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Homemade Ice Cream Recipe with Only 2 Ingredients

4.56 from 1345 votes
This is the easiest Homemade Ice Cream recipe because you only need 2 Ingredients and no ice cream machine. Plus, you'll find 50+ ice cream flavor ideas!
6 quarts of different 2 ingredient ice cream flavors made without an ice cream machine

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Hi Bold Bakers!

You don’t need an expensive ice cream machine to enjoy homemade ice cream. I’ll show you the easiest way to make ice cream at home. My two-ingredient, no-machine ice cream recipe is easy to whip up and so versatile. And finding your next go-to ice cream recipe will not be a challenge – I have 50+ ice cream flavors and dozens of frozen desserts at my Gemma’s Freezer Section Ice Cream Destination

Homemade Ice Cream with Only Two Ingredients

My easy homemade ice cream recipe requires just two simple ingredients – heavy whipping cream and sweetened condensed milk. Heavy Whipping Cream is readily available in the United States, and it’s referred to as Whipping/Double Cream in Britain, Slagroom in the Netherlands, and Whipped Cream or Heavy Cream in the Philippines. There is also a heat-treated cream from Nestle in large parts of Asia.

In parts of South East Asia and the Philippines, there is a Nestle product, which is called whipping cream. It is made from milk powder and milk fats. It is good for some applications, such as no-bake cheesecakes, but not for this ice cream.

Heavy Whipping Cream for my 2 Ingredient Homemade Ice Cream Recipe!

Top Tips for Making Homemade Ice Cream

1. Using & Making Sweetened Condensed Milk

Condensed milk is cow’s milk with the water content evaporated off and is the second ingredient in my homemade ice cream. The thick and syrupy milk acts as a sweetener and softens the ice cream, allowing for easier scooping. To make your ice cream less sweet, you can use low-fat or fat-free condensed milk. When making homemade condensed milk, you can replace sugar with alternatives such as honey, agave nectar, and maple syrup. Other sugar alternatives may not work if they are unable to caramelize. Learn more about sweetened condensed milk and sugar alternatives with my simple Homemade Condensed Milk recipe.

Sweetened Condensed Milk recipe

2. Can I Replace Heavy Cream With Milk?

Most of my recipes, including this no-churn ice cream, use fresh dairy cream skimmed from full-fat cow’s milk. At 35% or more fat content, it will whip up well. A liquid cream, found in most chill aisles of grocery stores in the US, and in Europe, it will spoil in a few days even when refrigerated due to a lack of artificial additives. Heavy cream is essential in this recipe and cannot be replaced with milk. In countries where there is no dairy industry, this may be difficult to find. Buffalo milk produces a really good high-fat cream and will be perfect for this.

There are manufactured products, made with milk powders and fats, in places where there is no dairy industry. Although good for some recipes, they are not the fresh cream required in my homemade ice cream recipe.

A spoon taking out ice cream from a bowl

3. How to Make Vanilla Ice Cream & 50+ Flavors

To make my homemade ice cream recipe without an ice cream machine, you start by whipping up cold heavy cream for about 2-3 minutes until the cream forms soft peaks. Once whipped, you add in your condensed milk. Ensure that both ingredients are very cold when you combine them so they come together in a perfect marriage. Add in your vanilla extract, which is optional, at this stage and whip until you have stiff peaks, about 2-3 minutes. Vanilla extract supports the sweetened condensed milk in keeping your ice cream scoopable after it freezes. The alcohol found in extracts keeps the ice cream from freezing hard and makes it soft enough to scoop into your favorite bowl.

Click here to get the full, printable, Vanilla Ice Cream recipe.

With just this base, you’ll be able to make an endless supply of homemade ice cream flavors! It’s also a vanilla ice cream recipe and a blank canvas to make more than fifty of my favorite flavors, all found on my Gemma’s Freezer Section Ice Cream Destination. From classic vanilla, strawberry and chocolate to pistachio kulfi, strawberry cheesecake, Cookies & Cream, tiramisu and green tea, I’ve made a countless variety of ice creams.

Top-down view of 6 difference homemade ice cream flavors

4. How to Store Ice Cream at Home?

Vanilla extract keeps your ice cream from freezing too hard. If you omit vanilla extract, you can leave your ice cream at room temperature for about 15 minutes to make it more scoopable. Store your ice cream in an airtight container for up to six weeks. Try these frozen dessert containers to store your ice cream flavors.

5. How to Make Dairy-Free Homemade Ice Cream

Don’t eat dairy? Not a problem! You can make my homemade ice cream completely dairy-free with full-fat coconut milk and vegan condensed milk. Learn more about my dairy-free coconut ice cream recipe.

Pro Chef Secrets To Making Ice Cream at Home:

  1. The cream you must use for my 2 ingredient ice cream is high-fat whipping cream. Cream with 38% fat content or higher is perfect! Often called ‘heavy whipping cream,’ this is the best choice to use for my ice cream. It will double in volume and hold stiff peaks. You can find fat percentages on the carton of cream.
  2. Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold cream on medium/high speed until SOFT PEAKS form, roughly 3 minutes. You are looking for just thickened cream at this point that is not too firm.
  3. Cold condensed milk is a key ingredient and there is no substitute. It makes the ice cream softer and scoopable. You can use fat-free or low sugar if you wish. You can also easily make your own at home with my Sweetened Condensed Milk recipe.
  4. After you add the condensed milk, whip the mix on high speed to STIFF PEAKS–that means they will hold their shape and will be firmer than before. Take care not to over-whip at this stage or your cream will curdle.
  5. Add in a little vanilla extract at the end. The alcohol in the extract will lower the freezing point making your ice cream a little softer and easier to scoop. (Think about a bottle of vodka in the freezer?! It doesn’t freeze!)

