Craving homemade ice cream, but don’t have an ice cream maker? In this post, I’ll teach you four different methods for how to make ice cream without a machine!
You’d think after writing an entire cookbook about ice cream I’d have nothing more to give on the subject – but that couldn’t be further from the truth!
I get asked ALL the time about how to make ice cream without a machine. I understand that not everyone has an ice cream maker (or two like me…) and since I just adore mine, I’ve been hesitant to talk about making ice cream without one. While I believe an ice cream maker produces the best results, I’m sharing the next best thing for those of you who don’t have one!
In this post, I cover four different methods for making homemade no-churn ice cream. One method requires just two ingredients, and the others can be used with ANY recipe. You may remember one from science class!
This can be a super fun DIY project or just a way to satisfy a frozen craving. Either way, I love using those classic white ice cream containers. It’s like making homemade Ben & Jerry’s. I got mine from Amazon, but I’ve also seen them at craft stores or specialty kitchen stores like Sur la Table. They’re pint-sized, so since each recipe makes about 1 1/2 quarts, a single batch will fill 3 of the containers.
I like to divvy up a batch of the ice cream base and make two or three different flavors! I’m all about variety. Don’t forget to sign up and get your hands on my free ice cream label printables, and also to receive new recipes delivered to your inbox! Click here to get the labels.
How to Make Ice Cream without an Ice Cream Machine
Method #1: Two Ingredient Ice Cream
This method is its own recipe! Here are the easy-peasy steps:
- Simply whip 2 cups of heavy cream, by hand or with an electric mixer, until stiff peaks form.
- Slowly drizzle in a chilled can of sweetened condensed milk.
- Add your desired flavorings or mix-ins.
- Remove to an airtight container and freeze. It’s that simple!!
Method #2: Plastic Bag Method
- Place the ice cream mixture in a quart-size resealable bag, squeezing out as much air as possible and sealing tightly.
- Place this bag inside another quart bag, again squeezing out as much air as possible and sealing tightly.
- Put the bags inside a gallon-size resealable bag and fill with about 4 cups crushed ice, then sprinkle with 4 tablespoons coarse salt. The salt lowers the freezing point of the ice and creates an extra-cold environment that absorbs heat, causing the ice cream base to freeze.
- Squeeze out all the air and seal tightly.
- Wrap the bag in a towel or put gloves on before shaking vigorously and massaging the bag, making sure the ice is surrounding the ice cream mixture constantly.
- Shake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the ice cream is frozen. The more vigorously you shake, the smoother your ice cream will be.
Method #3: Freeze & Stir Method
- Place the unchurned ice cream recipe mixture in a deep stainless steel baking dish and freeze for 45 minutes.
- As it begins to freeze near the edges, remove it from the freezer and stir vigorously with a spatula.
- Return to the freezer.
- Continue to check the mixture every 30 minutes, stirring vigorously as it’s freezing.
- If you have a hand-mixer or blender, use one of those.
- Repeat this process for 2 to 3 hours, or until frozen.
Method #4: Food Processor or Blender Method (best method!)
This is a new method that’s been added since this article and video were created in 2015. This is my favorite way to make ice cream without an ice cream maker.
- Make any ice cream base according to the recipe directions.
- Instead of churning in an ice cream maker, pour into a ziptop bag, squeeze out all air, and seal.
- Freeze, lying flat, until solid.
- Remove from freezer and break into chunks small enough to fit into the bowl of your food processor or a high-powered blender.
- Pulse until completely smooth.
- If adding mix-ins, either fold them in or pulse until desired consistency is reached, then pour into an airtight container.
- Cover and freeze until ready to serve.
No Churn Ice Cream Flavor Ideas:
- Cheesecake: Add 8 ounces of softened cream cheese to the 2-ingredient method. Use an electric mixer to beat with the condensed milk and vanilla, before folding into the whipped cream as the recipe instructs.
- Mint Chip: 1 teaspoon peppermint extract + 1 cup mini chocolate chips + green food coloring
- Peanut Butter/ Nutella / Cookie Butter: 1/2 cup to 1 cup spread
- Cinnamon Roll: 3 tablespoons butter, melted + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Caramel or Dulce de Leche: 1/2 – 1 cup caramel drizzled over the almost frozen mixture, stir to break up the ribbon a bit. Add a teaspoon of sea salt and/or a few tablespoons of bourbon for a gourmet touch!
