Vanilla Ice Cream
By Erin Huffstetler | 07/09/2020 | No Comments
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This homemade vanilla ice cream recipe comes together quickly, with no eggs or stove time required. Just mix four ingredients together, and it’s ready to pour into your ice cream maker. Enjoy it plain, or use it as a base to create other ice cream flavors.
It calls for one-third less sugar than most ice cream recipes, and doesn’t contain any of the junk that’s found in the store-bought kind.
Start a batch now, and you could be enjoying your first taste in 20 minutes.
I own a whole fleet of ice cream makers – hand-crank, electric crank, compressor, ice cream ball. I even have a soft-serve ice cream machine, but my hands-down favorite is this Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. It couldn’t be any easier to use. Just keep the cylinder in the freezer, and you’ll be ready to make ice cream whenever the mood hits (which is often at my house).
If you don’t own an ice cream maker, make this no-churn vanilla ice cream instead.
Homeade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe for Ice Cream Makers
This recipe makes approximately 1-1/2 quarts of vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Any type of dairy milk will work in this recipe – skim, 1%, 2%, whole milk – so just use whatever you have on hand. There’s no need to buy anything special.
I like to use my homemade vanilla extract in this recipe. It gives you that premium vanilla ice cream flavor.
What You Do:
Combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk, until the sugar dissolves.
Then, pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
It should take around 20 minutes to reach this consistency. Enjoy it right away for soft-serve ice cream …
or transfer it to a covered freezer-safe container, and freeze it for a couple hours (longer is fine), if you want hard-scoop ice cream.
Yum!
Use this vanilla ice cream recipe to make this blackberry ice cream …
and this peppermint ice cream made with fresh mint.
or whip up some of these homemade ice cream toppings, and use your vanilla ice cream to make sundaes.
Butterscotch Shell Topping
Chocolate Shell Topping
Peanut Butter Shell Topping
Chocolate Syrup
Dulce de Leche
Microwave Butterscotch Sauce

Vanilla Ice Cream
This homemade vanilla ice cream is ready to eat in 20 minutes. No eggs or cooking required.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 1-1/2 quarts 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Ice Cream Maker
- Cuisine: Global
Ingredients:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk, until sugar dissolves.
Pour into your ice cream maker, and churn, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Enjoy straight out of the machine for soft-serve; or transfer to a freezer-safe container; cover; and freeze for at least two hours (longer is fine), for hard-scoop.
This ice cream has a long freezer life, so feel free to make it ahead.
Notes
- Lots of ice cream recipes specify whole milk, but you can use any dairy milk in this recipe with good results.
- Use this vanilla ice cream as the base for creating other flavored ice creams.
- Nutrition Facts are for ice cream made with 2% milk.