This easy homemade ice cream in a bag recipe is a must-try this summer! You only need 5 ingredients to make this homemade ice cream. Kids will love seeing how quickly they can make their own ice cream. Don’t forget to add your favorite toppings like sprinkles or fruit!
RELATED: Gummy Bear Recipe
How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag
This is such a fun activity for kids in the summer! And if you’re low on ice cream in your freezer, it’s a great way to make your own treat! Kids can help shake the bags and of course finish off the ice cream.
Ice Cream in a Bag Ingredients
You only need 5 ingredients to make ice cream in a bag:
- Half and Half – OR you can use 1/2 whole milk and 1/2 cream. We have also made it with whole milk and it will still turn out but the ice cream won’t be as creamy
- Salt – the type of salt doesn’t matter. We used regular table salt. But the chunkier the salt you use, the less chance you’ll get salt mixed into your ice cream by accident.
- Ice
- Vanilla
- Sugar
Can I use Whole Milk?
Yes! You can still make this recipe with whole milk. The ice cream won’t be as creamy but will still be tasty. For an even creamier version use cream and whole milk instead. You can experiment with different proportions until you find it to be a texture and flavor you prefer!
How to Prevent Salty Ice Cream
This is important – because there’s nothing worse than shaking the bags and then having salty ice cream. You want to make sure that the bags you are using are quality bags. Typically no name brands won’t give a good seal to keep the salt out.
Make sure you properly seal the bag that has the half and half mixture in it. You don’t want salt accidentally getting into this bag. To be safe, you could double bag this also. Once you’re done shaking, rinse off the little bag with cold water (including the top part above the seal) before opening it up to eat the ice cream. This will ensure that any salt on the outside doesn’t leak in.
If you use chunkier salt, this will also help prevent the salt from getting into the little bag.
Finally, be extra careful when taking the ice cream out of the bag. If there is any salt still on the outside of the small bag, it will mix with the ice cream.
Ice Cream in a Bag
Ingredients
- 1 cup half and half
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ice
- 1/4 cup salt
- Ziploc bags 1 Small, 1 Large
Instructions
- Pour 1 cup of half and half into a small ziploc bag.
- Add 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- Seal the bag firmly and get any excess air out.
- In the larger ziploc bag, fill it about 1/2 way with ice. Add 1/4 cup of salt.
- Then add your small bag and fill with extra ice on top. Seal the large bag.
- Get gloves for shaking and shake for 6 minutes. *Gloves are needed since the salt makes the ice extra cold.
- Take the small bag out of the large bag and rinse the outside of the small bag with cold water. Make sure to rinse out the top part of the bag also (above the seal).
- Once done rinsing, carefully open the small bag to not get any remaining salt from the outside of the bag inside the bag.
- The ice cream will be a little icy looking to start. Use a spoon to mix it around and soften it up a bit. Scoop out and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition Estimate
Notes
- Properly seal the bag.
- Rinse off the little bag after shaking.
- Double bag if still salty.
Your kids will love making their own ice cream! Mix in some chocolate syrup or add your favorite toppings to make it even more delicious!
More Treats for Kids
See these other favorite treats for kids:
These homemade fruit roll-ups are such a hit with kids!
These homemade gummy bears are a lot of fun to make!
This made me so happy! I have really bad lactose intolerance and have been endlessly disappointed (and often disgusted) at what passes as “ice cream” substitutes on the market for us lactose-free people. I was absolutely craving ice cream and wondered if I could make my own at home with my lactose-free milk and lactose-free cream. Lo and behold, I found your recipe here and in 6 minutes, I had a delicious, wonderful cone full of REAL ice cream, in my opinion much better that store bought hands down! First real ice cream in many years since becoming lactose intolerant (came with age). I did add 2 TBSP sugar instead of 1 and it was the perfect sweetness for me.. 1 didn’t quite cut it when I tested the mix before shaking. Can’t wait to make it again and play with different add-ins! Mmmmmm!!!
I like it!!!! Nice!
Cool recipie man!!
I have made this in elementary school and I am really craving icecream right now and I am so happy that I can make icecream again it’s so good!
so good! first time i did it it turned out like from the store! 3rd time we needed ice so we left it in the freezer for a while and then went to the store real quick. shook it for little more than 6 minutes
ThIs was SOOOO good I did 2 batches the first cookies n cream and the second i did almond milk and added some coffee both turned out VERY good and I didn’t have half and half or cream and it still turned out delicious!
can i use whipping cream instead of half and half in the bag icecream???
To get the same consistency you can mix half whipping cream with half regular milk.
I used half a tsp of vanilla instead, and it turned out wonderfully. It is a great idea for kids! Shook the bag for around 15 minutes. I also added a bit of maple syrup in the mix to make it taste better.
This was great! I added some cinnamon candy oil and some actual ground cinnamon and nutmeg. It was delicious! Thanks for the recipe ❤
This was really good ! I used caramel syrup and OMG let me tell you it tasted like I bought it
Has anyone tried this with a non-dairy milk, like soy, almond, or oat?
I love it I love it I love it!!
Love it Love it Love It!!
This was the best ice cream I’ve ever had! I had to keep it in the ice for about 10 minutes though.
If you add some sweetened condensed milk it makes it really good
My granddaughter and I made this recipe, and it was so good. But I wish that I added more vanilla extract.
Best thing ever!! My siblings had so much fun eating it and they now want it every day! Great recipe.
My friend said it was great! We FaceTimed and I told her every step on how to make it! She absolutely loved it!
we jumped with it on the trampoline so fun turned to ice cream so quick
we did strawberry syrup and it was amazing
Love it!😃🍦
So easy, my 8 y/o was able do this on her own – with a little help for the shaking. She loved the ice cream saying it’s the best she’s ever had (and I agree)!
This was the best ice cream that I have ever tasted! Despite a little bit of salt in it (my fault) it was still delicious!
I usually just shake for a solid 7- 10 min. so that it is really creamy and icy great recipe.
Took a little longer than 6 minutes of shaking for us. Could be because of not enough ice, could be because I had to do most the shaking for 5 people ???
Great idea!
Really good you can substitute vanilla extract for chocolate syrup and make chocolate