- Chocolate: 3/4 cup cocoa powder (sifted) + 4 ounces melted cooled chocolate
- Rocky Road: 1 cup chocolate syrup + 1 cup mini marshmallows + 1 cup toasted almonds swirled into ice cream
- S’mores: 10 graham crackers, crushed + 1 Hershey’s bar, chopped + 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
- Mocha: 1/2 cup cocoa powder (sifted) + 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
- Cookies & Cream: 15 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- Blueberry Swirl: 2 cups fresh blueberries + 3 tablespoons sugar + 2 tablespoons lemon juice cooked in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until burst. Chill before swirling into ice cream.
- Please Note: Some mix-ins may increase the amount of time the ice cream needs to freeze before serving. Also, be sure to check out all my ice cream recipes for more inspiration and guidance!
My Best Ice Cream Recipes:
2 Ingredient Method
-
2
cups
heavy cream,
chilled
-
1
(14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk,
chilled
-
1/2
teaspoon
vanilla extract
Freeze & Stir or Plastic Bag Methods:
-
1 1/4
cups
whole milk,
chilled
-
3/4
cup
granulated sugar
-
2
cups
heavy cream,
chilled
-
1
tablespoon
vanilla extract
-
1/4
teaspoon
salt
2 Ingredient Method
-
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. On low speed, mix in the condensed milk, vanilla, and any flavorings.
-
Pour into a resealable container, cover the surface with plastic wrap, then seal. Freeze for at least 6 hours, or until firm. Keep stored in the freezer.
Freeze & Stir Methods:
-
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, vanilla, and salt until combined. If the mixture isn’t cold, place in the refrigerator until chilled, about 30 minutes.
-
Place the mixture in a deep stainless steel baking dish and freeze for 45 minutes. As it begins to freeze near the edges, remove it from the freezer and stir vigorously with a spatula. Return to the freezer.
-
Continue to check the mixture every 30 minutes, stirring vigorously as it’s freezing. If you have a hand-held mixer or blender, use one of those. Repeat this process for 2 to 3 hours, or until frozen.
Plastic Bag Method:
-
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, vanilla, and salt until combined. If the mixture isn’t cold, place in the refrigerator until chilled, about 30 minutes.
-
Place the ice cream mixture in a quart-size resealable bag, squeezing out as much air as possible and sealing tightly. Place this bag inside another quart bag, again squeezing out as much air as possible and sealing tightly. Put the bags inside a gallon-size resealable bag and fill with about 4 cups crushed ice, then sprinkle with 4 tablespoons coarse salt. The salt lowers the freezing point of the ice and creates an extra-cold environment that absorbs heat, causing the ice cream base to freeze.
-
Squeeze out all the air and seal tightly. Wrap the bag in a towel or put gloves on before shaking vigorously and massaging the bag, making sure the ice is surrounding the ice cream mixture constantly. Shake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the ice cream is frozen. The more vigorously you shake, the smoother your ice cream will be.
Food Processor or Blender Method:
-
Note: This is NEW and not covered in the video!
-
Make your ice cream mixture according to the recipe directions. Pour into a ziptop bag, squeeze out all air, and seal. Freeze, lying flat, until solid. Remove from freezer and break into chunks small enough to fit into the bowl of your food processor (using the standard s-shaped blade) or high-powered blender. Pulse until completely smooth. If adding mix-ins, either fold them in or pulse until desired consistency is reached, then pour into an airtight container. Cover and freeze until ready to serve.
If you want to use the last two methods with homemade custard-based ice cream, check out this video tutorial.
I am finding the cellulose gum they put in ice cream is giving me digestive problems. Thank you for this quick recipe I can make myself.
This works great!!! Normaly when trying things like this come out horrible and seem to good to be true, which is probably why I normally go to a scientific standpoint, but when reading this I thought: It whipped cream obviously, but I have never seen whipped cream frozen, And since it’s not as liquid as normal water is then it shouldn’t freeze the same way as water does. So I tried it and my family loves it. It seems to be cheaper, fun, creative, more flavorful and maybe healthier than the one you buy in the store already made. Love the one who posted this!!!❤️❤️❤️
My eight year old was super excited to make this. we tried the mint chip and the bag method. we ended up topping off the ice/salt mix two times but the ice cream never froze. We threw in the freezer for 10 minutes at a time several times and it finally got to a slush texture. She still loved it, but I don’t know what went wrong. Bummer.
