Smooth and creamy homemade vanilla ice cream that tastes better than any store-bought brand and only needs 4 basic ingredients! Load up this easy ice cream with all your favorite ice cream toppings.
With a million ice cream flavors in virtually any store you walk into, is vanilla ice cream really worth the hassle of making at home?
The short answer is yes. The long answer is that this ice cream is so dang near perfect and simultaneously SO easy to make that you’ll quickly ruin store-bought ice cream for yourself.
A good problem to have, I promise.
There are basically no fancy tricks or techniques to this vanilla ice cream, folks. I kept things as simple as possible and just let the dairy + vanilla shine for itself which is how I think all good vanilla ice cream should be!
I’m not kidding either. 4 ingredients, a few minutes prep time, and we’re in the ice cream business.
This Ice Cream features…
- A smooth and creamy texture
- Lots of rich vanilla flavor
- Minutes to prep and stores well in freezer up to 1 month
Making the Ice Cream
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- 2% or skim milk
- Granulated sugar
- Heavy whipping cream
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
Ice Cream Maker Suggestions
I use a Cuisinart ice cream maker for all my homemade ice creams and it works very well! Any 2-quart ice cream maker will work with this recipe, just make sure you follow the machine instructions.
Tips for Perfect Ice Cream
- Use a 1:2 ratio of milk to heavy cream – I found that this ratio gives the ice cream that perfect not-too rich, yet silky smooth ice cream texture.
- Heat sugar in 1 cup milk – this will dissolve the sugar and get it ready for the ice cream.
- Chill sugar-milk mixture 1 hour – this chilling step is necessary to cool down the milk-sugar mixture before churning. By not heating up all the milk in the recipe this eliminates having to wait longer for the milk-sugar mixture to chill.
- Churn ice cream according to manufacturer instructions – make sure you follow your machine’s instructions for any extra churning steps.
- Freeze ice cream 1-2 hours before serving – you can serve the ice cream straight out of the machine for soft-serve style or freeze it 1-2 hours after churning for firmer scoops.
Serving Suggestions
Use the following ideas to add a little pizzazz to your bowl of ice cream.
- Hot fudge sauce
- Chocolate syrup
- Caramel sauce
- Fruit sauce (strawberry, raspberry, peach, etc.)
- Toasted nuts
- Blend into a milkshake
- Serve alongside crisp, cobbler, or pie
This really is a vanilla ice cream you’re gonna want to hang onto forever! It’s so simple, yet absolute creamy perfection with just the right amount of fragrant vanilla flavor.
Trust me when I say you’re gonna want to lick your bowl clean. Possibly even go back for another scoop or 20.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Try these other keeper ice cream recipes next!
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 3 cups 2% or skim milk, divided
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Heat 1 cup milk and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, whisking frequently (do not allow to boil). Cool milk mixture in refrigerator 1 hour.
- Once milk-sugar mixture is chilled, pour into a medium bowl and whisk in remaining milk, heavy cream, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.
- Transfer cream mixture to an ice cream maker and churn ice cream according to manufacturers directions until frozen.
- Serve ice cream straight out of the maker for a soft-serve style or transfer churned ice cream to a 1-qt container and freeze 1-2 hours for more firm scoops. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 7/23/25.
Kelly // The Pretty Bee: Cooking & Creating says
Vanilla ice cream is so good! I love the simple ingredients here! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
Such beautiful pictures Sarah! I’d love a bowl of this ice cream!
Sarah says
Thanks, Christin!
Olivia - Primavera Kitchen says
Wow Sarah this ice-cream looks AH-MAZING! I love you sentence “It’s Friday… eat-ice-cream-tip-you-die day”… hahhahaha! I TOTALLY agree with you!! But, lets have ice-cream on Saturday and Sunday, too!!!
Sarah says
Hahaha it’s the weekend so I would dare to assume that eating ice cream all weekend is totally appropriate! 😉 Thanks, Olivia!
Mary Frances @ The Sweet {Tooth} Life says
Doesn’t everyone do the “eat ice cream til you die thing?”
No? Wierdos.
Oh my goodness Sarah, this ice cream seriously looks gourmet. Being sad just isn’t possible when I’m looking at these photos (A and B are still forgivable too 😉 ) and whoa, so easy! I’m really interested to try ice cream without eggs (maybe do some full fat coconut milk and almond milk instead of heavy cream and milk and make it vegan … experiment time 🙂 ) Happy weekend, my friend!
Sarah says
Mary Frances, you will have to let me know how your experimenting goes! With your talent, I’ll bet you could easily make this ice cream vegan! You go girl! 🙂
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
Sarah, this looks like the best home-made ice cream EVER! Your presentation is so beautiful. And vanilla is one of my favorite flavors. Definitely a classic and so easy to jazz up with some hot fudge or fruit. Pinning!
Sarah says
I love how we’re both on ice cream kicks recently, Gayle! And you’re too sweet, girl! Thanks for the sweet compliments and for the pin!
Erin | The Law Student's Wife says
It’s NEVER too late for ice cream! I love that vanilla is a blank canvas for piling on the toppings!
Sarah says
“A blank canvas” Oh my gosh, that is the best vanilla ice cream analogy EVER. 🙂
Kelly @ A Side of Sweet says
Hi Sarah! This recipe looks great! It’s always good to have a vanilla ice cream recipe in your back pocket. Thanks so much for stopping by A Side of Sweet. I saw in your about that you’re from southern Wisconsin! I’m originally from the Platteville area, even though I’m living in San Francisco. Small world!
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Kelly! And that’s so cool that you grew up in Platteville! That’s not too far from where I am! I’m about 30 miles south of Madison. 🙂
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
Haha, I am one of those I could eat ice cream every single day and vanilla is my favorite 🙂 Yours looks amazing, I would love a big bowl of this 🙂
Sarah says
Ikr? It’s totally normal to have ice cream every day…right?! 😉
Tash says
Haha! This made me giggle, your family sound amazing!! I wish I had an ice cream maker…I can’t stop admiring the Vanilla-y gourmetness…
Great photo’s.
Tash x
Sarah says
Thanks, Tash! You definitely need to get your hands on an ice cream maker so you can try this ice cream soon! 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
you can never go wrong with a good scoop of vanilla ice cream. looks delicious, wish it was hot enough here to justify having some.. shame its winter in australia!
Sarah says
I keep forgetting that it’s totally the other way around over in Australia! I wouldn’t let winter stop me from making ice cream though! I’d just have bundle up real good. LOL.
Isadora says
This ice cream recipe really does sound easy and foolproof! Vanilla ice cream really is the best flavor because then you can dress it up with all kinds of yumminess like chocolate sauce and raspberries! I wish I had a gallon of this in my freezer right now! I don’t think it would last very long around here 🙂
Sarah says
I’m kinda wishing I had a gallon of this ice cream leftover in my freezer too, but NO such luck with such ice cream greedys around here! LOL.
Jackie says
Almost nothing is more satisfying than the classic vanilla ice cream. I’m going to give this recipe a go this weekend. Thanks for sharing it.
Kitchen Stuff says
Classic vanilla is the best! It is a healthy option for an ice cream flavor. My parents can now eat ice cream with this one. I just have to remove the add-ons like chocolates and strawberries.
Elaina D'Agostino says
I agree that the sky’s the limit when choosing ice cream toppings, and I love how you go for fruity ones. I’m actually thinking of blueberries and strawberries right now. But a banana split is also nice. I’m going to an ice cream shop later, and checking what my options are. https://www.thomasicecreamcafe.com/