This easy mason jar ice cream is a great way to make ice cream at home without a machine. You only need four ingredients (heavy cream, vanilla, sugar, and salt) and some decent arm strength and stamina to make it—and you can flavor it any way you want.

See our mason jar ice cream tutorial for a video demo of the process, handy tips and tricks, and recipes for both mint chocolate chip and strawberry-balsamic flavors.

Or stick with the basic creamy vanilla and add your favorite ice cream toppings. Any way you dress it up, it’s sure to be your new favorite summer treat.

  • Yield: 3 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 3 hr 5 min
  • Active: 5 min

Ingredients (4)

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a mason jar and secure the lid.
  2. Shake the mason jar for 3-5 minutes (depending on your strength and speed), until the cream thickens and almost doubles in volume. The mixture should be able to easily coat the back of a spoon, and feel like a loose batter. It may take more or less time to get there.
  3. Freeze the jar for at least 3 hours, or until ice cream hardens. Scoop and serve with your favorite ice cream toppings. See our mason jar ice cream tutorial for advice on adding mix-ins to the base itself.