No-Churn Ice Cream

You don’t need an ice cream maker to make ice cream. But you do need to know how to mimic one. An ice cream maker accomplishes two things at once: freezing and aerating the ice cream base. Freezing makes the mixture scoopable (instead of pourable), while aerating makes the mixture fluffy (instead of rock-hard).

The most common no-churn method uses sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream. The former acts as a custard-like base, while the latter adds air. But there are other ways to get creative: You freeze an ice cream base until slushy (2 to 3 hours), stir it up, then continue freezing. You can also freeze an ice cream base completely, break it up into chunks, then whip these until fluffy in a food processor like in this no-churn peach ice cream.

Pros: No special equipment needed. No-churn ice cream recipes are great if you’re in a small kitchen with limited appliances—or, ahem, if you forgot to freeze the bowl for your ice cream maker (me, all the time).

Cons: Because these ice creams are creatively—not technically—“churned,” they get harder and icier quicker. If you make a batch, try to eat it as soon as possible (maybe this isn’t such a bad thing after all).

Basic ratio: 2 cups heavy cream, 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt.

Vanilla Ice Cream (Basic Recipe - use for variations below)

2 cups (454g) heavy cream
14-ounce can (397g) sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
pinch of table salt

King Arthur Instructions: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and salt on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Scrape the filling into a pan. Freeze until firm, approximately 6 hours.

I watched a video where they whipped the cream until soft peaks formed, added vanilla [and salt] and whipped to stiff peaks, added the condensed milk and whipped again, The suggested ratio was 2 parts heavy cream to 1 part condensed milk, for example 1 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup condensed milk. They warned about adding more condensed milk. The recipe above uses the correct ratio.

This may add more air than the traditional method below:

Other Recipes - Same ingredients, but use different instructions. These are the most common instructions.

In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or a stand mixer to whip the cream until stiff peaks occur, be careful not to over whip so you get chips of butter. The cream will be done when you pull the beaters out and the cream stands at attention.

In another large bowl, whisk the vanilla and salt into the sweetened condensed milk. Gently fold in the whipped cream with a spatula, slowly incorporating the two mixtures together so it stays light and aerated.

Gently fold in other ingredients.

Storage:

Freeze for at least 8 hours.

Use a freezer-safe container with a tight-fitting lid. Loaf pans (metal or glass) are a popular choice, especially if you line them with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Other use the plastic quart container with lids. Fill the container as full as possible to reduce the amount of air inside, which can lead to ice crystals forming and affecting the texture. For loaf pans, pressing plastic wrap or parchment paper directly onto the surface of the ice cream can help prevent ice crystal formation and freezer burn.

While no-churn ice cream can be stored for several weeks or even months, it's best enjoyed within a week or two for optimal flavor and texture.

Tips:

Creating Swirls, Ripples and Marble Looks in the Ice Cream:

Caramel or Fudge Sauce Swirled - you can swirl caramel, or fudge sauce (or any sauce) into the loaf pan. You can create beautiful caramel or fudge ripples using Caramel or Hot Fudge Sauce. Put some vanilla ice cream, about 1/3 recipe, into a loaf pan, then add 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat layers twice more. Use a knife and gently zig-zag it through to create swirls. If you over-swirl, your base will turn into that flavor.
Also see Blueberry Swirled Ice Cream below.

Marbled Look: For a marbled look, gently fold the blackberry sauce (or other sauce) into the cream mixture just a few times. Over-mixing will blend the colors and flavors too much.

Recipes

Chocolate Ice Cream: Easy Chocolate Ice Cream
       - Malted milk chocolate ice cream - add 6 tablespoons of malted milk powder to the chocolate version for a very nostalgic soda shop
      milkshake feel.
No-Churn Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Maple Brown Butter Walnut Ice Cream (no-churn)
Rhubarb Ice Cream (no-churn)

Strawberry Ice Cream

Recipe is basically the same as for Vanilla Ice Cream above.

Strawberry Puree: 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 lb strawberries, stems removed and sliced, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/3 c sugar, more or less for desired sweetness

Add sliced strawberries, sugar and lemon juice to a medium bowl and toss. Mash the berries well or pulse in a food processor until smooth with some lumps or small pieces here and there.

Gently add the strawberries to the condensed milk, vanilla, a pinch of salt, and whipped cream mixture. Transfer the mixture to a freezer safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours or until frozen.

