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    You are here: Home / Desserts / Frozen / No Churn Ice Cream

    No Churn Ice Cream

    July 28, 2022 By Sam 13 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    collage of no churn ice cream, top image of single cone with chocolate ice cream, bottom image of three flavors

    You only need 4 ingredients to make this smooth, creamy No Churn Ice Cream. My recipe is easy and customizable, with just 15 minutes of prep work and endless flavor variations. Recipe includes a how-to video!

    overhead view of three flavors of no churn ice cream including strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate

    Easy Homemade Ice Cream

    Truly delicious homemade ice cream is refreshing summertime treat, but it can be quite a pain to make. Luckily, I’ve got an equally tasty recipe for no-churn ice cream that’s just as satisfying as “real” ice cream with a fraction of the work and time (much like my no-bake cheesecake).

    This recipe is easy (and eggless!) with no ice cream maker or cooking required. It’s a fun and super customizable lazy-day ice cream that’s great to make with young kids (Luke loves helping me!).

    I’m sharing three flavor bases today, and you can make just one or all three! We love to experiment with different variations; Luke’s favorite is vanilla with chocolate chips, sprinkles and crushed Oreo cookies. And don’t forget the whipped cream and hot fudge sauce!

    What You Need

    overhead view of ingredients including heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and salt

    Here are the ingredients you’ll need for your homemade ice cream base. Feel free to sprinkle in any add-ins you like (I’ve got a few suggestions further down in the post)!

    • Sweetened condensed milk. Not only is this our sweetener, but it also helps the rest of our ingredients become ice cream! Sweetened condensed milk replaces the custard base that traditional ice creams have. Make sure you use sweetened condensed milk and not evaporated milk!
    • Vanilla bean paste. This adds flavor and beautiful flecks of vanilla to the ice cream. If you can’t find paste, the seeds from a vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract will also work!
    • Sea salt. Just a pinch brings out the flavor and balances the sweetness of the ice cream.
    • Heavy cream. Whipping cream or double cream will work too. We’ll be whipping our cream to stiff peaks, so it should be very cold!

    SAM’S TIP: If you’ve struggled with whipping cream to stiff peaks in the past, try using a metal bowl and freezing it 15 minutes before you need it. This will encourage your cream to whip up nicely.

    Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

    How to Make It

    collage of four photos showing an ice cream mixture being prepared and poured into a metal bread pan
    1. Whisk together the condensed milk, vanilla, and salt.
    2. Pour the cream into a chilled metal bowl and beat to stiff peaks.
    3. Fold the condensed milk mixture into the whipped cream until combined.
    4. Pour the ice cream into a bread pan, press plastic wrap over the surface, and freeze for at least 4 hours.

    SAM’S TIP: If you have a metal bread pan, use it! The metal will help your homemade ice cream set faster than a glass or ceramic pan will (I like to line mine with parchment for easy cleanup!). If you have a special ice cream container (Amazon sells them) you can use that too; you’ll need one that holds 1.5 quarts of ice cream for each flavor.

    More No Churn Ice Cream Flavors

    • Cookies & Cream: Stir 7-8 Broken Oreo cookies into vanilla or chocolate ice cream. 
    • Mint Chocolate Chip: Add 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, ½ cup mini chocolate chips, and green food coloring (if desired) to the vanilla ice cream. 
    • Cookie Dough: Make a batch of my edible cookie dough and roll into small balls, then stir them into the vanilla ice cream along with some mini chocolate chips. Note: you won’t need all of the edible cookie dough, so enjoy the leftovers with a spoon!
    • Raspberry White Chocolate: Swap the strawberry in the strawberry ice cream recipe for for raspberries and stir in a finely chopped white chocolate bar.
    • Key Lime Pie: see my recipe for key lime pie no churn ice cream!

    I’d love to hear about any other flavor combinations you come up with! Leave them in the comments below 😊

    strawberry ice cream cone standing in a clear drinking glass

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How long does no churn ice cream last in the freezer?

