high fat content was our only issue.
I’ve found that when churning ice cream in different machines, the high fat content is more apparent. You can definitely reduce that amount of HWC and replace it with milk, if your machine was producing that film. I know exactly what you’re talking about and I try to avoid it myself when possible.
Thank you for the recipe! I hace made it three times in the last few days. It’s so simple and fool proof. I don’t have vanilla beans on hand, so I used my homemade vanilla extract. It was so yummy. Now I plan to experiment with some add ins and maybe even use stevia instead of sugar.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the ice cream, Lisa!
Will this recipe be successful if made with Splenda instead of sugar?
I’ve never tried that, Leta.
looks to easy i will try it.
I hope you love the ice cream, Bobby!
This turned out so well!
It was flavourful, creamy, and oh so easy!
I followed the recipe as written, (used pure vanilla extract not the beans), and made sure that I let it firm up in the freezer for a few hours before serving. I will definitely be making this again.
Thanks for the recipe, and easy to follow instructions.
I’m happy to hear that you liked the ice cream. Letting it firm before serving can be challenging as it gets warmer outside, but it’s worth it in the end. Enjoy, and happy cooking!
Great tasting vanilla bean icecream!
I’m glad you are enjoying it, Lori!
Hi. Is it possible to use honey or a liquid sweetener instead of the sugar?
Thank you!
I’ve never tried that, Helena.,
I have not tried making it yet but I want to add fruit to it. Do I need to make adjustments in some of the ingredients?
You’ll want to puree the fruit first and stir it in at the end of the churning process. Otherwise, you’ll want to follow a recipe specifically created for fruit ice cream.
Love this super easy ice cream recipe. I’ve used reduced fat double cream. Even without churning, it had turned out to be great and tasty! Thank you!
I’m so glad it’s a hit, Lena!
The ice cream was fantastic! I used vanilla extract and it turned out great. I used this recipe for homemade hot fudge ice cream cakes.
So glad to hear the ice cream was a hit, Sherry!
I’d give this recipe ten stars if I could. It is a wonderful creamy treat. I used vanilla bean paste in it for the flavoring and it worked great. I did notice with all the natural ingredients sans all the additives, this ice cream melts faster once served than store bought ice cream. (o: Already made this a coupe times, on my second go I had some fresh cherries that I pitted and coarsely puréed with a little almond flavoring. Added into the base when it was just about done churning. It was awesome! Thanks for posting such a great recipe.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the ice cream, Mare.
Why most recipe websites waterboard their readers with a few pages of reading before they get to the actual recipe?
The recipe is great, thank you for that. Please include recipes first and the rest afterwards.
Hello! There is a button just underneath the title that says “Jump To Recipe”. If you click that, you can skip to the recipe card without needing to read any of the rest.
Hi! I plan on trying this recipe with a group of friends and I was wondering if the ice cream would be ready to serve straight out of the machine after churning, or if it’ll be too soft and need to be frozen to firm up.
Hi, Cassidy! It depends on your machine, but this is a soft serve ice cream. It won’t be runny; you should be able to serve immediately after. I hope you and your friends love the recipe! Happy cooking.
I would like to use this recipe to make mango ice cream. Using smashed mangoes, would I need to adjust any of the ingredients in the basic homemade vanilla recipe?
Hi, Gretchen! I actually have a recipe that should work well for smashed mangoes. It’s a strawberry ice cream recipe, but you should be able to substitute mangoes without any issues: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/strawberry-vanilla-ice-crea/. I hope you love the ice cream.
Thank you for the recipe, but the user experience on your site is maddening with the amount of ads and pop ups. I’m sure this is how you make money, but just very frustrating for the user. Appreciate the recipe though, thank you.
Hello Mary. I love homemade Ice Cream. My Mom has a great recipe for Vanilla Ice Cream but she will not share it with anyone. So now I’m looking for your help. I’m going to try your recipe. I wish you had a video tutorial to watch
I hope you love the ice cream, Terry, and that it lives up to your mother’s recipe.
My first time making ice cream with this recipe and wow this was so delicious thank you sooo much for sharing this recipe!!! My husband and daughter loved this so much, I can never go back to buying store bought ice cream after tasting how fresh and creamy this recipe is. On top of it – it was so easy to make will definitely be making more of your ice cream recipes!!Thanks again!!!
YAY!!! I love hearing that the ice cream was enjoyed. Thanks for taking the time to tell me, Denise. Happy ice cream making!