This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
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!
Free Ingredient Measuring Guide!
The key to consistent baking success is a click away. Sign up to get instant access to my printable Ingredient Measuring Guide now!
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.
Sprinkle of Science
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 for the simplest way for How to Make Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Machine:
- 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 chocolate 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:
- How to Make Ice Cream – French method + vanilla ice cream recipe
- Death by Chocolate Ice Cream
- Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Cookie Butter Ice Cream
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Ice Cream without a Machine
Email This Recipe
Enter your email, and we’ll send it to your inbox.
Ingredients
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
Instructions
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.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This post was originally published in 2015 and has been updated with additional tips.
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!! 🙂
I did it and turned out amazing.. the only thing was with the fruit version,adding mangoes and mango coil is.. how to avoid having an icy texture of the mango and make it smooth
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 🙂