Homemade Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe

The love for all things pumpkin spice takes over the autumn season to such an extent that those who aren't fans — or those who don't know they're fans yet — might tend to feel a bit left out of all the fun. Fortunately, this recipe for homemade pumpkin ice cream from recipe developer Susan Olayinka of The Flexible Fridge just may help them to find their rightful place in the pumpkin spice conversation. "Pumpkins are in season now," Olayinka says, "so I thought, why not turn it into an ice cream recipe? And the funny thing about this recipe is that my husband was downstairs [while] I was dishing it and I offered him some, and he was [like], 'erghhhh I don't like pumpkin,'" but then after Olayinka gently coaxed him into giving it a try, he was hooked. 

In addition to the fact that this homemade pumpkin ice cream is so easy to love, the other thing we're cheering about it is that it's another one of Olayinka's famous no-churn ice cream recipes, which are always delicious. While some people assume that you can't make ice cream without a fancy ice cream churning appliance, Olayinka has proven time and again that this could not be further from the truth. Come along as we make explore the simple and incredibly low-tech steps required to make this creamy, cool, pumpkin spiced sweet treat.

To make Olayinka's no-churn homemade pumpkin ice cream, you'll need 2 ½ cups of heavy cream and 1 can of sweetened condensed milk. Just so you know, these two work together in tandem to first incorporate lots of air into your ice cream (i.e., the heavy cream, which you will be whipping lots of air into, as discussed below), and also lend a creamy sweetness (i.e., the sweetened condensed milk). For the pumpkin flavor, you'll need ½ cup of pumpkin puree (which you can get canned from your grocery store), ½ teaspoon of pumpkin spice powder, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 3 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar (since pumpkin puree isn't sweet on its own).

Ready for Olayinka's secret to no-churn homemade ice cream? It's all in the air that you whip into the heavy cream. Start by pouring the heavy cream into a large, sturdy mixing bowl. To the cream, add the pumpkin spice powder, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, and powdered sugar, and use an electric beater (or stand mixer, if you have one) to whip this mixture until stiff peaks form. Although a lot happens, this process should take all of two to three minutes.

So far, we've whipped lots of air into the heavy cream along with the pumpkin puree and other flavors. At this point, if you taste a sample of this sweet, airy concoction, you'll notice that it doesn't quite have the mouth-feel of ice cream. But that's because we haven't yet added the sweetened condensed milk. So let's go ahead and do that now, and use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to fold everything together for 10 seconds — the color should be uniform at that point and the mouth-feel soft and creamy.

You've now done most of the work it requires to make Olayinka's homemade pumpkin ice cream. All that is left now is to wait until it freezes properly. To accomplish that, pour the ice cream mixture into a container, and cover it. Ideally, you would be using an airtight container, although it isn't absolutely necessary. Pop the container into your freezer for eight hours. 

After that, you can serve the ice cream in bowls, cones, and with any toppings you like, such as walnuts or the rainbow sprinkles that are pictured above. Enjoy this delicious, seasonal recipe — it will most likely be a family favorite at your house this fall and every fall to come!