No Churn Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

No Churn Vanilla Bean Ice Cream — this recipe is a game changer for anybody who craves homemade ice cream but lacks the special equipment.

*This post is in association with Mount Hope Wholesale, a company I know and trust.  Thank you for supporting my sponsors who help keep TVFGI up and cooking!

What if I told you you could have the ultimate vanilla bean ice cream tonight, without the fancy ice cream machine?  All you need is some heavy cream, a can of sweetened condensed milk, and a vanilla bean.  Ready, set, go!  I’ll wait while you pull your jaw up off the floor and go gather your ingredients.

Not only is this no churn vanilla bean ice cream simple to make, it’s also seriously vanilla flavored.  The secret is…drumroll please…real vanilla beans.  That’s how you get the truest, richest vanilla flavor, not to mention all those glorious specks.  Those specks tell you instantly that you’re in for something special.  I adore vanilla beans, the only problem is that they’re crazy expensive, and lots of us resort to inexpensive extracts which aren’t the same thing at all.  But it’s all about choices, and when it comes to the important things like coffee, chocolate, wine, cheese and vanilla, I don’t skimp.  The solution is to buy your vanilla beans in bulk.  You can get them much cheaper, plus you won’t run out.  I got mine from Mount Hope Wholesale where you can buy Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans in 4 ounce or 1 pound packages.  The beans are plump and juicy, and last up to two years, but you’ll go through them much sooner than that, trust me.

Buying the beans in bulk sets you free to indulge your wildest vanilla fantasies.  No more buying the pricey jar with one lone bean in it, and then stressing over the king’s ransom of seeds stuck under your fingernails.  I actually used 2 beans (luxury!) for this ice cream, and then I saved the pods for other uses later, they just keep on giving!

There’s no magic to an ice cream machine, it just rotates the cream, incorporating air into it while it freezes.  The concept behind this no churn ice cream is that you incorporate air into the cream by whipping it, and then mix it with sweetened condensed milk to help it maintain a creamy texture as it freezes.

This ice cream is incredible on its own if you want to loll in vanilla-land, but it’s also a perfect base for a great hot fudge sauce.  Just saying.

See all my ice cream flavors here.

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3.13 from 31 votes

No Churn Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

freezing 4 hours

Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 14- ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 or 2 vanilla beans

Instructions

• Pour the cream into the bowl of a food processor. (You can also do this in a stand mixer, or with electric beaters)
• Make a slit down the centers of both vanilla beans and scrape out all the seeds with the back of the knife into the cream. Try to get as many of the seeds into the cream as possible. Reserve the pods for future use.
• Turn on the processor and whip the cream until it is stiff. This will only take a couple of minutes, so watch carefully. You will see ripples form in the cream as it firms up.
• Pour the condensed milk in and process briefly to combine well.
• Pour the mixture into a container, I use a metal loaf pan. Cover and put into the freezer for at least 4 hours, or until firm enough to scoop.

Notes

• I have also made this ice cream with a 12 ounce can of evaporated milk and it works.  There's really very little difference between condensed and evaporated milk, except that the condensed milk has been sweetened, so you will need to add 1/2 cup of sugar if you want to use evaporated milk.
• This ice cream is best eaten the day it is made.  If you let it freeze too long it will get hard and possibly a little icy.  Leave it out on the counter for a few minutes to soften before scooping.

don’t forget to pin my no churn vanilla bean ice cream!