Name: Vanilla Ice Cream
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 3 min
Ingredients: 2 cups heavy whipping cream; 2 cups half-and-half cream; ¾ cup white sugar; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

No cooking involved in this recipe for homemade ice cream using just cream, sugar, and vanilla with your ice cream maker.

Vanilla Ice Cream

heavy whipping cream

half-and-half cream

white sugar

vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream and the half and half. Gradually whisk in the sugar until blended.


Whisk in the vanilla. Refrigerate, covered, until very cold, at least 3 hours or as long as 3 days.


Whisk the mixture to blend and pour into the canister of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Eat at once or transfer to a covered container and freeze up to 8 hours.


I have made this recipe so many times I have lost count. I made a few changes. Instead of sugar I used 1 cup honey. I took the milk and threw it in the blender with my honey to blend it together well.  I also reduced the amount of cream by 2 1/2 cups and replaced it with milk. Then instead of refidgerating it over night I just tossed it in the ice cream maker and enjoyed it. SO SIMPLE and delicious. I have made chocolate (added 1/3 cup coco)AND mint chocolate chip(I used peppermint extract instead of vanilla and tossed in some chocolate chips) By far my favorite recipe!

Reducing the sugar to ½C. improves the texture, increases the overrun to about 50%, and kills the over-sweet after taste.  Unlike others, I found the recipe's vanilla amount to be perfect once the amount of sugar was reduced.  There were reviewer complaints about a buttery or butterfat taste.  I believe that to be due to trying to dissolve all the sugar without using an ice bath to keep the cream chilled.  The room temperature and the natural temperature rise due to stirring or whisking would warm the cream enough that they were churning butter.  It has happened to me in the past, and is a nasty surprise when butter is not the goal.  Try whisking the sugar into the half-and-half, then stirring in the cream.  This recipe is what ice cream is all about.  Mmmm good!

This ice cream is so easy and has no eggs so you don't have to worry about raw eggs in the ice cream. It is a lot smoother and creamier than other homemade ice creams.

This is an excellent recipe...creamy, smooth and very quick to make. You can use a vanilla bean as well as vanilla extract.  I would suggest letting it get really cold...freeze hard.  Do it ahead, it is best then and holds up very well.  People will think it is a cooked recipe.  Yes, a keeper!

Generally I make a cooked egg custard base which, being a Wisconsinite and hooked on our frozen vanilla custard here, is my preference.  But today I was looking for something simpler, easier and less time-consuming. This was it.  The proportions of whipping cream to half-and-half are a little heavier on the half-and-half than my general preference (2 parts cream, 1 part half-and-half) but the difference here was marginal and might suit better those who prefer a less rich ice cream.  Since I used this as a base for blueberry ice cream (3 cups blueberries macerated with 3/4 cup sugar and the juice of half a lemon, then pureed) I omitted the vanilla.  However, if I was to use this recipe as is, I would still reduce the amount of vanilla somewhat. Even with the addition of the fruit, which often tends to lend some iciness to the ice cream’s texture, this was creamy and smooth. This is a rich and delicious ice cream, a worthy competitor to the cooked custard variety – I *almost* didn’t miss the eggs.

My family loved this ice cream . Having read the other reviews before making the ice cream, I doubled the amount of vanilla . I also added half of a package of instant vanilla pudding because it wasn't quite as thick as I'd have liked it to be.

This was the first recipe my 3 daughters and I tried in our new ice cream maker. It was simple enough for the kids to make and very quick to prepare. In the words of my girls..."This is the best vanilla ice cream we've ever tasted !!!" This is our new choice for vanilla ice cream ! LOVE IT !

It was very simple and easy, however , several family members commented that it tasted like cool whip.

This recipe is not for people watching their fat intake.....It  feels funny in your 
mouth too....and it was not flavorful...I do not recommend this ice cream to anyone.....
sorry....

I used 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup 2% milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, and a pinch salt.  It came out light and delicious -- excellent texture and taste.

quick and easy, I used an icecream mixer. Was ready in about an hour, softserve style. Thanks! Taste great!

this was my first time making ice cream and I was so excited that you didn't have to cook it! It turned out great! This will be my ice cream recipe!

great recipe, easy, fast, and tastes good!

