How to make ice cream at home with a stand mixer or an ice cream maker

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How to make ice cream at home with a stand mixer or an ice cream maker

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  • Fresh, homemade ice cream has a richness and smoothness that is impossible to find with a store-bought option.
  • Making your own ice cream is actually quite easy when you have a good ice cream maker or a stand mixer.
  • We recommend using the KitchenAid Stand Mixer with its Ice Cream Maker Attachment or the Cusinart Ice Cream Machine pictured above for best results.
  • Here is how to make ice cream from scratch with a variety of devices.

Let's be honest: Professional chefs make better food than you. Sure, your omelets may come out of the pan reliably intact, your grandma's pasta sauce recipe may be a crowd pleaser, and you might bake a mean batch of cookies, but the food you get from a fine restaurant tastes objectively better, right? It's no shame. They cook all day long, so they should be good at it.

Ah but there are always exceptions, and one of them is particularly sweet: Ice cream is one of those rare foodstuffs that really is better when made at home. Whether bought from the grocery store in a tub or scooped by your local ice cream shop employee, store-bought ice cream tends to be dense and often flecked with bits of ice. Homemade ice cream has a texture that's rich, smooth, and creamy all at once.

Also, with a bit of experimentation, you can control the exact taste of the ice cream you make yourself, perfecting the intensity of the basics like vanilla or chocolate or coming up with your own crazy new flavors.

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While there is lots of culinary hardware out there that can help you make homemade ice cream, you can also whip up a batch using kitchen gadgets and tools you likely already have at home.

We'll discuss several ways to make ice cream from scratch, all of which will lead to a truly delectable dessert. First, here's a basic ice cream recipe that will work well in most ice cream makers and that you can add to, alter, and dress up however you'd like.

How to make ice cream at home with a simple recipe:

  • 2 1/4 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, cocoa powder, strawberry jam, rum, or other flavor

Now let's get into how to make ice cream with a stand mixer or ice cream maker.

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How to make ice cream with a stand mixer

How to make ice cream with a stand mixer

If you have a stand mixer and a freezer, you can make homemade ice cream. If you don't have a stand mixer, you should get one. They're great for all sorts of stuff.

We have a KitchenAid Classic Series Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, and it works great even after more than 13 years! This easiest of homemade ice creams won't be as smooth as stuff fresh from the ice cream maker, but it will be delicious. Use the recipe we mentioned in the introduction.

  1. Use your stand mixer on high to whip the cream until stiff peaks begin to appear.
  2. Stop mixer and add all remaining ingredients, then blend on slow setting.
  3. Place in freezer safe container and freeze for at least six hours.

You can also pick up the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment if you want to make this sweet treat more regularly.

For more information about the attachment, you can read our guide to the best KitchenAid attachments.

Buy the KitchenAid Classic Series Tilt-Head Stand Mixer on Amazon for $189.99 (originally $199.99) Buy the KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment on Amazon for $59.99 (originally $99.99)

How to make ice cream with an ice cream maker

How to make ice cream with an ice cream maker

OK, here's where things get laughably easy.

To start with, this time you'll mix all the ingredients from our recipe above — and any other flavors you want — together into a saucepan and heat the blend just until a bit of foam begins to appear.

Then cut the heat, transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and refrigerate it until thoroughly cold or for about two hours.

Now, transfer that mixture into an ice cream maker and uh ... well, just turn it on.

Note that with many ice cream makers, you will have to freeze a removable insert for several hours prior to use. Others don't require pre-freezing, but do require lots of ice and rock salt.

For a low-cost, reliable ice cream maker that requires a bit of hands on work getting it set up as well as some ice and rock salt, I recommend the Nostalgia 4-Quart Electric Ice Cream Maker.

For a super easy, hands-off operation, try the two-quart Cuisinart ICE-30R Pure Indulgence Frozen Yogurt and Ice Cream Maker, and if you think you're going to become an ice cream, fro yo, and sorbet gourmet, go with the top-of-the-line Breville BCI600XL Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker.

Alternatively, to make a very small batch of ice cream in about three minutes, consider the Chef'n Sweet Spot Instant Ice Cream Maker. You can read our full guide to the best ice cream makers to learn more about all of these machines.

Buy the Nostalgia 4-Quart Electric Ice Cream Maker on Amazon for $22.43 Buy the Cuisinart ICE-30R Pure Indulgence Frozen Yogurt and Ice Cream Maker on Amazon for $66.21 to $81.44 Buy the Breville BCI600XL Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker on Amazon for $354.83 Buy the Chef'n Sweet Spot Instant Ice Cream Maker on Amazon for $42.33 (originally $49.99)
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How to make frozen treats that are healthier than ice cream

How to make frozen treats that are healthier than ice cream

Ice cream is delicious and all, but the fat content and the calories are a definite drawback. If you and the family want to enjoy sweet frozen treats every night without guilt, consider using frozen fruit, and chiefly the banana, instead.

When processed through Yonanas' magical device, fruits that were good and ripe when frozen are whipped into a dessert that tastes like and has a mouthfeel similar to ice cream, but is made from fruit alone.

You can read our full guide to the best frozen dessert makers for more great options, and a full review of why we love this machine.

Buy the Yonanas 902 Classic Healthy Dessert Fruit Soft Serve Maker on Amazon for $39.99 (originally $49.95)