Raw Milk Ice Cream: How to Make Creamy Ice Cream at Home

Raw milk ice cream is a delicious dessert that can be made and enjoyed at home by the whole family! This recipe is rich, creamy and totally customizable!

After getting our jersey cow, we quickly started drowning in gallons of milk! With lots of fresh milk and fresh cream, we needed to find new recipes to use up all of that beautiful milk.

Homemade ice cream is a great way to satisfy our sweet tooth when we have a craving, and preserve our valuable raw milk for later.

Raw Milk Ice Cream Ingredients

Raw Whole Milk – this recipe uses raw milk, but can be substituted for store bought milk as well. DO NOT use 2% or anything other than whole milk, though. This will change the creamy texture of the finished ice cream.
Raw Heavy Cream (also often labeled heavy whipping cream)- this recipe uses raw cream, but can be substituted for store bought cream as well.
Egg Yolk – A raw egg yolk maximizes the creamy texture and a much richer flavor in this recipe. You can add up to 4 egg yolks if you want an even richer ice cream. Any more than that amount of egg yolks can impart a stronger flavor.
Sugar – this recipe uses white sugar, but can be substituted with local maple syrup or raw honey in the same amounts if you prefer.
Vanilla Extract
Salt – a fine grain salt works best here since this recipe isn’t heated at all.
Cocoa Powder (optional) – for a rich chocolate ice cream flavor

Helpful Tools to Make Ice Cream at Home

• Stick blender – if you don’t have a stick blender you can use a whisk, or a regular blender. When using a regular blender, be sure not to over mix to avoid breaking the cream.
• Large measuring cup with pour spout – the one I used was a glass 4 cup measuring cup with a pour spout.
• Ice cream machine – this homemade raw milk ice cream recipe uses an ice cream maker with a freezable bowl.
• A glass dish for storage – I used a glass container with a lid to keep ice crystals out.

How to Make Raw Milk Ice Cream

Before getting started, freeze the ice cream maker bowl of your ice cream maker for 24 hours before you use it.

After freezing the ice cream machine bowl, combine milk, heavy cream, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cocoa powder (if using) in a large measuring cup or bowl.

Using a stick blender or whisk, combine all ingredients until the egg yolk and cocoa powder is well combined with the other ingredients. 

Place the ice cream mixture into the refrigerator for 20 minutes to make sure everything is cold.

When your ice cream base mixture is cold, pour into a frozen ice cream maker.

Turn the ice cream maker on and allow the machine to mix the ice cream until frozen. (this will take 15-25 minutes)

After mixing, put the ice cream into a storage container to put into the freezer.Allow the ice cream to finish freezing for 2 hours, or until fully frozen.

(You can also serve the ice cream straight out of the ice cream maker if you prefer a soft-serve style ice cream.)

Scoop, serve, and enjoy your homemade raw milk ice cream!

Tips for Making Creamy Ice Cream at Home

• If you don’t have a stick blender, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and egg yolk with a small amount of cream before adding the rest of the milk and cream. This will ensure you’re able to adequately combine everything without the stick blender.
• Your ice-cream maker might begin to thaw before fully freezing your ice cream if your house is too warm. To combat this, place the mostly frozen mixture into your freezer container. Continue to mix your ice cream every hour until fully frozen for that creamy texture you’re looking for!
• Try different flavors – make your favorites!

How to Make Different Flavors of Raw Milk Ice Cream

If you prefer a vanilla ice cream, simply omit the cocoa powder. The vanilla raw milk ice cream base is a fabulous starting point for any flavor you love!

Strawberry jam, fresh fruit, or even coffee are all great variations on this recipe!

To use a jam, add 1/4-1/2 cup jam to flavor the ice cream.

In order to add fruit, coffee, or other toppings, add 1/2 cup to the ice cream.

The possibilities are endless!

Topping Ideas

• Chocolate chips
• Brownies
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Cookie dough
• Fresh fruit
• Chocolate syrup
• Caramel sauce
• Berry compote

Do I Have to Use Raw Milk in this Recipe?

The choice to consume raw milk is a personal family decision that you should be make equipped with knowledge.

Some states have strict raw dairy laws that can make access to fresh raw milk difficult, especially if you don’t have your own family milk cow.

Try to find a local farm or farmers market to purchase some.

If you want more information to inform your decision on this ingredient, check out The Raw Milk Institute or the Campaign for Real Milk.

If you don’t feel comfortable using raw milk, or have difficulty accessing it, you can absolutely make this recipe using pasteurized milk and cream from your local grocery store as well.

Health Benefits of Milk

It’s no secret that milk has been around a long time, with it going in and out of public favor in more recent years.

With young kids, though, milk has great vitamins and essential nutrients that help my active kiddos stay satiated and balanced throughout the day (hello hangry toddlers).

We’ve all heard that milk promotes strong bones, but did you know dairy milk also contains these important nutrients:

• Protein
• Fat
• Calcium
• Vitamin D
• Riboflavin (B2)
• Vitamin B12
• Potassium
• Phosphorus
• Selenium

Additionally, cows fed organic or grass fed diets tend to have more optimal levels of conjugated linoleic acid, and Omega-3’s in their milk.

If you want more information about the nutrients that make up milk and what they do for your body, check out this article.

Why You Should Make Ice Cream at Home

I’m a huge advocate for making from-scratch recipes where possible.

Making your favorite foods from scratch is a great way to save money.

Even more than that, though, it’s the best way to avoid unnecessary ingredients and additives in store-bought foods.

Store-bought ice cream contains ingredients like:

• Added flavors
• Cellulose gel
• Cellulose gum
• Monoglycerides
• Diglycerides
• Vegetable gums
• Possible allergy exposure like various nuts, wheat, and soy from the manufacturing process.

By making your ice cream at home, you can control exactly what flavors and ingredients you want your family to be consuming.

Other Raw Milk Recipes on the Blog

Check out these other delicious recipes using raw dairy products!

• Easy Homemade Whipped Cream
• Peppermint Mocha Creamer
• Pumpkin Coffee Creamer
• Best Chocolate Milk for Toddlers
• Easiest Raw Milk Yogurt

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