Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Delicious vanilla bean ice cream is the perfect topping for warm desserts or on its own. This lightened up recipe is made with 2% milk and half and half!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 22, 2024
When I bought an ice cream maker, I envisioned an endless supply of homemade vanilla bean ice cream, on the ready for topping warm homemade desserts. My fairy tale became much more feasible this week when I discovered that I could adapt my fresh mint ice cream recipe into a light vanilla bean ice cream. Now that I know how to make it, I hope to have a pint in stock at all times. Iโm in ice cream heaven!
This ice cream perfectly scoopable straight from the freezer, and whether savored on its own or topping an oven-warmed dessert, itโs a perfect scoop indeed. Lighter than most, it calls for 2% milk and half and half rather than whole milk and heavy cream. Itโs more like an ice cream/gelato hybrid than an intensely creamy, heavy ice cream. Homemade ice cream recipes generally call for 5 to 6 eggs, but this one only requires 2, which makes it less expensive, too. That said, organic milk and eggs go a long way in making this ice cream so tasty. Theyโre worth it!
Light Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Delicious vanilla bean ice cream is the perfect topping for warm desserts or on its own. This lightened up recipe is made with 2% milk and half and half!
Ingredients
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 vanilla bean*
- ยพ cups turbinado (raw) sugar
- dash of salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons real vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine milk and half-and-half in a medium sized, heavy sauce pan or Dutch oven.
- Use a small paring knife to slice open the vanilla bean (lengthwise from top to bottom). Use a spoon to scrape out the insides. Add the insides and the rest of the vanilla bean to the pan.
- Over medium-high heat, heat the mixture until tiny bubbles form around the edge (which should be about 180 degrees). Do not let it boil!
- Remove from heat, cover and let stand for ten minutes.
- In a new bowl, combine sugar, salt and egg yolks. Whisk the mixture until it is pale.
- Temper the milk mixture by gradually adding half of the milk mixture to the egg mixture, while stirring constantly with a whisk.
- Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk.
- Cook over medium-low heat for about two minutes (or to 160 degrees), stirring constantly.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to speed the process. Place the bowl in the fridge overnight. That way the mixture will have time to cool completely, and more time to soak up the flavor from the vanilla bean. If you donโt have time to let it sit overnight, be sure that it is at least thoroughly and completely chilled before proceeding to the next step. The colder it is, the creamier it will be.
- Use a spoon to scoop out the solid vanilla bean, and discard it.
- Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturerโs instructions. In the meantime, chill your freezer-safe ice cream container in the freezer so the ice cream wonโt melt when you transfer it.
- Transfer the ice cream to your container and freeze it for a few hours. Enjoy perfectly scoopable, delicious vanilla bean ice cream!
Notes
Adapted from Cooking Lightโs fresh mint ice cream recipe (May 2010).
*If you donโt have vanilla bean: Increase the amount of vanilla extract to 1 tablespoon.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Since today is officially the first day of fall, letโs hear it for fall desserts! Whatโs your favorite? Be sure to comment below or on my new Facebook page!
here is an easy recipe for the days you need a quick fix ;)
http://www.elleinadspir.com/2010/08/ice-cream-soda-pop-vanilla-on-top.html
Iโm all about homemade ice cream, but my lighter versions usually freeze hard as a rock โ the fact that your vanilla ice cream is scoop-able straight from the freezer speaks volumes :). Once I tire of pumpkin desserts, I will definitely be making this!
I love โwhiteโ posts. Theyโre so light and airy. :) Shaun will be making this tonight, Iโm sure.
Such a classic. And what beautiful photographs! I love it, Kate! :-)
Itโs time for breakfast, but now I want ice cream! Looks so delicious, and your photographs are beautiful. :)
Yum! Vanilla bean is my favorite flavor for ice cream. This summer I did an experiment trying out all the different types of vanilla beans and comparing their flavors. I found Mexican vanilla bean too rich for summer (but perfect for winter). In the end I loved the Madagascar vanilla bean for itโs balanced rich, sweet, and delicate flavor.
Iโm swooning just looking at this! Canโt wait till I;m home for the holidays and have access to an ice cream maker; I;m totally trying this! I totally recommend making ice cream with Greek yogurt, too. Itโs a lot lighter, but super delicious (it works well with anise and lemon!)!
Ainโt nothinโ like the real thing! I love having a few little tastes of ice cream when itโs just finished churning, all soft serve-like. So yummy :)
I am in love with this recipe. It looks so simple. Adding to my favorites :)
Yum, yum, yum, yum. I need some light ice cream in my life!