    Your ice cream will have the best flavor when enjoyed as soon as its ready, but it can last for several weeks/months when stored properly. Pressing plastic wrap against the surface helps prevent freezer burn, so don’t skip this step. Not all bread pans come with lids, but if yours does, definitely use it!

    Can you make no churn ice cream without condensed milk?

    Sweetened condensed milk acts as a substitute for the traditional custard base that you’ll find in regular ice cream. Using it saves time and effort, and this recipe won’t work without it.

    How do you make no churn ice cream dairy free?

    You could try substituting the condensed milk with a non-dairy condensed milk (I believe coconut condensed milk exists) and the heavy cream with coconut cream. I’m not sure how this would turn out, as I haven’t tried it myself, but it’s worth a try! If you do try this, please let me know how it turns out for you 😊

    vanilla ice cream cone standing in a clear drinking glass surrounded by ice cream cones

    If your ice cream is hard to scoop, just let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes, or use a warm ice cream scoop–so easy!

    Enjoy!

    Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

    overhead view of three flavors of no churn ice cream including strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate

    No Churn Ice Cream

    You only need 4 ingredients to make this smooth, creamy no churn ice cream. My recipe is easy and customizable, with just 15 minutes of prep work and endless flavor variations.
    Recipe includes a how-to video!
    5 from 5 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Chilling Time: 4 hours
    Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes
    Servings: 8 servings servings (about ¾ cup per serving)
    Calories: 369kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    Vanilla Ice Cream

    • 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
    • 1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste or 1 scraped vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • Pinch of fine sea salt about 1/16th teaspoon
    • 2 cups heavy cream cold (473ml)

    Chocolate Ice Cream

    • 4 oz semisweet chocolate bar melted (113g)
    • 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
    • 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • Pinch of fine sea salt about 1/16th teaspoon
    • 2 cups heavy cream cold (473ml)
    • 2 Tablespoon cocoa powder see note
    • ½ cup mini chocolate chips (85g)

    Strawberry Ice Cream

    • 1 lb fresh or frozen strawberries stems removed and quartered (453g)
    • 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
    • ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • Pinch of fine sea salt about 1/16th teaspoon
    • 2 cups heavy cream cold (473ml)

    Recommended Equipment

    • Mixing bowls
    • Electric mixer
    • 9×5" bread pan
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Vanilla

    • Place a metal bowl in the freezer and chill for 15 minutes.
    • In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together condensed milk, vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract), and sea salt.
    • Remove cold bowl from freezer and add cold heavy cream to the bowl. Beat on low-speed with an electric mixer and gradually increase speed to high. Beat on high-speed until stiff peaks form.
    • Pour the condensed milk mixture into the heavy cream and use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together until completely combined.
    • Pour ice cream into 9×5” bread pan. Place a piece of plastic wrap tightly over the surface of the pan, gently pressing it into the surface of the ice cream.
    • Transfer to freezer and freeze at least 4 hours or (preferably) overnight before scooping and serving

    Chocolate

    • Place a metal bowl in the freezer and chill for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate bar and set aside to cool.
    • In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together condensed milk, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Stir in melted chocolate.
    • Remove bowl from the freezer and add heavy cream and cocoa powder. Beat on low-speed with an electric mixer and gradually increase speed to high. Beat on high-speed until stiff peaks form.
    • Pour the condensed milk mixture into the heavy cream and use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together until completely combined.
    • Stir in chocolate chips.
    • Pour ice cream into 9×5” bread pan. Place a piece of plastic wrap tightly over the surface of the pan, gently pressing it into the surface of the ice cream.
    • Transfer to freezer and freeze at least 4 hours or (preferably) overnight before scooping and serving

    Strawberry

    • Place a metal bowl in the freezer and chill for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place strawberries in a blender and then pour into a small saucepan.
    • Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until thickened and reduced by about half.
    • Pour into a medium-sized heatproof bowl and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Add condensed milk, vanilla extract, and sea salt and stir to combine.
    • Remove cold bowl from freezer and pour heavy cream into it. Use an electric mixer and gradually increase speed to high, beat on high-speed until stiff peaks form.
    • Pour strawberry mixture into the whipped cream and gently fold together until completely combined.
    • Pour into 9×5” bread pan and gently press a piece of plastic wrap into the surface of the ice cream.
    • Transfer to freezer and freeze at least 4 hours or (preferably) overnight before scooping and serving.

