Normally when you make homemade ice cream you use quite a bit of cream, and with the rising cost of dairy and cream already being expensive, sometimes it’s cheaper just to do without. I love a cool ice cream treat now and then so I knew there had to be a solution! This recipe requires an ice cream maker of some sort. If you don’t have one…watch at rummage sales or end of the season sales to pick one up. They are worth it!
What you need:
- 4 c. Half and Half
- 1/2 c. Sugar
- 1 t. Vanilla Extract
Pour all the ingredients together in the ice cream maker. You can use turbinado sugar in this recipe instead of white sugar as long as you send it through your blender first to make more of a fine powder. Turn on the ice cream maker and let the magic happen. For us, this recipe only takes about 10 minutes. It won’t be hard like store bought ice cream unless you freeze it for a while after you make it, otherwise it will be more of a milk shake consistency. Still very yummy either way!
mel says
June 16, 2011 at 7:59 amcan you add strawberries or chocolate to this and stilll get milkshakes
Merissa says
June 16, 2011 at 8:30 amYes! You could add cookies or fruit or anything to make it even more yummy. 🙂
Claudia Savich says
June 5, 2012 at 2:30 pmgonna have to try this, hubby likes cocoanut so some flavoring and flake cocoanut should be good
Nicole Andra Ray says
June 5, 2012 at 2:54 pmMmm… sounds delish!! TY
mary brixey says
June 5, 2012 at 3:59 pmsounds yummy must try soonwe make onethat ha eggs in t!!!!!!!!!it yummy too oh and creamtoo.
Kathy Elliott Anderson says
June 5, 2012 at 4:03 pmI heard Friday is National Ice Cream day. So if you don’t have the fixings today, you can get them by then and feel very hip making it on the “correct” day, lol 🙂
Michaelann D says
June 5, 2012 at 4:33 pmThe first recipe I ever used (& still the 1 I use most often), calls for 1/2 whipping cream & 1.2 light cream (half & half). Much richer, while saving a lot of money
Kathryn says
July 8, 2013 at 4:31 pmCan you use splenda instead of sugar?
Merissa says
July 8, 2013 at 4:58 pmI don’t use sugar replacers so I’m not sure. Hopefully someone else will comment that uses them!
Kim Vincent says
June 11, 2014 at 1:48 amI am in Australia and make one similar, i use dextrose or natvia and works out just fine
matt says
June 10, 2014 at 11:11 pmDo you think you could use the baggie and rock salt method to make this instead of an ice cream maker
Merissa says
June 11, 2014 at 8:36 amI haven’t tried it but I don;t see why not 🙂
Kim Vincent says
June 11, 2014 at 1:45 amI’m in Australia and follow sweet poison eating plan (no fructose) i make one very similar with cream, vanilla and replace the sugar with dextrose, have also made it with natvia and works out just fine 🙂
ashley says
August 8, 2014 at 11:12 amCan this recipe be used to make ice cream in regular freezer instead of ice cream maker?
Terri says
June 22, 2018 at 4:42 pmWe have a traditional ice cream maker and a large family. What I do for cheap ice cream is make a frozen custard to freeze. In place of the heavy whipping cream and half and half the recipe calls for I use evaporated milk. No complaints yet!
Merissa says
June 22, 2018 at 5:08 pmGreat idea!
LaRene Grover says
June 25, 2018 at 11:32 pmHAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Thanks for your wonderful blog!!! Enjoy it very much<3
Merissa says
June 26, 2018 at 6:16 pmThank you so much!
Jeanie Wood says
August 15, 2018 at 10:41 pmMy poor hubby is lactose intolerant and misses ice cream so much so I substituted non-dairy coffee creamer for the Half and Half and added a tablespoon of vegetable oil, 2 T. corn starch and 1½ t. vanilla. Heat on stove until everything is dissolved and chill for at least 4 hours. I put it all in my ice cream maker like you suggested and let it churn for about 17 minutes. You should have seen my hubby’s eyes light up when he tasted it! Did you know that putting a piece of plastic wrap on the surface will prevent ice crystals from forming? Thanks for the frugal ice cream recipe which let me experiment a little to make ice cream for my poor hubby. P.S. I made my own (frugal) liquid non-dairy creamer by buying powdered creamer (Dollar store variety) and adding hot water to dissolve it (equal parts powder to hot water).
Merissa says
August 16, 2018 at 7:53 amThanks for sharing this!