Have you ever tasted no-churn Butter Pecan Ice Cream? It's a creamy vanilla base filled with tons of praline pecans for a rich and nutty dessert. With only 20 minutes of prep time, you can make a batch right at home without any specialty equipment.
You can make praline pecan ice cream at home with ease. This is a staple flavor in southern Black-American households; ask a lot of my older generation family members, and butter pecan is their favorite ice cream! My recipe only requires about 20 minutes of prep time before freezing overnight.
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.72
- Total Cost (about 12 servings): $8.68
- Those Other Guys: $5.49 per serving
Ingredients
- Heavy Whipping Cream - We whip this up using a whisk attachment on our mixer to give the ice cream base a nice, fluffy texture.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk - A can of this will provide the perfect amount of sweetness and help the ice cream freeze without turning icy.
- Chopped Pecans - The key to butter pecan ice cream. If you only have pecan halves, roughly chop them with a sharp knife.
- Brown Sugar & Butter - To create the praline coating for the pecans. You could also use white or coconut sugar.
- Salt - A pinch of salt will balance out the sweetness of the other ingredients.
Variations and Substitutions
Nuts: Other nuts like almonds, cashews, or hazelnuts work great as well.
I have a recipe roundup post on so many different No-Churn Ice Cream Ideas. You can find delicious variations like Cherry Chip Ice Cream, No-Churn Chocolate Ice Cream, or Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream. Be sure to check it out for more flavor inspiration!
How to Make No-Churn Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Step 1: Let's start by making the praline pecans. Melt together butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and chopped pecans in a skillet on medium heat.
Stir consistently until a sauce forms over the nuts, then remove from heat and let cool completely.
Step 2: While the pecans are chilling, whip up your ice cream base which is made of whipped heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt, and sweetened condensed milk.
Mix it all together, pour into a loaf pan, and wrap with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for at least 6 hours and enjoy!
Recipe Pro Tips
- Chill your tools. Add your whisk attachment and mixing bowl to the freezer for about 5 minutes before whipping the heavy cream. This keeps everything nice and cold!
- Don't overmix the cream. If you use too high of a speed to mix the cream, your whipped cream can curdle. To stabilize the whipped cream and get it nice and smooth again, simply fold in a little more cold heavy cream by hand using a spatula until it evens out. Be gentle!
- Cover twice. Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap, then wrap with aluminum foil. We don't want the ice cream to taste like freezer.
- Be patient. Be sure to let the ice cream set fully. Six hours in the freezer is the absolute minimum, but I always recommend overnight for best results.
Recipe FAQs
This usually happens due to overmixing. You can pour in just a little bit of cold heavy cream into the bowl, and gently hand-fold it into the curdled whipped cream using a spatula until it smooths out. I also recommend placing your mixing bowl and tools into the freezer before whipping cream to keep everything as cold as possible.
Yes! You can use agave or sugar as the compote sweetener; non-dairy butter is a great substitute.
In addition, you can find non-dairy heavy cream and vegan sweetened condensed coconut milk in the grocery store, or make your own using oat or almond milk.
Not at all! While many recipes (especially those that require an ice cream maker) call for milk or eggs, my no-churn ice cream recipe doesn't need either of those.
I like to store in deli containers if the ice cream will be eaten within a week, or add it to an airtight container and it will keep for up to 3 weeks.
Other Tasty Dessert Recipes You'll Love!
If you tried this Homemade Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
No-Churn Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Equipment
- Saucepot
- Silicone Spatula
- Mixing Bowl
- Stand Mixer or hand mixer
- Can Opener
- Whisk Attachment
- Loaf Pan
- Plastic Wrap
- Aluminum Foil
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups chopped pecans
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Place your mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer.
- Add the chopped pecans to a skillet with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.1 ½ cups chopped pecans, 3 tablespoons salted butter, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Cook over medium heat, stirring consistently to prevent burning.
- After a caramelized sugar crust forms on the nuts, set them aside to cool.To cool them faster, place in the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile, add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt and cinnamon to the cold mixing bowl.1 pint heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 pinch salt, 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the cream mixture with a whisk attachment until medium peaks form, about 3-4 minutes on low speed.
- Stir in the sweetened condensed milk until the bowl is silky smooth.14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- Fold in the cooled buttered pecans, reserving a bit for the top.
- Add the mixture to a 9x5 loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining pecans on top.
- Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Freeze for at least 4 hours (but overnight is best.) Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think!