The Best Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
Published January 20, 2023. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This creamy homemade vanilla ice cream uses fresh vanilla beans and cream for the best, most flavorful ice cream recipe. You will love how delectable and rich the flavors of this are.
If you want to enhance some pastry desserts, try serving this ice cream on top of my blueberry pie or apple galette.
Vanilla Ice Cream
Vanilla ice cream is a milk-based sweet frozen dessert that can be eaten by itself, with an assortment of toppings, or served on top of a pastry. It’s said that this sweet treat originated in the mountains of China, with snow, most likely, being the base for the dessert.
This vanilla ice cream recipe is specifically made with vanilla beans, extract, sugar, and egg yolks for a custard-like base. According to the FDA regulations, must be at least 10% milk fat. Not to worry because my recipe features plenty of heavy whipping cream, which is 35% to 40% fat. You can also add your favorite additions like chocolate, nuts, or fruit to this base to customize it to your liking.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cream – You will need heavy whipping cream for this.
- Milk – I use whole milk, but if you want to cut back, you can add another cup of milk to replace an additional cup of heavy cream. You can also use lower-fat milk.
- Eggs – You will only need egg yolks for this, which will significantly increase the richness of the ice cream.
- Vanilla – I used fresh vanilla beans, but vanilla extract can be used.
- Sugar – Regular granule sugar is what you will need.
How to Make Vanilla Ice Cream from Scratch
Start by splitting the vanilla pod in half long ways.
Add the split vanilla pod to a medium size pot along with the cream, milk, and sugar.
Cook the mixture over low to medium heat while stirring with a rubber spatula until the milk is scalded and the sugar is dissolved.
Once scalded, remove the vanilla beans with a spoon, scrape all the seeds out of the pod using a small knife, and add them back to the pot.
Then, add a small amount of the hot milk mixture to a large bowl with 4 egg yolks and vigorously whisk to temper the eggs. You do this so the eggs can come up to temperature without scrambling.
Then, slowly pour in the remaining hot milk mixture while whisking at a normal pace until combined.
Add the mixture back to the pot.
Cook over low to medium heat while constantly stirring with a spoon or rubber spatula for 5 to 7 minutes or until it has thickened up and can coat the back of a spoon.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or chinois and immediately chill in the refrigerator or an ice bath until completely cooled.
Once chilled, transfer the mixture to an ice cream churner or maker and churn until the vanilla ice cream has solidified.
Serve or keep in an airtight container in the freezer.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe several days before you want to serve it.
How to Store: Cover and keep the ice cream in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Chef Notes + Tips
- If you do not have an ice cream maker, transfer the mixture once cooled directly to the freezer until frozen.
- Churning prevents large ice crystals from forming in the ice cream and produces a smooth texture that makes it feel rich and luxurious when you eat it.
- Replace 1 fresh vanilla bean with 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.
More Dessert Recipes
The Best Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 vanilla bean pods
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 egg yolks
Instructions
- Start by splitting the vanilla pods in half long ways.
- Add the split vanilla pods to a medium-sized pot along with the cream, milk, and sugar.
- Cook the mixture over low to medium heat while frequently stirring with a rubber spatula until the milk is scalded and the sugar is dissolved.
- Once scalded, remove the vanilla beans from the pod with a spoon and then scrape all the seeds out of the pod using a small knife and add them back to the pot.
- Then, add a small amount of the hot milk mixture to a large bowl with 4 egg yolks and vigorously whisk to temper the eggs. You do this so the eggs can come up to temperature without scrambling.
- Then, slowly pour in the remaining hot milk mixture while continuing to whisk at a normal pace until combined.
- Add the mixture back to the pot.
- Cook over low to medium heat while constantly stirring with a spoon or rubber spatula for 5 to 7 minutes or until it has thickened up and can coat the back of a spoon.
- Strain the mixture through a fine mess strainer or chinois and then immediately chill in the refrigerator or in an ice bath until completely cooled.
- Once chilled, transfer the mixture to an ice cream churner or maker and churn until the vanilla ice cream has solidified.
