8 No-Churn Ice Cream Recipes That Are Unbelievably Easy to Make
A scoop of ice cream is welcome any time of year, but especially during the hot summer months. And while going to your favorite ice cream shop or grabbing a pint at the grocery store is great, there's something extra special about enjoying the frozen treat when you've made it from scratch. If you don't own an ice cream maker, you can still make delicious homemade ice cream. You just need one of these no-churn ice cream recipes. Or, there's even a fun way to make ice cream using a mason jar that's incredibly easy. In these no-churn recipes, you can whip up flavorful frozen desserts in your own kitchen without any fancy equipment.
Carson Downing
Pick-a-Flavor No-Churn Ice Cream
You may know sweetened condensed milk as a key to creating sweet dulce de leche desserts, but have you ever used it as a base for no-churn ice cream? Start now with this ridiculously easy three-ingredient base recipe that only needs a loaf pan ($7, Bed Bath & Beyond) or a couple pint-size containers for freezing. Customize with any mix-ins your heart desires or use some of our flavor variations (think salted mocha, birthday cake, and lavender) to get your creative juices flowing.
Andy Lyons
Coconut Stracciatella Ice Cream
Canned coconut milk is so thick you don’t even need to churn it to score an ice cream-like texture. For this no-churn vegan-friendly ice cream recipe, pulse vanilla-infused coconut milk in a food processor with enough milk to achieve your desired consistency. And since “stracciatella” is an icy Italian creation that features flakes of chocolate, shower your scoop with a super easy-to-make, all-natural chocolate drizzle. Just melt dark chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave for 30 seconds!
Philip Ficks
Peppermint Candy Ice Cream
Make store-bought vanilla taste entirely DIY by stirring in refreshing candy shop favorites such as white chocolate and peppermints. While this is festive for Christmas, we devour it during the sweltering summer months to help cool off, too.
Blaine Moats
Green Tea Ice Cream
If you prefer matcha green tea lattes over coffee-based lattes in the morning, this is the ice cream for you. Adding some powdered matcha ($10, Amazon) to this no-churn ice cream base gives it a sweet green tea flavor and a healthy boost of antioxidants.
Karla Conrad
Raspberry Sorbet
For a dairy-free delight, combine fresh fruit (raspberries, mangoes, watermelon, cranberries, or strawberries would all work wonderfully) with citrus juice, sugar, and water. Then all that’s left to do is blend, strain, freeze, and scoop.
Blaine Moats
Non-Dairy Banana Ice Cream
Put those ripe bananas to good use. This dairy-free ice cream (aka nice cream) is made with just frozen bananas, unsweetened coconut milk, and vanilla. Oh, and the riper the fruit, the sweeter the results! Freeze for four hours post-blend so the dessert reaches a scoopable state. Get creative by tossing in one or more of the following: 1 cup fresh berries, ¼ cup nut butter, or 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder.
Blaine Moats
Lemon-Avocado Sherbet
Guac is good, but you know what’s even better? Using avocados along with cream, powdered sugar, and lemon, to make a custardlike sherbet. The green fruit’s mild flavor soaks up plenty of lemon goodness and tastes incredible garnished with fresh mint leaves. Blending the creamy fruit with sweetened condensed milk makes a gelato-like treat in our avolato recipe.
Andy Lyons
Raspberry-Chocolate Frozen Dessert
Almond milk, egg yolks, and cornstarch stand in for cream as the custard base for this loaf pan berry-chocolate mashup. To sweeten things up, stir in half a cup of honey. The liquid sweetener packs more of a punch than sugar, so you need less for the same effect.
Make sure you store homemade ice cream in an airtight container like these StarPack Home Ice Cream Freezer Storage Containers ($18, Amazon). You can also press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface of your ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming. If your sweet tooth is calling for something beyond ice cream and you don't want to turn on the oven, whip up a delicious no-bake dessert such as this easy chocolate mousse.
