This easy homemade vanilla ice cream recipe makes the perfect treat on hot summer days! You’ll also find tips for great add-ons and hot fudge sauce recipes!
Easy Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
We still have a lot of summer left and what could taste better than this homemade vanilla ice cream recipe? It’s fun for the kids to make and it’s great to serve at a barbecue, when company comes for dinner or just because you want to! Homemade ice cream is so easy to make and it’s something different from the typical snack.
Tips For Making This Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
- When possible, mix the ingredients ahead of time and chill in the fridge. You don’t have to do this but it does seem to speed things up a little.
- You can add any variety of extras to this basic vanilla ice cream recipe: Puree peaches or strawberries, chocolate chips, cherries, Andes mint chips, peanut butter chips, etc. I prefer to make plain vanilla ice cream and let everyone add his or her own things to it.
- You don’t have to be afraid to modify this recipe. You can freely adjust it to what you prefer. For example, you can replace part of the milk with extra half and half or use a container of heavy cream. The more cream you use, the creamier the homemade ice cream will be. This recipe is a pretty good balance of tasty but not too rich and it is less expensive than using a huge amount of cream. I recommend trying the recipe as it’s written and then, if you’d like to adjust it, do that the net time you make it.
- I like to add the Dream Whip because it gives the homemade vanilla ice cream a different kind of smooth and creamy texture. If you can’t find it, the ice cream is still delicious without it. You can usually find Dream Whip at the store where they have the things like no bake cheesecakes and puddings.
- If you have a 2 quart ice cream maker, divide all the ingredients by 3 and that will make just the amount you need. These measurements don’t have to be exact. For example, to make things easier, you can use 1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk and 1/2 can of evaporated milk for a 2 quart ice cream maker or use half and half in place of all or part of the milks.
- Never fill the ice cream can all the way full. You need some open space for the whipping action and to allow room for the ice cream to whip up fully.
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
- Yield: 6 quarts
Ingredients
6 eggs (or egg substitute)
3 cups sugar
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
2–3 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. Dream Whip (optional)
Milk
Instructions
- Beat the eggs.
- Add all of the other ingredients except the milk.
- Mix well.
- Pour into the ice cream maker.
- Add enough milk to bring the mixture 2/3 of the way up the can.
- Proceed according to your ice cream maker instructions. Makes 6 quarts.
Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe
- Yield: 3 cups
Ingredients
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients except the vanilla into a saucepan.
- Heat over medium heat to a rolling boil.
- Boil 1 minute.
- Remove from heat.
- Add vanilla.
- Serve warm or chilled. Makes 3 cups.
Easy Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
2 (1 oz.) unsweetened chocolate squares (total 2 oz.)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup evaporated milk
Instructions
- Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Bring to a boil.
- Turn down the heat and let it cook for just a bit until thickened.
- Remove from heat.
- Let it cool and stir again in about 10 minutes.
- Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
If you want to use the whole can of evaporated milk (12 oz.), just double all the other ingredients and use the whole can. This will make about 1 qt. and can be stored in the refrigerator.
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Are the eggs used in the ice cream recipe pasteurized? What does raw eggs do for ice cream? Isn’t that a health risk? I read (I think on All-Recipes) that you can pasteurize eggs at home before use by heating them.
I’ve never used egg substitute, but willing to try it.
Years ago there was a scare about eggs but they have since said it wasn’t as bad as they thought. I have for years used raw eggs and never had a problem and personally have never known anyone to have a problem. What people don’t realize there is as much a chance of getting something bad from eating fresh organic grown veggies and other things as getting something from eggs. I guess I figure if Martha Stewart and other famous chefs are still using raw eggs in their dishes with no worry then I don’t think I need to either.
But if you are still concerned just use egg substitute or you can mix all of this up except for the milk and cook for a couple of minutes then cool and use.
When I was a child, we would make a hole in the egg and drink it raw. The farm fresh at my grandmas tasted way better than store-bought, but we used any kind and never got sick. My husband and my oldest daughter drink our eggs from our chickens, my other kids refuse to do so, they say they like it better cooked. I like it when it’s really fresh and still warm from the chicken. I guess, when the eggs are stored for a long time, they might get some bacteria in it and cause harm when used uncooked.
About veggies, I guess it can make someone sick, if they are not washed properly after some bird pooped on it and flies or bugs were there too.
I read somewhere that NOT WASHING the eggs left a protective coating on them so they stayed fresh. (How else to you think earned their butter and egg money? They weren’t taking them to the store one at a time.
Don’t I need to heat the eggs before making homemade ice cream? I used to make it similar to this. Then someone told me you have to cook the eggs first to be safe. ??
Thanks, Connie
The thing is years ago a person never cooked the eggs first and it was fine. Then as it always happens there was a big to do about eating raw eggs for a few years then it went back again to it was ok. I figure if Martha Stewart and other chefs use raw eggs they can’t be that bad. I have always used them myself for years with no problem as a matter of fact I have never known anyone of the people I know to have a problem. I have known people who have gotten terribly sick from drinking raw milk but you never hear of people hollering about drinking or using raw milk so go figure. To be honest you can get sick from the same type of things from eating raw veggies or many other foods but that doesn’t stop us from eating those. It is really up to you personally.
About Dangers of raw eggs-my daughter-in-law, whose father is a highly respected surgeon and promoter of healthy lifestyles, told me that salmonella poisoning from eggs comes not from the inside of the egg, but contamination on the outside of the shell, so if you can break the egg and dump its contents into your ice cream mix, or your smoothie, without it touching the outer eggshell, there is really no danger. I was glad to know this.
Hi Jill
I remember having home made ice cream when I was a child and it was a treat because we never got to have things like that unless it was a special occasion like Christmas or birthdays
and back then if you wanted ice cream you had to make it because going to the store was not a option. Some of my fondest memories of my grandma was helping her with the ice cream.and years later when she passed and we had to clean out the house,that was the one thing I wanted and I cherish it to this day.
I remember those times too Susan. So different from now. Now they pour the ingredients in a container, plug it in and in a bit have homemade ice cream. When we made it we had to get the ice cream maker out, fill it up with ice, salt, ice and the we would take turns either cranking it or sitting on top of a blanket on it to hold it down while the person cranked. I remember it seemed to take forever to get done. Fast forward a few years and right after I got married I was a big deal because then we got one that you still had to pack with ice and salt but you could plug it in to crank it. I don’t know it seemed like it was never quite as good as the old hand crank kind because the beaters didn’t quite scrape the sides the same to freeze it right.
Yes it does have good memories because like you it was usually only made for special occasions. I feel sorry for kids and adults alike now because they do so many “treat” things on a daily basis that there doesn’t seem to be as many special things. Getting a pop, an ice cream or a candy bar was a treat we had to save all week for and then use our allowance to get now most kids and adults drink pop like water daily and can have ice cream almost every day if they want. It is all just run of the meal.
I would like a Homemade Ice Cream Recipe that does not use eggs.
Thanks
Regina
You can just leave the eggs out. It doesn’t get as thick but you can leave it out.