This 3 ingredient ice cream is the easiest ice cream recipe ever. You don’t need an ice cream maker and there’s hardly any work involved. A few simple steps and the result is a super creamy no churn vanilla ice cream.
I haven’t made any ice cream yet this summer. I just haven’t really had the time and patience to wait for the ice cream maker, freeze, wash all those dishes, etc. Then I came across this ridiculously easy homemade vanilla ice cream recipe. It only has three ingredients!
I had my doubts, but I tried it, and it works! The consistency is like gelato. You won’t believe this wasn’t made in a machine. It’s also easier than other no-churn ice cream recipes, which require a hand mixer to whip heavy cream. For this recipe, you skip all that making it so much easier.
This recipe barely requires any work. You combine the three ingredients in a large bowl, whisk a few times, pour the ice cream mixture into a container, freeze, and then it’s ready to eat. It’s delicious just as it is, but it would be perfect for serving with desserts.
Ingredients
- Sour cream
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Vanilla paste
Sour cream: This is one of the main ingredients, which made me a little worried because I don’t really like sour cream ice cream, but the taste is very faint. I can’t wait to use this as a base for other flavors.
Condensed milk: This sweetens the milk and also contributes to the creamy texture.
Vanilla paste: Because this is such a simple ice cream, I recommend using vanilla paste instead of vanilla extract for the best flavor. You can also use vanilla beans, but I prefer the paste because it’s easier to deal with.
Recipe Tips
There’s nothing tricky about this recipe – you can just mix all of the ingredients, pour them into a container, and freeze!
I like to use a loaf pan as the container. It’s easy to fit in the freezer and makes it easy to scoop the ice cream out.
No-churn ice cream will keep for several weeks in the freezer, but be sure to keep it tightly wrapped and store it in the coldest part of the freezer. This will prevent ice crystals from forming.
Is it just me, or does anyone else miss the old-school ice cream scoops that have a release lever? I like that the commercial-style scoops cut through ice cream easily, but I can’t get pretty ice cream scoops. A lot of the release lever ones I purchased broke easily, but then I found this one from OXO* a few years ago, and it’s been my go-to scoop ever since, even though I actually have a drawer full of ice cream scoops. It is sturdy and makes pretty scoops.
*Some of the links contained in this post are affiliate links. Much like referral codes, this means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product I referred (at no extra charge to you).
This ice cream is delicious plain, but you can also mix in other ingredients like chopped fruit, chocolate chips, crushed cookies, or nuts.
You can also easily change the flavor by adding an extract like peppermint extract or another flavor you like.
You can serve it plain or top it with some sprinkles, chocolate sauce, or caramel sauce. I like it with some fruit like fresh berries, peaches, or chopped fresh strawberries.
More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
- No Churn Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
- No Churn Lemon Ice Cream
- No Churn Avocado Ice Cream
- No Churn Coconut Ice Cream
3 Ingredient No Churn Gelato Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk all of the ingredients until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a container. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for six hours or overnight.
Notes
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Hey Kirbie,
out of all your ice cream scoops, which one is your favourite and why?
I have the OXO Trigger Release scoop and I either got a dud or it is truly useless as it doesn’t release…anything. I’ve tried warming it in water, but nothing works. Everything (ice cream, gelato, cookie dough) gets stuck and I end up digging it out with a scoop or my finger. 😛
Hi Jubes, the OXO SteeL Ice Cream Scoop, which is the one I linked to in this post, is my favorite. I have about half dozen scoopers and this is the only one that released the ice cream and makes nice round scoops.
i made this today,its so sweet!how can i reduce the sweet?
less condensed milk?
I found another no churn recipe on Yahoo! but haven’t tried it yet https://www.yahoo.com/food/nigella-lawsons-one-step-no-churn-ice-cream-95247938158.html
thank you for sharing this!
I need to try making this! The use of sour cream makes me skeptical, but if you say the flavor is ‘faint’, I’ll give it a go. The end product looks pretty good!
if you can spare some of the 2%, you can use that too.
the condensed milk and the vanilla hide a lot of the sour cream. it just had a little bit of faint tang that tasted like it could have been yogurt