We make this recipe at least once a week in the summer.  To reduce the fat a little we use all half and half.  We vary the flavor by stirring in espresso powder &amp; nutella.  It also tastes great  with fresh raspberries or peaches.

This is my go-to recipe for our handheld ice cream maker. When I had to give up dairy and missed having ice cream, I swapped the cream and half-and-half for chocolate soy milk and coconut or vanilla almond milk (decrease the sugar by 1/4 to 1/2 and omit vanilla). I definitely do NOT feel deprived eating this!

Absolutely delicious!  One member commented that this ice cream is not for those watching their weight.  I used fat free half &amp; half, which helps a little.  No one could tell the difference.  It was just a creamy and easy to make.  This is my Number 1 ice cream recipe that I plan to make over and over and over!  Thanks for sharing!

Yummy!  I traded 1 cup of the half-and-half for 1 cup of coconut milk.  Then added 1/2 cup toasted coconut about half-way through freezing.  

I also melted 1 bar of Ghiradelli 98% coco with 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chips and slowly added that to the mix about 1/2 way through.  Have to keep an eye on it so it doesn't clump, but OMG was it good!

Super Easy! I almost did not miss the eggs.  I do not know why the recipe said to refirgerate before making into ice cream- as it was not heated, I see no value in this step. If you heat ingredients, yes, frigerate to bring back to cold.  I swap whole milk, 2 &amp; 2/2 and heavy cream- whatever I have I use.  With this kind of recipe- it comes out of frig. so what is the point?  Taste it as it is freezing in your maker, if too vanilla for you, add more sugar, if not vanilla enough, add more of that.  I always leave some space in the top of the maker to adjust.  Sometimes I add more milk to soften the blow down of the fat taste.  It will freeze with the reat of it and will churn nicely.  Check it at 20 minutes- it will be well enough along to check the flavor and adjust.  Even if you make this full size- no room for space, there will still be space in a Cusinart ice cream maker to add and adjust. For giggles I tried the vanilla pudding mix in it- mistake, made it grainy.  If I had cooked the pudding and dissolved it, may have been ok. In general, I am not a fan of processed foods and this may be just me going YUCK, don't like the taste of mixes.  I have a robotic pot mixer- NOT the cheap ones on TV, the expensive one by Arndt.  If you get one of those, it is really helpful for making cooked custards as it will still continuously.  thanks for all the posts and the recipe.  Kristy

The flavor is great but the heavy cream makes your lips buttery.

I boosted the servings up to 12 and made a maple-vanilla version of this by adding 3 Tb of maple syrup instead of one of the tablespoons of vanilla and two of the tablespoons of white sugar.  YUM!!

My husband loves to make ice cream and this is how he makes this and it is awesome!!!

Super easy, and tastes great. This recipe is for anyone who is making homemade ice cream for the first time or someone who just doesn't want to be bothered with the eggs. The only thing I'll do different next time is double the recipe!

Delicious!!! fresh and fluffy in my cuisinart ice cream maker.

this ice cream was way to sour for me. i dont think that it doesnt need that much sour cream. but everyone else loved it.

Fixed using all half and half. It tasted very sweet, so next time I might cut back on the sugar. A quick and easy recipe.

This recipe was greasy and turned yellow because of the richness of ingredients with too much butter fat. I would not recommend it to anyone. 

Pretty yummy, but I agree with previous reviews that said it leaves your lips feeling like they are covered in milk fat.  I tried it again with half-and-half and then with milk instead of the cream and it was still creamy but a lot lighter.  We'll use this recipe again with this modification.  One variation we love is to leave out the vanilla and add fresh raspberries at the end... sweet cream with raspberries!  Mmmm!

This was the first recipe I tried in my new ice cream machine. I am 14 and I could do it easily with it still tasting great.

Came out tasty, but I would have liked the texture to have been a bit firmer.  Would make again for an easy, no cook method.  Everyone else said they liked it as well.

Very good recipe, and very quick to mix up.  I added vanilla bean for some extra flavor.

