This homemade no churn ice cream recipe is a popular method because it doesn’t require an ice cream maker. Combine a few simple ingredients together, then fold in blueberry sauce and a deliciously buttery brown sugar crumble. It’s ready to eat after 8 hours of freezing.
Meet your new summer love: no churn blueberry crumble ice cream.
Here’s Why You’ll Love No Churn Ice Cream
- literally the creamiest ice cream ever
- base is only 2 ingredients
- no ice cream maker required!!!
- ready to eat after a few hours in the freezer
I adore homemade churned ice cream and we actually made vanilla ice cream last summer with a hand-crank ice cream maker!!!! But for anyone who doesn’t have a retro or modern ice cream maker— or simply doesn’t want to break it out— try this popular no-churn method. Add your homemade touch on this basic no-churn ice cream by folding in vanilla extract, a swirl of blueberry, and crumble topping. Think crumb cake meets blueberry crisp!
How to Make No-Churn Ice Cream
This ice cream begins with the very popular no-churn method originating from Martha Stewart. If you haven’t tried this simple homemade ice cream, now’s your chance. The base is 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and 1 pint of heavy cream.
Whip 2 cups (1 pint) of heavy cream into stiff peaks, a little stiffer than when we make homemade whipped cream. Using the mixer or by hand, fold in 1 can of full-fat sweetened condensed milk. The sweetened condensed milk adds a silky creamy texture as well as sweetness. Add any flavors or add-ins (I almost ALWAYS add vanilla extract), then spread into a container. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours, but I find the ice cream has the BEST texture when frozen for about 8 hours or even overnight.
That’s it. Homemade ice cream has never been easier!
3 Parts to Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream
For the blueberry crumble ice cream flavor, we’ll combine the ice cream base with buttery cinnamon brown sugar crumbles and fresh blueberry sauce.
- Blueberry Swirl
- Crumble
- Ice Cream Base
Blueberry Swirl
Prepare the blueberry sauce first. You can use a blueberry jam, blueberry preserves, or even homemade blueberry sauce topping instead. Or simply cook a simple blueberry sauce on the stovetop with fresh/frozen blueberries, cornstarch, water, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. The homemade blueberry sauce will thicken on the stove. When it’s done, cool it down in the refrigerator. You can prepare the blueberry sauce up to 1 week in advance and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
I strained the blueberry sauce before swirling into the ice cream. This is totally optional! If you want blueberry chunks in your ice cream, don’t strain. I’ll leave that up to you!
Crumble
While you’re waiting for the blueberry sauce to cool, prepare the crumble. You need flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, and melted butter. If you’re concerned about consuming raw flour, sprinkle it on a lined baking sheet and bake for 3-5 minutes. This heat-treated flour is now safe to consume. Combine the flour with cinnamon and brown sugar, then gently mix in melted butter. The crumble topping stays relatively soft after the ice cream is frozen and, as you can imagine, taste unbelievable with the blueberry swirls!
Ice Cream
Now put everything together! Fold in vanilla extract, the crumble, then very gently swirl in the blueberry sauce. The ice cream will turn purple/blue if the blueberry sauce is over-mixed. Just a couple folds with a large spoon or rubber spatula is all you need.
Spoon the thick ice cream mixture into a loaf pan or other deep bowl/pan. Super casual recipe here; use whatever deep pan you have. I find a loaf pan works great. No need to grease it!
Scoop, spoon, lick, melt. This is summer in a scoop. If you have any leftover heavy cream, go ahead and whip up some fresh whipped cream for on top!
More Frozen Treat Recipes
- Brownie Baked Alaska
- Easy Ice Cream Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake
- Ice Cream Loaf Cake
Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours, 25 minutes
- Yield: 1.5 quarts
- Category: Ice Cream
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Swirled with blueberry and crumb cake topping pieces, this homemade blueberry crumble ice cream will be your new favorite flavor!
Ingredients
Blueberry Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 cup (190g) fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
Crumble
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour*
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, melted
Ice Cream
- 2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
- 14 ounce (396g) can full-fat sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the blueberry sauce: Mix the cornstarch and water together in a very small bowl. Set aside. Combine blueberries and granulated sugar together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly, bursting the blueberries against the sides of the pan. Once the blueberries have released some liquid, add the cornstarch/water. Turn the heat up to medium. Stir and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Mixture will thicken as it cools. I place it in the refrigerator to cool down quicker.
- Optional: Before or after cooling, strain through a fine-mesh strainer if you don’t want blueberry chunks in your ice cream.
- Make the crumble: I find a fork works best for mixing the crumble. Mix the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Add the melted butter and mix until crumbles form. Set aside.
