This easy ice cream recipe only uses two main ingredients (3 if you count vanilla extract) and it does not require an ice cream machine! Whipped cream mimics the air you get through traditional churning and sweetened condensed milk gives it a luxurious texture and custardy flavor. It produces a rich and creamy ice cream that’s a perfect base for a variety of mix-ins. We love this with crushed cookies, a swirl of caramel or chocolate, or dollops of fruit jam.
Ingredients Needed
- Heavy Whipping Cream – Heavy whipping cream will provide a creamier, richer, softer finished ice cream, but you could use regular whipping cream in a pinch.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Flavorings or Add-Ins, If Desired
- Vanilla or Other Extracts
- Crushed Cookie Crumbs
- Caramel or Chocolate Fudge
- Fruit Jam
How to Make Two Ingredient Ice Cream
- Pour a can of sweetened condensed milk into a bowl and add some vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl or stand mixture, whip cream until medium-stiff peaks form.
- You’ll add your whipped cream to your sweetened condensed milk mixture in 3 separate additions. The first addition, you’ll stir the whipped cream in to lighten the whole mixture, after that, you’ll fold in the remaining whipped cream. You don’t want to just dump it in and stir. To fold means to take a little bit at a time, and gently move your rubber spatula from the bottom of the bowl, around up to the top. This keeps the fluffy air in the cream as opposed to deflating it while stirring.
- At this point you can fold in anything you like: fresh fruit, crushed cookies, spices, etc. You can mix it into your whole bowl of ice cram base, or add it in by layers right into your container, like I’m doing in these photos with some berry sauce.
- Place your container in the freezer until the ice cream is firm; usually about 6-8 hours.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store your finished ice cream in an airtight container in the freezer and eat at your leisure. My favorite containers for homemade ice cream are these 8 cup Oxo Glass Storage Containers.
- Experiment with different flavors- we love crushed Oreos, fresh berries, cinnamon-graham cracker with apple pie filling, peanut butter banana with chocolate chips, Nutella, chocolate or caramel sauce, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is no-churn ice cream the same texture as churned ice cream?
It’s pretty close to other homemade ice creams, but the flavor of the sweetened condensed milk comes through and it’s a little more rich and creamy! You may find it a bit firmer and more dense than some store-bought ice creams that tend to have a very airy consistency that aids in keeping it soft and scoopable. But it is every bit as delicious!
Two Ingredient Ice Cream {No Machine Required!}
This easy ice cream has only two main ingredients and doesn’t require an ice cream maker. If you happen to have one, though, there are instructions included for that as well.
Servings 1/2 Cup Servings (estimate)
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pour can of sweetened condensed milk into a large mixing bowl and whisk in vanilla. Set aside.
- Pour whipping cream into a separate bowl or stand mixer and whip until medium peaks form.
- Take one large spoonful of whipping cream and stir it into the sweetened condensed milk mixture vigourously until smooth. This should lighten your mixture so you can now gently fold in the remaining whipping cream in additions.
- Add the remaining cream to the sweetened condensed milk mixture in 3 additions, gently folding in each time until mixture is smooth.
- At this point you can stir in additions if you like, or you can layer them into your container by placing a layer of ice cream mixture, then swirling in some toppings, then layering in more ice cream mixture, etc. until you use all of your base mixture.
- Pour into container and freeze for at least 6-8 hours or until firm.
Notes
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- Store your finished ice cream in an airtight container in the freezer and eat at your leisure.
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- Experiment with different flavors- we love crushed Oreos, mashed banana, fresh strawberry, cinnamon-graham cracker with apple pie filling, peanut butter banana with chocolate chips, Nutella, you can’t really go wrong here, folks! Good ol’ fashioned caramel from a jar works just fine too.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cup, Calories: 244kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 56mg, Sodium: 53mg, Potassium: 162mg, Sugar: 19g, Vitamin A: 671IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 120mg, Iron: 0.1mg
Calories: 244kcal
Cost: 6
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Questions & Reviews
CANNOT wait to make this over the weekend! made sure to pin this fab recipe on Pinterest too….y’all rock so hard with all of your amazing recipes! big hugs from a gal w/a happy tummy!
WHAT?? this looks AMAZING. Getting ready for fall RIGHT now!
I think I’m going to try it but thought I would ask first. Have you ever used the light or reduced fat version of the cream and half n half and condensed milk. I just wonder how it would turn out?
Never tried it tish! I’m sure the sweetened condensed milk would be just fine low fat, but the half and half I’m not sure about. Those sometimes do funny things in recipes. If you’re doing the freezer version, you definitely need to use regular whipping cream though, no question.
So if you make it the freezer way, you have to use the whipping cream, not half and half, right? Just making sure. I bought half and half last night before thoroughly reading the directions so I just want to double check.
Yep, that’s correct. You need to whip the cream first to incorporate air the way an ice cream maker does.
Could I modify the recipes you guys have posted for apple pie ice cream and/or cherry chocolate ice cream by using this as the base?
You definitely can Mary. It won’t be quite the same as those original recipes, but the flavor combos will still taste yummy.
I made the cinnamon bun ice cream, and the nutella peanut butter chip from teh blog you recommended! Really good! I think I might cut back on the butter next time, as it kind of left a film in my mouth! This recipe is awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I made this last week with crushed oreos. SO GOOD! My husband agrees it’s even better than regular ice cream. Have you tried it with fat free sweetened condensed milk to cut down on the fat content? I’m wondering if it would work/taste as good.
No, I haven’t ever tried it. I figure if I’m using straight up cream, a few more calories and fat grams aren’t going to make a huge difference, haha
Ice cream looks yummy, but OMG – where did those cute spoons come from? My 2 year old would LOVE those!!!
My sister in law gave those to me for my birthday- aren’t they so cute?? Not sure where they’re from!
This ice cream sounds so good and creamy, (as well as fattening) Going to mix it up tonight for family tomorrow
I just tried a copycat recipe for a homemade frosty that calls for a quart of chocolate milk and a can of sweetened condensed milk mixed in your ice cream maker so kinda the same concept as this recipe. It was actually pretty good and my family devoured it. Especially good considering that years ago I tried a recipe for homemade frostys that called for spraying cooking spray in it as one of the ingredients. Um, yea….not so good. My husband and I were both burping cooking spray flavored burps for the next couple of days. Gross!!! ANYWAY, we will have to try this recipe because we love us some ice cream at our house–as long as it doesn’t involve cooking spray!