No Churn Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Pecans and Chocolate Chips
Creamy, rich peanut butter ice cream, studded with pecans and dark chocolate chips, makes the perfect dessert. Even better? This No Churn Peanut Butter Ice Cream requires no ice cream maker, so anyone can make it at home! Makes 12 servings.
Love frozen treats throughout the summer months? Don’t miss No Churn Guinness Brownie Ice Cream, Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake Popsicles and Stracciatella Gelato with a raspberry swirl and bourbon!
Lady A is teething.
She’s such a trooper and is powering through… but we’ve had some late nights recently. Which means I haven’t had much time to think about anything other than baby business.
I think she could use some ice cream to soothe her gums. Unfortunately for her, we’ve yet to introduce her to peanut butter, chocolate, pecans, dairy products or sugar. So this might not go over so well.
However, I’m also fairly positive the soothing qualities of this dessert would be outweighed by the tummyache she’d get after consuming it.
So our sweet Lady A shall stick to her teething icy toys while we enjoy this ice cream.
Why we love this peanut butter ice cream recipe
This is the first no churn ice cream I ever made, and it converted me, y’all.
It is so stupidly easy, and the most complicated part is the fact that you have to wait for hours or even overnight to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
If you’re like me and don’t have an ice cream machine at your house but have a hankering for homemade ice cream, this recipe is for you. Also, if you happen to enjoy the whole peanut butter, chocolate and pecan combination like I do, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Other sweet treats to enjoy on hot days: Strawberry Bruschetta | Blackberry and Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles | No Bake Scotcheroo Cookies | Dairy Free Peach Cobbler
Looking for more summer recipe inspiration? Take a gander at my Summer Recipe Index!
Tools to make No Churn Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Pecans and Chocolate Chips
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- Loaf pan
- Hand mixer
- Plastic wrap
- Serving glasses (like the Harry Rocks Glasses shown here)
Obviously, you’ll need some ingredients, too. Since no churn ice cream doesn’t call for an ice cream maker (🙌) , we’ll need a few ingredients that might require a trip to the store.
Unless, of course, you stock your pantry like I do, in which case, you’ve probably got everything on hand.
- Heavy whipping cream—not half and half or whole milk. You cannot make whipped cream without heavy whipping cream because it has the necessary fat content, so please don’t try to cut calories.
- Sweetened condensed milk—not to be confused with evaporated milk. While they’re similar, we want the sweetened version since this is what is adding the sweetness to our ice cream.
- Smooth peanut butter—your favorite brand, preferably unsweetened
- Dark chocolate chips, though you can use a different type of chocolate chip if you desire
- Pecans—or any other nut you like!
How do you make peanut butter ice cream from scratch?
Since this is a no churn ice cream, you don’t need an ice cream maker!
How to make no churn ice cream
First, make the whipped cream. Pour the cream into a bowl and use a hand or stand mixer to whip it. Start out slowly so it doesn’t splatter, then increase the speed as it thickens.
Whip the cream until it until stiff peaks form. This means that when you stop beating the cream and remove the beaters, the whipped cream will stand up on its own from where the beaters were removed.
Mix up the ice cream. Combine the sweetened condensed milk and the creamy peanut butter. Stir until smooth, the pour this into the whipped cream. Use a rubber spatula to fold the two together.
Pour the ingredients into a loaf pan, and press plastic wrap directly on top of the ice cream. This step is important because we don’t want it to get freezer burn!
Freeze the creamy peanut butter ice cream
Freeze the ice cream for 1 ½ hours before removing the loaf pan from the freezer and sprinkling in the chocolate and pecans. Feel free to sprinkle some on top before you cover it back up with the plastic wrap.
Place the pan back in the freezer and freeze for a few more hours or overnight. I recommend letting it freeze overnight to ensure it’s completely frozen through.
When the ice cream is frozen solid and you’re ready to serve it, scoop with a warm ice cream scooper, and enjoy in a bowl or a cone with additional toasted pecans or chocolate chips on top.
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
Look, I’m all about a summertime gathering that involves ice cream because it’s a fun, delicious way to end the evening.
Also, who doesn’t love ice cream? (Assuming, of course, you can enjoy dairy and don’t have allergies to the ingredients used in the recipe.)
Here are some tips and tricks to making this delicious no churn peanut butter ice cream for a party.