- Make the ice cream: In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract, then beat on low speed until just combined. Using a large spoon or rubber spatula, fold in the crumbles. Lastly, gently fold in 1/4 cup – 1/3 cup of the blueberry sauce, creating swirls. (Use any leftovers to spoon on top!)
- Spoon/pour the ice cream mixture into a deep freezer-safe container or bowl. I suggest a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Cover tightly and freeze for at least 6 hours and up to 2 weeks.
- Scoop, serve, and enjoy!
Make ahead tip: Prepare and freeze the ice cream for up to 2 weeks. The blueberry sauce and crumble can be prepared 1 day in advance. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use in step 3.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare and freeze the ice cream for up to 2 weeks. The blueberry sauce and crumble can be prepared 1 day in advance. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use in step 3.
- Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | 5-qt Tilt-Head Glass Mixing Bowl | Glass Mixing Bowls | Loaf Pan | Ice Cream Scoop
- Flour: If you’re concerned about consuming raw flour, sprinkle it on a lined baking sheet and bake for 3-5 minutes at 350°F (177°C) before using in step 3.
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s very popular no-churn method!
Keywords: blueberry crumble ice cream
My mom and I made this recipe yesterday as a fun Friday activity and it was delicious!! We doubled the blueberry sauce and decided to stir it in really well so that the ice cream came out a really pretty lavender color. We’ll definitely be making this again. And we’re excited to use this vanilla ice cream as a base for lots of different kinds of mix ins… Thank you, Sally, for a great recipe, as always!
★★★★★
Hi Sally. I’ve made the blueberry version many times without the crumble and it’s delightful. I want to make chocolate swirl for thanksgiving. I’m planning to use chocolate chips to make ganache because I don’t care if it isn’t perfectly smooth. I want to add expresso powder. Will a teaspoon be enough? Should I dissolve it in water first?
Merci beaucoup for all the great recipes.
Sandra.
Hi Sandra, we’d recommend starting with a teaspoon. Then you can increase/decrease to you liking in future batches. Let us know how it goes!
Hi, I made this recipe and we loved it. Then I made it with chunks of chocolate and cherries and it was fabulous. I remember reading a link that lead to an adaptation using powdered milk for a creamier texture, but I can’t find it now. Can you help?
★★★★★
Hi Debi, We are so happy that you enjoyed this recipe. We haven’t tested a version with powdered milk, but let us know if you try anything!
I’ve tried several variations of this recipe, today I made a pumpkin version by adding pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar to pumpkin puree cooking it down until it’s thicker, then in the ice cream base I added a little Carmel extract instead of vanilla, and a dash of ground cloves in the crumble mixture. Thanks Sally for providing a great recipe that can we can play around with to come up with different combinations. P.S. I’ve never been disappointed with any recipe from your website, thank you!
★★★★★
This is so delicious!!!! I’m a dairy free gal so I used vegan butter (earth balance) for the crumble, and I mixed the blueberry sauce and crumble into my favorite vegan (coconut based) ice cream recipe right after it came out of the ice cream maker. Turned out amazing!
★★★★★
Can I sub vanilla paste if I’m out of vanilla extract?
Hi Amanda, yes, that should work just fine!
This was so good and so creamy. I didnt do the crumb part because i knew my family wouldnt like it, but with just the blueberry it was great
★★★★★
Is there a serving size or nutritional content?
Hi Karen, This recipe yields 1.5 quarts total. We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
BTW – I used 2 tsp of King Arthur espresso powder and it turned out perfect!
★★★★★
This looks so delicious! I want to try it with espresso and chocolate chips. How much espresso powder should I add?
Hi Kat, we haven’t tried it ourselves, but we’d recommend starting with a teaspoon. Then you can increase/decrease to you liking in future batches. Let us know how it goes!
This was so good! I had an unopened box of heavy cream from Costco that needs to be used soon. So I decided to make 2 batches / flavors. First one was a raspberry crumble. I followed the recipe exactly as written except for replacing the blueberries with the raspberries.
The 2nd one is the espresso / mocha chocolate chip ice cream. I increased the amount of whipped cream by half a cup (just because I wanted to use up my heavy cream), and added about 2 cups of mini chocolate chips. Both flavors are to die for!!!!!
If you like less it less sweet, you can definitely increase the heavy cream.
I personally preferred the raspberry crumble. But my friend, who loves coffee like me, couldn’t get enough of the espresso chocolate chip version 🙂 My husband has never been a fan of cinnamon so I’ll skip it the next time. And probably add some chopped nuts. I did toast the crumble for about 7 minutes to make it more crunchy. I should have listened to the reviews and double the crumble lol Next time!!!! Thank you for another winner! I get most of my recipes from here!