This recipe was very good, I'm use to using eggs in my ice cream so was anxious to try. Used my kitchenaid and it worked great.  I used pure vanilla, and it was to strong for me, so next time will cut it back or maybe try almond ext. I also used 3 cups of whipping cream and 1 cup 2% milk since I didn't have half and half, so it was very creamy.

The flavor of this ice cream was really delicate and sweet. However, I had some problems with the consistency. Yes it's very smooth and creamy but it left a film in my mouth that was a turn-off.

This is a GREAT basic vanilla ice cream recipe.  If you have a stand mixer with the ice cream bowl attachment, it works WONDERS if you chill the ice cream mixture overnight.  Comes out creamy and ready to serve!  Loved it!

This was so tasty!  Very, very easy!  I didn't refrigerate for the three hours as the instructions noted.  This did leave a little waxy feeling on my lips, but that didn't detract from the taste.  I at least doubled the vanilla.

For first time tried this fab receipe, was so easy and tasted just like the Italian home made ice-cream we has on the island off Syros in Greece, have passed it on to many freinds, thanks for making memorys off a fantastic holiday come flooding back into our home.

The taste and texture of this recipe is exactly like vanilla ice cream! The consistency was a little runny but hey, it's a soft serve ice cream maker. I just put it in the freezer for a couple of hours and it was perfect. I think I added more vanilla that the recipe said but it turned out great!

easy like Sunday morning... Well so far any way I have yet to put it in the machine waiting for my three hour chill time. But the taste is great like Dairy Queen. 

I used this recipe to make sugar-free peppermint ice cream, and it was more smooth and creamy than any store-bought ice cream!!!!!

I used this recipe in my CuisineArt ice cream maker.  Very good! So much better than store bought!

We followed this recipe exactly and made it in the ancient ice cream maker I inherited from my grandfather.  It turned out PERFECTLY!  It was exactly as I remembered when my grandfather used to make it.

Nice starter recipe! I used whole milk (1 cup) instead of half and half, and used about 4 tablespoons of brown sugar in place of the white refined sugar (healthier), and I tossed in a couple of fresh chopped up mangos!

A very good ice cream. Texture could of been alittle smoother but the flavor was very good.

It was ok, but not fabulous.  Family liked it ok.

Love this ice cream! Perfect for today's 4th of July celebration. Made it ahead and scalded the half n half as advised in ice cream tips, serving with a slice of strawberry jelley roll.

Wonderful flavor but had a lot of butter fat.

this is great. does kinna taste like wipped cream but like vanilla ice cream too. I loved it. I doubled the recipe for a girls night and added snickers and then put it in the freezer for 1 hour so it wasn't as soft served.

I use skim milk in place of the 1/2 and 1/2 for a little bit lighter ice cream. I've never refridgerated before just pouring into my ice cream maker. My absolute favorite vanilla ice cream. You can also use this as a base for just about any flavor you like--add 1tsp mint and choc chips, or some fresh berries, m&amp;ms, etc.

I vote this #1 for Best Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Of the Year! My daughters did this for a fun activitie and they loved it! We all loved it! I have to admit we made a large bowl of ice cream and it was gone in a matter of minutes! The vanilla is a little plain so we added some toppings like chocolate syrup or carmel but other then that there is nothing to complain about! Good job!

Very good, very fast, very easy - this was my daughter's first experience making homemade ice cream and we both loved it. As for the people worried about fat content, ice cream probably should not be on your menu. Can't wait to try it with chocolate chips!

It was okay, but we found it not to be very flavorful.  It's a quick easy recipe if you need vanilla ice cream for cake, etc.

Great recipe.  Loved the no cooking and ease of recipe.  Had it for a bbq and everyone loved it.  They said it was delicious and creamy.

Not smooth...flavor ok, but nothing special.  VERY easy to make.

Very rich, very good.  We did notice a build up of butterfat on the backs of our spoons when we ate this lovely concoction.  Making ice cream at home is a bit of a chore, but the no cook recipe makes it quite a bit easier.

just made this for the first time...it is awesome.  not too sweet and nice and creamy.  quick and easy!  thanks!

This came together very quickly.  I cut the recipe in half and it came out nicely.  The taste was what I expected which was sweet but not too much so.  I would probably like this better to use as a filling or with add ins.  Just very plain on it's own.  We had it with Brownies and it was very good.  Easy, fast dessert and great way to use up that extra cream and half&amp;half from the holidays.

