Having a good, easy, satisfying no-churn homemade vanilla ice cream recipe in your back pocket is what I consider a life essential.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t turn my nose up at any kind of ice cream, especially vanilla. It’s so versatile! It’s perfect on pies and cake, in milkshakes and malts, topped with hot fudge or strawberry sauce. Drooooool.

If I had a choice, I think a big bowl of vanilla ice cream would be my last meal. No fooling.

This No-Churn Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream recipe is SO EASY – you’re going to be running to your pantry as soon as you jot down these 4 ingredients:

2 cups (16 ounces) heavy whipping cream

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste

And a pinch of salt.

 

No-Churn Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

Grab a large bowl, then pour the entire can of sweetened condensed milk in it. Resist the urge to lick your fingers. Then, whisk in the vanilla bean paste and salt.

Why vanilla bean paste and not extract?

If all you have is extract, then by golly, use that! If you have a fresh vanilla bean and you want to scrape that in there, I won’t stop you. I just love vanilla bean paste because it’s all the beauty and deliciousness of vanilla bean without the work.

It’s a thicker substance, because there is so much tasty bean goodness in such a concentrated form. I highly recommend picking up a bottle if you’ve never tried it.

In a separate large bowl, whip heavy whipping cream for about 3 or 4 minutes until stiff peaks form. I usually whip 1 cup at a time, just because it tends to fly everywhere when I use my hand mixer. SO messy.

Then, very gently fold half of the whipped cream into the condensed milk until it’s well-combined. Repeat the folding with your remaining whipped cream.

Again, resist the urge to lick your fingers.

That’s pretty much the whole process! And look, Ma – no expensive ice cream maker needed!

For the last step – pour your super-duper soft-serve into a freezer safe container and cover it with plastic wrap.

Now the waiting begins.

About 4 hours later, reward yourself with a big bowl of No-Churn Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

Top it off with my rich and delicious Freezer Friendly Hot Fudge Sauce.

Thank me later.