★★★★★
Hi Sally!
Wondering if the consistency of this ice cream would be good for your ice cream loaf recipe? Thanks I’m advance!
Hi Melissa, You can use this for the ice cream loaf cake. Enjoy!
This was delicious and super easy. I used less condensed milk because otherwise it’s almost too creamy, if that was possible. Also I would double the crumble, but that’s just me. Overall it was great though, and I will definitely use this no churn method.
★★★★★
Just made this and it’s divine! Your recipes are my favorite.
★★★★★
This was so easy to put together! I never imagined I could have ice cream this good in my own house. The crumble is really what gives it that extra special touch.
I can’t wait to do it again and get the kids involved.
★★★★★
What a fun flavor. So easy to make and a great base recipe to keep experimenting whith!
★★★★★
Hey Sally! I wanted to try this recipe and i was wondering if i could use Blueberry syrup instead of the blueberries? Would that work?
Hi Mewruh, we haven’t tested this recipe with a pre-made blueberry syrup so can’t offer any insight into how it may go. Let us know if you give it a try!
This is divine! I made it in my ice cream maker since I have one. My daughter made it as instructed. Delicious both ways! I paired it with your cream cheese pound cake recipe. Heaven.
★★★★★
2nd time making this. This time I tried to replicate my favorite ice cream. Used cherries, some CC and some Bailey’s. It’s in the freezer, as we speak.
Now to start thinking of other combos. There’s a pic on FB Group, if anyone is interested.
★★★★★
We can’t stop making this!
★★★★★
We have also made a very similar no-churn pistachio ice cream that turned out creamy, nutty and utterly delicious.
What a wonderful recipe! Great ideas for variations in the comments, too.
★★★★★
GoodDay Sally!
I want to inquire how much cocoa powder i can add in to make it chocolate flavoured.
Other recipes call for ¼+ but i would like to ask you since i am unsure.
Im thinking of adding that and chocolate pieces to make it double choco.
Hi Ariffa! We haven’t tested this recipe with cocoa powder, so sorry. Look for a recipe with good reviews, and follow that instead. Chocolate pieces would be delicious! Make sure to chop them small so they aren’t too hard to bite into in the frozen ice cream.
This recipe was amazing! I made it for the family but I used frozen strawberries instead of the blueberries and BOOM! A masterpiece! Thanks Sally
★★★★★
Hi Sally! I’m a huge fan of this page and have made dozens of your recipes. Instead of the blueberry crumble, I whisked in 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to the condensed milk and vanilla before adding to the whipped cream. It made a delicious chocolate base to which I added chunks of peanut butter. It was divine!
Anyway my question… I used a Pyrex loaf pan to freeze this. After about 7 hours in the freezer, the consistency was great, but pulling it out 24 hours later, it was really hard and even after about 10 mins of sitting out, was still really hard and didn’t scoop that nicely. Is there anything I could try to fix this?
★★★★★
Hi Stefanie, This ice cream does harden over time and if it’s too solid, simply let it sit out for longer minutes before scooping. It may take a bit longer to soften up in a glass pan than aluminum, but it will!
Wonderful flavor. However I did not like the idea of raw flour in my ice cream, so lightly toasted the crumble before adding it. Made it nice and crunchy,
Hi Sally
I plan to make this recipe soon and use it to make an ice cream cake! With an oreo crumb crust *drool drool drool*. I can’t find heavy cream in the stores- the most I can find is whipping cream with about 33 % fat (I live in Canada and hear that whipping cream is the heaviest cream we have available). Will this work?
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi Naomi! That cream should work just fine in this recipe.
How many calories are in a serving of ice cream without the crumble?
Hi Glynis, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I make a lot of “firsts” using Sally’s recipes, like my first pizza dough was made from Sally and this is no different. Instructions are always complete, easy to follow, and reliable. So this was my “first” in making no-churn ice cream. I followed the recipe to a tee and was not disappointed. It was delicious, honestly, better than I expected, and I do like my Ben & Jerry’s. Thanks Sally 😉
★★★★★
Having never used heavy cream for any reason, I was wondering how half and half would work, if at all?
Hi Beth, Whipped heavy cream is the base of this recipe. Unfortunately half and half isn’t a good substitution as you won’t be able to whip it.
I love this recipe and make it multiple times during the summer, my husband always requests it. I make it with raspberries instead of blueberries (I strain the seeds before adding the cornstarch) and swirl in thin ribbons of slightly heated nutella in layers as I pour.
★★★★★