I used this recipe on the 4th of July to go with homemade pies and it was delicious.  Very easy to make and not a lot of ingredients so the cost was reasonable. I mixed it up the day before which made it quick to make so I got right back to the party.

It was quick and easy, but tasted a little like Cool Whip and doesn't have that wonderful homemade ice cream flavor.  We enjoyed it, but I won't make it again.

MMMM!!! This ice cream is WONDERFUL!! Absolutely delicious.  Very rich and creamy.  Definately a keeper!

This was our first time trying to make ice cream from scratch.  Very easy and made enough for 1 gallon(16 servings)!  I did powdered my sugar in the blender then added it with the 1/2 &amp; 1/2. Mixed all the ingredients and put in the fridg till I was ready to put it in the ice cream maker.  I froze my canister that goes in the wooden tub and it only took me 35 min to process.  KEEPER for sure.

I doubled the recipe, used just under 2 cups of sugar total, and froze it in a stand mixer with some dry ice. If you haven't tried using it, do so ASAP. It had better consistency than any homemade ice cream I've ever tasted previously. Not only that, but if served immediately, the ice cream will be slightly carbonated, which sounds and IS weird, but is also incredible. This recipe is simple, can be customized endlessly to suit your needs, and will give you a good amount of ice cream. But seriously, you'll never want to use an ice cream maker again after trying dry ice cream.

My ice cream maker had a hard time freezing this. I do though think that it was the ice cream makers fault not the mix. I still haven't found my go to recipe for vanilla ice cream but I found I liked this one more then the cooked versions out there. I don't know if I'll try it again but it tasted good. 

I just bought a Cuisinart ice cream maker.  This recipe is super easy.  I cut down on the sugar to a little over 1/2 cup on my second try.  If it is still sweet enough, I will reduce it to 1/2 cup.  This is a great recipe if you don't want all the fuss of a long list of ingredients.  Will add cocoa next time for chocolate ice cream.

I used half low fat milk and half whipping cream.  the result was cool whip.

I never knew 4 ingredient ice cream could be so good! So simple and it goes great with pie or cake. Will definitely make again

We used two quarts of our own fresh Jersey cream, subbed one cup of honey for the sugar, one tablespoon of vanilla. Using all cream made it very rich but the reduced amount of sweetener was perfect. I love the simplicity of mixing it up and only three ingredients.

Just tried the recipe as written this week.... this is now my new homemade ice cream go to recipe. So simple and perfectly delicious!

I followed the advice of one reviewer and used less sugar; I also, as suggested by another reviewer, whisked the sugar into the half-and-half until it was dissolved so that the heavy cream didn't get too whipped before putting in the ice cream maker.  Served this just the other day at our Independence Day party... it was a big hit!  I will definitely make this again!

Made it tonight! Reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup and I can't imagine how it would taste if I had used the full amount. Perfect sweetness. Also substituted 1/2 cup of the whipping cream with whole milk.

It is easy and creamy, however it is not ice cream! It taste like frozen whip cream the recipe has been altered by many reviews so they must feel the same.

This is my go to ice cream rescipe! I work for an airline and I made this for my employees all summer!!!!

I have made this with outstanding results. The flavor is so much better than store bought. The only difference I made was to combine the sugar with just the half and half with a pinch of salt first, then adding the heavy cream. Be patient when resolving the sugar so you don't make butter. Let the liquid sit and just stir as needed, and definitely chill well before adding to your ice cream machine. Mine makes soft serve in 40-50 minutes, depending on how humid my kitchen is. I plan on playing with different extracts and add-ins next.

I mixed the sugar first with the half-and-half before adding the heavy whipping cream.  I think too much agitation of the heavy whipping cream might make it separate.  Just before the ice cream maker finished, I added some frozen peach compote I had made earlier.  It was fabulous.  I will continue to use this as my ice cream base.

Nice to have a recipe without using the stove that I can make with my 4 year old.   We did change the receipe a bit.  To cut back on sugar, we used 1/4 c sugar and 1/2 tsp powdered stevia to sweeten.   We will make it again.

