We Made Homemade Ice Cream In A Bag & We've Lost All Chill (2024)

No fancy ice cream maker? No problem! You can make delicious homemade ice cream without any special gadget or crazy ingredients. All you need is a plastic baggie and 15 minutes (no seriously, that's it!). It's fully customizable based on your fave flavors and toppings, so you can truly create your perfect bowl of ice cream right at home. Scoop directly out of the bag (or place it in an airtight container in the freezer before serving if you like yours a little firmer), and enjoy your favorite customizable homemade ice cream recipe in less time than it takes to run out and grab a pint.

What People Are Saying:
"This recipe brought back so many great memories and we didn't even have to pull out the hand mixer! Great flavor and loved the soft texture! We doubled this recipe from the start and used a 5 gallon bag for the ice and a one gallon bag for the cream!" - Great activity!

"This was amazing, super delish and fun to do as a family or with friends. 5 stars definitely recommend." - Caz5

How To Make Ice Cream In A Bag

Ingredients

• Half & Half: Some recipes use heavy cream, but I prefer to use half & half. It nails the perfect balance of a creamy yet icy texture that isn’t too rich.
• Granulated Sugar: This provides the perfect amount of sweetness, and don’t worry about any texture—shaking your ingredients in the bag will combine it well, and won’t leave any sugar pieces.
• Vanilla Extract: I use vanilla extract to make vanilla ice cream in this recipe, but your options don’t stop there. If you want to flavor your ice cream, you can change up the extract with whatever you prefer (peppermint! strawberry!).

Step-By-Step Instructions

Grab a small or medium resealable bag, and add in your half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla (or whatever extract you're using). Before sealing your bag, make sure you push out all of the excess air.

Then, grab a larger resealable bag. Add your ice and salt, then place the sealed small bag inside of the larger bag.

Now, it's time to give everything a very good shake. Shake the bag vigorously—I mean vigorously—for around 7 to 10 minutes. Shaking the bag will mix together all of the ingredients and harden the ice cream, so keep shaking until you get a nice and creamy ice cream texture.

Once your ice cream is the perfect texture, it's time for the best part: the toppings. Add whatever you please, from candy to fruit to nuts.

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

How To Top Your Ice Cream

We all know that one of the best parts of a bowl of ice cream is the toppings. I love folding in chopped Oreos or Reeses after shaking, but feel free to top with fruit (strawberries, blueberries...), gummy candy, nuts, fun sprinkles, or your favorite chopped up candy bar. This ice cream is all about you—make your perfect bowl!

Storage

Because this ice cream is so easy to whip up, I recommend making it fresh every time you want to enjoy it. That being said, you can get ahead on the process if you'd like. If you're looking for firmer ice cream, place it in an airtight container in the freezer for a few hours before enjoying.