Wow this came out great and the 2 ingredient method was so easy – thank you for the recipe!!
My ice cream is currently in the freezer and I am using method 4, so I plan to get it back out later today to finish. The mix tasted amazing (I had to lick the spatula after scraping it into the bag, of course, lol). My question is – have you ever tried using an immersion blender for the last step? Seems like it’d be super easy and less clean up but not sure how well it would work, I use mine for smoothies with frozen fruit and it’s great. Any thoughts?
Hi Tonya! We have not tried an immersion blender for that step, but it would probably work great! Let us know if you give it a try and what you think of the results! Enjoy your ice cream 🙂
So easy and taste great…
Wonderful to hear that, Aziz!!
Made peach
Great ideas thank you. Now though, I have to pick a method.
Or you could try them all!! 🙂 Let us know what you think when you try!
I used the first method, whipping the cream, adding the condensed milk and freezing. It works perfectly and has a divine texture. I’m in love with it!
Woohoo!! That’s fantastic to hear, Kelly!! 🙂
Wow! This is amazing! So easy, and it has a perfect texture, very creamy. I’m lactose intolerant, so I used lactose free 35% cream and sweet condensed coconut milk. I add chopped nuts and dark chocolate chunks. Perfection!
The Recipe Is Really Good! Great Job With The Recipe!
Where do I find your labels?
Hi Sandy! The link to our labels is in the text above the pink box above the recipe. Please let me know if you need further help!
Question: We used the 2 ingredient method with the sweetened condensed milk, but found it too sweet. Could we had more whipped cream to make it less sweet or would it change the consistency and texture too much? Thanks for your help
Hi Sylvia! I wouldn’t suggest adding more heavy cream to the recipe because that’ll make the ice cream more runny. I’d recommend trying a different recipe technique if you don’t like the flavor outcome 🙂
The food processor method is AMAZING!! I’m so pleased with how well it turned out. I used the base recipe from your How to Make Ice Cream post and it was so so delicious and the texture was incredible. Everyone needs to try this recipe/method!!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to let us know, we appreciate it 🙂
Tessa-How about for a Ice Cream recipe that you need 2 cook the mixture on a stove top some recipes call 2 do that by using a Renett Tablet than put it in a Refrigerator Tray then freeze it would that make sense?.
We haven’t tried that!
I make this all the time! My husband raves over it! We have not bought store bought ice cream for over two years now.
So amazing to hear that, Amy! Yay!!
WOW!! With that review, I’m SOLD!!!
wow yummy, my wife is very fond of ice creams, she just loves it, will try this recipe at my home, Thanks for sharing
So excited to hear what she thinks! Check back in with us and let us know 🙂
Just found this great site & tried to obtain the “Cookie Customization Chart”. HOWEVER – when I clicked on the “Sign Up” link I got an error message saying the link could not be located .
Is this because the original post is several years old?
AND – do you have a subscription method that would allow me to receive new recipe notifications?
That would be the cat’s meow! Several other sites that I’ve visited have a pop-up that – if you click on it – does this very thing. A surefire way of getting people back to your site! Without having to try & remember site name & put it in the search bar.
Thanks for listening!
Now – it’s off to buy heavy cream so I can make one of these luscious recipes!
Hi Terry! Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention. I also received the error when attempting to sign up and have forwarded the issue to our tech team! Click here to sign up for the Cookie Customization Chart. Doing so will also add you to our email list 🙂 Please don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected] if you experience any further issues, I’m happy to help!
The food processor method is AMAZING!! I’m so pleased with how well it turned out. I used the base recipe from your How to Make Ice Cream post and it was so so delicious and the texture was incredible. Everyone needs to try this recipe/method!!!
How long do you think the flat slab of custard base would keep in the freezer before needing to “churn” it in the food processor? I was thinking how great it would be to keep a bag at the ready for unexpected company or when a craving strikes 🙂 Thanks Tessa!!
YAY!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’d suggest keeping it in the freezer for a month or less. If you’re using any add-ins that contain water, such as fruit, it’ll ice up even quicker, so just keep that in mind 🙂
Hello,
I’m going to try the blender technique for making this ice cream. I don’t see a recipe for that particular way. Where can I find what I need? Thank you!