    Notes

    Different flavors

    See post for different flavor suggestions including cookies & cream, cookie dough, mint chocolate chip & more!

    Cocoa powder

    I recommend unsweetened cocoa powder for a milder chocolate flavor and Dutch process cocoa powder for a more intense bittersweet chocolate flavor.

    Strawberry

    You can just simply blend the strawberries and then add them directly to the ice cream without cooking down, but the fruit contains a lot of water and tends to create ice crystals which result in a firmer, icier ice cream. You should let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before scooping and use a warm spoon to make scooping easier if you opt to make the ice cream this way.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 79mg | Potassium: 241mg | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 1007IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 180mg | Iron: 0.2mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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    « How to Make Cinnamon Sugar
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lisa

      September 10, 2022 at 1:15 pm

      5 stars
      Made the vanilla, strawberry, pineapple, caramel, I guess you know it’s been fun experimenting with different flavors, the grandkids think this is the greatest thing ever. Every flavor has been sooo good.

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 10, 2022 at 9:13 pm

        I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it so much, Lisa! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Noa G

      August 10, 2022 at 11:59 pm

      Hi Sam, made the vannila ice cream and was delicious!!
      Any tips on how to make into coffee flavor?

      Reply
      • Sam

        August 11, 2022 at 9:02 am

        Hi Noa! That’s an interesting idea. I would probably dissolve a little bit of instant espresso powder or coffee mixed, dissolved in a tablespoon of water, in with the milk. It might be really good to mix it in with the chocolate version. 🙂

        Reply
        • Lynne Ham

          August 27, 2022 at 11:05 pm

          Made the vanilla no-curn icecream and it was a huge hit here! Thanks, Sam!

        • Sam

          August 28, 2022 at 10:29 pm

          I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lynne! 🙂

    3. Julia

      August 03, 2022 at 12:08 am

      5 stars
      I made this ice cream with my younger cousins (ages 3 and 6). Not only is it delicious, they had so much fun making it!! The 3 year old really enjoyed licking the bowl afterwards…if I could attach a picture you would see almost her whole head in the bowl while she was licking it 😂 so cute!

      Reply
      • Julia

        August 03, 2022 at 12:10 am

        5 stars
        I forgot to mention we made the chocolate ice cream. Next they want to make “banilla” 🙂

        Reply
      • Sam

        August 03, 2022 at 8:55 am

        I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Julia! You can tag me on instagram @Sugarspun_Sam or join my facebook group and post pictures there. I’d love to see her licking the bowl. I bet that was so cute and funny! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Mauvi

      August 01, 2022 at 8:47 pm

      Can I use a plastic container?instead of metal?

      Reply
      • Sam

        August 02, 2022 at 10:10 am

        Hi Mauvi! Do you mean for whipping the cream? While it’s not impossible to have success when using a plastic bowl, sometimes cream does not whip properly in plastic bowls. Glass and metal are your best bets and what I recommend. For storing the ice cream, plastic is fine.

        Reply
    5. Marina

      July 28, 2022 at 10:41 am

      Do the mini chocolate chips sink down to the bottom of the bread pan in the chocolate version? Does it make sense to try to stir them in an hour or so into freezing?

      Reply
      • Sam

        July 29, 2022 at 1:08 pm

        Hi Marina! They do not sink down to the bottom, I just stir them in right away and they stay suspended. Enjoy! 🙂

        Reply

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