Easy Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe (No Cooking Required!)

This easy vanilla ice cream recipe requires no eggs or cooking, so it's quick to make. Depending on how long your ice cream machine takes to stir, you can have your ice cream ready in as little as 15 minutes!

(If you want to try a recipe that starts with an egg custard, try this step-by-step ice cream recipe.)

The 4 simple ingredients for homemade vanilla ice cream

Only four ingredients are needed for this vanilla ice cream recipe: milk, cream, SugarAnd Vanilla. Since this recipe is all about vanilla, it's best to use the best pure vanilla extract you can find and stay away from imitation vanilla.

To really take your vanilla ice cream to the next level, you can substitute a vanilla bean for the vanilla extract. Here's how it works: Use a paring knife to halve a vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and add to the cream, milk and sugar together with the pod. Place the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (preferably overnight). Remove the pod and freeze your ice cream as you normally would.

Creamy ice cream without vanilla sauce

Most ice cream recipes use egg yolks for flavor and color and to prevent ice crystallization, making the ice cream creamier. In eggless ice cream recipes like this one, you get the same creaminess by using whole milk.

While any type of milk will work, the extra butterfat in whole milk (as well as cream!) helps preserve the texture of your ice cream while it's stored in the freezer. For example, an ice cream with 1 percent milk can become a bit too icy after two days in the freezer. While it still tastes great, the texture might be a little disappointing.

Here's how to make this easy ice cream

Preparing this ice cream is as simple as dissolving sugar in milk, then whisking in the heavy cream and vanilla, then transferring all of the ice cream to your ice cream maker to mix according to your machine's directions.

For ice cream recipes that start with a custard, you usually need to store the finished mix in the fridge before adding it to the ice cream maker. However, as this is a no-boil recipe, the milk and cream should still be cold enough to go straight to mixing the base and stirring, which can only take 15 minutes!

Keep in mind that right after stirring, your ice cream will have the consistency of soft serve. If you want hard ice cream, put it in the freezer for a few hours to help it firm up. While this may delay your homemade treat a bit, this recipe's ease of preparation is still worth it.

Tips for the best vanilla ice cream

• Cool your tools: Store your ice cream maker bowl in the freezer to speed up the freezing process for your ice cream.
• Don't whip it up too much: Do not over-whip the mixture after adding the cream. You shouldn't whip too much air into the mixture before it goes into the ice cream maker, otherwise the texture of the finished product will be altered.
• Wander long enough: If you find your ice is getting too hard or has large ice crystals, try stirring the mixture longer. Every machine is different, so you may need to experiment to find the sweet spot.