- The only major issue I have had with making this No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream with chunks of strawberries is that sometimes all the chunks settle together in big chunks. If you leave chunks in your ice cream, stir the ice cream after it has been able to set for about an hour or so to try and spread them out.
- Strawberry ice cream doesn’t necessarily mean pink ice cream. You can add a drop or two of red food coloring if you want a richer pink color. There are lots of natural food colorings out there as well if you prefer the pink but don’t want the dyes.

Blackberry

2 pounds fresh blackberries [is this right? 7.5 - 8 cups?], 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

In a small saucepan, combine the fresh blackberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries break down and the mixture becomes syrupy, about 10-15 minutes. Once cooked, use a fork to roughly mash up the whole blackberries. Allow to completely cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to whip 2 cups of heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla into the whipped cream, being careful not to deflate the cream. Fold in the cooled blackberry puree until the mixture is well combined but still has streaks of puree, giving it a marbled effect.
Can add slivered chocolate

Blueberry Swirl

1 cup/140g blueberries
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries and sugar with 1 tablespoon water and smash with a potato masher. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and cook until the blueberries are broken down and the liquid has thickened until syrupy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Blend the mixture with an immersion blender, then transfer to a heat proof container and refrigerate until completely cold. When the blueberry mixture is cold, make the base.

To assemble: Spoon 1/3 of the base into a loaf pan, then spoon 1/3 of the blueberry mixture over the top. Use a skewer to swirl the blueberry into the base. Repeat 2 more times with the remaining base and blueberries. Loosely cover the pan then freeze until firm, 6 hours or overnight.

Banana Ice Cream

Add 2 - 3 mashed large overripe bananas (1 1/2 cup) and 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional) to the condensed milk base. Fold in the whipped cream. Freeze.
Chunky Monkey - another famous flavor from Ben & Jerry’s. As you can probably guess from its name, it’s made with a base of banana ice cream filled with fudge chunks and walnuts. I would do a fudge swirl.

Apple Cinnamon

2-3 medium apples, peeled, cored and cubed, 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 cup brown sugar.

In a medium saucepan, cook the apples, butter, cinnamon and brown sugar over medium low heat. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the apples are softened. Allow to cool. Once the apples are cooled, mix in 1 tsp. vanilla. Fold into base recipe and freeze.

Caramel Apple Ice Cream Recipe: Craving caramel apples? Fold in some cold caramel sauce while mixing in the apples to get another fantastic ice cream variation. Or it could be swirled in once placed in the pan.

Pina Colada Ice Cream

1/2 cup shredded coconut toasted
2 cups heavy cream
1 can coconut milk (approximately 13.5 ounces) [coconut cream?]
1 Tablespoon pineapple juice (optional – brine from canned works well)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 cup diced pineapple (pineapple chunks, canned or fresh) [I would chop up]

Whip the cream. Combine the coconut milk, pineapple juice, vanilla, and salt in a small bowl. [Could add a couple of tablespoons of rum at this point.] Stir to combine. Fold some whipped cream in, then fold into the rest of the whipped cream. Pour into a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Cover the pan and freeze until partially set, approximately 2 1/2 hours. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and gently fold in the pineapple chunks and toasted coconut. Cover again and return to freezer until fully set, approximately 2-3 hours more.

You can add the pineapple and coconut before freezing, however it is likely to sink because of the weight compared to the thin mixture. Freezing the ice cream for a few hours gives it some strength to help hold up the mix ins.

Salted caramel

For the Salted Caramel Sauce (makes about 1 1/2 cups, recipe uses 1 cup? 1/2 cup for drizzling on top?):

1 1/2 cups (300g) sugar, 1 1/2 cups (375ml / 12 fl oz) heavy whipping cream, 90g (6 tablespoons / 3oz) unsalted butter, cubed, 3/4 teaspoon table salt.

Place the sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Don't stir the sugar. After about 3 minutes or so, the sugar will begin to melt around the sides. Use a whisk or a heat-proof spatula to stir the sugar so it all melts or swirl the saucepan around. When it foams in the middle and small bubbles appear, add 1/3 of the cream and whisk the mixture continuously. DO NOT ADD ALL THE CREAM AT ONCE! It will bubble up and steam, but just keep whisking it. Then add a little more cream and continue whisking.

Take the saucepan off the heat and add the remaining cream. Whisk until it’s well combined. Add the butter and whisk again to combine everything. Finally add the salt and whisk again. When it cools a bit, you can taste it to see if you want to add more salt. Pour the caramel into a bowl to cool completely. Set aside to cool.

This is drizzled in the freezer pan with the base: 1/3 base, 1/3 cup salted caramel. Add two more layers like this. Swirl the caramel through.