Sorry about that! I accidentally only included it in the pink tip box above the recipe and just as the Food Processor Method in the directions! It has been added it to the directions 🙂 Enjoy your ice cream!
Aw, YAY!! I’m so happy to hear this!
Super easy recipe. Homemade is absolutely delish and so awesome!
So great to hear this!
My kids love the mint chip. I use a little green gel food coloring and Baskin and Robbins move over!! Thanks for the recipe. Today I’m doing Oreo cookie:)
Yum!! I’m so glad your family is enjoying this recipe and all the flavor options!
This is great ice cream. I made the peanut butter ice cream with mini M&M and mini chocolate chips. It was so easy and fun to make this ice cream. This ice cream was a hit with the family 🙂 Thank you for sharing your idea with us. I used the two ingredients recipe. The video was very helpful. 🙂
Love your add-ins, the more chocolate the better! 🙂 I’m so happy to hear your ice cream was such a hit!
I made chocolate an dit wa sreally good. I was wondering if we could make strawberry ice cream bye jus swiping the blueberries with the strawberries?
I haven’t tried that, but you’re welcome to give it a try! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Hi Tessa, is it whipping cream the same as heavy cream? I can’t seem to find “heavy cream” in my neck of the woods. Thanks so much
No, they are completely different. Heavy cream is the richest type of liquid cream with a fat content of at least 36% whereas whipping cream usually has 30%-36% fat. The more fat in your cream, the more stable it will be, so I don’t recommend any substitutions when it comes to using heavy cream in ice cream 🙂 . Heavy cream is normally located near the milk in grocery stores, whereas whipped cream is usually found in the freezer aisle. Hope this helps!
I think you misread their question. They asked about whipping cream, and I believe you thought they said whipped cream. Whipping cream is actually the same as heavy cream, it just depends on the brand. Some brands just refer to it as “Heavy Whipping Cream” instead of just “Heavy Cream”.
I live this post it is supper . Please do have like tutorial classes for one to learn all about ice cream making . Please how do you get the heavy cream ?
Hi Monica! I’m so glad you loved this article. Heavy cream can be purchased in the dairy section at your local grocery store 🙂 I don’t have a tutorial for ice cream making specifically, but I do have a class called The Magic of Baking where I teach all about the fundamentals of baking. You can find that at handletheheat.com at the top of the page in the red banner (click Join my class!) You might also be interested in reading my first cookbook called Cookies & Cream: Hundreds of Ways to Make the Perfect Ice Cream Sandwich. I hope this helps!
I think this recipe sounds awesome. By the comments others do too! However, my question is making it for sugar free. I use Splenda & other means of sweetners. I realize about added sugars, but even lower percentage of whipping cream & then condensed milk – all being so sweet. Any ideas?
Hi Suzanne! Unfortunately, we do not test recipes using sugar substitutes, so we cannot say for sure how that will work. Let us know how it goes if you experiment with this!
Thanks for the recipe. I’ll try and experiment with it and let you know.!
Easy to make and rich taste!!!
Thanks so much!
Good!
I made Mint Chocolate Chip last night and it was delicious. Everyone loved it! But…. for me I found it was too smooth in constancy than I prefer… any suggestions on how to get its texture closer to say, Brewers consistency? Thanks.
Do you have a recipe for chocolate cheesecake ice cream.
Not for chocolate cheesecake ice cream, but I do have a recipe for Death By Chocolate Ice Cream!
Amazing recipe! We made the bag shake method and it was perfect. Will definitely make this again.
So glad you enjoyed!
Great taste i tried this during the lockdown
Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
great nice wok
What if u hate ice cream
I am new to baking. trying new thing, sometimes it work and sometimes it don’t. Yet, it is a nice experience to try these.
Thanks for explaining how you should stir the mixture in the freezer every 30 minutes for 2-3 hours. I have been thinking about selling homemade ice cream made with fresh organic milk from my aunt’s cows at the local farmer’s market. Do you have any tips about using flavorings and mix-ins without ruining the texture?
Thanks Guys, Your Recipe Was Too Fantastic. Me and My Family Loved it. I Will definitely Share your Rrecipe with my friends.