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Ellie Baygulov/Demand Media

While regular ice cream recipes are made from a custard base where you have to carefully whip together eggs, sugar, milk and heavy cream over heat and ensure that the custard doesn’t burn or curdle before it sets, making ice cream at home doesn’t have to be an arduous task.

In fact, homemade ice cream recipes using only milk are much easier. And, bonus points if you have an ice cream maker – all you have to do is whisk the ingredients, add the mixture to the maker and let the machine do the hard task of churning it all together.

Learning how to make ice cream at home with milk opens up the possibility to experiment and create different versions of this easy ice cream recipe.

Homemade Ice Cream Using Heavy Cream

For an even creamier result, using heavy cream instead of whole milk for your homemade ice cream recipe will provide favorable results. Heavy cream has approximately 35 percent more fat content than whole milk, and this extra fat is the reason why ice cream made with heavy cream is more indulgent. All you have to do is whip the heavy cream into stiff peaks before gently folding in a sweetener, such as sugar or condensed milk for a velvety texture, then add flavorings like vanilla extract and fresh fruits. The mixture is ready to be frozen and turned into ice cream.

Homemade Ice Cream With Milk

Making homemade ice cream with milk is a simple process that doesn’t call for a lot of ingredients. In fact, an easy ice cream recipe with milk uses only two other main ingredients: sugar and vanilla extract for a subtle hint of flavor.

When making ice cream using only milk, it’s recommended that you use whole milk as opposed to low fat or nonfat milk. The high fat content in whole milk is key to making creamy ice cream. A low-fat milk is higher in water content and will cause the resulting mixture to freeze much harder and form larger ice crystals during the freezing process, resulting in a not-so-smooth final product.

Easy Ice Cream Recipe With Milk

Total Time: 8 hours | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, whisk together milk and sugar until sugar dissolves. 

  2. Add in vanilla extract and stir to combine. 

  3. Remove from heat and transfer to a freezer-proof dish and freeze.

  4. Stir the ice cream every 2 to 4 hours until ice crystals start to form. 

  5. When fully frozen, transfer to an airtight container and freeze overnight.

  6. Garnish with walnuts or slivered almonds for a bit of crunch before serving.

Tip

If using an ice cream maker, remove the milk mixture from the heat and transfer to the ice cream maker to churn and thicken before pouring into an airtight container and freezing.

Variations of Homemade Ice Cream With Milk

The basic homemade ice cream recipe is a blueprint that works best when you add your own twists. Variations can include the addition of fresh fruits like mangoes, strawberries, blueberries and peaches.

Instead of leaving the fruits in pieces, you can also use a blender to mix all of the ingredients until smooth before adding the mixture to the ice cream maker or when making by hand. You can also create a whole milk chocolate ice cream recipe with the addition of chocolate chips or cacao nibs.