Added vanilla bean to the mix, i also did not have half and half so I used whole milk as a substitute for the half and half. It came out great. This was my first attempt at making ice cream. Highly recommend

Very fattening recipe. No No. Better off getting a Starbucks of your choice of latte for your family, one time.

My Cuisinart ice cream machine came with a recipe similar to this, but less fat involved. It contains 1 cup milk in place of the 2 cups of half &amp; half. This might work better for those who think this recipe tasted too buttery or fatty. I also used 1 T. vanilla powder instead of extract; it was excellent that way.

I made it once and everyone commented that it tasted like Frusen Glädjé, an American ice cream company that went out of business years ago.  The ice cream was delicious, if a bit on the sweet side.  Next time I make this one, I'll reduce the sugar by about a quarter of a cup.  Other than that, it was amazing.  Texture, creaminess, everything was just lovely.

I made this for Thanksgiving and my family loved it! Thank you for sharing! This is my ice cream recipe for now on, so easy and so good!

No need to cook on the stovetop, temper eggs or make a ton of dirty dishes.  Because of that, I LOVE how easy this recipe is.  That being said,  it was a very basic flavor, a little icy, and I did experience that "waxy" feel on my lips afterwards.  Not horrible, but not outstanding either.  Would make again when I am feeling lazy and want something quick.

Wonderful. I've made 3 batches now. First one as-is, 2nd one I added some finely chopped chocolate to make chocolate chip and the 3rd time, I used all half and half. Learn from my goof - that turned out very tasty, probably a little less in calories, but very much like "ice milk" which used to be sold in markets. I'm a dinosaur and remember that product. Even less than desired using all half and half, that was still far better than that ice milk product in stores years ago.  I have a Cuisinart  "21" ice cream maker. A full recipe does fit, but it oozes up into the top of the plastic container. I've since opted in doing it in half batches. Thanks for a terrific recipe, Ginger!

I have a great vanilla custard recipe that tastes just like Dairy Queen ice cream.... but I made this recipe today (and talk about as easy as it gets!) and my husband said, "This is just as good as the custard!" So...... why would I go thru all the trouble of custard if this tastes just as good?! It was very VERY good.

This is the best and easiest recipe. So rich and creamy.  LOVE THIS RECIPE.

I made by the recipe snd it was good. I tweaked it and it was fantastic. I used 4 cups of half and half 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons of vanilla and 1/2 of a package of instant vanilla pudding.  4 of us ate it and all agreed it was the best we have ever had!

I have kids with nut allergies so we make ice cream a lot...this is a great tasting easy recipe...thank you!

This is the quickest, easiest ice cream recipe and the results are always delicious.  While I personally prefer the richer, creamier taste of a custard-based ice cream, my husband and kids say this is the best ice cream they've ever tasted.  I do change a couple of things -- first, I use maple syrup instead of sugar.  Just whisk it into the cream and half and half and it is ready to go.  Since the mixture is already cold (I store the maple syrup in the fridge too), I don't bother with refrigerating it but just pour it into my ice cream maker.  The maple flavor is rich without being overpowering.  I also use about a tsp of vanilla because the maple is the main flavor.  So easy and a really great treat without all of the added ingredients, colorings, flavorings, etc. in store bought ice cream.

Added chocolate chips and made ice-cream sandwiches with graham wafers.  Best ice-cream treat I've had in a long time.  The neighbourhood kids keep asking for more.

This is a excellent recipe and can be easily adjusted to any taste by varying the ratio of Heavy Cream to Half &amp; Half. Plus you can mix in your own favorites such as Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Turned out tasting exactly like coolwhip. Really good cool whip though. .

Fantastic recipe! Added puréed peaches and it was a hit!

We loved it!  We did FF 1/2 n 1/2 with the heavy cream...a tad less sugar and a tad extra vanilla.  It was sooooooo good!  Thanks for the easy Greet recipe!

Great ice-cream I made it with Habanero peppers hot ice cream up next the viper pepper icecream

Very good! I added about 1 tsp more of vanilla extract. Creamy and very easy to make.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Servings: 5

Author : Ginger

Ingredients

Instructions

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