Weeknight No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
No machine and no eggs: cold cream, condensed milk and milk powder whipped glossy in a food processor in about 15 minutes, then left to freeze.
No-churn ice cream gets its air from whipped cream instead of a machine and its smooth, scoopable body from sweetened condensed milk, which brings sugar and milk solids with very little water. This version is from the Washington Post's Becky Krystal and Aaron Hutcherson, republished in The Philadelphia Inquirer in August 2025, and it adds milk powder for more body and uses a food processor, which they found gave a better texture than a stand mixer. It is the weeknight cousin of Philadelphia-style ice cream (our Philadelphia-Style Vanilla Ice Cream recipe): eggless, uncooked and ready to freeze in minutes.
🇺🇸 This one is American
No machine and no eggs: cold cream, condensed milk and milk powder whipped glossy in a food processor in about 15 minutes, then left to freeze.
🇮🇹 The original
Italian gelato is churned slowly from milk with less cream and less air than American ice cream, so it is denser and served a little warmer. See the Fior di Latte Gelato (Italian Milk Gelato) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Condensed milk
Its sugar and milk solids with very little water keep ice crystals small, so the ice cream scoops without churning.
Milk powder
Extra milk solids absorb free water and add body, which makes the texture denser and creamier.
Step by step
- Step 1
Put the cream in the freezer for 20 minutes, until very cold but not frozen. At the same time freeze a 9 by 5-inch metal loaf pan and chill the food processor bowl and blade.
- Step 2
Pour the cold cream into the processor and pulse 8 to 10 times, until slightly foamy.
- Step 3
Add the vanilla, condensed milk, milk powder and salt. Process until noticeably thicker, at least 2 minutes.
- Step 4
Pulse in short bursts, checking after each, until glossy, slightly expanded and like slightly melted soft serve; a spoonful tipped sideways should hold for a few seconds. Stop early rather than late.
- Step 5
Scrape into the cold loaf pan, smooth the top and press parchment directly on the surface.
- Step 6
Freeze at least 6 hours, until firm. Serve straight from the freezer.
Weeknight No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
Serves 8 · about 1 quart · 15 min total
Base
- 2 cups heavy cream, cold
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (or the seeds of 1 vanilla bean)
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup nonfat or whole milk powder
- 1/8 tsp fine salt
Method
- Put the cream in the freezer for 20 minutes, until very cold but not frozen. At the same time freeze a 9 by 5-inch metal loaf pan and chill the food processor bowl and blade.
- Pour the cold cream into the processor and pulse 8 to 10 times, until slightly foamy.
- Add the vanilla, condensed milk, milk powder and salt. Process until noticeably thicker, at least 2 minutes.
- Pulse in short bursts, checking after each, until glossy, slightly expanded and like slightly melted soft serve; a spoonful tipped sideways should hold for a few seconds. Stop early rather than late.
- Scrape into the cold loaf pan, smooth the top and press parchment directly on the surface.
- Freeze at least 6 hours, until firm. Serve straight from the freezer.
Adapted from Becky Krystal and Aaron Hutcherson's "Dreamy No-Churn Ice Cream" (The Washington Post, republished by The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 13, 2025): (2 cups cold heavy cream, 1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla, one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup milk powder, 1/8 tsp salt; cream and pan chilled 20 minutes; processed at least 2 minutes; frozen at least 6 hours in a loaf pan; keeps up to 1 month; 8 servings). Followed closely; wording ours. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (1)
Tips
- Do not overprocess: the authors warn the cream can turn into sweet butter. A little underwhipped is better.
- Mix-ins: up to 1 1/2 cups total, layered in as you fill the pan; swirl in jam or fudge with a knife (source notes).
- Chocolate version: swap half the milk powder for 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (source variation).
- It softens fast at room temperature; scoop and return it to the freezer. Keeps up to 1 month, tightly covered.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- No-churn is not real ice cream. Folklore: it is whipped, not churned, but it is still frozen cream and milk solids; the US standard (21 CFR 135.110) is about fat and solids, not method.
- You must use a stand mixer. Documented as not needed: the authors tested both and preferred the food processor's texture.
- A splash of alcohol keeps it soft. Documented with a limit: the authors say to use it sparingly, because too much stops it from freezing.
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