 

Watch The Recipe Video!

Homemade Ice Cream with only 2 Ingredients (No Machine)

4.56 from 1345 votes
Learn how to make homemade ice cream with my easy 2-ingredient ice cream recipe - no ice cream machine required - and enjoy any flavor you want!
Author: Gemma Stafford
Servings: 3 pints
Prep Time 20 mins
Chilling Time 6 hrs
Learn how to make homemade ice cream with my easy 2-ingredient ice cream recipe - no ice cream machine required - and enjoy any flavor you want!
Author: Gemma Stafford
Servings: 3 pints

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place sweetened condensed milk in the fridge to keep cold.
  • Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold cream on medium/high speed until soft peaks form.
  • Turn off the machine and pour the cold condensed milk into the whipped cream.
  • Turn the speed up to high and whisk until the mixture is thick and stiff peaks form. Turn off the machine and stir in vanilla extract (optional).

Making Homemade Ice Cream Flavors

  • Now you have your ice cream base you can add in your desired flavors and fixing. GO NUTS! Try my 50+ ice cream flavors at my
    Gemma's Freezer Section
    or experiment with your own flavors and enjoy creating something that is all you. Generally, use two cups of ice cream base and add mix-ins to create your flavors.
  • Once you finish creating your flavors, transfer your ice cream mixture to an airtight container and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight before eating.
  • Keep stored in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

Enjoy A Few Initial Flavor Ideas:

  • Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream: Mix 1 cup cheesecake into 2 cups ice cream base and add strawberry puree
  • Honeycomb Ice Cream: Mix ½ cup crushed
    Honeycomb into 2 cups ice cream base. Don't add too much as it will make your ice cream soft but very yummy.
  • Cookies and Cream Ice Cream: Mix ⅔ cup crushed Oreo Cookies into 2 cups ice cream base
  • Mango Ice Cream: Swirl ¼ cup mango puree into 2 cups ice cream base
  • Rainbow Cake Ice Cream: Mix 1 cup frosted Rainbow cake into 2 cups ice cream base
  • Birthday Cake Ice Cream: Mix 1 cup frosted Funfetti cake (or cupcake) into 2 cups ice cream base

Recipe Notes

Get 50+ ice cream flavors at my Gemma's Freezer Section Ice Cream Destination.
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Sue
Sue
3 years ago

I made ice cream using this recipe for the first time yesterday. I made it in the morning and we had the most delicious ice cream for dessert that evening! This makes a large amount of ice cream base, so I made three different flavors from the base recipe – Peanut Butter cup (by rough chopping several peanut butter cups and blending into 1/3 of the base recipe), Chocolate Chip Cookie (by rough chopping some chocolate chip cookies I had made just the day before to another 1/3 of the base) and Mint Chocolate Chip – my favorite! – by… Read more »

Noelia garcia
Noelia garcia
2 years ago

Hi Gemma I turned 14 yesterday but I just wanted to say that Ie used your recipes for years I want to thank you for sharing them and helping me make delicious recipes for my family. Also can you try to make a recipe for ube icecream just out of random. Thank you in advance!!

Stephanie
Stephanie
2 years ago

I had to make it without vanilla, and with only 15 percent fat cream (all I could find in the store in Spain during Corina quarantine) but still it turned out PERFECT and delicious. Thank you!

Paula Mehigan
Paula Mehigan
2 years ago

Hi Gemma my name is Paula from Dublin. I love your site and yesterday made pistachio and raspberry with white chocolate. I nearly ate all of it before freezing 😂. However when frozen it was not scoopable……. any idea where I went wrong… thanks

Tuti
Tuti
2 years ago

Fun to make in particular now when we all stuck in the house due to Corona virus carfew.

Rachel
Rachel
3 years ago

Hi Gemma,

I hace tried to do your recipe several times, but with no success since I can’t find the right whipping cream in my country. Today I bought a french whipping cream with 35% fat. Will that work?

Louise
Louise
2 years ago

This recipe was amazing I made Oreo,chocolate chip, birthday cake and vanillaI used double cream and it was so creamy and I left it over night.

Brendan
Brendan
3 years ago

Hi Gemma,

Will this work with a cake mixer? I don’t have a stand mixer!

Thanks!

Fauzy Wan
Fauzy Wan
3 years ago

Hello Gemma, I love your 2 ingredients ice cream recipe, I wonder if you have something similar for making frozen custard. I would like to venture and try making frozen custard either plain or flavored. Any suggestions??

Rebecca Barnett
Rebecca Barnett
3 years ago

Okay, was so amazed at just how easy this was. I made it three different ways. I made it with coconut milk, whole non-homogenized cream from the cow. And I did goats milk with a vegan thickener. They all came out wonderful. A little soft on the goats milk but still tasty. The home made sweetened condensed milk was so quick and easy I made a ton and canned it, which went surprisingly well. Thank you for all the recipes!

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About Us

Meet Gemma

About Us

Meet Gemma

Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, a cookbook author, and the creator of Bigger Bolder Baking. I want to help you bake with confidence anytime, anywhere with my trusted and tested recipes and baking tips. You may have seen one of my 500+ videos on YouTube & TikTok or as a guest judge on Nailed It! on Netflix or the Best Baker in America on Food Network. No matter your skills, my Bold Baking Team & I want to be your #1 go-to baking authority.

 

Weeknight Family Favorites Chapter from the Bigger Bolder Baking Every Day Cookbook