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We tried everything from a viral vintage recipe to a blender technique to find which no-churn method comes closest to traditional ice cream. Our favorite delivered the smoothest, creamiest texture.
Key points
- A blender produced the smoothest, creamiest no-churn ice cream and earned the highest rating in our tests.
- The classic whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk method remains an excellent, easy option that requires minimal effort.
- More complicated methods didn’t necessarily produce better ice cream; the most technical recipe ranked only in the middle of the pack.
When I was growing up, homemade ice cream was a big deal — something really special. We used an old-fashioned hand-cranked ice cream maker, stocking up on bagged ice and rock salt for the occasion. My brother and I would take turns turning the crank, listening to our father explain the science behind using rock salt, and we’d take pride in the dense, velvety frozen treat we helped produce. As fond as those memories were, did I share this experience with my own children? Not a chance.
Related: The Essential Ice Cream Flavors for All 50 States
Not when no-churn ice cream methods exist. They’re a godsend for folks who want to make custom frozen flavors but lack the storage space for a dedicated ice cream maker. Not every method delivers the same results, though. Depending on the recipe, you might be whipping heavy cream, blending in multiple types of sugar, or processing a frozen mixture after it hardens. Each approach claims to produce a creamy scoop, but the results can vary dramatically.
To find out which methods are worth making, we tested five popular methods in the Food & Wine Test Kitchen. Read on to find out what we learned.
A word about our method
We decided to test vanilla ice cream methods. Instead of testing near-identical recipes and changing just one variable with each test — which is how we typically perform these kinds of cooking comparisons — this topic required a different approach. Because each technique relies on a distinct formula rather than a single variable, we evaluated them as complete methods instead of making incremental recipe changes.
Every batch was prepared in the Food & Wine Test Kitchen and tasted by a panel of editors and testers, with traditional churned ice cream serving as the benchmark for flavor, texture, scoopability, and overall eating experience. Some methods surprised us for better or worse, but one stood apart by producing an exceptionally smooth, creamy ice cream that came remarkably close to the real thing.
Nicole Hopper tested all of the ice cream methods.
Hand mixer
Total time: about 16 hours
Rating: 1/10
Method: We found this method on social media. It’s a vintage recipe from 1949 called Poor Man’s Ice Cream, and it uses just three ingredients: a 12-ounce can of evaporated milk (refrigerated overnight), 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. You combine the ingredients in a chilled bowl and beat them with a hand mixer for a couple of minutes until thick and foamy. You then freeze the mixture for an hour, pull it from the freezer and beat it with the mixer again, and repeat this process of freezing and beating a few more times. At the end, you freeze the mixture until firm enough to scoop (at least 4 hours).
Results: First, who knew that evaporated milk could hold air and become thick when beaten? That said, this mixture never got ice cream firm; texturally, it was more like cold marshmallow fluff with noticeable starchiness from the powdered sugar. It was scoopable but still quite soft, and it melted almost immediately. Aside from the texture issues, the flavor was off-putting. Instead of tasting like sweet cream, this tasted more like a cloyingly sweet marshmallow.
Pros: I suppose it’s a fun science experiment.
Cons: This mixture does not taste or feel like ice cream. There are far better methods for making more palatable no-churn ice cream.
Related: When to Use a Stand Mixer vs. a Hand Mixer (and When You Can Use Either)
Food processor
Total time: 8 hours 20 minutes
Rating: 5/10
Method: This technique has you take your ice cream base of choice, freeze it flat in a gallon-size freezer bag, break the frozen mixture into chunks, and pulverize it in a food processor until smooth. At that point, you spoon the ice cream into a container and freeze it until firm enough to scoop. For our test, we used a base of 2 cups each of whole milk and heavy cream, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt, whisked together until the sugar dissolved.
