As a follow-up to a blog from earlier this week regarding toxic chemicals like propylene glycol, aka antifreeze in commercial ice cream, this recipe plus video shows you how to make homemade vanilla ice cream with wholesome, nutrient-dense ingredients.
There is simply no substitute for making ice cream yourself. I’ve often advised people over the years that the best use of your time in the kitchen is making things you can’t easily buy. Wholesome, healthy ice cream is one of these “things”. Bone broth is another important one, by the way, on the savory side of the spectrum!
Even organic ice cream is loaded with refined “organic” sugar. The homemade version contains Grade B maple syrup, a much healthier and more mineral-rich choice.
Not only is the sugar non-refined in homemade ice cream if you use Grade B maple syrup, but much less sweetener is used as well. For example, in the recipe below, 1/2 cup of homemade vanilla ice cream contains approximately 12g of sugar (in the form of maple syrup). The same amount of Julie’s Organic Ice cream (vanilla) contains 18g of sugar and Haagen Daaz plain vanilla contains 21g of sugar!
That is a lot less sugar in the homemade vanilla ice cream!
Of course, the cream you would source for homemade ice cream is higher quality too. Low temp pasteurized or (preferably) fresh cream from a grass-based dairy farm would contain far more nutrition than the cream from even organic cows, which are frequently still confined eating highly unnatural “organic” feed.
You will immediately notice that when you make your own ice cream, it is much more satisfying and you won’t eat nearly as much as supermarket ice cream. The lower butterfat content in supermarket and even organic ice cream results in eating more – much, much more. Believe me, ice cream manufacturers know this fact very well!
You eat more, they SELL more! Cha-ching!
Julie’s Organic Ice Cream, for example, contains cream and the second ingredient is skim milk. Remember – pig farmers feed their pigs skim milk to make them very, very fat). A lower butterfat content in your ice cream will cause you to eat more, a LOT more, which is why homemade ice cream with high butterfat will satisfy you quicker and you will eat far less.
If vanilla ice cream is not your thing, check out this recipe for dairy-free peanut butter ice cream.
How to Make Vanilla Ice Cream (+ Video Tutorial)
The video in the recipe below shows you how easy it is to make vanilla ice cream yourself.
Try drizzling this no-cook homemade chocolate syrup on top for a healthy treat with no compromises!
What a huge difference from commercial brands Twistee Treat or Jack Nicklaus Ice Cream, which is artificial almost everything! Even organic brands contain nearly double the sugar and are low butterfat to encourage overeating and check the politically correct nutrition box.
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
How to make homemade vanilla ice cream using only wholesome ingredients that contains about half the sugar of even organic or premium brands at the store.
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks preferably pastured
- 3 cups heavy cream preferably raw and grassfed
- 1/2 cup maple syrup dark
- 1 Tbl vanilla extract
- 1 Tbl arrowroot powder
- 2 Tbl vodka optional (to soften and improve scoopability)
Instructions
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Beat egg yolks briefly in a large, glass bowl. Do not use regular store eggs. Preferably use local, free range or pastured eggs washed in warm, soapy water before cracking. Organic store eggs are ok in a pinch.
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Beat in remaining ingredients and pour into your ice cream maker. Follow your ice cream machine directions for how long the ice cream is churned.
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When the ice cream is frozen and ready (about 15-20 minutes for my machine), pour into a shallow, glass baking dish. Cover with a lid and keep in the freezer.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Do not use ultrapasteurized cream as it is highly allergenic and basically undigestible.
Olga,
I make a no-churn ice-cream all the time. The reason you traditionally churn ice-cream WHILE freezing it is that (to be scoopable) you need to freeze it with air bubbles in it. The churning helps create and capture those air bubbles. Otherwise when you freeze cream it will just turn into a solid block.
BUT, you can capture the air bubbles before freezing IF YOU WHIP THE CREAM FIRST. Whip the cream into tall peaks, then gently fold in the other ingredients. Then quickly move to the freezer. And, ta-dah! It's ice cream without an ice cream maker.
Hi Lisa, the protein cookie vlog is under the Free Cooking Classes section under "Snacks and Sweets". If you type "protein cookies" in the search box on the blog, the link will also come up as the first search result. These cookies are my kids' favorite!
I love raw milk ice cream!
I always have too many egg whites leftover from ice cream, creme brulee, mayo, etc, I would love to see the recipe for the protein cookies you make with them, but I can't find it on your blog. Can you post the link?
No, I don't think a Vitamix would work as you need a freezing unit which is the main part of the ice cream machine for the ice cream to be gradually frozen in as it is churned.
Hi Sarah,
this recipe looks very good. But do you think I can somehow make it in a Vitamix?
Thank you,
Olga
Yes, you can leave the egg yolks out if you have an egg allergy.
Just wondering if I could leave the eggs out, or substitute for something else due to egg allergies?
Hi Felicia, from what I have been told by those that understand the process of making maple syrup, when the syrup is put in barrels the grade A stuff is what comes to the top .. it is lighter and lower in minerals than the Grade B which is at the bottom of the barrel.
I am not sure about the cornstarch as I have only ever use arrowroot or flour for thickening.
does anyone know what's the difference between grade a and grade b maple syrup? (other than color…?) also, is arrowroot a one-to-one substitute for recipes that call for cornstarch as a thickener?
Hi Amy, the Sam's club grade B maple syrup is probably fine. I don't think organic maple syrup is much of an improvement over regular as maple trees aren't sprayed to my knowledge. Thanks also for the encouraging words!