- Serve or keep in an airtight container in the freezer.
Delicious! I added fresh strawberry puree after the churning was complete and froze it for 4 hours. I can see myself adding homemade caramel for variations. Excellent taste ans creamiest! Thanks, Chef!
my pleasure!
My grandson and I made this Monday night! Perfection!
Fantastic!
I love it… I want to try but this time with a little bit of cinnamon… Thanks for your delicious recipes
Hi.. I am looking for a video on this ice cream.. it’s better to visualise
It’s really not needed with the step by step images.
The best ice cream recipe I have found! Thank you Billy!
my pleasure!
I made this last night but I added the fruit part from the other ice cream recipe (two ingredient base with fruit and home made cones). WOW! I finished late last night (I had a few interruptions 😉 ) Left to chill overnight and woke up this morning and couldn’t wait to grab a quick taste to see how it went. First, there were already two little divots from other spoons grabbing a sample. It was quite tasty and insanely rich. Better than anything I have ever purchased in a store.
Not too fussy to make and way better than some of the other recipes I have made. I might try your ice cream base and customize some add ins and flavors next. Thanks for sharing your recipes. I love eating food that is different from what I make and lately when I go out to eat restaurants have left me disappointed my kids have also said they enjoy my food better (huge compliment). You are definitely upping my game and I am thankful.
thanks for giving it a shot!!
So did you not use an ice cream maker? Were there ice crystals? What container did you freeze it in?
This is the best vanilla ice cream recipe I’ve ever found. So creamy and delicious.
many thanks!
I’m waiting on my ice cream maker. Sounds yummy. How about chocolate ice cream recipe.
can’t make’em fast enough lol.
absolutely awesome!
Best vanilla ice cream! And not difficult!
thanks for giving it a shot!!
I sometimes substitute 1/2 cup sugar, plus a ½ cup of maple sugar, then add 3 tablespoons of Crown Royal Canadian whiskey near the end of churning. The bit of alcohol keeps the ice cream from getting too hard in the freezer.
What ice cream maker do you use/recommend?
Lello Musso. Mine is this one: https://amzn.to/3PRTPPd
THIS IS THE RECIPE, PEOPLE! I’ve been making homemade ice cream since I was a tot and was the “weight” for my parents’ hand-crank White Mountain freezer. This is the right ratio of cream to milk, 3:1, that my grandparents always used and their ice creams were always the best. So funny that you re-published this today, I just finished making 2 gallons of Jersey Peach Pie ice cream and 2 gallons of Bananas Foster ice cream (my recipes) for a large BBQ coming up; Vanilla Bean is being made today! Vanilla is so versatile because you can serve it with so many toppings on the side so your guests can choose: cut-up Oreos, M&Ms, Reese’s minis or mini chocolate chips; chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, toasted coconut, roasted sliced almonds, sprinkles; macerated strawberries, peaches or nectarines; or blueberries, tart cherries or blackberries cooked with sugar and tapioca starch to a pie-like consistency. I sometimes like to put a couple of drops of food-grade lemon oil (not the furniture polish, LOL) into my vanilla ice cream for a nice zing without overwhelming. Love this recipe! And nobody makes homemade ice cream anymore, so thanks, Billy, for sharing this!
This recipe looks great! I have read that Xanthan Gum improves the smoothness and cuts down the iciness in homemade ice cream. Have you any experience with using it in homemade ice cream and how much would you use? I use it in smoothies with good results.
I don’t have an issued with that.
I am going to make this. which ice cream maker are you using? it looks like the LELLO because of the stainless steel blade.
https://amzn.to/3PRTPPd
Hey Chef Billy, there isn’t anything better than homemade ice cream. I remember making ice cream a lot at my grandparents place. Gramma would make the base and all of us and cousins would churn and churn until it was done. What great times and lots of fun making ice cream. She was like you Chef, lot’s of heavy cream, good quality
ingredients and lots of love. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Will this recipe work for a cuisinart ice cream maker also?
why not?