Results: The food processor mechanically crushed the ice crystals and re-emulsified the fat/water/air structure in the frozen base, plus added some air to the mixture. However, a regular home food processor isn’t quite powerful enough to completely break up the ice crystals, and the texture remained finely icy. So while the flavor was lovely, the texture brought the rating down. (Full disclosure: I grew up eating ice milk in the ’80s, and I loved this because of its icy-milky character. But I’ll admit that it’s a far cry from ice cream.)
Pros: The flavor was great because the ingredients are classic ice cream components, with no canned milk or powdered sugar.
Cons: The texture is more icy-slushy than creamy. Also, pulverizing frozen chunks in the food processor was messy.
Stand mixer (with eggs)
Total time: 6 hours 30 minutes
Rating: 6/10
Method: This method was the most complicated. First, we beat 2 cups of heavy cream to soft peaks and set it in the fridge until ready to use. Next, we beat 4 egg yolks in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment until light and fluffy, then beat in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Then we boiled together 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar until it reached the thread stage (230°F to 236°F). With the mixer running, we slowly poured the hot sugar syrup into the yolks, then increased the speed and whipped the mixture until mousselike. Finally, we folded the yolk mixture into the beaten cream, spooned the mixture into a container, and froze it until firm (6 hours).
Results: The texture was somewhat icy but extremely light and airy — almost crumbly when scooped. Fat from the eggs and cream gave this version a nice richness, with the yolks lending a pale yellow color and flavor akin to churned custard-style ice cream.
Pros: Excellent richness and French vanilla–style flavor.
Cons: This method is more technical and complicated, and it requires a candy thermometer. This ice cream didn’t scoop quite as nicely either, as the texture was crumbly.
Related: The 5 Best Candy Thermometers, According to Our Tests
Stand mixer (no eggs)
Total time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Rating: 8/10
Method: This is the no-churn method I was most familiar with and probably the most common technique you’ll find online. You start by combining a 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, you then beat 2 cups of cold heavy cream with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. After folding the whipped cream into the milk mixture, you spoon the ice cream base into a container and freeze until firm (4 hours).
Results: This ice cream had a creamy texture and was easy to scoop. The sugar and milk solids in sweetened condensed milk help to reduce iciness, while whipped cream supplies air to prevent the ice cream from being too dense. When scooped, this one felt like traditional ice cream.
Pros: Great flavor and texture. The method is quick and easy with minimal effort and equipment required. While we used a stand mixer to beat the cream, you could use a hand mixer or a whisk (with some elbow grease).
Cons: The ice cream leaves a fatty film on the lips, and it melts quicker than some of the other methods.
Blender
Total time: 6 hours 10 minutes
Rating: 10/10
Method: The ice cream base for this method is made entirely in the blender. First, you process 2 cups of heavy cream until it reaches stiff peaks (stopping to scrape down the sides as needed), then stir in 1 cup sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 cup each of light corn syrup and whole milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. You then turn on the blender and process this mixture until well combined. This goes into a container and freezes until firm (6 hours).
Results: While the blender makes easy work of bringing this ice cream together and dispersing ingredients evenly, it’s the multiple kinds of sugars (sweetened condensed milk, granulated sugar, and corn syrup) that maximize texture and stability. Most notably, corn syrup prevents ice crystal formation to keep this ice cream softer and smoother. This ice cream was velvety and creamy without any trace of iciness. It melted slower than other methods and felt the most like traditional ice cream.
Pros: Tastes and feels just like churned ice cream; the texture is perfectly smooth and creamy. The process is quick and easy, and the ice cream doesn’t melt as quickly as that of other methods.
Cons: The method requires a blender and works best with a variable speed blender (not one with just an on/off switch) to allow you to control how the mixture comes together.
Related: The 9 Best Blenders of 2026, According to Our Tests
Final takeaways
If you’re looking for a simple, dependable no-churn ice cream option, the classic whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk method remains an excellent choice and requires very little hands-on time. But if you have a blender with variable speed control and want the closest approximation to premium homemade ice cream — without buying an ice cream maker — the blender method is the clear winner.
Read the original article on Food & Wine
