This Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream requires only a few ingredients and a few minutes. My son says it tastes just like good store-bought ice cream. And the great thing is that you control the ingredients so it contains no gum, which causes digestive upset for some, and you can choose organic milk ingredients if you want.
Since my son went gum-free, I have looked at the ingredients on every ice cream brand I come across, and I have not yet found one that does not contain gum. But that’s okay because it is super easy to make my own! This recipe is so simple and basic that I have not posted it before, but it’s my go-to recipe for vanilla ice cream, which of course can be dressed up with add-ins or toppings.
Now, this recipe is full of dairy, fat, and sugar, so I’m not saying that it’s healthy. It’s a treat for sure, but one that my family enjoys. (I don’t personally eat it because I strictly avoid dairy.)
This recipe does require an ice cream maker, which I think is totally worth the money. After churning in the machine, the ice cream will be very soft. If you want a firmer, scoopable ice cream, you need to freeze it overnight. I love the fact that it holds its shape but is not difficult to scoop out after freezing.
Fresh berries are great with vanilla ice cream, but you might also like a topping such as homemade caramel sauce, homemade chocolate syrup, or strawberry rhubarb topping.
And, of course, ice cream goes great with cake. A few of our favorites are carrot cake, banana cake, and chocolate cake.
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 cup sugar (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir all the ingredients together for several minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved. If you stop stirring for a few seconds any undissolved sugar will fall to the bottom and can be felt with your spoon. Keep stirring until you no longer feel any sugar granules.
- Add to your ice cream maker, following the machine instructions. I run mine for 20 - 25 minutes.
- When done, transfer to a container and freeze overnight or serve soft.
Perfect time of year for ice cream! SOME day I’ll have an ice cream maker. If it’ll fit under the bed there’s a chance. 😉
It’s definitely a space hog. I don’t make dairy free ice cream very often, but I love using my blender to make a sort of ice cream from frozen mango. I think you have a high-speed blender, so maybe you do that.
Do you think I could use stevia in place of the sugar?
I haven’t tried it Terry, but I think it would work. Let us know how it goes.
Oooh, that looks so good, Linda! I’ve made homemade ice cream using these simple ingredients before and it is outstanding. It sure makes you wonder why on earth they put so many other ingredients in store-bought ice cream, doesn’t it? Thanks for sharing!
Shirley
When my son tried making a root beer float with it, it completely dissolved right away. So I guess those added ingredients help hold it together, but he said it still tasted good.
What is half and half please? I have never heard of it in the UK.
Hi Rosemary, it’s single cream in the uk I believe.
Do you have any dairy free subsitutons ? Otherwise, I like this idea very much! Thanks!
Jeannette, I hope to publish a dairy free ice cream next month, but pretty much anything with the same proportions works. So just sub 4 cups of dairy free milk. However, you can expect it to have a different texture and softness, especially since most dairy free options have less fat than the cream used in this recipe. Full-fat canned coconut milk works pretty well.