Dulce de Leche

2 cups of whipping cream, 1 – 13.4 oz. can of Dulce de Leche, and that's it. Whip the 2 together and freeze.

Another recipe: 2 cups heavy cream, 1 Tbsp vanilla extract, 2 Tbsp espresso powder (optional), 14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 can, 13.4 oz Dulce de Leche 1 can.
Make the base the same way adding the espresso powder. This recipe swirls the Dulce de Leche into the freezer pan in layers, 1 third condensed milk and whipped cream mixture, layer on 1/3 Dulce de Leche, then 1 third the base recipe, 1/3 Dulce de Leche, then 1 more layer of each.

Mint or mint chocolate chip

America's Test Kitchens used 3/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract (and a 2 - 3 drops of green food coloring to really drive home the mint idea), but others, like a recipe at Serious Eats steeps fresh mint in the heavy cream that has just been brought to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add 3/4 cup, loosely-packed mint leaves. Steep for 2 hours then strain pressing on the leaves to extract more flavor.

Other Possible Flavors

Fruit Flavors:

Cherry - Fold in 3 cups pureed tart pitted cherries into the base with the whipped cream.
Cherry Garcia - When it first came out, it started off as cherry vanilla ice cream but today, it’s made with cherry ice cream mixed in with cherry bits and chocolate flakes.
Peach - 1 1/2  cups chopped fresh peaches folded in
Pineapple - 16 ounces Pineapple (fresh or frozen) measured, then pureéd in food processor, 2 cups heavy whipping cream chilled, 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk (1 can), 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed

Butterscoth, Caramel type:
Butterscotch
Turtle / Caramel Pecan - chocolate and caramel swirls and toasty pecans

Nuts:

Coconut - shreds of coconut, coconut milk, and coconut cream. 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup coconut cream (NOT coconut milk), 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional). Whip the cream. In a large bowl combine your condensed milk, coconut cream, and salt (not coconut). Once combined, fold in your whipped cream. Freeze. Toast the coconut and add to dishes of ice cream.
Could add coconut flavored rum. Instead of just serving with the toasted coconut, I would add coconut chopped fine in a food processor. I found one recipe that did this. No sure if it would give it a gritty texture.

Pistachio - almond paste?, pale green color
Chocolate almond

Coffee:

Coffee - Perfect as an after-dinner indulgence
Mocha - chocolate and coffee - Whisk in 1/3 cup cocoa powder and 2 Tbsp. instant espresso coffee powder in with the condensed milk.

Eggnog

Rum raisin - raisins are soaked in rum

Dr. Pepper Flavor (or Root Beer)

No instructions were given:
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
12 ounces Dr. Pepper, cold
2 cups cold heavy cream

One suggestion, make a Dr. Pepper or Root Beer reduction by simmering root beer until it thickens and concentrates. Place 2 cups of Dr. Pepper or root beer in a saucepan and set over high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium to simmer until the root beer is reduced to approximately 1/2 cup. Pour into a mason jar and place in the fridge to cool before using in this recipe. (Don't use the full 1/2 cup, just a few tablespoons as needed. Or you could use Soda Fountain Root Beer Syrup.) Ensure the ingredients are well-chilled before mixing to prevent the ice cream from melting too quickly. To avoid a grainy or icy texture in your no-churn ice cream, ensure your root beer is thoroughly de-carbonated.

Someone experimented with reducing the root beer down: "When I boiled it (Barq's) down the rootbeer flavor almost disappeared and all I tasted was sweet. While I was reducing I left a small glass of Barq's on the counter to let some of the carbonation escape, and while it didn't have as much bite as the cold carbonated rootbeer, it had a lot more flavor than the reduced syrup."

Root Beer Ice Cream CHURNED! from https://feelslikehomeblog.com/ but gives you some idea. Delicious with cream soda, birch beer, black cherry, orange (Creamsicle), etc.

24 ounces root beer let it sit in a bowl for a couple of hours or stir it to make it flat
1 cups whole milk
1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk

Prepare your ice cream maker ahead of time. Mine has to freeze for 24 hours prior to use, so I don't start the next step until it's well frozen.

Whisk all three ingredients in a bowl, and then chill them in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. They must be very very cold before you add them to your ice cream machine.

Pour the chilled mixture into your prepared ice cream maker.

Let the ice cream machine work for 20-30 minutes, or until it shuts itself off or the ice cream is frozen.

Ice cream out of an ice cream machine has a soft serve consistency. If you want harder ice cream, spoon it into an airtight ice cream container and freeze for 2-4 hours.