When it comes to homemade ice cream recipes, it doesn’t get much easier than this cookies and cream ice cream! You only need 3 ingredients and a few hours in the freezer for rich, creamy no-churn Oreo ice cream from scratch.
If you’ve ever bought an ice cream maker, you know the novelty wears off fast. It’s a lot of work to make a custard on the stovetop, then you’ve got to wait for it to chill, and if you forget to freeze the ice cream machine drum ahead of time?
Welp, you’re going to have to wait a few more days to make your ice cream!
No-churn ice cream to the rescue! It’s every bit as decadent and creamy as regular ice cream, with none of the hassle. My 2-ingredient vanilla ice cream and other easy ice cream recipes are family faves, but this cookies and cream ice cream takes basic vanilla to the next level by adding crushed Oreos to the mix.
This is a game-changer, friends.
Why You’ll Love It
Dietary Note
Want to whip up some gluten-free cookies and cream ice cream? So easy! Just swap the regular Oreos for gluten-free Oreos.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Oreo Cookies – You’ll need 1 1/2 cups of cookie crumbs, which is about 16 Oreos.
- Heavy Cream – Make sure you start with very cold cream; place the carton in the coldest part of your refrigerator, or even pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so before starting the recipe.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – Don’t use evaporated milk! The cans look similar, but condensed milk has sugar in it, while evaporated milk does not—and you don’t want unsweetened ice cream!
Directions
- Prep – Pulse the Oreos in a food processor until coarse crumbs form, or place the cookies in a sealable plastic bag and use a mallet or rolling pin to crush them.
- Whip Cream – Pour the cream into a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat it until stiff peaks form.
- Fold In – Add sweetened condensed milk to the whipped heavy cream, then fold in the Oreos.
- Freeze – Freeze two hours for a soft serve consistency, or longer for a more traditional ice cream texture.
Tip
You can add vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, or vanilla bean to amp up the vanilla flavor in this cookies and cream ice cream.
Shortcut
Oreo makes cookie crumbs that you can use for baking and recipes. If your grocery store sells them, you can save yourself a little bit of prep time!
If you’re a huge fan of Oreo cookies (this homemade version is hard to beat) you’ve got to check out my collection of Oreo Desserts – there are so many ways to use this iconic cookie!
Variations
- Cookie Monster Ice Cream – Color the ice cream blue with gel food coloring and replace half of the crushed Oreos with crushed chocolate chip cookies.
- Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream – Add the crushed Oreos to my 3 ingredient creamy chocolate ice cream recipe as the base instead of vanilla.
- White Chocolate Cookies and Cream Ice Cream – Use a kitchen peeler to make shavings of white chocolate from a bar and fold those in with the Oreo bits; they’ll help bring out more of the cream flavor in the cookies and cream.
Tool to Use
A standard-size loaf pan is the perfect size and shape for freezing homemade ice cream. Simply press a piece of plastic wrap over the top!
How to Store
Once the ice cream has been frozen, store it in an airtight container for up to two weeks. The ice cream will stay fresh and delicious as long as you keep it in the freezer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This recipe is designed to be made without an ice cream maker. All you need is a bowl, a mixer, a pan, and a few hours in the freezer.
Yes, it is, but somehow magic happens when you add those Oreo crumbs to the vanilla ice cream. The bigger crumbs add texture, while the smaller ones infuse every bite of ice cream with cookies and cream flavor.
Absolutely! Feel free to mix in your favorite cookies, like chocolate chip cookies or snickerdoodles, or use some fun flavored Oreos to switch things up. The candy cane Joe-Joe’s from Trader Joe’s are especially good in this recipe.
No, the fat in this no-churn cookies and cream ice cream recipe is really important for nailing that perfect texture. Don’t try swapping in lower-fat substitutes like half-and-half or whole milk.
Tips
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Stiff peaks are when you can lift the beaters and peaks form without drooping at the tips. If the tips fold over, the cream isn’t ready yet.
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You can use a stand mixer to make this cookies and cream ice cream, or a hand mixer. If you don’t have either of these, you can make whipped cream with a whisk, but it takes a lot of patience!
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If the ice cream is hard to scoop straight out of the freezer, you can let it sit at room temperature a bit until it softens up.
More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1½ cup crushed Oreos about 16 Oreos
- 2 cups heavy cream cold
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Crush Oreos in a food processor or sealable plastic bag with a mallet. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, whip heavy cream, gradually increasing speed until stiff peaks form.
- Blend in sweetened condensed milk. Fold in crushed Oreos and pour the mixture into loaf pan.
- Freeze until solid, about 2 hours for soft serve consistency or longer for more solid ice cream.
Julie’s Tips
Video
Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