You can never go wrong with vanilla bean!
Classic!! Such a beautiful postโฆ I love the first photo!
My favorite flavour!
This looks stunning!! I am beyond thrilled that you stopped by my blog so I could find yours. How have I not seen it before? Gorgeous. And this ice cream looks like perfection.
As much as I love chocolate, Iโm a vanilla ice cream girl at heart and its what I crave the most often!
OOHHโฆ I must try this. I just got an ice cream maker and this seems like such a healthy option. The first (and only) one I made was a fresh corn ice cream that was divine. Hopefully, I will get around to posting about it soon :)
Hi thereโฆhave just ordered an ice cream maker and cant wait to start making my own..this looks deliciously simple; just wondering, I am planning on using raw milk from my local farmer to make all my ice cream, so would I need to make any adjustments with other ingredients, or just substitute 3 cups raw milk for the above recipe? thanks alotโฆ
Hi Simone, that is a really good question and Iโm not entirely sure I know the answer. Three cups of raw whole milk will produce a different fat content than the recipe given above, and Iโm not sure what the resulting texture would be like. In Jeniโs Splendid Ice Cream at Home, Jeni says, โIf you are using nonhomogenized milk and cream, you will need to take an extra step to fully homogenize the mixture. Otherwise, the butterfat will clump together in the churning process and your ice cream will be buttery and grainy.โ She goes on to say that after the mixture has been heated, โpour the mixture into a food processor, process for 2 minutes, and then chill it in an ice bath (I think you could probably chill it as described in the recipe above). Just before you pour the base into the ice cream machine, return the base to the food processor for another 2 minutes.โ Hope this information helps!
Hi!
I was wondering, is it bad if there is still egg/sugar clumps that are uncooked in the mixture when you put it in the fridge? Is it un-healthy?
Hmm, Iโm not quite sure what youโre describing. The egg and sugar should be mixed in well with the rest, so there shouldnโt be any difference in texture from those ingredients. If you overcook the mixture, the egg will start to scramble, or in other words clump up. If that happened, I would just scoop out the scrambled bits and proceed with the rest of the recipe. If you can still see sugar granules, I donโt think that will be a problem. Hopefully they will dissolve by the time youโre ready to pour the mixture into the machine. Hope that answers your question!
I have an old fashioned 6 qt ice cream maker. Iโm wondering how to adapt this recipe for this type quantity.
Sorry Angie, Iโm not sure. This recipe yields about a quart or less, so you could perhaps multiply it to make a larger batch in your ice cream maker.
I know this is an older posting but I needed a great, lighter ice cream for my heavier brownie dinner party contribution on Sunday and KNEW to look here. It was so delicious. Only tricky part was how soft it was, melted super fast, but 100% rave reviews. Happen to have left over ingredients (along w some extra chocolate chips) so I guess I should make a batch for home.
Thanks, Katie! Glad the ice cream was a hit! If you like fresh mint, I also have a mint ice cream recipe that based on this one. I bet that would be pretty good with chocolate chips!
I have made this ice cream twice and it came out perfectly both times. I added vegan chocolate chips and walnuts at the at the last 5 minutes of time in the ice cream maker.
Glad to hear it! Thank you, Randi!
To begin with i was sad to put so much sugar, but i followed your recipe because i know that sugar keeps it from becoming ice. but then the taste was just too sweet. โฆwill the texture be ruined if i decrease the sugar.
Hi, Iโm sorry it was too sweet for you. This recipe uses about as much sugar as most other ice cream recipes. Iโm not sure how it will turn out with less sugar, wish I could tell you for sure!
Well I am happy to report that I decreased to o half cup and it didnโt hrt the texture. And level of sweetness was great. Now Iโm gonna push my luck and see how 1/4 cup goes in terms of taste and texture.
I really want to make this recipe, it sounds delicious! I have one question though. How much white sugar would I use instead of the raw sugar?
The same amount, I think!
When I bake I love using a vanilla extract from Madagascar. and I make my own! at home! If youโre like me, check out:
โexpertspices.comโ for vanilla from Madagascar.
They have a deal of 10% off your first 10 orders!!! You just have to create an account!
Delicious! And, this recipe is less work than other recipes Iโve tried. This is definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing!
I just got an ice cream machine and plan on trying this recipe! Iโm wondering if anyone has tried Swerve or Splenda in place of the sugar??