- Make the ice cream a day in advance. You don’t want to run the risk of the ice cream not setting in the freezer, and it being too melty to be enjoyed in a cone. Also, making this recipe a day in advance takes the pressure off you the day your guests are coming!
- Double the recipe—and make two pans instead of one so everyone can have the amount of scoops they desire.
- Offer ice cream cones and bowls (with spoons!) so your friends and family can choose how they enjoy this ice cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
The beauty of an ice cream like this is it does NOT require an ice cream maker! You’ll make whipped cream, then add the sweetened condensed milk, along with the other toppings.
I learned about no churn ice creams from Beth and Madison during Ice Cream Sundae Week earlier this summer, and it’s BRILLIANT, so I had to try my hand at it before it got too cold for me to truly enjoy all the ice cream goodness.
This recipe requires little hands on time. It freezes up well. You can add whatever ingredients you’d like. And the final result is dreamy!
As you whip the cream with your stand or hand mixer, watch the consistency of it.
Bubbles will begin to form as air mixes into the cream, and it will begin to thicken. As it does this, turn off your mixer and lift the beaters out of it.
When you’ve reached the soft peak stage, the cream will gently fold over itself as you lift the beaters up. When you’ve reached the stiff peak stage, the cream will stand on its own as you lift the beaters up.
This ice cream needs to freeze for at least four hours. I recommend letting it freeze overnight to ensure it’s frozen solid.
Quick Tips and Tricks for the Best Ice Cream
- Purchase the right ingredients. Ice cream is meant to be decadent, and you can’t trade the calories in this recipe. Unfortunately, you won’t get the consistency this no churn ice cream needs if you use a lower fat dairy product in place of the heavy whipping cream.
- Give it time to freeze properly. No, really. I can be super impatient when it comes to stuff like this because the freezing portion of this recipe is the one that takes the longest, but don’t rush it. We want the ice cream to set in the freezer so it can be the proper consistency for us to enjoy!
- Substitution alert! While I haven’t made these subs, I can get behind using a different type of chocolate chip and a different type of nut.
- How to store: Leave the ice cream in the loaf pan, wrapped in plastic wrap. Alternately, you could transfer it to a freezer-safe container, but our ice cream never seems to last long enough to require that.
What are some other easy ice cream/frozen treats for the summer?
- Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles
- Blue Moon Ice Cream
- Chocolate Guinness Milkshakes with Irish Whiskey Cream
- Red, White and Blue Popsicles
- Pineapple Blackberry Ice Cream Parfaits
- Strawberry Ice Cream
Sound like something you want to try?
Scroll down to learn how I made this No Churn Peanut Butter Pecan Chip Ice Cream…
No Churn Peanut Butter Pecan Chip Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup peanut butter smooth
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips chopped
- ½ cup pecans chopped
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Instructions
- Pour the cold heavy whipping cream into a large bowl.
- Using a hand (or stand) mixer, whip the cream slowly at first, then increase the speed until stiff peaks form.
- In another bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk with the peanut butter, stirring until smooth.
- Fold the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter into the whipped cream using a rubber spatula. Do this as gently as possible, as we do not want to deflate the whipped cream.
- Pour the mixture into a loaf pan, and cover with plastic wrap. Press down gently on the mixture so it’s well-covered. (We do this to ensure the ice cream doesn’t get freezer burn!)
- Transfer the loaf pan to the freezer, and freeze for 1 ½ hours. Remove from the freezer and fold in the chopped chocolate and pecans. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips and pecans on top of the loaf, and cover again with the plastic wrap before transferring back to the freezer.
- Freeze the ice cream for an additional 3-4 hours or overnight. (Personally, I recommend overnight.)
- When you’re ready to serve the ice cream, scoop with a warm ice cream scooper, and serve immediately with more pecans and chocolate!
Notes
- Not a dark chocolate fan? Milk or bittersweet chocolate both pair beautifully with peanut butter, too!
- Swap pecans for any other type of nut, or leave them out all together if they’re not your jam!
Nutrition
Have you ever made no churn ice cream?
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
Hi! This Ice cream looks AWESOME! I made some 3 ingredient no churn ice cream this summer – it was just pretty good – vanilla. Yours looks MUCH better! I thought I would say hello as one of the other hostesses of Crocktober! Nice to meet you!