I’m not even sure if I should be encouraging this… oh heck yes, I am sure! This is hands down the best homemade ice cream recipe you’ll try. Be sure to save this recipe right now to use in 2 days when your brown box and black smile show up on your doorstep because I guarantee you’ll go order an ice cream maker after this.
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Why is homemade ice cream better?
No added unnecessary extras, no fillers, no preservatives, no junk in this homemade ice cream recipe. It’s simple to make in an electric ice cream maker. The ingredients are few but real. Only the things you need in a deliciously old fashioned homemade ice cream recipe.
Incredibly simple with so few ingredients, all of which you know and trust, this homemade ice cream is other-worldly! Our family has made a new flavor every week since the end of July. As of the posting of this blog, that’s only been 8 weeks! We can’t get enough of its simplicity and deliciousness.
We drove right past Dairy Queen the other day and said “mehh, we have better at home”. This recipe really is that good.
Sure, it needs a little rest time in the freezer but when it is done churning, that spoonful of “taste testing” is perfectly soft served.
Homemade is best
I’ll be honest: the recipe book that came with this ice cream maker did not make the best ice cream for our first batch, cookie dough. It was way too icy. Not the best first impression with ice cream at home.
By happenstance, at a church meeting the next week, a friend brought homemade peach ice cream and it was so good I could barely concentrate on the meeting at hand… and I’m the notetaker! She gave me her recipe and I tweak it a little each batch to meet the needs of added flavors but this one is versatile and here’s the original.
Old Fashioned Homemade Ice Cream Recipe
Be sure to pin this post to Pinterest because you WILL come back to it later.
Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 generous pinch of salt (my favorite brand)
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
In your standing mixer (or mixing bowl and hand mixer), add milk, sugar, and salt. Combine on low until sugar is dissolved. I mix then let it sit for 3-5 minutes for the sugar to fully dissolve. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla with a mixing spoon. Store in fridge for 1 hour. If your ice cream maker calls for it, store your canister in the freezer for this time too.
Use ice cream maker’s instructions to get it going correctly. Pour your ice cream mixture into the canister and add canister to the ice cream maker. Allow mixture to mix for 45 mins. The texture will be soft serve and delicious. You can eat it immediately or store in ice cream containers like these single serves or this in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. An airtight container helps the ice cream last longer before getting frost burn.
Makes about 1 quart of ice cream.
UPDATED NOTE: we have found while this is a great recipe, sometimes it can taste more like really cold whipped cream. We have found doing 1.5 cups of milk and 1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream is just the right about of ice in the ice cream. It still has that soft serve texture too!
Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 generous pinch of salt
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Mix together cocoa, sugars, and salt. Then add in milk to mix on low with your mixing agent. Allow sugars and salt to dissolve. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla. Then follow the rest of the vanilla ice cream’s recipe above.
Again, per updated note above: play around with the milk to HWC ratio!
What else can I add to this homemade ice cream recipe?
This recipe is so fun to play around with and makes the creamiest ice cream!
We have added peaches and blueberries to the vanilla recipe.
I use a Magic Bullet to puree the peaches and blueberries, about 1 cup of fruit, then add to the recipe as is. This way you won’t have huge frozen pieces of fruit in your ice cream that make eating it much harder.
We also recently gave strawberries a try and it was fantastic! Again, be sure to blend your berries before adding to your cream mixture. Alternatively, we have swirled in homemade strawberry jam and it was RAVED over at our last gathering.
We’ve added a packet of decaf instant coffee to the chocolate homemade ice cream recipe and it was incredible! Coffee and chocolate lovers rejoice!
Like all good things, they take some time. With just a little bit of planning ahead, your family can enjoy ice cream dessert after dinner once a week… like ours is currently.
Be sure to check out these other HOMEMADE ICE CREAM RECIPES, tried and true by Johnson Home NC:
Blueberry Cheese Cake Ice Cream
Parenting Pro Tip:
Get your kids on board with learning how to follow recipes so they can make ice cream for you anytime you want it!
Lots of free life and homeschool lessons to be learned in the kitchen and YOU, mama, get to enjoy those perks.
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Single Serve Ice Cream Containers
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