Homemade Coffee Ice Cream (easy no-churn recipe)

Ingredients needed to make the best coffee ice cream recipe

cream – while heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are slightly different both will work in this recipe. Because heavy cream has more fat the end result will be slightly creamier if you use it versus whipping cream. Whole milk doesn’t have the richness of cream so it’s not a good choice when making your own ice cream.

sweetened condensed milk – this ingredient adds the perfect amount of sweetness as well as texture and stability. This helps to ensure our ice cream doesn’t develop large ice crystals so it stays creamy and doesn’t separate. 

instant coffee – use what you have, either instant coffee granules of instant espresso powder. You will need to use about twice as much instant coffee as called for in the recipe to achieve the strong coffee flavor that espresso gives. I have not made this recipe using ground coffee so I can’t give directions for that. 

vanilla extract – I use this to give our ice cream base a little added flavor. 

How to make homemade coffee ice cream

1. Place a freezer-safe container in the freezer at least a couple of hours before you are going to make the ice cream (I use a metal loaf pan because it gets nice and cold). Also place the mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer at least 30 minutes ahead of time. Everything needs to be ice cold. 
2. Mix the instant coffee and water together in a small bowl and stir until the coffee has dissolved. 
3. Whip the heavy cream in a large bowl until stiff peaks form and will hold, this only takes about 2-3minutes. I use my stand mixer but this can be done with a hand mixer, or even by hand using a whisk.
4. Fold the condensed milk, coffee mixture and vanilla into the whipped cream.
5. Pour the coffee ice cream mixture into the cold pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until frozen solid, at least 4 hours. I like to let mine freeze until the next day. 
6. Take it out of the freezer and let it sit for 5-10 minutes so it is easy to scoop.

Recipe Note – If you are using instant coffee instead of instant espresso you will want to double the amount to achieve the same rich coffee flavor.  

Tips

• Do not over beat your cream or it will turn lumpy. Stop whipping once the peaks of the cream hold their shape. If you gently nudge the stiff peak with a spoon, it should stay upright and not droop. 
• If using a metal pan use a rubber band to hold the plastic wrap into place.

Additions

Make this your own coffee ice cream by adding in some mix-ins.

• Swirl in a little bit of chocolate sauce or caramel sauce.
• Fold in some chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, peanut butter chips, or chopped chocolate chip or sandwich cookies. 
• Nuts would be great in this ice cream, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans.

Storage

If stored properly, in an airtight container, this will keep in the freezer for about 3 months. We have never kept ours that long, (we don’t have that kind of self control 😉).

Try these easy desserts next!

Peanut Butter Balls

Perfectly Chocolate Frosting

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Is there coffee in coffee ice cream?

Yes, coffee ice cream does contain coffee. The coffee flavor typically comes from instant coffee, espresso powder, or brewed coffee. While the amount of coffee used is enough to give the ice cream its distinct flavor, it’s usually not a large amount, so the caffeine content is relatively low. 

A typical cup of brewed coffee packs around 95 milligrams of caffeine, a scoop of coffee ice cream might only have 30-45 milligrams. This makes it a delicious treat without being overly strong or bitter.