No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

Vanilla Ice Cream uses just a few ingredients for a super vanilla-y, creamy, and rich ice cream. This recipe also includes a secret ingredient that makes it resemble a vanilla frozen custard! No ice cream maker required!

This No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream recipe is the perfect stand-alone dessert or sweet side to cakes, pies, and more! Serve it with Berry Pie, Chocolate Cake, or use it in Root Beer Floats!

Did you ever make homemade vanilla ice cream as a child? I remember making it with my softball team, it literally took an entire team to make it. We each took turns cranking away on the handle of this old fashioned ice cream barrel.

Yes, it was delicious, but it took forever, and ain’t nobody got time for that. You might remember from my Blender Butter that I’m always looking for a good kitchen hack and now that I’ve discovered no-churn ice cream, I’ll save my wrists and time by making it in minutes and letting my mixer and freezer do the work for me.

Does No Churn Ice Cream Taste Good?

I want to make myself clear – no-churn ice cream will never be what churned ice cream is. However, it is quicker and cheaper to make and still tastes pretty good if you make it right!

Since the base for no-churn ice cream is just whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk, most people making vanilla flavor ice cream just add vanilla extract to the mix.

In my opinion, this leaves the flavor lacking a bit which is why I add an additional ingredient that truly makes this recipe tastes like the rich and creamy, golden vanilla ice cream we all love!

What Ingredients Are In Vanilla Ice Cream?

Traditionally, ice cream is made with milk and sugar and can take upwards of three days to make. But this no-churn ice cream skips the lengthy preparation process an opts for heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and the KEY Secret ingredient: Instant vanilla pudding mix!

The pudding mix is essential as it helps add tons of flavor AND it prevents it from melting super fast which is a common issue with no-churn ice cream.

The pudding mix actually makes this ice cream taste more like a frozen custard because it makes it creamy and dense. But without eggs, this recipe still falls in line with ice cream or somewhere between the two anyway.

How To Make No Churn Ice Cream With Condensed Milk?

As mentioned above, the base for this recipe is just heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk. With these two ingredients alone, you can make no-churn ice cream. 

In this recipe though, we’re going to add a splash of vanilla extract and instant vanilla pudding to make this ice cream even more delicious!

1. Add the heavy cream and vanilla pudding mix to a chilled metal bowl.
2. Immediately whip cream mixture until stiff peaks form, about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the vanilla extract.
4. Add the sweetened condensed milk.
5. Fold everything together with a rubber spatula.
6. Transfer the condensed milk mixture to a loaf pan or ice cream tub and place in the freezer for at least 8 hours before consuming.

How To Store Ice Cream:

Ice cream should be sealed once it’s made to prevent freezer burn. When making this in a bread loaf pan, this can be tricky if you’re not consuming it right away.

While metal pans serve ice cream well because they freeze it quicker, if you’re not crunched for time, I recommend investing in a reusable ice cream tub. You could even get mini ice cream containers so everyone in the family can customize their mix-ins!

I see a lot of ice cream in our future, friends! What No-Churn Ice Cream Flavors do you want me to share next?

Ice Cream Mix-In Ideas:

If you’re not feeling like vanilla, add in some extra ingredients to create fun flavors from your base recipe. Just make sure to fold everything in before freezing!

• Cookies & Cream: Fold in crushed Oreos.
• S’mores: Fold in crushed graham crackers, chopped chocolate, and marshmallow fluff.
• Peanut Butter Pie: Fold in crushed graham crackers, creamy peanut butter, chocolate sauce, and peanut butter cups.
• Strawberry Cheesecake: Fold in chopped strawberries, whipped cream cheese, and crushed graham crackers.
• Cookie Dough: Make a batch of Edible Cookie Dough and roll it into little balls and fold them in.
• Bourbon: Add a few tablespoons of bourbon to the mix for a boozy twist!

Let’s Connect!

I created a fun little group on facebook and I’d love for you to join in! It’s a place where you can ask questions and see what’s new with Sugar & Soul! If you’d like to check it out, you can request to join HERE.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram and tag #sugarandsoulco so I can see all the wonderful recipes YOU make from this site! You can also Subscribe to my Newsletter so you never miss a delicious recipe again!

This post was originally published in June 2014 and was updated in July 2019.