Easy Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe (No Cook!)

This easy vanilla ice-cream recipe doesn’t require eggs or cooking, so it comes together quickly. Depending on how long your ice cream maker takes to churn, you could have ice cream in as little as 15 minutes!  

(If you want to try a recipe that does start with an egg-based custard, try this step-by-step ice cream recipe.)

The 4 Simple Ingredients in Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

This vanilla ice cream recipe calls for just four ingredients: milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Because this recipe is all about the vanilla , you'll want to use the best pure vanilla extract you can find, and steer clear of imitation vanilla.

To really take your vanilla ice cream to the next level, you can substitute a vanilla bean for the vanilla extract. Here's how: Using a paring knife, split a vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and add them and the pod to the cream, milk, and sugar. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 30 minutes (overnight is better). Remove the pod and freeze your ice cream as normal.

Creamy Ice Cream without the Custard

Most ice cream recipes use egg yolks for flavor, color, and to prevent ice crystallization, which makes the ice cream creamier. In egg-free ice cream recipes like this one, you can get that same creaminess by using whole milk.

While any kind of milk will work, the extra butterfat in whole milk (as well as the cream!) helps retain the texture of your ice cream while it's stored in the freezer. For example, after two days in the freezer, an ice cream made with 1 percent milk can become a little too icy. While it still tastes great, the texture might be a bit of a disappointment. 

How to Make This Easy Ice Cream

Making this ice cream is as simple as dissolving sugar in milk, then stirring in the cream and vanilla and transferring it all to your ice cream maker to churn according to your machine's directions.

With ice cream recipes that start with a custard, once you've made the mixture you typically need to refrigerate it before putting it in the ice-cream maker. However, since this is a no-cook recipe, the milk and cream should still be plenty cold, so you can go straight from mixing up the base to churning, which can take as little as 15 minutes!

Keep in mind that right after churning, your ice cream will have the texture of soft serve. If you'd like hard ice cream, transfer it to the freezer for a few hours to firm up. While that may delay your homemade treat a bit, the ease of preparing this recipe is still worth it.

Tips for the Best Vanilla Ice Cream

• Chill your tools: Store the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer to get a jump start on the freezing process for your ice cream.
• Don't over-whip: Don’t whip the mixture too much once you've added the heavy cream. You don’t want to beat too much air into the mixture before it goes into the ice cream maker, or it will change the texture of the finished product.
• Churn long enough: If you find your ice cream gets too hard or has large ice crystals, try churning the mixture longer. Every machine is different so you might have to experiment to find the sweet spot.

Tips for Making Ice Cream at Home

What You'll Need To Make This Easy Vanilla Ice Cream

A Great Whisk

An Ice Cream Maker

A Handy Ice Cream Scoop